Taxi company - £24 quid for a 2 mile journey

dizzybuff

Wonder if anyone can help me

We attended a freinds do in surrey and booked a taxi back to the B&B

My freind phoned it , the line was bad and she didnt hear properly.

The taxi was booked and when he arrived all looked fine and dandy . I loaded my sons car seat into the car and my son who was very tired and we set off on our way ..

As we were driving along on very dark and narrow country lanes the driver was talking to control on his mobile ( not using hands free) I was angrey at this toi begin with placing all of us in danger.

He had no idea where he was going and we had to direct him. and as we got into the cab he turned his meter off

When we got to our b&B , I leant over and said sorry I only have a twenty . To which he replyed , well its £24 pounds... :eek: This is for a 2.5 mile journey .

I protested the amount so he phoned the controller who stated the fare was agreed on the phone.. i havent talked to my freind yet , but shes tighter with money than me and would no way have agreed that without talking to us first. The controller was rude and i stated I would pay half the fare , she said she couldnt do that and hung up the phone.

With my son bing tired , in the middle of nowhere , the taxi driver stating he had to come some distance to pick us up so thatys why it was so much . At the end of the day a fare is a fare and i dont expect to pay their petrol to get there .. If they dont want it they say no.

I k now its a civil matter. I was held to randsom being in an unfamiliar place. I could have held my ground and gone to a police station with him \as he said as I was refusing to pay he would take me to a police station. For gods sake I was disputing the fare as it :eek:hadnt been agreed with us before we started . I was prepared to pay not that much due to the short distance.

Can anyone help me where i stand on this . I payed but told the driver i was paying under duress.

I wasnt making off without payment , i was prepared to pay a reasonable fare for the distance .

I have the drivers licence number and a reciept and the name of the controller

Any hel pwould be appriciated.

maryotuam

That sounds like a total rip off to me. I hope you got a written receipt but I'm not sure how you would go about getting your money back. Maybe the small claims court? I hope someone with more knowledge than me can help you on this one.

anewman

Some will charge higher rates at certain times/bank holidays I think? It's always recommended to agree what the price is likely to be before travelling. I once used a taxi and the driver agreed to accept a certain amount, but his meter went well over this before I was even half-way there but he still charged the agreed amount.

If they have really done something wrong and continue to do so then I am sure they stand to lose their license from the council, so I would complain to them if you feel it appropriate.

vaio

Taxi fares are set by the local council but private hire are not and should be agreed when the booking is made.

How far did he have to travel to pick you up?

Ring the company and pretend to make the same booking again?

photome

It does sound like a lot but I dont know what to do about it.

BUT the distance he had to travel to pick you up would have a bearing on the fare if it was a private hire

colino

Call the taxi company to suggest they refund the excess fare immediately. If they fob you off, make it clear the local authority will be in contact with them as you will insist it goes to the licencing committee where the drivers licence and their operators licence will be be under scrutiny. Who cares how far the taxi came from, who cares the time of day or night. They are obliged to operate under LA control and unless this is an out and out gypsy firm, they will sooner refund the fare than have their bread and butter at risk.

vaio

Sounds like it was a phone booking and thus a private hire not taxi. Private hire fares are not regulated by the council

passatrider

I'm a taxi driver myself and this sounds a bit excessive to be honest what you have been charged.
However, some companies will charge a 'call out' fee if they have to do a fare outside of their area. This has to be made clear to the customer before the job is dispatched.
It also depends what time of night we are talking about here too, as each district has its own charging criteria. My guess is that he's been told a set fare and stuck to it.

Give the company a ring and ask to speak to the manager first thing Monday morning. Explain the situation to them and see if you can find a solution.
If you have no luck with the company then contact the Local Licensing dept at the council for that area.

I hope you get a satisfactory solution to this and would be interested to see how you get on.

Good Luck!

photome

colino wrote: »

Call the taxi company to suggest they refund the excess fare immediately. If they fob you off, make it clear the local authority will be in contact with them as you will insist it goes to the licencing committee where the drivers licence and their operators licence will be be under scrutiny. Who cares how far the taxi came from, who cares the time of day or night. They are obliged to operate under LA control and unless this is an out and out gypsy firm, they will sooner refund the fare than have their bread and butter at risk.

Because both of those things can increase the fare

derrick

photome wrote: »

Because both of those things can increase the fare

The distance to pick up does not! ! A fare begins when you pick up the customer and ends when you get to the destination, at least it does in this neck of the woods, the distance to get to the customer is irrelevant.

The only way they could legitimately charge this amount for a 2.5 mile journey would be IF the customer agreed the price on the phone, (this is disputed)!
Why did the taxi driver turn off the meter? And why did the OP not ask why they turned it off?

Certainly complain to the Council LA, I am pretty sure that fares via the meter are regulatd whether black cabs or private hire!

dizzybuff

Thanks for all the responses. i will be phoning them later. The taxi had a hackney licence but was a phone booking I will also be sending a letter to the licencing committee. The driver broke th law whilst driving , uasing his mobile .

He travelled 8.5 miles to the fare yet it was still int he same bourgh council . I have talked to my freind and she said no she didnt agree a set fee..

Her word is enough for me .. Im going to phone the company in a mo,....will keep you posted