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Revealed: the special button that allows bent taxi drivers to rip off customers

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9 hours ago, Youlike said:

I don't believe because a Thai would never do such thing.

I’ve never encountered a dishonest taxi here since the 90s when I first started visiting. I’m not sure why some of you keep trying to tarnish this countries image.

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  • I don't believe because a Thai would never do such thing.

  • Phuketshrew
    Phuketshrew

    But he would only use this for foreigners as "I've never seen a case of Thais conning Thais" ... Region One chief Pol Gen Amphon Buarapporn.

  • I used to go a regular route to Sukhumvit over 5 years years ago. The price was always around 100-110 baht. One day I noticed the meter flying up - the amount was over 200 baht. I told the taxi driver

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8 hours ago, NaaKap said:

LOS = Land of scans. I predicted this 5 years ago as the tourists refuse to return after being dual priced, scammed, robbed, ripped off. Spiked drinks. With rats and filth everywhere (and that is just the pepole) The me me me me attitude would kill the tourism trade and the desperation would set in with the scams and ripoffs becoming more blatant as Thais fight amongst themselves for the few bhat they an steal from unsuspecting tourists. Watch the next two or three years as the place turns into a battleground. 

did someone say hyperbole? 

I'm sure the irony of these two articles side by side is not lost on anyone. Oh, of course. He would never do it to another Thai! ????

...lol! thais are late! in the eighties, filipino taxidrivers in manilla  had found a smarter way to increase the taxi fare. thanks to an ingenious system, they needed just to honk and every time a few pesos would be added...

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3 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Problem with grab and similar is that with the Thai traffic and insufficient numbers of Grabs, wait times will often be long

I've never waited more than a few minutes, my experiences with Grab and Uber is that they are saturated with drivers. 

I drove Uber for a few months and a big complaint among the drivers is how much competition there is.

As an ex taxi driver I can tell you that a much more common trick is for the driver to start his meter running when he drops off the previous customer, so that when you get in, the meter is about to click over from 35Baht to 40Baht, or whatever the values are these days.

4 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Problem with grab and similar is that with the Thai traffic and insufficient numbers of Grabs, wait times will often be long 

 

Taxis, on the other hand, are plentiful 

 

The positive side of that is the fare with Grab is set in advance. If there is a traffic jam on one's trip it will affect the fare with a regular taxi but it doesn't affect the passenger's wallet if in a Grab car.

 

The only times I had a problem with Grab availability was in Kuala Lumpur when a heavy rain started, and Friday pm rush hour.

 

In Chiang Mai never a problem.

 

 

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The mind of a true child... 

 

I'm surprised he didn't add... its ok 'cos others do it too !

That would be a straight up copy from Trump ????

Corruption from the cradle to the grave.

Just like cm songtou,s are like a mafia bkk taxis no different.upset them they protest as we all know

16 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Should be thrown in jail.

Many times and against a very hard wall. Hopefully, that would be after being thrown into jail.

 

 

17 hours ago, Vacuum said:

This only happens in tourist destinations. I've never experienced this behaviour that you describe.

Can you tell me where in Thailand it is NOT a tourist destination?

He should be banned from driving any public service vehicle for life.

Obviously spot checks or inspections by officers never take place to prevent "extra equipment" like this being installed in taxis. I wonder how many other drivers have similar fixtures to rip-off the public.

Thailand is becoming a place to avoid for many reasons.. just how low will they sink to make foreigners a target?

20 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Another Thai con job!...................….General!

But the target was foreigners, which is acceptable!

Thais scamming Thais is a myth says the General

16 hours ago, Lupatria said:

Do you work for the RTP and need a golden bell?

..no Im a retired farang and a victim like everyone else.

21 hours ago, Vacuum said:

This only happens in tourist destinations. I've never experienced this behaviour that you describe.

my first trip to Udon Thani about 16 years ago the Sam-lore driver who looked about eighty displayed a fair turn of speed as he disappeared with

the hundred Baht note I had just tendered for the 40 baht fare. I was doubled up outside Robinsons department, store howling with laughter.

 

According to Region One chief Pol Gen Amphon Buarapporn, this taxi driver must be "a foreigner" as he has "never seen a case of a Thai ripping off a fellow Thai."

 

So, how come foreigners are allow to perform a reserved job like taxi driver. 

They do it to anyone they think they can get sassy with. I can’t count how many times I busted them and said turn it off.

1 hour ago, connda said:

According to Region One chief Pol Gen Amphon Buarapporn, this taxi driver must be "a foreigner" as he has "never seen a case of a Thai ripping off a fellow Thai."

 

So, how come foreigners are allow to perform a reserved job like taxi driver. 

He means a guy from Isaan.

On 12/20/2018 at 12:40 PM, Youlike said:

I don't believe because a Thai would never do such thing.

Your comment is like a bad joke that keeps getting repeated like a bad case of indigestion over and over again.

 

Each time I have used a meter taxi in Bangkok I have agreed to the fare before starting my journey. If the driver has insisted on using the meter then I look for another taxi because they can`t be trusted and up to every trick in the book. Bangkok taxi drivers have a bad reputation. The worst affected are tourists that don`t know the area and how things work here, especially if they can`t speak even one word of Thai.

 

This is nothing new, Bangkok taxis have had a bad reputation for decades, there have even been incidents of muggings and murders committed by these taxi drivers on tourists.

 

Warnings should be published by all travel agents regarding Taxis in Bangkok.

 

 

I do apologise for the mis spelled SCAMS.. small keyboard and bumpy road. We all cannot be as perfect as yourself but many thanks for pointing out my shortcomings. This was not a rant but a few basic facts from firsthand experience of the aftermath of some friendly Thai. If I had been ranting I would have well and truly exceeded the maximum 100mb. I gave a few of the common daily issues. As examples. Also where did I say I have personally experenced the few SCAMS  I gave examples of, the commonly perpertrated by thais on a daily basis. Making the point of how these sort of vermin have/are destroying what was a save and friendly place. Notice if you have a tan, or the been in the country awhile look you are for the most part left alone. It is their job to spot a sucker and are very very good at it. With your supercilious attitude your turn is coming and I hope for your sake you remove your rose colored glasses. But when the inevitable happens give me a kindly thought and dont say you were not warned. Everything is not as easy as just walking away. As my profession is a nurse, the broken, the robbed, the SCAMMED. People I have helped for doing nothing more than going on holiday and nearly loosing their life. You should count yourself very very lucky.  

1 hour ago, NaaKap said:

I do apologise for the mis spelled SCAMS.. small keyboard and bumpy road. We all cannot be as perfect as yourself but many thanks for pointing out my shortcomings. This was not a rant but a few basic facts from firsthand experience of the aftermath of some friendly Thai. If I had been ranting I would have well and truly exceeded the maximum 100mb. I gave a few of the common daily issues. As examples. Also where did I say I have personally experenced the few SCAMS  I gave examples of, the commonly perpertrated by thais on a daily basis. Making the point of how these sort of vermin have/are destroying what was a save and friendly place. Notice if you have a tan, or the been in the country awhile look you are for the most part left alone. It is their job to spot a sucker and are very very good at it. With your supercilious attitude your turn is coming and I hope for your sake you remove your rose colored glasses. But when the inevitable happens give me a kindly thought and dont say you were not warned. Everything is not as easy as just walking away. As my profession is a nurse, the broken, the robbed, the SCAMMED. People I have helped for doing nothing more than going on holiday and nearly loosing their life. You should count yourself very very lucky.  

There are always going to be those waiting to exploit the vulnerable, it`s the way of the world, not only in Thailand.

This is why I am nervous when traveling to a non-English speaking foreign country for the first time knowing I will be a prime target for every scam imaginable.

When I first moved to Thailand, must have lost thousands of bahts being naïve and subjected to many scams, until I eventually gained experience and knowledge of the country.

Foreign tourists holidaying first time in Thailand are always going to be overcharged and scammed in some ways and unless they go around with a Thai friend or someone who has lived here for several years and knows the ropes, there are no ways to avoid this.

 

 

Pattaya taxi-drivers have solved this at a stroke; with police connivance they no longer use meters.

I use the airport taxi's for the same distance all the time and yes the fare can be double sometimes. Now i know why.

 

I've also had taxi's with wires taped all over the dashboard coming from the meter to the control sticks at the steer. Now i know what he was building.

 

Soooo Thai.

On Thu Dec 20 2018 at 8:54 AM, natway09 said:

Take the police off all road & transport duties & have a separate force set up by the land transport office to take over. Get them out on the roads in mufti cars which can be funded by road taxes instead of all just going into the consolidated account & start doing some real policing work instead of just turning a blind eye 

why they should do this...it only hits farangs not thais

Wrong, wrong, wrong! That taxi must have belonged to a foreigner. No Thai will rip off another Thai and only foreigners rip off Thais.

On ‎12‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 1:49 PM, Vacuum said:

LOS = Land of scans. I predicted this 5 years ago as the tourists refuse to return after being dual priced, scammed, robbed, ripped off. Spiked drinks. With rats and filth everywhere (and that is just the pepole) The me me me me attitude would kill the tourism trade and the desperation would set in with the scams and ripoffs becoming more blatant as Thais fight amongst themselves for the few bhat they an steal from unsuspecting tourists. Watch the next two or three years as the place turns into a battleground. 

I am afraid its now the beginning of the end. Walk every morning, roads empty, beach the same, very few chinese here now, plus the baht to high, and the general running of Thailand has a lot to be disired. This will end up a fishing village within 5 years again.

3 hours ago, Jingjock said:

I am afraid its now the beginning of the end. Walk every morning, roads empty, beach the same, very few chinese here now, plus the baht to high, and the general running of Thailand has a lot to be disired. This will end up a fishing village within 5 years again.

 

Not sure what they will 'fish' for though, since I read somewhere/sometime back that the number of fishes in waters off Thailand is dwindling due to over-fishing. Sounds like the only way the Thais can reverse this predicament is an about-turn in their mindsets, mentalities and attitudes, which I believe most will think is wishful thinking.

 

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