Scum Tuk-Tuk Driver Ripped Me Off

[AlexDorneles]

I was trying to get Tuk-Tuk last night and this guy stopped. He said initially the fair was 150 baht I said to thanks. Then he reduced the price to 100... again no thanks then he said 50... ok. We hopped on it (me +1) and when we got to the destination I gave him a 100 bill. He said thanks.... I said where is my change... he said it was 50 each.

Son of a b%&h, mother f*r. I was so pissed off. Thais take advantage of foreigners with no shame.

First he wanted to charge me triple the price then he screws me at the end.

Lesson learned: always carry change and low ball the s#!t out of them next time.

[kurnell]

Lucky there wasn't 3 of you

[smokie36]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

[sbk]

And then makes derogatory generalizations about all Thais.

Suggest the OP reads the forum rules again before posting

http://www.thaivisa....ion=boardrules.

[steelepulse]

It obviously wasn't in Phuket or it would have been a lot more.

[Kilgore Trout]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

I know, right. Back home selling cars I ripped a guy (who was very rich) off 1,000 dollars. For him this is nothing. I can't believe he had the nerve to complain to my boss. He should have been thanking me that I didn't screw him over for more than that.

[bendix]

I'm not sure how this is 'ripping someone off'.

How, for example, did the driver attempt to charge 'triple the price'. There is no fixed price in tuktuks - it's a process of negotiation. That he outwitted you because you didnt clarify if it was per passenger or per tuktuk is, frankly, your mistake.

I'm intrigued at the psychological make-up of someone who is so angry about a petty annoyance costing him a pound, than he posts about it in a fury around 16 hours after the event happened.

Get over it. Learn your lesson.

[DP25]

Don't take tuk tuks in Bangkok. Most will overcharge or scam foreigners if they get the chance. Just stay away from them. Even if you know the prices they still try it. I was greatly satisfied a couple months ago when a tuk tuk was trying to overcharge me and a police officer walked up and gave him parking ticket for being stopped where he shouldn't have been. If he'd taken me at the right price to start with we would have left already and no ticket for him

[bendix]

Don't take tuk tuks in Bangkok. Most will overcharge or scam foreigners if they get the chance. Just stay away from them. Even if you know the prices they still try it. I was greatly satisfied a couple months ago when a tuk tuk was trying to overcharge me and a police officer walked up and gave him parking ticket for being stopped where he shouldn't have been. If he'd taken me at the right price to start with we would have left already and no ticket for him

This. I've never understood the appeal of tuktuks. They can't beat the traffic like motorbike taxis, and they are neither as comfortable nor metered like regular taxis.

i mean, what is the point ?

[DP25]

Yup. Only time I'll ever take a tuk tuk, is for very short trips. Like down the block for 20 baht if I don't want to walk (they still try to overcharge for even this sometimes). In all other situations, a taxi is better and a motorbike is faster

Edited March 7, 2012 by DP25

[Semper]

Lucky there wasn't 3 of you

[sysardman]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

Totally agree - we're talking 2GBP or 3USD for a taxi (2 people), very late at night (unsociable hours) in a big city, really doesn't sound a rip off to me. Would the OP have worked for less?

[robblok]

Don't take tuk tuks in Bangkok. Most will overcharge or scam foreigners if they get the chance. Just stay away from them. Even if you know the prices they still try it. I was greatly satisfied a couple months ago when a tuk tuk was trying to overcharge me and a police officer walked up and gave him parking ticket for being stopped where he shouldn't have been. If he'd taken me at the right price to start with we would have left already and no ticket for him

This. I've never understood the appeal of tuktuks. They can't beat the traffic like motorbike taxis, and they are neither as comfortable nor metered like regular taxis.

i mean, what is the point ?

Only time they are useful if you transport something big. That is why Thais use them.

[bendix]

i like the fact that the OP is very coy about his companion. He refers to the passengers simply as me + 1. Could it be that his companion was a temporary and remunerated girlfriend for a night perhaps?

If so, his self-righteous anger at 'Thais taking advantage of foreigners with no shame' would seem rather hypocritical to say the least.

Is his rage due to that he was outwitted by an isaan tuk tuk driver in front of someone he was trying to impress?

[F1fanatic]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

Totally agree - we're talking 2GBP or 3USD for a taxi (2 people), very late at night (unsociable hours) in a big city, really doesn't sound a rip off to me. Would the OP have worked for less?

That's irrelevant - we're talking about local prices not those charged in Western countries.

Having said that, the OP had to pay more than he expected (but not a great deal of money). A lesson learnt.

[farang000999]

Don't take tuk tuks in Bangkok. Most will overcharge or scam foreigners if they get the chance. Just stay away from them. Even if you know the prices they still try it. I was greatly satisfied a couple months ago when a tuk tuk was trying to overcharge me and a police officer walked up and gave him parking ticket for being stopped where he shouldn't have been. If he'd taken me at the right price to start with we would have left already and no ticket for him

This. I've never understood the appeal of tuktuks. They can't beat the traffic like motorbike taxis, and they are neither as comfortable nor metered like regular taxis.

i mean, what is the point ?

for tourists it is exciting to drive in one. otherwise they serve the purpose of carrying bulky items.

[bendix]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

Totally agree - we're talking 2GBP or 3USD for a taxi (2 people), very late at night (unsociable hours) in a big city, really doesn't sound a rip off to me. Would the OP have worked for less?

That's irrelevant - we're talking about local prices not those charged in Western countries.

Having said that, the OP had to pay more than he expected (but not a great deal of money). A lesson learnt.

Every price - everywhere in the world - is determined by supply and demand. A tuk tuk has no inherent regulated pricing structure - the final price is determined by the interchange of the buyer and the seller. In this case, the seller clearly had the upperhand, both in terms of being in demand and being considerably smarter than the buyer.

Capitalism is a wonderful thing baby. Caveat emptor, and all that guff.

[1bbcd5]

I'm awesome like that!

[sysardman]

You go for a night out with friends...have a great time...say farewell...hop in a taxi...he rips each of you off by 25 Baht.

Then you come on here the next day spitting venom at this guy.

Hmm tell me a little more about your evening if you would....

Totally agree - we're talking 2GBP or 3USD for a taxi (2 people), very late at night (unsociable hours) in a big city, really doesn't sound a rip off to me. Would the OP have worked for less?

That's irrelevant - we're talking about local prices not those charged in Western countries.

How is it irrelevent - the prices I quoted in western currency were for comparison and wouldn't even cover the cost of opening the taxi door in the UK or US. What I'm saying is the tuk-tuk fare didn't sound bad to me for BKK, we don't know the length of the journey to make an accurate assessment but like one poster mentioned if this was Phuket he'd be paying Bt200 minimum. If the OP wants cheap transport then take a bus.

[DP25]

If the OP wants cheap transport then take a bus.

Or a taxi

[theblether]

Shock Development........Tuk Tuk Driver in Over Charging Scandal.

[isanbirder]

Spare a thought for the tuk-tuk driver. He has wife and kids too... and he probably pays by the day to hire his tuk-tuk. He has to cover his costs... and lo and behold, a farang (possibly half-drunk) appears out of the blue... just asking to be ripped off.

No, tuk-tuk drivers are not rip-off artists... but a lot of farangs are damned good rip-off material.

[IanForbes]

Hmmm, let me see the difference. I went for a one hour massage which is normally 200 bhat, and I gave the girl a 200 baht tip for the extra work she did on my sore shoulder. Then, because it was one of the girls birthday I gave her 200 baht as well. Then I had fun bantering with the other girls who all had their hand out and asking about their 100 baht... which I denyed them. I left with a smile on my face and they were all still laughing.

Some guys are cheap charlies and some aren't. It's easy enough to walk if you are too cheap to pay the fare. I know they are all trying to make an extra baht anyway they can. Try living on what one of the Tuk tuk drivers make each day.

But, I WILL give the OP latitude if he was in Phuket. The drivers are all mostly crooks down there. But, there's hardly anywhere in Phuket that you can't walk to easier.

[F1fanatic]

Hmmm, let me see the difference. I went for a one hour massage which is normally 200 bhat, and I gave the girl a 200 baht tip for the extra work she did on my sore shoulder. Then, because it was one of the girls birthday I gave her 200 baht as well. Then I had fun bantering with the other girls who all had their hand out and asking about their 100 baht... which I denyed them. I left with a smile on my face and they were all still laughing.

Some guys are cheap charlies and some aren't. It's easy enough to walk if you are too cheap to pay the fare. I know they are all trying to make an extra baht anyway they can. Try living on what one of the Tuk tuk drivers make each day.

But, I WILL give the OP latitude if he was in Phuket. The drivers are all mostly crooks down there. But, there's hardly anywhere in Phuket that you can't walk to easier.

I agree to a certain extent. Obviously the OP was a 'cheap charlie', but at the same time it is us foreigners who are driving prices up by over-paying.

As for walking... obviously again you're right - but personally I find it far too hot to walk for any distance.

[Pseudolus]

Maybe the +1 was more expensive and less value than he had feared as well. Next time save your time and just book your hotel in Nana as well.

[Ijustwannateach]

The Tuk-tuk drivers sometimes run routes on larger, longer roads that yet a bit backwater or small for many 'full' size cars. Or in areas where you want to transport groups of people (like around some schools). However, it never yet fails that the Tuk-tuks manage to make a bad impression on me for their scheming, when the motorcycle guys pretty much have one more-or-less-fair price and stick to it, at least if THEY know that YOU know. I've had the price for the same fare at the same time of day on a Tuk-tuk from school- driven by the same guy!- rise or fall depending on whether or not there were any other customers potentially around, and I just can't be bothered re-arguing the price of something so minor in my life over and over again when there are alternatives. And yet they seem surprised and hurt when I consistently choose motorcycles over them for the same as their lowest price! They do themselves no favours. It also doesn't help them that they are consistently linked to tourist scams.

That said, if you've been here awhile you learn to avoid them- so OP, once burned, twice shy, right?

[richard_smith237]

The Op made an agreement before getting in the tuk tuk, and was rightly annoyed at the outcome.

This has nothing to do with the money - it has everything to do with feeling cheated.

There is no mistake about this situation, the tuk tuk driver cheated the Op out of 50 baht. Yes, only 50 baht, big deal right? But I'm sure we all have our principles.

If faced with the same circumstances I bring into question the serenity even the most imperturbable of characters.

The simple difference is perhaps that these characters ‘let the issue go’ and won’t post about it.

Well, some should thank the Op for posting this as its given many ‘members’ (and the double entendre is valid in this case) to bully him.

This has nothing to do with being a cheap Charlie or considering what these poor tuk tuk drivers live on, it is simply about principle. No one likes to be cheated.

For this very reason, I always aim to carry change. Taxi's all over Thailand (and other countries) try the no change game too.

I’m sure that if a more established member posted a similar thread there would not be the same number of responses attempting to ridicule a new member.

[Head Snake]

The last time I took a tuktuk, I negotiated a cheaper price; but, we made a condition to the agreed upon price. If there was rot-dtit, then I would pay more.

It worked out that I had to pay more; but both the driver and I had fun haggling over the definitiion of rot dtit.

Enjoy the parade +1

Edited March 7, 2012 by Head Snake

[endure]

For this very reason, I always aim to carry change. Taxi's all over Thailand (and other countries) try the no change game too.

The most relevant sentence in the whole thread.

[BookMan]

Depends how you look at it. It was 'only' 50 baht, or, 100% more than he was quoted.