Taxi Scammers - Hit Them Where It Hurts

[NoshowJones]

I have never been offered the chance to use the meter in Pattaya. Example - taxi sitting in front of central. He asks "where you go" I answer Pratumnak. He says 200 baht I say no, use the meter and point to it. He responds "no meter in pattaya" so I get out and make out I am taking a picture of his number. So now he is following me down the road "why take picture" says he, clearly worried. I just walk on and say no problem. The next taxi goes through the same ritual so we get in, agree 200 which appears to be the minimum fare in pattaya (so more expensive than london minicab). He drives 50 metres then announces its 300 baht at which point we tell him to stop and we get out. I was going to do the camera trick to worry him but my wife was more worried for our safety so we just got out and chartered a baht bus - still but not worth arguing over.it would be great if the tourist board people came to pattaya tplato see whats happening

tplato????????????? That's some typo.

[NoshowJones]

I understand there are occasionally good excuses for refusing a fare, as your example of going to Chinatown.

What I'm talking about are the professional scammers, posing as taxies in the hotel district and tourist places.

These guys not only waste our time, they are out to ruin peoples holidays with their scams. That's what they do. They pay off the police to 'own the block.'

I stay on Suk Soi 20 usually.

Almost always, I have to walk all the way to Sukhumvit to get a ride, even though there are dozens of taxies. Screw them.

I don't just want to ding them for just 3,000Bt. I'd like to ruin them. That's why I posted the reporting number.

the problem with the reporting system is that it fines the owners and not necessarily the crappy driers. drivers just continually change the places where they rent the taxis.

funny a decent driver was belittling the ones that park at tourist spots. he said they give police 200 to park and often cannot find anyone to cheat and make a profit for the shift. he said then the wife gets upset cause he doesn't bring money home to buy food. said they'd do a lot better simply driving and using the meter. he added many derogatory slangs.

even tough to get a taxi from hualampong MRT to chinatown. (very close to chinatown)

I remember as a newbie in Thailand, I wanted a taxi from my hotel in Chinatown to Hualampong Station. He wanted 250 Baht, I knew the fare was 30 odd Baht as I had got a taxi for the same journey the opposite way.

[mathewjg]

I have never been offered the chance to use the meter in Pattaya. Example - taxi sitting in front of central. He asks "where you go" I answer Pratumnak. He says 200 baht I say no, use the meter and point to it. He responds "no meter in pattaya" so I get out and make out I am taking a picture of his number. So now he is following me down the road "why take picture" says he, clearly worried. I just walk on and say no problem. The next taxi goes through the same ritual so we get in, agree 200 which appears to be the minimum fare in pattaya (so more expensive than london minicab). He drives 50 metres then announces its 300 baht at which point we tell him to stop and we get out. I was going to do the camera trick to worry him but my wife was more worried for our safety so we just got out and chartered a baht bus - still but not worth arguing over.it would be great if the tourist board people came to pattaya tplato see whats happening

tplato????????????? That's some typo.

its a cross between a tomato and potato..My tablet seems to get stuck when trying to edit in thai visa and its difficult to scroll within the edit box and quite often I start writing and the curser has moved to a different position. Is it a virus or the effects from singha?

[meltingpot2015]

Make sure to top up on time.. with each phone.

I'm going out to buy another mobile today ... just for 1584 use only ...

I'll do a pre paid sim with 200 baht top up , that should be enough until tonight , then i'll top up again ..

Anyone know the call charges for calling 1584, if it is included in any pre-pay or post-pay inclusive minutes, or if it is a freephone number.

Saw that there is also a Smartphone App to report Taxi's. Handy to have, but still like the option to call and speak to a person though.

Edited March 12, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[timendres]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

There is no doubt that the problems have increased, but let's try to understand the root cause before dishing out unnecessary retribution.

The simple fact is that most taxi drivers are just not adequately compensated. I have spoken at length with a number of them, and they are all echoing the same story - I cannot survive on the money that I am making. Before gas prices took their recent dive, this was especially true.

Therefore, the drivers are encouraged to run without meters, ask for higher compensation, etc., simply to try to make ends meet. And let's face it, while this is not the worst job in Thailand, it is far from the best job. Long hours in traffic that would drive most of us insane. Boredom. Car troubles. Bad customers.

I have met many good taxi drivers who performed their job professionally and with a smile. Had nice conversations during the ride. And I definitely tipped them an extra 20 to 50 baht. Because I know every little bit helps. If ten fares a day put in a 10 to 20 baht tip, it would make a world of difference for these guys (and gals). And, of course, the long overdue fare increase will help as well.

I would never report a taxi driver, as you suggest, unless he were unusually rude or aggressive, or tried to blatantly cheat me once the ride was in progress (as opposed to making his requirements clear before I got in the taxi), or he made me feel unsafe. There are many times I have had to flag down three or four taxis before I got the one who would take me for a reasonable price. I really don't consider this a hardship for me, as there is always another taxi coming straight away (except when it rains!).

[TheSpade]

If you really can't face dealing with these taxis use GrabApp or Uber.

They pick you up at your location either based on your phones GPS or by typing it in, there's no refusal of destination, they use GPS to find your location so if you're going some place that isn't easy to explain or you don't know enough Thai you can still get there easy enough.

[ICECOOL]

Recently heard of an APP for smart phone (and iPhone) that you can send complaint through to a relevant authority about taxi not using a meter?

Two weeks ago when leaving Sukhumvit Soi 20 for Suvarnabhumi Airport, the driver who previously agreed to "meter on" pulled off to the side of the road (along Sukhumvit), stopped and turned to me and said 600BHT - no meter. With my suitcases in the boot and trying to make the airport in reasonable time I was not going engage in a strong argument with him. I suggested 450BHT, we eventually "compromised" at 500BHT and the journey continued on time. This was not about the money but about the scam the driver can pull on you. Agree to meter then change their mind during the journey. I have had some good taxi drivers over the years (and I have always "tipped" them) but some just don't give a s**t about the law. They deserve to be heavily fined each time they pull these scams on people.

The app works well and is very discrete, you don't have to take a photo of the plate, it can be entered. I have used it not only to give a bad rating to a driver, I also use it to rate the excellent ones...hopefully they will get recognised for good service too.

There are two Apps in Google Playstore, Taxi Reporter which appears only to be in Thai and Rate the taxi (thailand) which is in both Thai and English and has reporting telephone numbers included

[joesanunu]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

There is no doubt that the problems have increased, but let's try to understand the root cause before dishing out unnecessary retribution.

The simple fact is that most taxi drivers are just not adequately compensated. I have spoken at length with a number of them, and they are all echoing the same story - I cannot survive on the money that I am making. Before gas prices took their recent dive, this was especially true.

Therefore, the drivers are encouraged to run without meters, ask for higher compensation, etc., simply to try to make ends meet. And let's face it, while this is not the worst job in Thailand, it is far from the best job. Long hours in traffic that would drive most of us insane. Boredom. Car troubles. Bad customers.

I have met many good taxi drivers who performed their job professionally and with a smile. Had nice conversations during the ride. And I definitely tipped them an extra 20 to 50 baht. Because I know every little bit helps. If ten fares a day put in a 10 to 20 baht tip, it would make a world of difference for these guys (and gals). And, of course, the long overdue fare increase will help as well.

I would never report a taxi driver, as you suggest, unless he were unusually rude or aggressive, or tried to blatantly cheat me once the ride was in progress (as opposed to making his requirements clear before I got in the taxi), or he made me feel unsafe. There are many times I have had to flag down three or four taxis before I got the one who would take me for a reasonable price. I really don't consider this a hardship for me, as there is always another taxi coming straight away (except when it rains!).

If they refuse a fare or overcharge, they are violating their contract and breaking the law.

Stop making excuses and report these scammers.

[meltingpot2015]

There are two Apps in Google Playstore, Taxi Reporter which appears only to be in Thai and Rate the taxi (thailand) which is in both Thai and English and has reporting telephone numbers included

The app I was referring to is called Check-in taxi. Its in both Thai and English. There is an article about it here. Also a related post on ThaiVisa here.

With Check-in taxi you can report both good and bad taxi's. So it's not All bad...you could leave compliments.

As for the 1000 bhat fine for the driver/owner. That's only after the complaint is investigated, according to this article.

Edited March 12, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[joesanunu]

The article states 10,000 complaints and 9,900 were fined 1,000bt.

That's almost 10 million baht. Good.

Keep the pressure on people. Report report report!

Edited March 12, 2015 by joesanunu

[Fairynuff]

So even the "good" taxi drivers who do nothing wrong, can be reported by someone who has a personal vendetta against them

I don't know anyone who's ever had a vendetta against a good taxi driver, though I do realize there are some very odd people on this forum

[joesanunu]

So even the "good" taxi drivers who do nothing wrong, can be reported by someone who has a personal vendetta against them

I don't know anyone who's ever had a vendetta against a good taxi driver, though I do realize there are some very odd people on this forum

The scammers might be reporting the good taxie?

My friend recently flagged down an honest moving taxi on Soi Nana and the taxi thugs that "own the Soi" surrounded the taxi and forced my friend out of the car !

It's out of control my friends. They think they own the Soi since they pay the police.

Report report report!

1584.

[Thian]

And what about Phuket? Why they don't have to use a metre there?

Same for the bathbus, they charge a westerner double or more.

[Marcel1]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

And here picks up the comment of a person that does nothing to solve an ongoing problem. If the thieves are allowed, as you suggest, to continue to break the law, you wish them a good night and sweet dreams. The government even goes out of it's way to help you solve the problem. I could never live with myself while being such an easy target for anyone to scam me.

I never said that I let people scam me. Pick up ur glasses and read again. If the driver offers you a price, its up to you to get in or not. Usually I dont. Like I said, ask 3 taxis and you're on your way most of the time on the meter.

[bartender100]

I'm going out to buy another mobile today ... just for 1584 use only ...

I'll do a pre paid sim with 200 baht top up , that should be enough until tonight , then i'll top up again ..

[bartender100]

I think you have to register your passport now when you buy a new simm, I did recently

[Marcel1]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

what are you smoking, it is their job, if they do it, it must be done the right way, do you not understand this? you must of been taking a nap when right & wrong was explained. you may have little or no problem with taxi drivers but i assure thousands of people do every day. and yes there are many great drivers, just not enough of them. being ripped off kinda suks :-)

Ripped of sucks, true but it is your choice to get in ot not.

Its their job? Yes but they hire a cab, make their own hours wouldnt that make them freelancers? I think it should be up to them if they take you or not.

Sure I agree they have to use the meter but to nail someone for 3,000 bht if he dont is beyond sense

[joesanunu]

Proves my point. 66% have tried to scam you. You were clued up so they move on to their next target.

Criminals posing as taxi drivers to get close to their victims, the novice tourist.

Report them. 1584.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I can't be arsed to read the whole thread, so someone please clarify.

You can make a report and the guy gets fines 1000 baht per report?

How the heck do you prove the legitimacy of this report?

This is extremely unfair to taxi drivers.

[Jonmarleesco]

'Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.' You mean discreet. You need only the number, the issue and the location; and the driver is normally summoned and fined, there and then.

But you are likely addressing the converted. The problem lies, as I have pointed out numerous times, with the Thais, both in their ingrained habit of leaning in through the door/window, instead of getting straight into the cab, and their tendency to not report drivers - possibly because it just doesn't occur to them to do so.

[Jonmarleesco]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

what are you smoking, it is their job, if they do it, it must be done the right way, do you not understand this? you must of been taking a nap when right & wrong was explained. you may have little or no problem with taxi drivers but i assure thousands of people do every day. and yes there are many great drivers, just not enough of them. being ripped off kinda suks :-)

Ripped of sucks, true but it is your choice to get in ot not.

Its their job? Yes but they hire a cab, make their own hours wouldnt that make them freelancers? I think it should be up to them if they take you or not.

Sure I agree they have to use the meter but to nail someone for 3,000 bht if he dont is beyond sense

Where did the B3,000 come from? B1,000. And how can it possibly be 'beyond sense' to hit them with a suitably large fine for refusing to follow the terms of their taxi licence? Which is precisely what they are doing.

[Wat dee]

And lets destroy the only tool we have to make a difference, by abusing it and idiotically bragging about it publicly.

[Johnnie99]

The problem is getting worse every year. Taxies drivers violating their contract, refusing fares or refusing to use the meter.

Taxi drivers, parked or trolling the hotel district and tourist sites, refusing regular fares, looking to take advantage of a tourist.

They are professional tourist scammers with no intention of providing a legitimate service.

Today I found out the reporting system actually works.

When they go for the yearly permit renewal, the administrator charges them an extra 1,000Bt. for every complaint received. Nice.

Hit them where it hurts. Report every one. (I have 3 phones so I will ding them 3 times)

All you need to do is:

-PHONE 1584

-Report the number on the small metal badge on the taxi door. (The same badge number is also painted on the outside door)

-Make note of the taxi color.

Be discrete if you want to stay healthy.

You are such a nasty person... Bleghh. You want to put those guys up for 3000baht? Jeesz bro.

I understand it can be stressing if u cannot find a taxi but you have to look it from their side too.

The other day I had to go to China town in bkk around 6pm. I can understand they dont wanna go but there is always one out of 5 who will bring u there. Or if u want to go home at 2 in the night to the otherside of bkk it is quite ok they charge 50bht extra since they have to go back empty.

Sure there are tossers and criminals but 99% of the time I am on my way within 3 taxis, on the meter.

People here seem to deliberately miss the point of original posts.

The OP was not encouraging people to report good taxi drivers, but the bad ones.

It's really quite a simple concept.

[luis888]

you said:

I don't just want to ding them for just 3,000Bt. I'd like to ruin them. That's why I posted the reporting number.

if you can actually ding the same driver 3 times then the law is stupid and needs to be changed ,

He will have no idea in 6 months or so what he did wrong to piss you off , but will have to pay

That is not fair to the driver ,

But then again the OP does not care

So, you feel sorry for the "poor" taxi driver, but it's fine for the taxi driver to screw 20 or 30 Foreigners per day? Why should you have to flag down 3 or 5 or how many taxis to finally find a honnest taxi, how is that fair?

I'm with the OP, maybe not phone 3 times but I've saved the phone no. and can assure you I will report the next one that attempts to do me.

Edited March 12, 2015 by luis888

[luis888]

And lets destroy the only tool we have to make a difference, by abusing it and idiotically bragging about it publicly.

I'm sorry, how is reporting a person that's stealing from you, that's exactly what they are doing, stealing, how is that "destroying the only tool we have to make a difference"???

I don't understand your logic

The OP isn't asking you to report honest taxi drivers, it's the dishonnest ones you report.

[georgegeorgia]

But your only getting the taxi owner rather than the driver.

[meltingpot2015]

But your only getting the taxi owner rather than the driver.

If the owner of the taxi is not the driver, then It's then up to the owner to deal with the driver. However, there has been occasions where the taxi driver has been arrested due to repeated complaints. Please see here.

This is how come we should report, if we don't, the driver (owner) will carry on doing it to other passengers. On the other hand, if many passengers say the driver was good, then he/she receives some kind of 'top driver' badge to put on their cab, so we are more likely to hire him/her or just seeing the badge in the cab is enough for us to relax and enjoy the trip.

Edited March 12, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[jacko45k]

Sorry to ask but is there a different set of laws for BKK taxis & PATTAYA Taxis bcs i hv never ever seen one in Pattaya using a meter

I do not believe so.

It is just in BKK sometimes they will use the meter, in Pattaya, never.

They don't cruise the streets empty in Pattaya too, rather sit and Q at particular spots.

[StreetCowboy]

Recently heard of an APP for smart phone (and iPhone) that you can send complaint through to a relevant authority about taxi not using a meter?

Two weeks ago when leaving Sukhumvit Soi 20 for Suvarnabhumi Airport, the driver who previously agreed to "meter on" pulled off to the side of the road (along Sukhumvit), stopped and turned to me and said 600BHT - no meter. With my suitcases in the boot and trying to make the airport in reasonable time I was not going engage in a strong argument with him. I suggested 450BHT, we eventually "compromised" at 500BHT and the journey continued on time. This was not about the money but about the scam the driver can pull on you. Agree to meter then change their mind during the journey. I have had some good taxi drivers over the years (and I have always "tipped" them) but some just don't give a s**t about the law. They deserve to be heavily fined each time they pull these scams on people.

SO why not do the same at the airport. "What does it say on the meter - I'll pay that."

There's plenty of security at the airport.

Get your bags out the boot first...

SC

[StreetCowboy]

I find that taxi drivers who are moving, who pull over to pick you up, invariably use the meter.

The ones loitering outside hotels and nightclubs, rarely use the meter.

And that is true in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and, if I recall correctly, Manila.

You jut have to either walk up the street a bit, or stand on the outside of the two lanes of waiting touts....

SC