Taxi Scams Remain Top Complaint Among Foreign Tourists in Thailand

[dallen52]

4 minutes ago, ozz1 said:

That's it keep the focus away from the police extortion and other rip offs

Just another one to add to the list.

[garzhe]

Taxi Scams Remain Top Complaint Among Foreign Tourists in Thailand

 

So easy to resolve if the Gov wanted to. Like elsewhere I've seen, all Taxis need to display in the car sign "No Meter No Charge"  Best use Grab or Bolt.

[Mad mick]

Number 1 >would be RTP !

2 > number Taxi .

 

3 Farang price & Thai price entry too tourist attractions 1 price for Thai another  for foreigners ( Racist based )  

+ + + cafes. Restaurants street vendors beat goes on .

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Mad mick

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, gearbox said:

You can pre-book in advance your taxi from the Phuket airport. Last November I booked taxi through Klook to Cape Panwa which is longer distance than Patong or Kata, 600 baht. Paying the same distance in Sydney would cost me a small fortune.

But it's NOT Sydney is it?

 

There's absolutely NO defence for the various government authorities and trade associations continuing to ignore the fact that the Phuket taxis are probably the most egregious and most disproportionate rip off in the whole blighted realm.

[gearbox]

10 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

But it's NOT Sydney is it?

 

There's absolutely NO defence for the various government authorities and trade associations continuing to ignore the fact that the Phuket taxis are probably the most egregious and most disproportionate rip off in the whole blighted realm.

I found the Phuket prices higher than Bangkok, but not that high if you use apps like InDrive,  usually 200 baht for up to 10-15km distances. The biggest taxi rip offs are in Samui,  people are paying up to 400 baht for 2-3 km ride, and no apps like InDrive as alternative.

 

True it is no Sydney, but people from Sydney come here and use Sydney money to pay Thai prices, which is still very good deal for them.

[Dexxter]

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

Now with apps like Grab

The few times we used Grab the fare was substantially higher than an equivalent taxi fare would have been. To make matters even more ludicrous, the Grab car that arrived was a green and yellow taxi with the meter covered up. I always use taxis hailed on the street when possible.

[ignore it]

Ah for the good old days.  A time before taxis had meters, helmets not required, Kao San Road had cheap guesthouses. RPT extortion wasn't centrally organized, an all nighter was 1000 Bhat, phones had wires going into the wall, Social Media was the PB, so many things have changed.  Now not so easy to get ripped off, so now folks just griping about taxi ripoffs.

[Mickmouse1]

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

and allmentioned items are only the tip of the iceberg...and than wondering why tourists don't come anymore...  

Huh?? 30 millions are coming this year, 55

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, ozz1 said:

That's it keep the focus away from the police extortion and other rip offs

I think the Thai banks are the biggest rip offs, adding hundreds of Bt for doing little or even nothing at all. Bangkok Bank charging me 500 Bt for replacing a lost debit card, 200+ for withdrawing money from ATM with UK debit card etc.

[MrJ2U]

Only way to avoid Taxi rip-offs is to use an alternative app like Grab, Bolt, etc.

 

Just the thought of getting ripped off by a Taxi in Thailand is stressful enough.   With the app you know the price ahead of time. 

 

Better yet,  rent your own car.

[Boomer6969]

3 hours ago, Red Forever said:

Yeah, yeah make sure meter is turned on when starting journey.

Not always a good idea. If you are in a hurry and at certain times it helps to know what to going rate is. Last week I was stuck at Suk. Soi 8 after a couple of Grabs that fell through. So I went to the reception asked them to call a taxi to Don Muang for a bit more then the Grab rate, and off I as with less than five minutes wait.

 

So use Grab to know what your ride should cost. Of course this would never work in Phuket where the minimum ride was 200 Baht, and that as far as I can remember.

[ikke1959]

48 minutes ago, Mickmouse1 said:

Huh?? 30 millions are coming this year, 55

hahahahahahahahahahah.... arrivals are not tourists

[mancub]

None of the 200 surveyed had experienced the thrill of a minibus ride then.

[PB172111]

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

They don't? They still come in their millions, tens of millions. Which is why the Thais don't give a rat's fart about any complaints, even if they often pretend they do - for a day or so until the news has moved on and it's all forgotten. Again.

Taxi scams in every country. In my experience Australia is one of the worse.

[PB172111]

58 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

hahahahahahahahahahah.... arrivals are not tourists

Wait and see, wait and see.

[jonclark]

6 hours ago, rwill said:

They may complain about high taxi fares here but I bet they are still way cheaper than in their home countries.

You are right..but that is not the point. It's the dishonesty of not using a meter to milk extra cash.

 

That being said. I remember many, many years ago in one of the lonely planet guides - south east Asia on a shoestring - the advice was always negotiate a price with taxis before getting in. So maybe the taxis are just going by the book. 

[StayinThailand2much]

7 hours ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

The over double pricing at many attractions is the one I put top of the list as you are expected to pay up to TEN TIMES more than a Thai, and yet use the same often badly maintained facilities !

True. But no-one is forced to visit these "attractions". Sadly, with taxis it's different, as one sometimes has to use them.

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, PB172111 said:

Wait and see, wait and see.

again arrivals are no tourists... My partner and I entered the country already one time this year and we will do again for sure 2 times..... So we will be  counted as  6 people... but we are no tourists

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The wife and I returned from a domestic trip last month via Swampy, and ended up taking an official meter taxi from the airport's official queue...

 

1. First noticed, the taxi lacked the required placards on the interior doors showing its DLT registration ID.

 

2. When the guy started driving, he already had the meter at more than 65 baht... When I pointed that out to him, he reset the starting meter back to zero.

 

3. After arriving at our home, my wife later told me, the taxi driver asked her in Thai to tell me the actual charge should be 300 baht more than what the meter showed, and that I wouldn't know the difference because I was a farang...  Needless to say, we/I paid the meter price only, not his illegally inflated request.

 

And this was from a meter taxi via the official airport queue... which obviously tells you they're not doing much enforcement or regulation there, despite whatever they might claim.

 

[Red Forever]

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Can't compare... Salaries and wages are a bit higher too in the UK or not?

You've made my point for me ikke.

These affluent westerners with their high salaries should not complain about low Bangkok taxi fares.

No meter; politely say "stop here please" and walk away.

[Artisi]

6 hours ago, Red Forever said:

High taxi fares in Bangkok?

My experience is that Bangkok taxis are cheap, clean and efficient.

A good comparison would be the taxi fare from Heathrow to Central London with BKK to say, Silom.

The London fare would be £60+.

The Bangkok fare (for a longer journey) is around £12.

Yeah, yeah make sure meter is turned on when starting journey.

What are these classy Western tourists moaning about!

I agree, Thai taxi prices are too low even by Thai standards, I always add a bit, the more polite, helpful the driver the more I tip. 

[BritScot]

9 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

They don't? They still come in their millions, tens of millions. Which is why the Thais don't give a rat's fart about any complaints, even if they often pretend they do - for a day or so until the news has moved on and it's all forgotten. Again.

The real numbers are decreasing and will continue to decrease. I for one was a person who loved Thailand but now I would never choose to go there for a holiday but family keeps the tie open. If truth be told I prefer holidaying in the UK.

[PB172111]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

again arrivals are no tourists... My partner and I entered the country already one time this year and we will do again for sure 2 times..... So we will be  counted as  6 people... but we are no tourists

Er ok. That will change the numbers….lol

you only have to open your eyes…..and…..take note of the tourist visa entries. Do you enter on a tourist visa? Well, do ya, do ya. If you do then you are a tourist….unless you come here to work????

Edited February 3, 2023 by PB172111

[Sydebolle]

No meter used:
tell the cabbie to switch on the meter; if not adhered to, wait for the next traffic light and once it flicks to green, get out of the cab and leave the door open - works wonders and you're being blessed with all the nice vocabulary of Khon Thai ............

No change available:
stay in the card and ask the cabbie to look once more again in ashtrays and side compartments of the doors. If still not found, then just wait until the meter has reached the amount you gave him. You would be surprised, how much change can be found all of a sudden! 

[dallen52]

I scored a taxi from survanabhumi to Nangrong last week.

3500.

Saved the 39 minutes to mochit.

400 baht.

Saved the 6 hours waiting for a bus and 450 baht.

Off the plane 0530.

Cleared airport 0615.

Just asked taxi nicely. 

He spoke great English. 

(HE had been sleeping 4 hours waiting for a fare)

In the village 1130.

I honestly can't complain. 

[metisdead]

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[daveAustin]

On 2/3/2023 at 7:01 AM, rwill said:

They may complain about high taxi fares here but I bet they are still way cheaper than in their home countries.

Rookie error, people are earning 10x more etc ad nauseam. The point is being ripped off from what the price should be. I’ve also experienced dodgy meters, and not to mention the Phuket debacle. If you’re ok with that, up to you. 

[NanLaew]

On 2/3/2023 at 1:09 PM, PB172111 said:

Taxi scams in every country. In my experience Australia is one of the worse.

Not in Perth, WA based on my recent experience. I would use a taxi to go to various destinations purely because of the convenience of a taxi rank across the street from the downtown hotel. Never had an issue as they all used GPS to find the destination. However, once out on the rounds of shopping and visiting, it was always an Uber from place to place and back into town as they were very quick and efficient and you meet all sorts of interesting people doing the driving. Most of them weren't Aussies.

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

Rookie error, people are earning 10x more etc ad nauseam. The point is being ripped off from what the price should be. I’ve also experienced dodgy meters, and not to mention the Phuket debacle. If you’re ok with that, up to you. 

But is a car 10X more to purchase and is fuel 10X more expensive. As for dodgy metres, Phuket mafia etc - a completely different discussion.

[scorecard]

On 2/3/2023 at 6:25 AM, hotchilli said:

Tourists return and old games resume.

They've had several years to investigate and fix all of these problems.

Nothing has been fixed, and especially the taxi problems.

Not surprised.