Scum Tuk-Tuk Driver Ripped Me Off

[IanForbes]

No tuk-tuks?

That must have been a bitter blow. Did you buy a bike?

Tuk tuks in Canada? Geat real, StreetCowboy! Canada is a nanny country now. Everything that is fun is banned. Tuk tuks would never be allowed for safety reasons and polution controls. Neither would Mook a tah meals. They are the most fun eating you can have if you are with a group. Neither would all those street stalls and bar beers we accept as part of life in Thailand. God forbid someone older than 40 should flirt with a pretty young female in a bar or cafe.

[StreetCowboy]

No tuk-tuks?

That must have been a bitter blow. Did you buy a bike?

Tuk tuks in Canada? Geat real, StreetCowboy! Canada is a nanny country now. Everything that is fun is banned. Tuk tuks would never be allowed for safety reasons and polution controls. Neither would Mook a tah meals. They are the most fun eating you can have if you are with a group. Neither would all those street stalls and bar beers we accept as part of life in Thailand. God forbid someone older than 40 should flirt with a pretty young female in a bar or cafe.

No tuk-tuks?

That must have been a bitter blow. Did you buy a bike?

Tuk tuks in Canada? Geat real, StreetCowboy! Canada is a nanny country now. Everything that is fun is banned. Tuk tuks would never be allowed for safety reasons and polution controls. Neither would Mook a tah meals. They are the most fun eating you can have if you are with a group. Neither would all those street stalls and bar beers we accept as part of life in Thailand. God forbid someone older than 40 should flirt with a pretty young female in a bar or cafe.

Blimey! No blethering with the barmaids? That's Barmy!

SC

I can see this wearing thin by Christmas - or maybe Boxing Day

[chuang]

No it is not a rip-off...before you hop into a tuk-tuk you negotiate the price whether it's for the whole tuk-tuk or per pax....I suggest you take a walk next time.

you be be surprised how some farangs argued till thy kingdom come with elderly driver of tuk-tuk, songthiew and samlor just over 5 or 10 bahts..

[theblether]

Bounteous barmaids blethering blithely.

I like that.

[thanchart]

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.

Let me offer a diiferent point of view. I am not trying to protect the Tuk-tuk drivers but I think it is also a problem of the OP assumed that the fare quoted was for per ride and not per person. Tuk tuk would not be sure that the passenger is unaware (maybe hope he is unaware?). I myself have sure I confirm thta the price quoted is NOT for per passenger, esp when it seemjs cheap. And several times the driver clarified it is for per passenger so I had the choice of accepting, negotiating or take another.

By the way, the tricycle (much less comfortable than tuk tuk) drivers in Philippines try the same tactics almost all the time too - esp with foreigners but sometimes even with the locals. Friom a mileage basis, the tricycle is the most expensive form of publci transport - I gues same for tuk tuk too

Edited March 10, 2012 by thanchart

[pattayadingo]

Am I the only one to find 'Scum' in the topic disturbing?

Am I the only one to find 'Scum' in the topic disturbing?

No, it's outrageous. What would he say about something serious? It's not right and quite embarrassing

I'm not being belligerent, but...

Maybe he was just in a bad mood after a disappointing or unpleasantly surprising evening with his +1, but was too shy to complain about that directly. Though for the avoidance of doubt, he should then have started his post with "And another thing!"

SC

Edit: That may be blindingly obvious, but apologies for blethering on oblivious.

It makes me wonder if he was not only ripped off by the TukTuk driver but was his +1 not what he thought as well? Maybe she turned out to be a he Or maybe the he was not as he as he hoped he might be

[gregb]

The rule is with both tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis, if you don't have exact change, don't go. Period. Your odds of getting change back from these guys are questionable. And once they have your cash, you are at a disadvantage.

I get a motorbike at least once, often twice a day, to and from the BTS to go to work. I do usually have the correct change, but I reckon on average 1 day per week I'll get caught with only a 100 Baht note. Every time I've got the correct change back. Occasionally the guy will ask me how much the journey normally costs (I'm guessing if they don't do regular trips around the area) and, again, every time they'll take me on my word and give me back the correct change. A very honest bunch on the whole.

Tuk Tuks, I'll agree, less trustworthy. And on the odd rare occasion I've encountered a metered taxi who doesn't have change (or claims he doesn't), however this seems to be getting less and less common these days.

Good for you. I however, have been cheated out of my 5 - 10 baht change several times by motorcycle taxi drivers with all kinds of different excuses from the simple "no change" aspect, to the "big body surcharge" despite the fact that I am by no means a large farang. Then I learned exact change or don't go.

So I'm glad you have good experiences. I haven't. I don't accept the motorcycle guys are any less inclined to cheat and swindle than the tuk tuk drivers, and everyone should exercise extreme caution and exact change only rule with any mode of transport that does not use a meter.

If everyone was simply forced to use a meter, many of these problems would go away. There really is no excuse for allowing the situation to continue as it is.

[StreetCowboy]

The rule is with both tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis, if you don't have exact change, don't go. Period. Your odds of getting change back from these guys are questionable. And once they have your cash, you are at a disadvantage.

I get a motorbike at least once, often twice a day, to and from the BTS to go to work. I do usually have the correct change, but I reckon on average 1 day per week I'll get caught with only a 100 Baht note. Every time I've got the correct change back. Occasionally the guy will ask me how much the journey normally costs (I'm guessing if they don't do regular trips around the area) and, again, every time they'll take me on my word and give me back the correct change. A very honest bunch on the whole.

Tuk Tuks, I'll agree, less trustworthy. And on the odd rare occasion I've encountered a metered taxi who doesn't have change (or claims he doesn't), however this seems to be getting less and less common these days.

Good for you. I however, have been cheated out of my 5 - 10 baht change several times by motorcycle taxi drivers with all kinds of different excuses from the simple "no change" aspect, to the "big body surcharge" despite the fact that I am by no means a large farang. Then I learned exact change or don't go.

So I'm glad you have good experiences. I haven't. I don't accept the motorcycle guys are any less inclined to cheat and swindle than the tuk tuk drivers, and everyone should exercise extreme caution and exact change only rule with any mode of transport that does not use a meter.

If everyone was simply forced to use a meter, many of these problems would go away. There really is no excuse for allowing the situation to continue as it is.

"There is no excuse for allowing the situation to continue as it is"

How about - 'it would be expensive to fit meters to every motorcycle taxi, and the taxis are not readily identifiable'

How about - 'tuk-tuks are not regulated because they are not seen as a core part of Thailand's economic transport system'

How about - 'it would only benefit foreign tourists, and would be a disbenefit to the tuk tuk drivers, and also to the licensed taxi trade, which benefits from being a monopoly for safe and trustworthy private hire'

How about 'if its not broke, don't fix it', and its only a few foreign malcontents who seem unhappy with it; most of the foreign malcontents on this thread have seemed quite happy to cope.

I appreciate that our fellow members in Phuket, where there is apparently no regulated taxi trade, might have a reasonable cause to grumble, and I can imagine some fresh tourists might get stung for a lot more than did the OP, but that would be the case if the vehicles were metered as well.

Personally, I find tuk-tuks unwilling to offer a reasonable fare, they are ridiculously noisy, slow, and the curvature of the roof means I have a very restricted view, and I would generally wait for a cab than take a tuk tuk. And my advice in that department is flag one down, or go to an official rank, rather than taking one that is stationary loitering outside the place you have just been

SC

[gregb]

The rule is with both tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis, if you don't have exact change, don't go. Period. Your odds of getting change back from these guys are questionable. And once they have your cash, you are at a disadvantage.

I get a motorbike at least once, often twice a day, to and from the BTS to go to work. I do usually have the correct change, but I reckon on average 1 day per week I'll get caught with only a 100 Baht note. Every time I've got the correct change back. Occasionally the guy will ask me how much the journey normally costs (I'm guessing if they don't do regular trips around the area) and, again, every time they'll take me on my word and give me back the correct change. A very honest bunch on the whole.

Tuk Tuks, I'll agree, less trustworthy. And on the odd rare occasion I've encountered a metered taxi who doesn't have change (or claims he doesn't), however this seems to be getting less and less common these days.

Good for you. I however, have been cheated out of my 5 - 10 baht change several times by motorcycle taxi drivers with all kinds of different excuses from the simple "no change" aspect, to the "big body surcharge" despite the fact that I am by no means a large farang. Then I learned exact change or don't go.

So I'm glad you have good experiences. I haven't. I don't accept the motorcycle guys are any less inclined to cheat and swindle than the tuk tuk drivers, and everyone should exercise extreme caution and exact change only rule with any mode of transport that does not use a meter.

If everyone was simply forced to use a meter, many of these problems would go away. There really is no excuse for allowing the situation to continue as it is.

"There is no excuse for allowing the situation to continue as it is"

How about - 'it would be expensive to fit meters to every motorcycle taxi, and the taxis are not readily identifiable'

How about - 'tuk-tuks are not regulated because they are not seen as a core part of Thailand's economic transport system'

How about - 'it would only benefit foreign tourists, and would be a disbenefit to the tuk tuk drivers, and also to the licensed taxi trade, which benefits from being a monopoly for safe and trustworthy private hire'

How about 'if its not broke, don't fix it', and its only a few foreign malcontents who seem unhappy with it; most of the foreign malcontents on this thread have seemed quite happy to cope.

I appreciate that our fellow members in Phuket, where there is apparently no regulated taxi trade, might have a reasonable cause to grumble, and I can imagine some fresh tourists might get stung for a lot more than did the OP, but that would be the case if the vehicles were metered as well.

Personally, I find tuk-tuks unwilling to offer a reasonable fare, they are ridiculously noisy, slow, and the curvature of the roof means I have a very restricted view, and I would generally wait for a cab than take a tuk tuk. And my advice in that department is flag one down, or go to an official rank, rather than taking one that is stationary loitering outside the place you have just been

SC

I'll take your points one by one.

"It would be a disbenefit to the drivers."

Not likely. It would be a huge benefit to the honest drivers. Drivers hate negotiating as much as passengers. Only the dishonest ones would find it oppressive because they couldn't cheat and swindle easily anymore.

"Tuk tuks are not part of the core transport system"

That is an oversight by the government which needs to be corrected. Since they are undeniably a permanent fixture in the transport infrastructure, they need to be regulated as everything else.

"it would be expensive to fit meters to every motorcycle taxi"

It would cost less than a weeks wage for the average motorcycle taxi driver to purchase a meteroutright And since they would likely be financed over a period of 2 to 3 years anyway it would only cost around 1% of their salary (generally around 20k per month). And on the opposite side of that coin, the increased patronage they would get by putting one on, and the tips they would additionally receive, would more than offset any cost. Meters always pay for themselves wherever they are installed.

"the taxis are not readily identifiable"

Excuse me? When was the last time anyone on this board couldn't identify a motorcycle taxi? Do those big orange/purple/red/green vests really not stand out?

"if its not broke, don't fix it"

It clearly is broken, or we wouldn't be having this discussion. Labelling everyone who disagrees with you as a malcontent is hardly a mature approach to the problem.

[dantilley]

Excuse me? When was the last time anyone on this board couldn't identify a motorcycle taxi? Do those big orange/purple/red/green vests really not stand out?

It's difficult to recognise them in the rain when they're all covered in those big macs.

"if its not broke, don't fix it"

It clearly is broken, or we wouldn't be having this discussion. Labelling everyone who disagrees with you as a malcontent is hardly a mature approach to the problem.

Doesn't seem to be broken in my experience, and the experience of most other people I know here (I'm talking about in the real world here, not on this forum). It's only really when reading Thaivisa that I encounter such negativity about Thailand.

[YipYipYa123]

A Thai man would just have have handed him a 20 note and walked away, it is almost always foreigners that seem to get cheated , someone does need to step on these criminals but the cops are too busy collecting a slice of the scams to put an end to any of them

[hellodolly]

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.

Never ceases to amaze me the attitude some people have. All the driver was doing was trying to get as munch as he could. The same thing they did with their employer.

Obviously he is in Bangkok. Here in Chiang Mai you would never get away with less than 40 baht. And that is on a short trip.

Edited March 11, 2012 by hellodolly

[IanForbes]

I think all newcommers to Thailand get scammed a bit, or at least they pay more for something than they should. But, once you clue into a place for a while you get to know the approximate cost of everything. You get to know good value for your money and you make return trips to the same supplier. That is where the Lonely Planet books are good. You get an approximate starting point for negotiations.

Even when I know I can get a cheaper price if I haggle a little bit I often just pay the asking price because I don't WANT to waste time haggling. In Bangkok I'll almost always insist on a meter taxi. But, if it is rush hour and all taxis are busy then I'll happily pay a higher rate.

[merlen10002]

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 ?

Tuk Tuks are lot more expensive than Taxi meters, two or three times more, very uncomfortable, you eat car fumes, and they treat Farangs like s-h-i-t, why would anyone want to take one

[F1fanatic]

I think all newcommers to Thailand get scammed a bit, or at least they pay more for something than they should. But, once you clue into a place for a while you get to know the approximate cost of everything. You get to know good value for your money and you make return trips to the same supplier. That is where the Lonely Planet books are good. You get an approximate starting point for negotiations.

Even when I know I can get a cheaper price if I haggle a little bit I often just pay the asking price because I don't WANT to waste time haggling. In Bangkok I'll almost always insist on a meter taxi. But, if it is rush hour and all taxis are busy then I'll happily pay a higher rate.

I agree - we all find the local mom and pop stores that do not charge over the top for everyday items.

Its unfortunate (as I would far prefer to give my money to a local rather than a business), but I gave up going to the local market as the stall holders tried to rip me off too often... So now I go to the supermarkets where everything is priced.

Lonely Planet? I suppose it depends on what you're looking for. Useless for ex-pats.

Taxis are the same as the market - they will take as much as they think they can get away with.