Had this happen to me Friday night, got in the Taxi at Swampy, told the driver name of hotel, located on the Suk near Phra Khanong, told me no meter, 500B all in, after travelling for over 18 hours and little sleep you do not was to argue.

I was wondering, do their meters show a full audit trail so any driver picking up at swampy could be randomly checked to see if the used their meters???

Had another on last night at Asok, taxis parked up wanted 200B, got in one that that was moving, me and "Thai Friend" the meter was on, said to friend in Thai "100B" by the time she translated to me he had switched off the meter.

Common practice unfortunately, especially if you're European and you have no Thai friends with you.

Worse is drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. More than one case of car or van for hire - with driver nodding off. Sometimes he's woken up, and sometimes he crashes. But inevitably he'll be ornery when woken, and take offense at anyone telling him how he should do his job.

Typical ! .... the moment Asian tourists complain, something is done. We Europeans have been complaining for years about the Taxi SCAMS, and all we get is the run around. Am I missing something here ?

Quoting Noitom (post #2) : The Japanese guy "a long time Bangkok resident" must have pull to get this kind of response.

Interesting remark. I believe the 'pull' in question is simply being Japanese.

Thais are used to white people displaying public tantrums on internet after being abused one way or another in this country, and in 99% of cases the Thai response is : utter contempt. Like it or not, in Thailand, no matter what happens to you and how right you are, getting angry makes you wrong, ridiculous, and despicable in the eyes of Thai onlookers. This, I believe, is the single most difficult aspect of Thai culture for Westerners to cope with. I have yet to meet one Westerner here who is totally comfortable with it.

Now, if a Japanese guy gets publicly angry, the Thai reaction is, quite understandably, total panic. Why ? Because the Japanese are even more repressed than Thais when it comes to making a public show of one's feelings, especially anger. If we think that Thais are hard to understand in that field, let's try figuring out the Japanese !

Conclusion : If you're a Western person who's been seriously wronged or otherwise abused by a Thai person, you're welcome to post about it on Facebook or wherever, but dont forget to call yourself Anguri Gaijin Thaiwanabe.

So what is the approx taxi fare then from suvarnabhumi to Dusit? I thought I read recently the fair was regulated to 700 baht?

I'm usually in a cab around three times a day. I've been turned down hundreds and hundreds of times in the last ten years. I used to give them the finger, tell them <deleted> off and die, and slam the rear door. Now I just smile and leave the rear door wide open. There are a lot of excellent cabbies here... but too many bad ones.

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Two brown envelopes to Dalat Assawet and the two banned taxi scumbags i back in business at the airport again, welcome to Thailand where cash is king.

Name a country where cash isn't king?

Tuvalu?????

These drivers may have already moved on to Don Mueang Airport. A few days ago at the domestic taxi stand, I got a driver who immediately told me the 600 baht charge to Silom and demanded my taxi receipt. I said no and I said that it was for the passenger. He started yelling at me and stopped the taxi, so I got out and walked back to the taxi stand. He had the nerve to follow me to the taxi stand still demanding the receipt. One of the taxi stand supervisors intervened and I told him what happened. The supervisor had a few words with the taxi driver who then left without a customer. This has happened to me twice in the last year.

what a load of rubbish ..... I am astounded at their conjure for discipline in this country ...

They are all so stupid in my books !!!

So now the taxi driver is laughing .... he doesn't have to go to the airport again .... he will still rip the japanese off going anywhere else.

Absolute mind boggling ....

"...charging his Japanese friends Bt600 and Bt750, excluding expressway fees instead of using their meter."

"The charges include express fees, she added."

??? Were the tollway fees included or not, & was it a he or a she?

Journalism at its best again I see.

and from now on, he must use the card of another person

how many times i saw the face of the driver just did not match his licence or just covers it up

2 out of...

In the last 16 years never had a problem at any Bangkok airports and have never travelled into town without a meter on, have been refused a few times but I have feet and just walk to the next taxi and say meter and never a problem and I always have two heavy suitcases and my cabin luggage small suitcase.

Banning for "life" is a little excessive. The Japanese guy "a long time Bangkok resident" must have pull to get this kind of response. The Thai taxi authorities should call a strike to support their colleagues. A heavy fine and suspension would have been sufficient. If a lifetime ban is called for in any case it should be three strikes you're out not two.

Agree

First they do nothing for more than 20 years, and now this sort of over-reaction.

But no matter how, no doubt this will serve as a warning signal to many of the crooks sitting in green-yellow, red-blue and purple Sedans around Swampy, waiting for victims rather than for Passengers....

I have given up on this and now, even with heavy luggage, always walk to the drop-off area and past the revolving gates which luckily revolve in both directions ;-)

tired of sobbing cabbies telling me they had to wait 2 hrs to get a fare and now only will earn 250 THB on the way to Bangna.....

Banning for "life" is a little excessive. The Japanese guy "a long time Bangkok resident" must have pull to get this kind of response. The Thai taxi authorities should call a strike to support their colleagues. A heavy fine and suspension would have been sufficient. If a lifetime ban is called for in any case it should be three strikes you're out not two.

What other job can you cheat and steal, get caught ... and then keep your job?

They are out of the Ariport but still have their hack license

They should be banned from driving a taxi

Cheats are not needed

Ah lets see ... policeofficer, postworker, hotelmaid, monk (if begging is a job..), any official at City council, waiter and lots lots other jobs in LOS ...