Taxi company - £24 quid for a 2 mile journey

SailorSam

Most taxi drivers will be self employed so complaining to the manager of the radio company will be of little effect, the driver does not work for him, he only pays a settle, (a rent ) for the radio, and maybe the car, in effect the radio company could be said to be working for the driver.
The only reason the radio company will be interested they want want to get a bad reputation.
Your first call should be the council hackney office.

vaio

Altarf wrote: »

And if the cab firm doesn't explain that on the phone, and that there will be a charge to drive to the start point then they must be mad.

The cab company claim they did agree the fare over the phone (as just about every PH booking I’ve ever made has done).

The OP (who didn’t make the call) says that either her friend (who did make the call) didn’t agree the fare and/or any agreed fare doesn’t apply to her because although she was the hirer she didn’t make the call.

She says the driver should have agreed the fare with her when he picked her up ignoring the fact that it’s impossibly unreasonable to expect a driver to do a 20 mile round trip down dark narrow country roads on the off chance that he might get a 2 mile fare if she agreed the fare when he gets there.

Altarf

vaio wrote: »

The cab company claim they did agree the fare over the phone (as just about every PH booking I’ve ever made has done).

I have never even discussed the fare on PH book I have made. "I want a taxi from x at y time" "OK, what's your name" and then "it will be there". That is a lengthy call.

vaio wrote: »

The OP (who didn’t make the call) says that either her friend (who did make the call) didn’t agree the fare and/or any agreed fare doesn’t apply to her because although she was the hirer she didn’t make the call.

Well unless she was drunk or stupid, surely her friend knows what was said and can tell her? Problem solved. Either the cab firm told her or they didn't. And if the friend "can't remember", well...

vaio wrote: »

She says the driver should have agreed the fare with her when he picked her up ignoring the fact that it’s impossibly unreasonable to expect a driver to do a 20 mile round trip down dark narrow country roads on the off chance that he might get a 2 mile fare if she agreed the fare when he gets there.

When I book a PH cab I don't care where they send it from. The firm I normally use has one number covering 3 towns, each 15 miles from the other. Wherever the firm has send the cab from they are only getting paid for the 3 miles they are taking me home from the station.

dorsetjohn_3

dizzybuff wrote: »

dorsetjohn wrote: »

So what if he had to drive to the fare , thats what taxis do aint it , and the controller could have always said no . And no I wouldnt have given the driver a tip due to him driving with no due care and attention whilst using his mobile.. read the First post.. This is why he has an appointment with the licencing mamanger and a incident logged with the police the following week... So why should I tip someone for putting me and my family in danger and ripping me off in the process... :eek:

You mug , I was joking . The chances of the driver being in your neck of the woods is probabaly slim , if you live out in the sticks . I am a hackney carriage owner and I know everything about the trade and yes the price seemed high , think of the total time the job took the driver . Put it down to experience and maybe next time if you can't afford the ride sleep at your friends house

dorsetjohn_3

vaio wrote: »

Just about all wrong, any phone booking is a PH and the cost CAN NOT be regulated by the local council. Regulated HC fares only apply where the cab is “plying for hire” and you flag it down. PH cars can use a meter if they want to, and they can charge what it says on the meter or more or less BECAUSE they are not regulated.

Normally the fare is agreed when you phone, if it’s not then I guess normal contract law would apply in that they could charge a “reasonable” rate for the job. In the case of the OP this would be the cost of the miles the cab covered whilst doing her job i.e. the round trip rather than the short distance she was actually in the cab.

If you call a cab from an office which is 10 or 20 miles away to take you half a mile down the road you must be mad if you only expect to pay for the half mile journey at normal HC rates

Exactly !!

dizzybuff

Id

dorsetjohn wrote: »

dizzybuff wrote: »

You mug , I was joking . The chances of the driver being in your neck of the woods is probabaly slim , if you live out in the sticks . I am a hackney carriage owner and I know everything about the trade and yes the price seemed high , think of the total time the job took the driver . Put it down to experience and maybe next time if you can't afford the ride sleep at your friends house[/QUOTE

Thanks for the mug it was a lovely cuppa..

I have talked to my freind she said she didnt agree a price.. I may put it down to experience i may not , at the mo im getting very wound up about this . I have been ti the licencing officer who says i should sort it with the cab comapny. As for the driver being self employed , how come he had the tarriff on hos little computer... He said I cant change it. Im peed off with this all now.. I may be over reacting but at the mo i dont care.. :mad:

One my freind has a baby , she didnt want us there because it would have disturbed our son . GRRRRRRRRRRR at this thread ... im so stressed :mad:

dorsetjohn_3

dizzybuff wrote: »

Id

dorsetjohn wrote: »

dizzybuff wrote: »

You mug , I was joking . The chances of the driver being in your neck of the woods is probabaly slim , if you live out in the sticks . I am a hackney carriage owner and I know everything about the trade and yes the price seemed high , think of the total time the job took the driver . Put it down to experience and maybe next time if you can't afford the ride sleep at your friends house[/QUOTE

Thanks for the mug it was a lovely cuppa..

I have talked to my freind she said she didnt agree a price.. I may put it down to experience i may not , at the mo im getting very wound up about this . I have been ti the licencing officer who says i should sort it with the cab comapny. As for the driver being self employed , how come he had the tarriff on hos little computer... He said I cant change it. Im peed off with this all now.. I may be over reacting but at the mo i dont care.. :mad:

One my freind has a baby , she didnt want us there because it would have disturbed our son . GRRRRRRRRRRR at this thread ... im so stressed :mad:

sorry if i was a bit harsh with you before . At the end of the day if the licencing officer can do nothing for you and tells you to sort it out with the cab firm , Im afraid thats it . Any small claims court would look at this and say there is no one in the wrong . They will lie and said they told you on the phone the price and its their word against yours . At the end of the day , let it go and use another cab firm in the future . Also get a rough estimate of the price of the job from the radio operator and if your happy with the price confirm this with the driver before he drives off

dizzybuff

dorsetjohn wrote: »

dizzybuff wrote: »

Id

dorsetjohn wrote: »

sorry if i was a bit harsh with you before . At the end of the day if the licencing officer can do nothing for you and tells you to sort it out with the cab firm , Im afraid thats it . Any small claims court would look at this and say there is no one in the wrong . They will lie and said they told you on the phone the price and its their word against yours . At the end of the day , let it go and use another cab firm in the future . Also get a rough estimate of the price of the job from the radio operator and if your happy with the price confirm this with the driver before he drives off

Thanks i will, just peed , they uoset all my family and ruined a lovely night . how dare they