Caught Taxi driver cheating

[petedk]

On 1/27/2020 at 10:20 AM, steven100 said:

waste of time if he doesn't have plate number or driver reg name or no.

I have the plate number. I managed to take a photo just as we stopped

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, petedk said:

To whom?

The taxi company or police?

 

Land Transport Department Hotline on 1584.

OR

Traffic Police on 1197 

[petedk]

On 1/27/2020 at 2:05 PM, billsmart said:

A Thai taxi driver trying to cheat you? I don't believe it! ????

Actually they never cheat me, but they do try it on with ridiculous fares without the meter. 

[petedk]

On 1/27/2020 at 4:59 PM, owenm said:

I reported previously on TVF in Sept 2019, getting an older blue taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Bang Yai.. I take the route often, 63km.. The taxi's meter was going at fathom speed along the motorway already at 50km. I said to the driver that the meter was faulty and going too fast. He threatened to drop me off along the motorway and said I could find another taxi or minibus. I thought, it was late and he'd probably take off with my luggage and leave me behind, so I shut up.. 

 

Get to Bang Yai, meter on 96km and fare was over 700bht incl. motorway tolls, usually around 500bht Max. Too dark to photo his ID and meter, I'd have to use flash and again he could dump me off without my luggage coming out.. So I just took the loss this time.. The first and only taxi I've had with a souped up meter at grand prix speed.. Still 25% of the meter price than I'd pay in Melbourne.. 

I agree it is cheaper than Melbourne. It is probably 75% of the price I would pay in Denmark where I once lived, but now I live in Thailand and as I say I have lived and worked here on a meager Thai salary  for 20 years, so I don't give a damn about fares elsewhere.

 

Yes, taxis are cheap. I use 2 or 3 taxis everyday and some try to get away with a fixed price and not using a meter, some try to get a "big tip"  and I am ok with that. I can negotiate with them or refuse them.

[petedk]

22 hours ago, phkauf said:

I know it's a rare occurrence but I had the opposite happen to me. The meter was covered with a towel to prevent overheating so I could not see the numbers, but when I arrived home from the airport it was half the normal 300 baht fare. The driver was shocked and we both agreed on a 300 baht fare.

Just saying sometimes the meters are messed up and it might not be his fault, but you are totally right to call him out on it.

Yes that has happened to me on the same route as my first post. Again we agreed on the "normal" price.

[petedk]

9 hours ago, VYCM said:

OMG, the taxi motorbikes here is PAttaya wouldn't start their motorbike for that little fare.

If they did you would probably get 100 metres.

 

I hate the metered taxis that dont turn on their meters ar tamper with them........but you got to feel sorry for them. 

I reckon Thailand has the cheapest taxis in the world, I hate catching a taxi in Australia.

This isn't Pattaya or even Phuket where the minimum fares are several hundred Baht.

 

I know what the fare is in the different places.

 

The reason I started this thread was to find out:

How often does this happen?

Should I report it to save other innocent people?

 

It was a long journey as you can see by the fare, but what about other foreigners who may take a long trip?

Maybe they would just pay up ( 50 - 100% above the normal price).

[petedk]

15 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Land Transport Department Hotline on 1584.

OR

Traffic Police on 1197 

Thanks. I have both numbers on my mobile.

[uhuh]

5 hours ago, petedk said:

 

 

The reason I started this thread was to find out:

How often does this happen?

Should I report it to save other innocent people?

 

 

Happened to me once in 20 years (gf then asked politely why fare was so high?  Maybe it was more expensive at night time? He immediately suggested a fare a bit lower than the usual fare)

 

Should report to 1584

[Cricky]

9 hours ago, petedk said:

Actually they never cheat me, but they do try it on with ridiculous fares without the meter. 

This is cheating you 

[Cricky]

9 hours ago, petedk said:

This isn't Pattaya or even Phuket where the minimum fares are several hundred Baht.

 

I know what the fare is in the different places.

 

The reason I started this thread was to find out:

How often does this happen?

Should I report it to save other innocent people?

 

It was a long journey as you can see by the fare, but what about other foreigners who may take a long trip?

Maybe they would just pay up ( 50 - 100% above the normal price).

You should report it 

[Just Weird]

On 1/27/2020 at 3:13 PM, dsj said:

my friend told me that what some taxi drivers do is after they get the meters properly calibrated, they will go and put small tires on the car so the tires rotate more in less distance.

Nonsense, taxi drivers are not going to go to the expense of buying a new set of wheels and tyres and most taxis are owned by co-operatives, not the drivers, so they cannot be modified as "your friend" suggested.

Edited January 30, 2020 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

On 1/27/2020 at 10:20 PM, tom in bangkok said:

How often is it supposed to click? I'm suspicious of meters and every tick seems to be too frequent, but how do I know if the driver has modified it?

Meter charges move up very 100 metres.

[Just Weird]

On 1/28/2020 at 11:46 AM, tlandtday said:

This reminds me of an airport scam I recently fell prey to.  I needed a taxi so I went to the lower area where they are located outside and their was a small booth toward the north side.  A lady then walked us to the parking area opposite the terminal and a new Chinese made electric car picked us up.  Our hotel was only a maximum 100 baht away but I noticed the meter started at 150!  The fee was 300 to go this short journey.  I believe it was a Chinese run company probably operating illegally.  Beware the scams continue.

That's a "VIP" electric taxi company operating legally with a B100 flagfall that has been well publicised, it is not a scam.

[Cricky]

5 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Nonsense, taxi drivers are not going to go to the expense of buying a new set of wheels and tyres and most taxis are owned by co-operatives, not the drivers, so they cannot be modified as "your friend" suggested.

Stranger things have happened here in the LOS

[petedk]

5 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Meter charges move up very 100 metres.

The taxi meters move up 2 baht each time they click. At 5 Baht per kilometer (official fare) they certainty don't click every 100 meters. 

 

They should click every 400 meters which to me seems about right.

 

Just in case. Here is the link. The fares were fixed in 2017 and are still valid in 2020.

https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-bangkok/427

Edited January 30, 2020 by petedk

[Just Weird]

18 hours ago, VYCM said:

23 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Nonsense, taxi drivers are not going to go to the expense of buying a new set of wheels and tyres and most taxis are owned by co-operatives, not the drivers, so they cannot be modified as "your friend" suggested.

Stranger things have happened here in the LOS

Quite possibly but changing taxi wheels to a size small enough to affect the calibration of the meter enough to justify the expense to a driver will never happen.

[Just Weird]

18 hours ago, petedk said:

The taxi meters move up 2 baht each time they click. At 5 Baht per kilometer (official fare) they certainty don't click every 100 meters. 

 

They should click every 400 meters which to me seems about right.

 

Just in case. Here is the link. The fares were fixed in 2017 and are still valid in 2020.

https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-bangkok/427

Sorry, I was referring to the distance indicator on the meter.

[fhickson]

grab it next time. any issues they track the ride and will refund.

Edited February 3, 2020 by fhickson