Hellish Experience Coming Back Home From Suvarnabhumi Airport-Who Is At The Top To Take Action

[discoverdb10]

I landed at Suvarnabhumi airport on 26/12/2014 by flight number 6E 77 from Kolkata India -1.30 A.M and went to the taxi stand.

Before boarding the taxi i called my wife waiting at home in our Petchaburi Apartment at 1.30 A.M. My wife is Thai.

I took the slip from the kiosk but the driver grabbed it from me and i thought maybe he will give me the slip as soon as we finish loading my luggage. Since i am a frequent visitor to Thailand , i polite told him that since it is late and there is not much traffic; we can take the road - touching Patnakarn, Piyavet Hospital and avoid the tollyway.This works out quite reasonable for me.My wife alsospoke to the driver before we started from the airport.

I was assigned Mr SOMCHAY WISESWONGKHA -10187 TAXI Number 466.(picture of taxi number plate attached.)

The driver drove me upto Piyawate Hospital and i noticed he had not put the meter on.When i pointed out this to him ; he put the meter on and said in broken English ï take you back to Suvarnabhumi.

I requested him why he had not put the meter; he became very angry and he used filthy language and also said in English " you get out" "you dirty man". I have recorded many things he said in my mobile.

He put on the meter and started to turn taxi around to take me back to the airport and all the while using very dirty language. I was very very scared that he will throw me out in the middle of the road and he tried to do that also in very lonely areas.By now it was 2.15 A.M. I finally persuaded my Thai wife to talk to him to calm down and take me near my apartment soi but he refused to enter the soi and threw my luggage out on the road.

My wife came running to help me to the beginning of the Soi (Time 2.30 A.M).

We paid him as per meter and 20 baht extra THB 150.(by now lot of bystanders had gathered along with a few taxi drivers(polite good men) who helped us and told us to pay what was on he meter.By now the rogue driver was cornered and slipped away.

My point is why if someone like me who has a Thai family has to be so scared and has to face abuse and threat to life coming back from airport in peak tourist season ; what will tourists face when they come to Thailand. Have the Bangkok taxi drivers forgotten that Thailand is the land of smiles where everyone is kind and polite but being a man with a Thai wife ; i felt so scared today that i am still shaking as i am writing this mail to you.

Please listen to the audio clips very carefully and see the attached pictures of Taxi and driver.

I hope somebody at the top will take severe action so that people like me who travel to Thailand.

Kind Regards

Edited December 25, 2014 by LivinginKata
phone numbers removed

[ukrules]

As a regular traveller you should know to watch for him turning the meter on as soon as you get inside the car.

The last time this happened to me after a 11 hour flight from Europe I told him to stop the car as I'm getting out, he hadn't left the airport at this stage because I noticed it immediately.

He backed down, turned the meter on and the journey was uneventful.

[discoverdb10]

As a regular traveller you should know to watch for him turning the meter on as soon as you get inside the car.

The last time this happened to me after a 11 hour flight from Europe I told him to stop the car as I'm getting out, he hadn't left the airport at this stage because I noticed it immediately.

He backed down, turned the meter on and the journey was uneventful.

I totally agree with you but sometimes being used to polite and honest taxi drivers who i have always encountered ; i took that for granted and i know i should not have made the slip. This was one bad apple who is a minority where in Bangkok i have had the most pleasant experience. Also the fact that i wanted to avoid the tollway as there is a much shorter route home which saves me about THB 200 and that extra that he could not make riled him more.

As a regular traveller you should know to watch for him turning the meter on as soon as you get inside the car.

The last time this happened to me after a 11 hour flight from Europe I told him to stop the car as I'm getting out, he hadn't left the airport at this stage because I noticed it immediately.

He backed down, turned the meter on and the journey was uneventful.

I totally agree with you but sometimes being used to polite and honest taxi drivers who i have always encountered ; i took that for granted and i know i should not have made the slip. This was one bad apple who is a minority where in Bangkok i have had the most pleasant experience.

Edited December 25, 2014 by discoverdb10

[jabis]

Just reported an ass of a type. Was going to give a "always check the meter upon hopping on"-speach but apparently not needed. Thanks for the report - clearly the providers have a lot of bad apples to discard, to justify the hike in rates.

[longstebe]

Sounds like a right <deleted>.

[LivinginKata]

a number of inappropriate posts have been removed.

[LuckyLew]

Posting your story here will do not good

If you would like to report it, suggest you do it via other channels

[impulse]

While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the OP's story, posting pictures identifying the culprit seems pretty close to defamation.

And the fact that the OP has 2 posts, both on this thread, would make Thai Visa look pretty negligent if it came to a defamation suit.

Could just be a troll post simply to damage the guy's reputation.

[KCM]

Another example of why I have stopped using taxis and only use Uber.

I arrived back to Bangkok last week after midnight and had a very pleasant ride home in a comfortable Uber car with a very friendly professional driver.

[Briggsy]

Make a complaint to the police. Though it sounds like he is part of the AOT-connected taxi mafia so the police won't take any action. Try it though. You never know.

[ttthailand]

This taxi driver is just dirt. Just plane and simple dirt. Nothing more to say !!!

[inzman]

Falang bad man, thai cannot do wrong.

[Satcommlee]

Mr SOMCHAY WISESWONGKHA -10187 TAXI Number 466

Why are you moaning to us? You can contact the Land Transport Department Hotline on 1584

He'll probably be fined 1000 Baht if you are lucky!

[konying]

Thumbs up to OP and his wife.

Instead of lodging a complaint with appropriate department or police, choice was made to post on thai visa.

Without sounding racist, but having lots of experience with Indian visitors , their side of story always skips a few chapters of what they did or said before other person looses their cool.

[thrilled]

Um it can happen.Don't know what to say.Hopefully it won't happen again.I would have probably said to him just stop the car and I

Would get out.I can't handle drama.I mean he's using bad language I would start to get upset.And I always keep my cool in Thailand.Don't need to visit their prison system.You made out ok.But beware in the future.

[mitsubishi]

Also, I advise you upload the audio footage onto youtube so we at TV can judge further from an impartial stance things.

Thanks.

[The Dancer]

Sympathies to the OP. I am sure everyone, Farang and Thai, who’s lived in this city for any length of time, has their taxi stories to relate. My general principle is to avoid at all costs an altercation with a person preparing or delivering my food or driving the vehicle I am riding in.

This not-particularly-bright epiphany came to me in a situation somewhat identical to the OP’s. A minute into a ride from a Foodland toward home I realized the meter wasn’t on. I pointed this out to the driver who said it wasn’t needed. “You pay me 100.” This for a 50b. ride. I again asked him to turn the meter on. He said I could get off and take another cab, which wasn’t feasible as he had obviously figured out, given the bags of groceries with me and that it was late.

I wasn’t going to put up with extortion and told him so. He turned around and said something I didn’t understand. I got mad and said stuff to him in a mix of English and Thai. He started yelling. As we were at it, all of a sudden I noticed out of the corner of my eye an opposing headlight missing us by probably inches. Self-preservation took over instantly. I, who had been in a rage not a moment ago, said to him almost light-heartedly, “Ok, don’t worry. I pay you 100. Relax, na!” We arrived in one piece though he was still muttering to himself the rest of the way.

Standing one’s ground will lead to honor and redemption in an ideal world. But this one ain’t. So stay cool. And the cost? Look, if you or I total the amount we end up paying this way, it’s probably not more than a couple of thousand a year. Heck, I spend more than that in a club in an hour on a pretty face. I figure ugly people are entitled to a bit of my money too.

[DogNo1]

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. I've had them with taxis once in a while and I suspect that the problem drivers were on Ya Ba. Only you can judge whether to let the matter go or not. I can't say that I am always able to let things go but I feel happier when I'm able to do that. If your driver was on drugs, you probably can't expect a satisfying result from your complaint. Good luck on your future taxi rides. BTW, I had a bad experience with a limousine driver last year so now I always use the public taxi stand so that I can size up the driver in advance. It's hard to be careful when you're coming off of a long, tiring, flight but it is good to try to nip problems in the bud. It's now automatic for me to ask how much it will cost before I get into a cab.

[fey]

thanks for posting this thread. i have his pics.

the taxi guy got mad because you would not take the toll road and tried to save some money. they snatch the paper like that with me also, actually the kiosk attendant now just gives it directly to the driver when i reach for it.

its not your fault, these scums are suppossed to use the meter each time without having to be asked. their ripping you off. some of them dont like stopping to let you out either. teach these scumbags a lesson and get another ride even if they agree to the meter afterwards. maybe the scumbag will go to bed hungier that night and learn how to drive a cab!

not stopping is entrapment and a threatening situation and you are within rights to fling the door open against the nearest pole (watch that sucker it can richochet off).

cant figure out why you tipped the guy 20 baht. i dont know what shape your in but any throwing things and there would be no payment from me. all the other taxi guys show up and talk about payment what a crock. this guy should be paying you for the trouble and licking your shoes.

scumbag driver

Edited December 26, 2014 by fey

[jacky54]

Never get an airport taxi they are the worst, if they do put a meter on that's the only place I have seen rigged ones which rack the distance up too quick resulting in nearly double price. Always get the bus these days if nobody picking up. I'd never arrive at that time though.

[jacky54]

window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());

While I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the OP's story, posting pictures identifying the culprit seems pretty close to defamation.

And the fact that the OP has 2 posts, both on this thread, would make Thai Visa look pretty negligent if it came to a defamation suit.

Have you any idea how much it costs to take out a defamation case? certainly not for the likes of a taxi driver!

[Toscano]

Since coming to live in Thailand's northeast , I never go to Bangkok without my wife . My wife is very attentive to taxi drivers and the metre ; she doesn't like taking taxis at the airport , at Don Muang we always exit and cross the road to get a Metre taxi . We have only once been to Suvanabumi and there one does have to take a taxi in the airport . I regret that we foreigners are not used to cheating taxi drivers .

[Thaiready]

Should have slapped him in the back of the head the first time he cursed.

[impulse]

thanks for posting this thread. i have his pics.

the taxi guy got mad because you would not take the toll road and tried to save some money. they snatch the paper like that with me also, actually the kiosk attendant now just gives it directly to the driver when i reach for it.

With the new automated system, the kiosk attendant gives you a slip of paper that tells you in which parking spot your taxi is waiting for you. Taxi drivers don't even have to get out of their cars, except to help with luggage.

3 trips with the new system and my waiting times have been 8 minutes on one trip, 30 seconds on the next, and walk right out to my waiting taxi- no queuing at all.

Edited December 27, 2014 by impulse

[phetphet]

Another example of why I have stopped using taxis and only use Uber.

I arrived back to Bangkok last week after midnight and had a very pleasant ride home in a comfortable Uber car with a very friendly professional driver.

If you book a Uber or Grab Taxi, where would you arrange to get picked up at S'bhum airport?

[ggt]

You have just met a Taxi driver who is tired of the Gov't telling him that he will have to stop ripping people off...Welcome back to Thailand...Land of Smiles and blatant corruption...

[impulse]

If you book a Uber or Grab Taxi, where would you arrange to get picked up at S'bhum airport?

Interesting question. I was at Swampy on Thursday night and they were pulling aside empty taxis as they tried to enter the departure area. They had about 6 of them pulled aside when we got there.

Our taxi, with passengers, was waved right through the checkpoint. They had a moving gate that allowed them to stop each taxi to see if it had passengers. First time I have seen this- or maybe just the first time I noticed it.

Our (then empty) taxi picked up a couple of ladies at the departure area, and that didn't seem to be causing any issues. But they didn't seem to be letting any empty taxis pass.

Edited December 27, 2014 by impulse

[bendywire]

I think there's two sides to this.

Basically because you are an Indian there will be friction. He may have smelt an odor from you perhaps, this too will have set his temper flaring.

He should have turned the meter and did wrong you, but did you wind him up as well?

" he may have smelt an odor from you?"

This comment is no better than the drivers behaviour. Racist comment and not needed to even try to justify the alleged actions from the driver.

[1FinickyOne]

Sorry for your bad experience - I guess it can happen anywhere and never feels good - - and surely, an after thought, but in a situation like this, which should not have happened, it is better to pay the extra 100 baht than have a terrible and maybe even dangerous trip.

[janpharma]

Indeed, you are not the only one...When I take a Taxi, I show the driver the map and tell him: "this is where we are now, and there is where we have to go by following this road" (now in Thai), an also insist to put the meter on before I geet into the car. Usually they are not pleased but still showing the amazing smile as ever.