Warning: Taxi Rip Off Scheme

[bendix]

I took a taxi on Friday, this time from Rama IV to mid Sukhumvit and yet again I didn't have a problem. I'm becoming a little worried since all my taxi rides of late are trouble free, do you think there's something wrong with me?

Bloody hello chiang mai. That sounds strange, because exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday. I got a taxi from the airport to Suk 11 and the guy had the audacity to say 'Kapom' (obviously something anti-farang, i'm sure) and smiled at me.

The disgusting little native then turned the meter on and when I got to my apartment he jumped out of the taxi, opened the boot and took my bag out. It's a good job I was there, otherwise he would obviously have stolen it. Instead i handed him the 175 plus 50 plus and another 25 on top as a tip, just to show him what's what.

The whole trip was fraught with worry - I don't know why they have to be such cheats.

Why can't everything in Thailand be like it is in my home country?

[highdiver]

I took a taxi on Friday, this time from Rama IV to mid Sukhumvit and yet again I didn't have a problem. I'm becoming a little worried since all my taxi rides of late are trouble free, do you think there's something wrong with me?

Bloody hello chiang mai. That sounds strange, because exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday. I got a taxi from the airport to Suk 11 and the guy had the audacity to say 'Kapom' (obviously something anti-farang, i'm sure) and smiled at me.

The disgusting little native then turned the meter on and when I got to my apartment he jumped out of the taxi, opened the boot and took my bag out. It's a good job I was there, otherwise he would obviously have stolen it. Instead i handed him the 175 plus 50 plus and another 25 on top as a tip, just to show him what's what.

The whole trip was fraught with worry - I don't know why they have to be such cheats.

Why can't everything in Thailand be like it is in my home country?

Thailand is your home country!!!

[bendix]

Actually, i have a good true story from just a couple of days ago to add to this. I was in a taxi to the airport and we were coming up to the 25 baht toll booth. Being a helpful chap I gave the driver a 20 baht note and a five baht coin as we approached the stop, and thought nothing of it.

After paying he turned round and tried to shove a bunch of twenty baht notes into my hand. Mai chai, mai chai, I said.

Chai, he said, and kept insisting.

I was convinced I gave him 25 baht. He maintained I gave him 100 baht note and a five baht coin and I should have the change. It was quite a kerfuffle, as you can imagine.

In the end i took the money, grumbling something about how i wish padthaiguy was here to see this and when I got to the airport I paid the fare and stuffed the controversial eighty baht into his hand as a tip.

It was the least I could do.

[straycat911]

You know what, I am sick and tired of all you foreigners who come to thailand and complain, complain and worst of all, COMPLAIN!!!!.

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here i read this thing everyday all i see it complain i wonder why you guy come here for and keep retrun back here again for many time some that complain but still get marry thai girl and stay in thailand so think about that is not all thai ppl that bad some are good too like my wife.

My wonder is why thais go to other countries and not complain as much as foreigners come to thai and complain they all the same every country

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

[bendix]

Funnily enough, I had trouble with both taxis I took yesterday, both to and from Sukhumvit.

Well, bugger me! What a surprise.

[mrtoad]

You know what, I am sick and tired of all you foreigners who come to thailand and complain, complain and worst of all, COMPLAIN!!!!.

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here i read this thing everyday all i see it complain i wonder why you guy come here for and keep retrun back here again for many time some that complain but still get marry thai girl and stay in thailand so think about that is not all thai ppl that bad some are good too like my wife.

My wonder is why thais go to other countries and not complain as much as foreigners come to thai and complain they all the same every country

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

When you are writing such drivel, please refrain from bracketing everyone in the same categoary as you have just done by using the words "all you foreigners".

Those that continue to complain about everything and anything would be the same in their own country, it is about looking at the genuine complaints and those that are just plane stupid. Complaining is not just a "Farang" concept.

I'll complain if I think it is justified, just as anyone is entiteld to, but that doesn't mean that I dislike the country, the people or the way of life. Thailand is a great country, but like all countries it has it's faults. If i feel compelled to mention something thenb I will do so. YThat is what these forums are for. Think of it as a virtual bar, with a mixture of peolpe from all walks of life with greatly differing opinions.

Keep it balanced, no place is perfect, and people should at least be able to express an opinion even if you don't like it yourself. Please try to keep the racist undertones out of future posts.

Back on topic, I'd say that 95% of the Taxis here in BKK are very good, rarely have problems, other than a few times in Suk, Silom or at the airport, but in general they are still far better than Taxis in the UK.

[straycat911]

You are correcty about my form of words, I do not mean to say all about all foreigners, but as you read these forums, there are many complaints, and as they all say, if you dont like it here, then leave

It just made me upset and i apoligize if i singled out anyone or sounded that way

[junkofdavid2]

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

Agree with your logic 100% straycat!

And added to that, maybe anyone who doesn't like what he sees posted on ThaiVisa.com and is tired of its content should not post here, would you agree?

[ThaidleHands]

Funnily enough, I had trouble with both taxis I took yesterday, both to and from Sukhumvit.

Well, bugger me! What a surprise.

Yesterday I was walking along and a taxi slowed down as it passed me and the driver looked at me. Naturally I was alarmed and backed slowly away with one hand on my cash and the other holding my cellphone, finger poised above the speed-dial button that would connect me to the Tourist Police. Fortunately he must have perceived me as being on to his devious plot for he adopted an indifferent expression -- trying to hide his guilt, no doubt -- then looked back at the road and drove on. I am so thankful I had the experience of others here at ThaiVisa to draw on. Without this profoundly important resource I might have gotten into that taxi and not been taken to within centimeters of my destination, received a soiled banknote or coin as part of my change, or (Heaven forfend!) felt obligated to exchange basic pleasantries in a language other than that of my homeland!

[mrtoad]

You are correcty about my form of words, I do not mean to say all about all foreigners, but as you read these forums, there are many complaints, and as they all say, if you dont like it here, then leave

It just made me upset and i apoligize if i singled out anyone or sounded that way

No problem.

I can't understand why some of these people who clealry have a dislike of the country stay here either.

[bendix]

Funnily enough, I had trouble with both taxis I took yesterday, both to and from Sukhumvit.

Well, bugger me! What a surprise.

Yesterday I was walking along and a taxi slowed down as it passed me and the driver looked at me. Naturally I was alarmed and backed slowly away with one hand on my cash and the other holding my cellphone, finger poised above the speed-dial button that would connect me to the Tourist Police. Fortunately he must have perceived me as being on to his devious plot for he adopted an indifferent expression -- trying to hide his guilt, no doubt -- then looked back at the road and drove on. I am so thankful I had the experience of others here at ThaiVisa to draw on. Without this profoundly important resource I might have gotten into that taxi and not been taken to within centimeters of my destination, received a soiled banknote or coin as part of my change, or (Heaven forfend!) felt obligated to exchange basic pleasantries in a language other than that of my homeland!

:D :D

[tijnebijn]

You are correct about my form of words, I do not mean to say all about all foreigners, but as you read these forums, there are many complaints, and as they all say, if you dont like it here, then leave

It just made me upset and i apologize if i singled out anyone or sounded that way

Surely you not have a clue of how many foreigners do stay in the West do you ?

they complain much much more then we do (even here) , but still they are eligible

for lets say welfare and health insurances , which is their right because they are all citizens of that country .

Now it is here that i think most foreigners living here obviously like something about Thailand ,

even that when you are married and or have Thai children do not have any right , still happy

to take the loops to make the visa requirements .

Thais do not complain as much as foreigners , a big reason is they do not have to much to complain

in a foreign country except the weather , we could go on for ages you know ?

Personally i do not care for whatsoever and if someone feels to complain about something ,

probably has got a reason for it , not withstanding he is right or not is a different thing .

Anyway for you not liking this complaining , you should think about what the reason for that is ,

if you ever feel to crash your brains about that , all the rest is just chat talk which coincidentally

happens in every chat forum .

[ignoramus]

Straycat, I know where you are coming from - you are, quite rightly, a proud Thai. Good on you for that. I am a very proud Australian, who greatly admires Thailand. I was in the UK many years ago, when anti-Australianism was not uncommon, and I easily bristled when MY country was criticised. Pride in one's origins is inborn.

I got 'ripped off' in Thailand many times, but somehow it never worried me, I suppose because it was very obvious that comparatively speaking I was a rich man compared to the locals. Back in '91/2/4 an averge day's wage was about 5 Aussie dollars I believe. Trust me, this is peanuts for ALL foreigners (and I mean all, except OF COURSE for those who are mean with money and almost certainly otherwise pusillanamous).

Many if not all foreigners will happily spend $5 for a cup of coffee and a cake. A month ago (here in Sydney) I got ripped off for the same thing, but that time it was $8.50 !!

Rip-off 'artists' exist everywhere. I know of a person who had his arm cut off just for his gold rings! Now that's a ripoff (cutoff).

When a much poorer person than I tries to rip me off I (1) firstly admire his/her enterprising spirit, and (2) if I don't dislike their face, I'll give them a bit more than they expected. I like a laugh.

Mr T - I was pleased to read your response to SC. You appear to like football; I do too, but my second-best friend here in Oz would cause instant rage to overcome you - he thinks football is a girls' game. But then he's a tough nut. He would have made a brilliant ANZAC though, in spite of sporting blindness. Cheers, iggy

[meemiathai]

and the lack of seatbelts in the back of cabs is a real concern.

Agreed, and also the lack of airbags is a big problem.

[samran]

Funnily enough, I had trouble with both taxis I took yesterday, both to and from Sukhumvit.

First one tried to take a very long route to Sukhumvit via Minburi from Ram Intra, and was quickly told in no uncertain terms to reconsider.

On the return leg the driver refused to turn on the meter. I agreed to pay him slightly more than the meter rate.

Thankfully I don't need to use taxis normally, despite their cheapness and convenience are usually more trouble than they are worth.

Wierd innit.

My tabieen baan is out fashion island way. For one reason or another, a few taxi rides per year are necessary to the shack on the edge of a small swamp which is officially my residence. Admittedly the taxi drivers can be reluctant to come back out central BKK from there, but I just hail the next one.

Same problem in reverse, unless we go the expressway all the way. Don't blame them to be honest.

[cdnvic]

Surely you not have a clue of how many foreigners do stay in the West do you ?

they complain much much more then we do (even here) , but still they are eligible

for lets say welfare and health insurances , which is their right because they are all citizens of that country .

Last I checked, a citizen was a citizen. A foreigner was not. Which are you speaking of?

[Manchester]

You know what, I am sick and tired of all you foreigners who come to thailand and complain, complain and worst of all, COMPLAIN!!!!.

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here i read this thing everyday all i see it complain i wonder why you guy come here for and keep retrun back here again for many time some that complain but still get marry thai girl and stay in thailand so think about that is not all thai ppl that bad some are good too like my wife.

My wonder is why thais go to other countries and not complain as much as foreigners come to thai and complain they all the same every country

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr you are not a " farang?" Mr American national?

I think the Iraqi,s complain often about Americans in Iraq? But thats maybe just my weird thoughts.

There are a million countries? I thought it was around 124? ( Is Vatican City REALLY a country?)

As for teachers in Thailand? Be grateful you can read and write.

[madjbs]

Wow just had 2 non eventful taxi rides, one all the way to Nontaburi and one all the way back again. The driver took me the correct route and didn’t even try the "no meter" trick. Amazing!

[cdnvic]

Wow just had 2 non eventful taxi rides, one all the way to Nontaburi and one all the way back again. The driver took me the correct route and didn’t even try the "no meter" trick. Amazing!

You're probably still euphoric from the drugging.

[JetsetBkk]

a friend of mine arrived Friday evening and told me about a crack down on illegal/free lance taxis at the airport. more than a dozen police officers involved.

That's bad - they really should stick to being just policemen.

[howtoescape]

Off topic i know but........

I was in the UK many years ago, when anti-Australianism was not uncommon, and I easily bristled when MY country was criticised. Pride in one's origins is inborn.

Most people in the UK never meet Australians in day to day life and know nothing about your country other then Neighbours, its a long way away and Kylie and Jason, there has never been such a thing as anti-Australianism.

Unbelievable.

[DamianMavis]

You know what, I am sick and tired of all you foreigners who come to thailand and complain, complain and worst of all, COMPLAIN!!!!.

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here i read this thing everyday all i see it complain i wonder why you guy come here for and keep retrun back here again for many time some that complain but still get marry thai girl and stay in thailand so think about that is not all thai ppl that bad some are good too like my wife.

My wonder is why thais go to other countries and not complain as much as foreigners come to thai and complain they all the same every country

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

This guy... wow, and Bendix I'm surprised at you. Thai defenders out in numbers this time.

90% of my taxis are great, 10% are not, but I am a strong male.

My girlfriend was beaten by her taxi driver and he crushed one of her ovaries.. am I complaining too much yet?

Her friends taxi driver picked up his buddy and gang raped her, leaving her for dead on the side of the road, she was hospitalised for 2 months... maybe now I'm complaining too much?

Another taxi driver tried to kidnap my girlfriend... now Im obviously complaning too much right?

I could go on with a dozen other examples, at what point is it ok to complain that there is obviously a problem? EH?!!

If you are a strong male, try to remember, that smiling polite driver that DIDN'T try to scam you could quite possibly be completely different with someone else. I've never had a taxi driver try to hurt me...... and yet its happened several times to my own woman and her friends.

Ya ya, your brainless response is: if you don't like it go home.... thanks for the advice.

Damian

[kat]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem is here for some people, but taxi scams and taxi danger in LOS is nothing new, especially at airports. There is a long history of corruption and taxi mafias (better hope you don't get cirrhosis of the liver on this one), and I doubt it has magically disappeared.

People are also treated differently according to how they look and are perceived, so good for you if you haven't had a problem. There are plenty of honest, good taxi drivers out there, but that doesn't negate people's difficult experiences, or right to seek advice and perspective.

[PadThaiGuy]

I took a taxi on Friday, this time from Rama IV to mid Sukhumvit and yet again I didn't have a problem. I'm becoming a little worried since all my taxi rides of late are trouble free, do you think there's something wrong with me?

Bloody hello chiang mai. That sounds strange, because exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday. I got a taxi from the airport to Suk 11 and the guy had the audacity to say 'Kapom' (obviously something anti-farang, i'm sure) and smiled at me.

The disgusting little native then turned the meter on and when I got to my apartment he jumped out of the taxi, opened the boot and took my bag out. It's a good job I was there, otherwise he would obviously have stolen it. Instead i handed him the 175 plus 50 plus and another 25 on top as a tip, just to show him what's what.

The whole trip was fraught with worry - I don't know why they have to be such cheats.

Why can't everything in Thailand be like it is in my home country?

Blah, blah, blah.

Our resident British Hooligan takin the piss again.

[rtaxron]

Most taxi drivers around the World (I am one of them in the UK) try to fiddle Foreigners/Tourist etc. Worst of all are the London black cab drivers and Major City's.

A mate of mine used to be based at Heathrow and when he picked up Americans and they wanted to go to some hotel in central London, he would say to th them '' The Queen is at home today, would you like to pass by the Palace to see if she is on the balcony'' Most of them were over the moon and usually said '' WOW YES'', not knowing that they were being taken miles away from where their hotel was and finally paying ££££££ extra what it would have cost for a direct journey.

Its happens in all trades, plumbers, electricians, motor mechanics etc. Taxi drivers are no different from other rip-off merchants whichever Country you are in.

Another trick/fiddle is to ask them if they have been in your Town before, if they say no you just change the tariff along the journey from day rates to the more expensive night rates, as they dont know the average charge.

PS: I never do this, HONEST.

[cdnvic]

Blah, blah, blah.

Our resident British Hooligan takin the piss again.

Pavlov's theory proven once again.

[kat]

Well, I'm American, and I would never fall for that lame excuse of a rip-off - the Queen on the balcony - give me a break

[qwertz]

You know what, I am sick and tired of all you foreigners who come to thailand and complain, complain and worst of all, COMPLAIN!!!!.

If you dont like it, dont come, there are million other countries that could give you a wife, or sex, or teaching what ever it is you do here i read this thing everyday all i see it complain i wonder why you guy come here for and keep retrun back here again for many time some that complain but still get marry thai girl and stay in thailand so think about that is not all thai ppl that bad some are good too like my wife.

My wonder is why thais go to other countries and not complain as much as foreigners come to thai and complain they all the same every country

i think the MOD'S should close this topic

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr you are not a " farang?" Mr American national?

I think the Iraqi,s complain often about Americans in Iraq? But thats maybe just my weird thoughts.

There are a million countries? I thought it was around 124? ( Is Vatican City REALLY a country?)

As for teachers in Thailand? Be grateful you can read and write.

Most foreigners in other countries don't complain much since foreigners drive the taxis.

[chiang mai]

Well, I'm American, and I would never fall for that lame excuse of a rip-off - the Queen on the balcony - give me a break

OK understood and quite right too. So if you don't want to see the Queen how's about buying London Bridge again, we've got another one for sale.

[PadThaiGuy]

Blah, blah, blah.

Our resident British Hooligan takin the piss again.

Pavlov's theory proven once again.

Defending English Hooliganism now are you?