When the cab driver screws you....

[DrFaroohk]

What's your obligation to pay?

This happened to me, quite a long time ago actually, because I was new to the city and had no fricken clue what was going on and so i paid like 80 bucks for what should have been a 25 dollar ride, because he gave me a big runaround.

I suppose it could have been a clear misunderstanding...we had some communication problems, and he expected ME to know exactly how to get there, which was something I was unaware that I needed to know.

In that and similar situations, what's the deal there? Can you refuse to pay for a ride that was longer than necesary? Is there some "code" you have to speak, like you have to specifically say "Take the shortest route" or something? How do you handle it?

[dendawg]

My suggestion would be to just suck it up and pay it, but next time give the cabby a Google maps/Mapquest printout and tell him/her to follow it to the letter, and if they deviate demand them to pull over immediately.

[DrFaroohk]

Yeah I wasn't concerned with the previous incident, but for future reference...i.e. like what if i knew the ride was 20 dollars, and he took the scenic route, and charged me 30, but I just said "no, I know it's only 20 dollars" and I just paid him the 20 and got out. Where does that stand legally? If one can prove that the most direct route from point A to B is 20 dollars at that companies prices, doesn't that validate you not paying the bs amount?

[Mikkel]

I'm in the progress of getting a license as a taxi driver here in Copenhagen and am getting my head filled with laws and techniques.
Here you call the dispatch and complain. They will pull the GPS-data from the car's computer and review it. If you have been cheated, they will refund the money and pull it from the driver's wages plus 200 DKR for the reviewing.
All you would need here is the receipt.
Should you pay less than the meter shows the driver will call the police. There can be a lot of good reasons that a trip is more expensive than usually. The straightest road can be closed, if the car goes slow the meter will count time too and so on.

[Bright_Star]

It's a given that when you call a taxi to take you from point A to pont B that it's ASSUMED they know how to get there without having you give them a bunch of directions. PLUS if you know a shorter & less expensive way to get to your destination then you tell them. You are PAYING them to get to where you need to go. It's not about the way they want to go. Too bad if they don't like the way you want to go.

You shouldn't have paid the $80 when you know it should have been $25. Should have complained to the cab company. Too many taxi drivers out there try to scam people into paying more than they should.

[Seshat]

In all states in Aussieland there is a taxi (and limo, and etc) commission. You can dispute an apparently excessive fare with the cab company, and if you don't get satisfaction from them, dispute it with the commission.

The information sticker about the commission's contact details is supposed to be prominently visible from the front passenger seat. It's also readily available from the internet and in the phone book.

That said, if the most direct route is out of action on the night in question and the driver took a reasonable alternative, the commission is likely to rule in favour of the driver. But even then, they'll probably 'educate' the driver that he should have informed the passenger. And a $20 fare shouldn't become an $80 fare unless there was a major disaster that took out half the city!

[Mikkel]

And a $20 fare shouldn't become an $80 fare unless there was a major disaster that took out half the city!

Or (at Copenhagen fares) 50 minutes waiting, for instance in a traffic jam. No, it seems excessive. The customer should be warned in that case.
In Denmark you complain to the dispatch first, if there is one. Then you can go on to the taxi commission in Copenhagen or municipal council in the rest of the country, who license the taxis.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Wow, those stories make me glad that the taxis around here don't use meters.

Both cab companies here charge the same rate, which is very reasonable.