Taxi Scam At Suvarnabhumi

[tartempion]

I just got off the phone with my son who picked up a friend at Suvarnabhumi Airport this last friday april 6 , a Thai holliday and late afternoon. He did not experience traffic jams on his way to the airport coming from Pra Pinklao by taxi.

They went down exit C to the taxi booth there and when asked where to go (Pra Pinklao) were told 400 baht. Followed a discussion on using the meter: "That will cost you 700 baht ! Finally the man form the taxi stand asked aroundwhich driver agreed to use his meter and they were pushed into a taxi. Before they drove off my son told the driver to take the motorway Rama iX, not the toll road, cheaper: faster, less far and no traffic problems. To which the driver refused to drive off, motor way or "no go" They ended up before the taxi booth again and were ignored by the people on the taxi stands. In the end he got an other taxi with meter via the toll road and was pissed off being treated like this.

He was not given the taxi booth ticket neither, seems they were written in advance with rubbish and certainly not with the license number of the driver. He was given a slip at his destination and he will file a complaint.

I took a taxi there two weeks ago and did not have any problems. This looks as a new taxi scam for the freshly arriving tourists.

[colino]

thanks for the info i came back a month ago went to the taxi booth and asked for a taxi to rangsit driver told me was off his chart so 1,500 baht would be his price when i stopped laughing i caught the free bus to the bus terminal and got a yellow bus to rangsit for 36 baht for those that live here its a source of entertainment but for holiday makers its bad pr long flight then feel like your being ripped off as soon as you get out the airport not a good first impression

no doubt this topic has been on going since the first tourist landed here

Edited April 8, 2007 by colino

[mikethevigoman]

I just got off the phone with my son who picked up a friend at Suvarnabhumi Airport this last friday april 6 , a Thai holliday and late afternoon. He did not experience traffic jams on his way to the airport coming from Pra Pinklao by taxi.

They went down exit C to the taxi booth there and when asked where to go (Pra Pinklao) were told 400 baht. Followed a discussion on using the meter: "That will cost you 700 baht ! Finally the man form the taxi stand asked aroundwhich driver agreed to use his meter and they were pushed into a taxi. Before they drove off my son told the driver to take the motorway Rama iX, not the toll road, cheaper: faster, less far and no traffic problems. To which the driver refused to drive off, motor way or "no go" They ended up before the taxi booth again and were ignored by the people on the taxi stands. In the end he got an other taxi with meter via the toll road and was pissed off being treated like this.

He was not given the taxi booth ticket neither, seems they were written in advance with rubbish and certainly not with the license number of the driver. He was given a slip at his destination and he will file a complaint.

I took a taxi there two weeks ago and did not have any problems. This looks as a new taxi scam for the freshly arriving tourists.

havent you noticed the world over taxi drivers are scum of the earth, they take the job because they are lazy b@stards and still try to rip us off at every given opportunity,. i agreed a fare and was driven ( on my own ) to a remote area and told the driver was out of time and had to stop and my journey would continue in another car, it was a 30 year old black toyota crown with a cummins 12 cylinder diesel engine with no air/con, drove all the way to pattaya at 60km ph, never again, ill pay the limousine money every time ,the meter most of the time is an ornament it seems .im fed up with arguing with them lowlifes,.

[cdnvic]

havent you noticed the world over taxi drivers are scum of the earth, they take the job because they are lazy b@stards and still try to rip us off at every given opportunity,. i agreed a fare and was driven ( on my own ) to a remote area and told the driver was out of time and had to stop and my journey would continue in another car, it was a 30 year old black toyota crown with a cummins 12 cylinder diesel engine with no air/con, drove all the way to pattaya at 60km ph, never again, ill pay the limousine money every time ,the meter most of the time is an ornament it seems .im fed up with arguing with them lowlifes,.

I've seen taxi drivers first on the scene to assist at many an accident. Watched them give free rides home to women working late for over a month when a rapist was at large, had them serve as unpaid tourist info, giving directions for free to countless tourists in many countries, and god knows how many drunken loudmouth clowns they deal with on a regular shift. I suppose if some barely literate goof jumped in the back seat and started giving me attitude then I might possibly reserve my best service for someone else.

[colino]

oh yeah 100% agreement with you worest one we had was tesco lotus rangsit i asked a driver to drop my daughter age 6 and my brother inlaws 2 kids eldest 14 at our home the git said ok no problem,he then drove them only half way and told them he had no gas and to get out this was 8pm 6 km from home luckly a neighbour saw them walking and gave them a lift i have made a complaint to the taxi office but yes no reply felt like doing things the uk way and punching his lights out but this is los so smile and take it up the a**

[tartempion]

havent you noticed the world over taxi drivers are scum of the earth, they take the job because they are lazy b@stards and still try to rip us off at every given opportunity,. i agreed a fare and was driven ( on my own ) to a remote area and told the driver was out of time and had to stop and my journey would continue in another car, it was a 30 year old black toyota crown with a cummins 12 cylinder diesel engine with no air/con, drove all the way to pattaya at 60km ph, never again, ill pay the limousine money every time ,the meter most of the time is an ornament it seems .im fed up with arguing with them lowlifes,.

Most certainly they are NOT "scum of the earth", many are just honest people making a living.

What's wrong here is a scam starting at the Savaboom taxi booth, AOT authorities should get rid of these people. Who runs the taxi booths BTW?

[colino]

dont get me wrong many taxi drivers do a great job over here it just seems to be the ones that hang around the airport mainly i must admit most have been very helpful and most of all very very understanding ( cant spell paitiant pationt does it have a c in it ) sorry just a bit maow

[endure]

Read the rules, boys:

"3) Religious or racial slurs, rude and degrading comments towards women, or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated."

[Toptrainer]

No good to have a passionate debate on TV will be shut down every time!

The Taxi that dropped the kids off at 8 at night should be shot.

I get maybe 1 out of every 10 taxi drivers that is not a complete low life. Of course I know the standered reasponse,"it's only 100 baht" or "If you don't like it leave." Great advice huh?

Glad I found a forum that can be so informative and fair.

[endure]

Passionate debates are fine. Debates which involved sweeping generalisations about large groups of people are not. Neither is public questioning of moderation so if you want to stay on this informative and fair forum I'd read the rules before you post any more.

[britmaveric]

Set the price before - if you know the going rate - can't be fked easily!!!!

[Toptrainer]

did my post break any rules?

Edited April 8, 2007 by Toptrainer

[tartempion]

Read the rules, boys:

"3) Religious or racial slurs, rude and degrading comments towards women, or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated."

Please enlighten me and explain where/who/what was an extremely negative view of thailand in this tread???

[onzestan]

I just got off the phone with my son who picked up a friend at Suvarnabhumi Airport this last friday april 6 , a Thai holliday and late afternoon. He did not experience traffic jams on his way to the airport coming from Pra Pinklao by taxi.

They went down exit C to the taxi booth there and when asked where to go (Pra Pinklao) were told 400 baht. Followed a discussion on using the meter: "That will cost you 700 baht ! Finally the man form the taxi stand asked aroundwhich driver agreed to use his meter and they were pushed into a taxi. Before they drove off my son told the driver to take the motorway Rama iX, not the toll road, cheaper: faster, less far and no traffic problems. To which the driver refused to drive off, motor way or "no go" They ended up before the taxi booth again and were ignored by the people on the taxi stands. In the end he got an other taxi with meter via the toll road and was pissed off being treated like this.

He was not given the taxi booth ticket neither, seems they were written in advance with rubbish and certainly not with the license number of the driver. He was given a slip at his destination and he will file a complaint.

I took a taxi there two weeks ago and did not have any problems. This looks as a new taxi scam for the freshly arriving tourists.

Are you sure that's what happened? I have my doubts.

onzestan

[chanchao]

Personally I think the only new twist to taxi situation is that people emerge not on the level where taxis leave, giving all the limo operators a chance to fake themselves as being the only taxis around. Some signs seem deliberately designed to deceive, i.e. 'Officially licensed airport taxi'. You'd have to be really aware as a first time visitor to find the meter taxis one level down.

Of course I don't want to deal with the zoo at the taxi booths downstairs and instead go one level up to just catch an arriving taxi. Like I've always done. You'll be making the driver's day that way too because it's excellent luck to get an immediate ride back into town. (Taxis are not allowed to wait & hustle for customers there anymore, so from their point of view it's very lucky to arrive JUST when I exit the building and get in. You even get to pick a relatively new & clean looking vehicle, unlike at the booth.

Discuss.

[bendix]

I have absolutely NOTHING to add to this thread, which I haven't said a hundred times already.

I'm bored with the subject. I'm bored with people crying about taxi scams and i'm bored with my boring responses to their boring gripes.

[womble]

"I'm Bored"

Yeah you must be if you have to write about how bored you are.

Get a hobby!

[Thai-Spy]

It does seem a little disingenuous to allow the touts on the arrival level to call their service a "taxi". Most visitors would probably expect a taxi to have a meter. "Limo" or "private car service" would be more apt to describe a fixed fee.

For anyone who tires of the long wait for a taxi on the ground level beneath arrival door C and entrance 10, the smart move is to walk back to about entrance 7. There's another meter taxi desk there that rarely has a queue.

[cdnvic]

Actually, if you lose ten or twenty bucks by being scammed into a limo when you first arrive and it wises you up and tunes your scam radar on for the rest of the trip it's probably twenty bucks well spent.

Think of it as an initial test. How you react to it can have a great bearing on your travel budget.

Edited April 9, 2007 by cdnvic

[tartempion]

Are you sure that's what happened? I have my doubts.

onzestan

And why do you have doubts???

My son lives in Bangkok since 10 months, he does take a lot af taxis but never needed to take one at the NEW airport. He called me from the airport whem he arrived to ask me where and how to find a taxi stand. He is more than knowledgeable enough to avoid being scammed and in the end got a metered taxi, but not withouth some unacceptable hassle from both the man at the booth and taxi drivers.

If you have ever been there you will know it is not easy to find your way out there, imagine you're a tourist and it's your first time, good luck . When you wait for your lugguge to arrive you are greeted by the AOT limo scam. Nice trick.

At Don Mu(e)ang I took a taxi at deaprtures a few times, not without problems with the security guys there. I might try it next time I arrive at Savanaboom, I will first need to leave Thailand though, and I will have the pleasure to transfer from DM to Savanaboom.

Really very smart to have two airports

Ads for that much bored Bendix, why do you reply anyway if taxi scam are not your problem?

To cndvic: why anyone would wisen up after being scammed by the AOT on arrival is beyond my understanding

Edited April 9, 2007 by tartempion

[0x22b]

Are you sure that's what happened? I have my doubts.

onzestan

And why do you have doubts???

My son lives in Bangkok since 10 months, he does take a lot af taxis but never needed to take one at the NEW airport. He called me from the airport whem he arrived to ask me where and how to find a taxi stand. He is more than knowledgeable enough to avoid being scammed and in the end got a metered taxi, but not withouth some unacceptable hassle from both the man at the booth and taxi drivers.

If you have ever been there you will know it is not easy to find your way out there, imagine you're a tourist and it's your first time, good luck . When you wait for your lugguge to arrive you are greeted by the AOT limo scam. Nice trick.

At Don Mu(e)ang I took a taxi at deaprtures a few times, not without problems with the security guys there. I might try it next time I arrive at Savanaboom, I will first need to leave Thailand though, and I will have the pleasure to transfer from DM to Savanaboom.

Really very smart to have two airports

Ads for that much bored Bendix, why do you reply anyway if taxi scam are not your problem?

To cndvic: why anyone would wisen up after being scammed by the AOT on arrival is beyond my understanding

I have my doubts too. Your story doesn't make any sense. Nobody else has these problems. I've used taxis many times and never had any problems. This is a second hand story from someone who didn't know his way around the airport. He probably was just dealing with a taxi tout and not the normal metered taxi booth.

You said he came out exit C. Are you sure that is the exit on the ground level where the taxi stands are? It sounds more like that was the arrivals level exit from immigration and he found somebody there which is where most of the taxi touts are. I also found taxi touts down on the next level inside the terminal building. Maybe he got a tout from there.

You said

Before they drove off my son told the driver to take the motorway Rama iX, not the toll road, cheaper: faster, less far and no traffic problems. To which the driver refused to drive off, motor way or "no go"

You are confusing 'toll road' and 'motorway'. To Thai taxi drivers they are the same thing. The taxi driver's refusal may have just been his confusion about what your brother really wanted to do. Communication is a big problem many times with the taxi drivers and that's why you need to make it clear with the person at the taxi booth which route you want to take.

I agree that there are plenty of taxi scams at the airport but I just have my doubts that your second hand story is 100% factual and because it didn't happen to you we can't question you about the details to be sure it was an official taxi stand and not something else.

[onzestan]

I have my doubts because of a couple of discrepencies in the story, and because I know Suwannapum pretty well.

Cheers

onzestan

[phazey]

I have my doubts because of a couple of discrepencies in the story, and because I know Suwannapum[1] pretty well.

Cheers

onzestan

[1] Suvarnabhumi

You must know it pretty well if you can't even spell it correctly........

[ozzydom]

I have absolutely NOTHING to add to this thread, which I haven't said a hundred times already.

I'm bored with the subject. I'm bored with people crying about taxi scams and i'm bored with my boring responses to their boring gripes.

Like my long deceased Dad used to say, "If you have nothing of value to add, keep your trap shut"

[Rinrada]

Personally I think the only new twist to taxi situation is that people emerge not on the level where taxis leave, giving all the limo operators a chance to fake themselves as being the only taxis around. Some signs seem deliberately designed to deceive, i.e. 'Officially licensed airport taxi'. You'd have to be really aware as a first time visitor to find the meter taxis one level down.

Of course I don't want to deal with the zoo at the taxi booths downstairs and instead go one level up to just catch an arriving taxi. Like I've always done. You'll be making the driver's day that way too because it's excellent luck to get an immediate ride back into town. (Taxis are not allowed to wait & hustle for customers there anymore, so from their point of view it's very lucky to arrive JUST when I exit the building and get in. You even get to pick a relatively new & clean looking vehicle, unlike at the booth.

Discuss.

Spot on...

Arrived 3 times at Suwanna in March and as said simply walked up top and over to the other side of the arrivals road (not the inside )where we picked up an "arriver"and also as said the wee guy...different .. was always happy to get such a quick off ski - departure.

There had been stories earlier when the Airport first opened about security banning,taking their numbers and/or fining them but the threat seems to have gone....

just ignore the touts and act as though you own the place...but politely......

[johnsurin]

When i arrived in november (cant remember what exit no. my first time at new airport) i got the usual taxi touts offering taxis to bkk for 800 baht, i haggled a bit then was offered 500 baht. I declined thinking there must be a meter service somewhere, i simply went downstairs and got a taxi meter there. A quick--- bai sukumvit burt meter kap. And hey presto no problems, and it was cheaper than going from don muang i arrive back again at the end of the month so I'l see if i have any problems then.

[PaulUSA302]

When I arrived last October, I felt as if there was some funny business going on at the Taxi stand so I pulled my luggage over to the bus stand and got on the first bus into the city. I got off at the first Sky-train entrance and took the sky-train into Silom.

I am glad I have been to Thailand so much that my doing this did not cause me one moments anxiety.

[onzestan]

I have my doubts because of a couple of discrepencies in the story, and because I know Suwannapum[1] pretty well.

Cheers

onzestan

[1] Suvarnabhumi

You must know it pretty well if you can't even spell it correctly........

wow, did I hurt your feelings?, if so I sincerely regret it.

So in your opinion you have to be a qualified mechanic to be able to drive a car?, and I have to know how the cheff made a terrific desert to be able to enjoy it?

Suvarnabhumi had been called many things on this forum without anyone taking offence, why me ?

Cheers mate

onzestan

[junkofdavid2]

I have absolutely NOTHING to add to this thread, which I haven't said a hundred times already.

He's so bored that he "wants to add" that he "has nothing to add".

[Flysiam]

I have my doubts because of a couple of discrepencies in the story, and because I know Suwannapum[1] pretty well.

Cheers

onzestan

[1] Suvarnabhumi

You must know it pretty well if you can't even spell it correctly........

wow, did I hurt your feelings?, if so I sincerely regret it.

So in your opinion you have to be a qualified mechanic to be able to drive a car?, and I have to know how the cheff made a terrific desert to be able to enjoy it?

Suvarnabhumi had been called many things on this forum without anyone taking offence, why me ?

Cheers mate

onzestan

Does anyone know how to spell 'it' without cut and paste???

Suwannapoom, Soowhanabum, Sowhatabunchapoop.... hey - the new airport! Shall we now debate (probably ad nauseum) the silent 'i'??

Some people have nothing better to do than find something to nit pick

Did anyone NOT know what airport, place, locale, or whatever was being to referred to??