Antalya Turkey taxi incident - help

cupcakelady

I just returned from a holiday to Turkey with my mum yesterday.

After spending a few days in Antalya we had planned to go to Cirali (a bit more than an hours drive from Antalya). We agreed a rate of 95 Turkish Lira with a taxi driver who was parked at a taxi rank in Kaleici (the old town). Upon arriving in Cirali we gave him 100 Turkish Lira in notes and he only gave a few pennies worth back, laughing when I said it wasn't the correct change and saying something that we think meant something like the rest was a tip from us to him. Though I thought it was a bit cheeky of him, he seemed quiet and very good natured and trustworthy and we asked for his number in case we wanted to use him on the way back.

Yesterday we were to return from Cirali to Antalya for our flight back to the UK. We asked the owner of our hotel to ring the taxi driver and agree the price with him, as we don't speak Turkish and the taxi driver spoke only a bit of English. The hotel owner said a rate of 90 Turkish Lira had been agreed to take us to Antalya airport, and that though the taxi driver had initially said he would take us to Antalya town for 90 Liras, he had then agreed on 90 Liras for the airport.

The taxi arrived to pick us up, and we got in. Everything went fine until we reached Antalya. He suddenly stopped the car and demanded we pay him 140 Liras to go to the airport. We said a price of 90 Liras had been agreed between him and the hotel owner, but he ignored this and continued to demand 140 Liras, saying it was 95 Liras to this point. We gave him the hotel's card with the owner's number on it and told him to ring it, but he ignored that too. He then said 'ok' and leapt out the car and went to open the boot and was about to throw our suitcase onto the road. We had no idea where we were in Antalya, and didn't have much time left until our flight. We also only had enough money to cover the rate that had been agreed with him. I therefore thought it best not to argue with him any more and to get him to take us to the airport and then discuss/argue over the rate.

When we got to the airport he asked which terminal, and we said the one for international flights. (Our tickets didn't say which terminal on them). After parking we gave him 65 Liras and a £10 note (equivalent to 25 Liras), i.e. the price that had been agreed with the hotel owner. He said he didn't know how much the £10 was worth and would check. As he went off to check we loaded our suitcase and bags onto a luggage trolley and headed towards the airport door as we had paid him the right amount, and as we didn't have much time left to check in, and as he had been so rude. However, he came back towards us, snatched our suitcase and shoved it back into his taxi boot, and then stood in front of the boot and blocked us from getting it, saying £10 was worth 25 Liras, and he wanted 140 Liras. We argued with him in vain, and when we said we would miss our flight, he shrugged and said 'no problem' repeatedly, because obviously it wasn't a problem for him. We also told him we had no money left, but he refused to give our suitcase to us.

I saw some uniformed airport security men nearby and approached them and asked if they spoke English or German (as I speak German too). One of the said he spoke some German. I told him what had happened but he didn't acknowledge me or reply and along with another security offical just spoke to the taxi driver in Turkish. When I pressed the security official to help us, he said there was nothing he could do and walked off.

I approached various security officials, but none of them even bothered replying to me and just listened to the taxi driver and then walked off.

I said I would call the police and the taxi driver said fine. I saw an ambulance and ambulance staff nearby, so I approached them and asked how I could call the police. They waved over a man who was standing not far off and had 'police' written on his shoulder lapel. He also didn't talk to me although I told him what happened in English and German and he could see we were distraught. He spoke with the taxi driver and then didn't do anything and stepped aside.

The taxi driver asked to see my tickets and then said we were at the wrong terminal anyway, and that he would charge (even) more to take us to the right terminal. I went into the airport to seek help, and asked one of the airport officals where the information desk was. I had to go to through the security and baggage check to go to the information desk. One of the airport officials accompanied me. The woman behind the desk spoke English and translated what I said to him, but before even listening to it all, he nodded and marched off to the taxi driver. Upon getting back to the taxi he spoke with the taxi driver, while I looked for my mum who I had left there and couldn't see any more. Unknown to me she had followed me into the airport, and when I saw her coming back to the taxi, I looked for the airport official but he had disappeared.

We were obviously very distraught and worried we would miss our flight and no one was helping us. Everyone simply ignored us. We repeatedly told the airport security officials standing there we would miss our flight and it was our suitcase but no one did anything. My mum found another Lira and gave it to the taxi driver, who snapped at us and threw it into the gutter on the road. I continued to tell him it was our suitcase and I wanted my property back and that he was stealing, but he ignored this, as did the security officials.

My mum eventually found another £5 (12.5 Liras) after searching her suitcase and gave this to him, but he still physically barricaded our suitcase and refused to let us take it.

An English man nearby said his taxi driver had also brought him and his wife to the wrong terminal and had overcharged them by 10 Liras, and that they now had hardly any money to got the right terminal, which makes me think many Turkish taxi drivers deliberately do this to make more money.

Finally, after about 50 minutes and after a lot of emotional distress for my mum and myself and after getting frustrated with him, he threw our suitcase on to the road. We asked the airport officials standing there how to get to the other terminal. I said I had a few pounds on me, which I did, and the official asked some taxis nearby if they would take us. If another taxi driver not far off hadn't agreed to take us to the other terminal or had overcharged us I don't know what we would have done, as apparently the other terminal was far and we had no Liras left. This taxi driver, an old man who I think had witnessed some/all of what happened, didn't take any money from us.

We just made our flight, but we almost missed it.

The airport officials, security and police all ignored us, didn't even acknowledge us or try to help us at all, and only listened to the taxi
driver. Had it only been the taxi driver, I would have said maybe it was just a one off. But it isn't until you encounter problems that you discover what the country is really like. No one helped us whatsoever. The law enforcement and law and order is not trustworthy or reliable at all. I dread to think what would happen if it was some sort of physical attack a woman (or man) encountered and if they sought help. This has completely put me of ever going to Turkey again. If you haven't encountered problems, very good, but it isn't until you do that you really see what poeple are like and I realised that they all stick together and don't help you.

Due to all the strain and duress we were under we unfortunately didn't note the taxi license number. But I do have the taxi driver's first name and telephone number. Does anyone know if there is anything I can do and complain to? (even if I had the license number I don't know who I would complain to).

Thanks.

SUPERJULES

OMG that's shocking and very distressing for you. I've been to Turkey numerous times and once a taxis driver went the wrong way to our hotel on purpose, it's not nice but it must be something they make a habit of! and they often pretend not to understand English!

As for taking it further I'm not sure you could do anything, what about the hotel that knew the agreement in price you could perhaps inform them so that they could do something??

Hope you're ok now x

victor2

Shame that long story is all your memories of Turkey will be dominated by.
We rented a villa in Antalya a few years ago and experienced just the opposite. The villa owner had booked a taxi to pick us up from the airport and to return us when we left. He didn't want paying when he dropped us off, just said he'd be back to take us when we left and we could pay him then. Needless to say, we and our daughters used him as much as possible in the holiday. He would take us to the beach and just say to phone him when we wanted to go home, which we did - and paid him for both journeys upon return. On the one time he wasn't available when we called, his father came for us. They both ran official taxis.
Everyone we met was very friendly and helpful. Didn't have to deal with "officials" though, so can't comment on that.
We would certainly go again based on our experience.

Don't know how you could follow it up, would probably only frustrate you further if you tried.

whatyadoinsucka

its turkey what do you expect. your alive and well, a few pennies lighter

forget about it and go somewhere else on holiday. egypt, /thailand maybe

and always ensure you have enough spare money to get you out of scrapes in the future.
remember only in the west does life matter, people have killed for much less.

cupcakelady

Not sure what you mean by 'only in the west does life matter'. As for having enough spare money, I agree one should have some spare cash, but if you read travel advice sites, they say you shouldn't carry more money than u need.

Victor 2, we did have a nice holiday except for this incident, which was very disconcerting and also stressful.

Anyway, this incident has been helpful in that I have read up about using taxis and travelling abroad and learnt things I didn't know. It is recommended that you do NOT try to negotiate a rate with taxi drivers and that you insist they use the taxi meter. It's usually a good idea to ask your hotel to recommend a taxi company, as your experience can influence your opinion of them and so they should try and recommend a good company. Also, it is best practise to note the taxi license number before you get in, which is usually written outside the taxi (apparently Istanbul taxis have it written on their sides and top, but not sure about Antalya taxis?). I also read that u should try to keep your luggage next to you (although if you have a large suitcase/lots of luggage this may not be feasible). Also, you should save the number for the police, local police, local hospital, and British Consulate/Embassy on your mobile before u travel. Hope this is useful for others too.

Nobjocki

whatyadoinsucka wrote: »

its turkey what do you expect. your alive and well, a few pennies lighter

forget about it and go somewhere else on holiday. egypt, /thailand maybe

and always ensure you have enough spare money to get you out of scrapes in the future.
remember only in the west does life matter, people have killed for much less.

Nail on the head.
It's Turkey - I wouldn't expect anything different.
As for trying to get any sort of redress forget about it.
The Turkish authorities do absolutely nothing to prevent tourists being ripped-off and this modern day highway robbery is common practice.

whatyadoinsucka

I'm saying in many countries mugging/killing a tourist for money / valuables or other 'worse things' is common practise.

Be careful out there. remember in certain religious countries women are not seen in the same light as in western countries and are classed as second rate citizens.

Just because thomas cook sell holidays there it doesn't mean its safe
(SE Asia / Turkey/ North Africa / Gambia / Kenya / south africa / Central America & Caribbean all spring to mind)

littlereddevil

whatyadoinsucka wrote: »

its turkey what do you expect. your alive and well, a few pennies lighter

forget about it and go somewhere else on holiday. egypt, /thailand maybe

and always ensure you have enough spare money to get you out of scrapes in the future.
remember only in the west does life matter, people have killed for much less.

Egypt safer than Turkey? Not in my opinion anyway! Now Thailand I love

RuthnJasper

My boyfriend is Turkish. He's non-religious, but Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country. This is NOT, nor is it intended to inspire, a rant about unfortunate stereotypes of religious or ethnic groups.

However, it is vital, when travelling abroad, to understand and respect the customs and ways of that country. I AM really sorry to hear what happened to Cupcakelady and her mum; it must have been extremely distressing. However, to a lot of Muslim men, being shouted at (for whatever reason) by a woman with an uncovered head, bare arms or legs (not the full burkha, I mean just covered up with normal clothes) could be extremely offensive.

This doesn't excuse what the taxi driver got up to - his behaviour was wrong. The best plan is probably to put a complaint in writing formally to the travel company through which the holiday was booked.

Cupcakelady - I wish you lots of luck and hope that you and your mum have lots of (happier) holidays to come. x

dmg24

RuthnJasper wrote: »

My boyfriend is Turkish. He's non-religious, but Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country. This is NOT, nor is it intended to inspire, a rant about unfortunate stereotypes of religious or ethnic groups.

However, it is vital, when travelling abroad, to understand and respect the customs and ways of that country. I AM really sorry to hear what happened to Cupcakelady and her mum; it must have been extremely distressing. However, to a lot of Muslim men, being shouted at (for whatever reason) by a woman with an uncovered head, bare arms or legs (not the full burkha, I mean just covered up with normal clothes) could be extremely offensive.

This doesn't excuse what the taxi driver got up to - his behaviour was wrong. The best plan is probably to put a complaint in writing formally to the travel company through which the holiday was booked.

Cupcakelady - I wish you lots of luck and hope that you and your mum have lots of (happier) holidays to come. x

The travel company have no part in this situation - they did not provide the taxi.

balletshoes

Horrible situation to have been in OP - but I really don't think theres anything you can do about it now. Officials at the airport wouldn't have got involved because they weren't party to the initial deal that was struck as to the price of the fare (and actually, neither were you).

Whenever I've had to use taxis in Turkey, for short journeys I make sure the meter is on, and for airport runs for example I make sure personally before I get in the car what the fare will be (and usually only use ranks where the fare is displayed in writing).