I was scammed before my cruise

[cheryl.UK]

Never use the bike taxis in London. They are such a rip off and totally unregulated. In our press there have been cases where tourists were charged £££ for a 15 minute journey.

 

[DisneYE]

Last week in Athens I handed the taxi driver a €50 plus €20 Euro note to pay the €60 cab fare plus tip.
He accused me of giving him a €10 plus €20 note and I had to make the money up.
Wonder how many times he pulls that trick. Again no point in arguing but it was just not a nice feeling that I’d been scammed.

This is a common trick in a lot of places
They did that to me once in Argentina during a business trip and I learned my lesson.
Happened again to me in France, Mexico and Italy, with taxi drivers and at a restaurant... except I took a picture of me handing the bills without the other person noticing.. shock & embarrassment looks everywhere when trick was attempted.
The lesson is: there's scammers everywhere in the world. Be vigilant, be careful and always, always take pictures.

 

[Jestocost]

Airport taxis can get tricky because sometimes there's the fare, plus extra per person over a certain number, plus extra per bag, etc. I like how they did it in San Juan when we were there earlier this year. Someone working at the airport filled out a card that included the fare plus all the extras before you got in the car so you knew what you'd be paying and had the proof that it was all you'd pay.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Airport taxis can get tricky because sometimes there's the fare, plus extra per person over a certain number, plus extra per bag, etc. I like how they did it in San Juan when we were there earlier this year. Someone working at the airport filled out a card that included the fare plus all the extras before you got in the car so you knew what you'd be paying and had the proof that it was all you'd pay.

That’s a nice system. I’ve given up on taxis in cities where rideshare is available, and now consider myself a satisfied Uber/Lyft customer. I always compare prices before committing to one or the other.

My frustration with taxis hit the limit the time I had a taxi driver claim that his credit card reader was not working so I needed to pay cash. I told him I didn’t have enough cash to cover the fare, so he would have to either accept what I had or wait and hold my suitcase as security while I found an ATM to get some more. Ah ha, the credit card device was suddenly working again.

 

[CarolynU]

This is a common trick in a lot of places
They did that to me once in Argentina during a business trip and I learned my lesson.
Happened again to me in France, Mexico and Italy, with taxi drivers and at a restaurant... except I took a picture of me handing the bills without the other person noticing.. shock & embarrassment looks everywhere when trick was attempted.
The lesson is: there's scammers everywhere in the world. Be vigilant, be careful and always, always take pictures.

Very very good advice. I will do exactly that in the future, and give them the notes one by one counting them out.

 

[mevelandry]

It was a scam. Asked him how much he pointed at the 15 pounds but not at the per person that was in small letters. When the ride was over that’s when he pointed out the per person.

Adding the "per person?" on my list of questions to ask when I travel.

 

[Sun_soakin]

You don’t have to pay it. Next time just say no. We’ve encountered random scammers in various countries and are good about calling them on it and paying what we intended to pay.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just going to say it.... Either taxis are rideshare or Uber/Lyft are taxis with an app. They are the same thing. Cities recognise they are the same thing. They just have an app attached to them.

 

[holden]

We were almost scammed in Naples after an Adventures By Disney trip. We boarded a train (10 of us) and someone offered to help put our luggage on the rack. We assumed he was an employee of the train (he looked like one). After our luggage was stored he said it would cost $20 or something like that. DH gave him the money, but he then said it was per person. Thankfully a train conductor walked by and made him leave. It is so easy to get scammed.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My dad (many years ago) was outright robbed in Milan by someone "helping" him put luggage on the rack. When the guy was gone, so was my dad's wallet. Luckily, he had most of his money elsewhere, but there's a feeling of violation when that happens, besides the actual loss.

 

[keighttf]

Always read the signs in cabs. It is the first thing I look for but is difficult when in a foreign language. Two different cab rides before and after cruises in Barcelona we had issues. Once with the cab driver doubling the baggage supplement and once when he refused to take a credit card. It does leave a bitter feeling but reminds you to be vigilant. Thankfully we had other flawless experiences in Barcelona with cabs too.

 

[KennesawNemo]

Yep, this is why alternatives like Uber are becoming so popular. You know the cost ahead of time. Vacationers are prime targets for scammers. Not a great way to start a vacation- feeling ‘had’.

Yes.

We traveled to Philadelphia last month. I now kick myself for thinking Taxi maybe better regulated and safer when we first landed.

The airport taxi driver would not let my husband sit in front row, instead he wanted four of us squeeze into 2nd row. "You kid is so small, you can just hold her on your lap". --I didn't think that was even legal? I told him we would get off if we had to squeeze all into 2nd row.

He then very grumpily removed his personal stuff and let my husband in front, but he demanded me to verbally thank him. "I did you a favor, now you thank me" was the exact words he said and in a very threatening manner. We decided to get off anyway because we were really feeling unsafe by then.

We called a Lyft. It was a super clean car, friendly driver, we had a very pleasant chat on our way into the city and I gave her a really good tip. We used Lyft the whole trip and had zero issue. I probably will not use a taxi anywhere unless Uber/Lyft is not option to me.

 

[BingoJoe]

Taxi drivers of all varieties are often chancers and crooks. They will often try to scam you if they can - especially foreign tourists who may be confused.

Pre-arranged fees is one of the many reasons Uber is about a million times better. Only in places where the taxi unions are able to keep their racket going and ban Uber would I ever even consider taking one.