Taxi Transfer didnt show up for Journey Home

Alleigh

Taxi Transfer didnt show up for Journey Home...

i have copies of our emails confirming the arrangements, yet when we landed at 3am, the taxi was not there. We waited at the airport for 45 minutes, the taxi didnt answer their phone when i called so 9 of us were stranded. Luckily one friend had a credit card so after an hour of waiting at Stensted arrivals we used the taxi transfer company that was based in the airport however this cost us an additional £336, to the £250 we were to pay to our original firm.

The original taxi rang us 2 hours later asking where we were - pretty much home by then!

Ive written a stroppy letter, is there anyway i can try to get some of the extra money we paid back? how would i go about this?

thanks in advance x

Voyager2002

Simply write to them explaining what happened, enclosing a copy of your receipt from the second taxi firm, and requesting reimbursement. In legalese: you had a contract; they did not provide the service for which they had been paid; they are therefore liable for the additional costs that you incurred in order to obtain that service from another provider.

Is there any chance that the times in the emails were wrong? Or perhaps there was confusion about the place: I note that you were waiting at Stensted but perhaps the taxi was looking for you at Stansted.

richardw

or may be they went to Stanstead?

Alleigh

thank you Voyager, thats really helpful. i can confirm the emails to and from the company detailed STANSTED AIRPORT as the collection address

Takecareofthepennies

Did you have an agreed pick-up point? Since they can no longer just drive up to the terminal ...

mcfisco

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Simply write to them explaining what happened, enclosing a copy of your receipt from the second taxi firm, and requesting reimbursement. In legalese: you had a contract; they did not provide the service for which they had been paid; .

It reads that they hadn't yet been paid, so maybe not as simple

Archergirl

I always leave the phone number of the taxi company with a person at home and ask them to phone the taxi the day before we are due home to check they will turn up.
Too late for you now, but maybe next time?

Dirk_Gently_2

mcfisco wrote: »

It reads that they hadn't yet been paid, so maybe not as simple

In which case deduct what they would have been paid from what you are claiming.

It is still a breach of contract for which they are liable.

martindow

From the OP it seems that the taxi may well have been at the airport as they made a phone call 'two hours later'. I'm not sure that making a claim for the difference is such a good idea as original the taxi firm could counter claim that they were at the airport and want to be paid the cost of the journey they attempted to provide. It doesn't seem a black and white situation to me.

shaun_from_Africa

If the phone call that the taxi firm made was 2 hours after the arranged pick up time, I would like to see them try to use that as evidence that they kept their side of the contract.

Every time I've had an airport pick up arranged, if I'm not where I'm meant to be at the time I'm meant to be there, the driver will call me after a couple of minutes. I can't imagine any driver would wait 2 hours before calling.