Taxi waiting time fee

davemorton

feduptraveller wrote: »

JuicyJesus, ok, thanks for clarifying. The taxis are licensed Hackney carriages, and they are sometimes on the rank, but can also be pre-booked. They have a crest on the side of the car. I call them a week ahead to pre-book.

Are the fees on the meter different when they are pre-booked?

A taxi can be flagged down OR pre-booked, and the fee's are set by the council. A private hire can be booked but NOT flagged down. (At least that is how it is where I am from).

a.turner

JuicyJesus wrote: »

That doesn't make sense really. A Hackney carriage is one you would flag down or pick up from a rank, so it's not clear how you'd possibly be late for one.

If you called to book it (or used a website or app to do so) it's private hire. Different rules apply there.

Pre book a hackney carriage and it'll still be a licenced hackney carriage.

sheramber

agrinnall wrote: »

Were you paying cash? If so, just pay the fare and let him sue you for any extra that he thinks he's owed. And don't give him a tip for being a tw8t.

Do you think he will turn up the next morning if she does that?

agrinnall

sheramber wrote: »

Do you think he will turn up the next morning if she does that?

He won't but I doubt if the OP asked for him by name when booking the taxi anyway, so somebody else will want the job.

Potbellypig

JuicyJesus wrote: »

That doesn't make sense really. A Hackney carriage is one you would flag down or pick up from a rank, so it's not clear how you'd possibly be late for one.

If you called to book it (or used a website or app to do so) it's private hire. Different rules apply there.

That's incorrect.

da_rule

agrinnall wrote: »

Were you paying cash? If so, just pay the fare and let him sue you for any extra that he thinks he's owed. And don't give him a tip for being a tw8t.

Or at that point he looks the doors, and calls the police as you’ve committed a criminal offence (attempting to make off without payment). Or even if he let them go, he has their home address. It won’t take long for the police to come knocking.

If the conditions of carriage and the charging fee table produced by the local council say that they can charge a waiting fee if they are kept waiting over 3 minutes (and they charged the amount they were entitled to charge) then the Op doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

agrinnall

da_rule wrote: »

Or at that point he looks the doors, and calls the police as you’ve committed a criminal offence (attempting to make off without payment). Or even if he let them go, he has their home address. It won’t take long for the police to come knocking.

If the conditions of carriage and the charging fee table produced by the local council say that they can charge a waiting fee if they are kept waiting over 3 minutes (and they charged the amount they were entitled to charge) then the Op doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

If that was the case then surely the taxi company would not have said this...

feduptraveller wrote: »

I asked the taxi company for their policy, but they just said that it's up to each individual driver.

unholyangel

agrinnall wrote: »

If that was the case then surely the taxi company would not have said this...

The company are only saying the driver is entitled to charge it and its the drivers own choice if they want to waive it/accept a lower amount - they can't be forced to by the company.

a.turner

agrinnall wrote: »

If that was the case then surely the taxi company would not have said this...

The drivers are probably self employed and therefore up to them whether they charge waiting time in accordance with council regs.

davidmcn

agrinnall wrote: »

If that was the case then surely the taxi company would not have said this...

Like I said above, they're entitled to charge whatever the council says they are - I presume all the company means is that it's up to the driver whether they start the meter as soon as they arrive at the OP's house or allow them a bit of leeway.