Taxi's and cabcharge

[Moosh]

I returned home from my business trip to Perth last night. Arrived at Adelaide airport at 9.45pm - delayed cos some bloke didn't board the plane and then 45 minutes sitting on the tarmac and the baggage guys couldn't locate his bag - this guy turns up and boards the plane! Anyway this isn't the reason for this post. I then get a taxi from the airport to Seaford - which is a 45 minute drive - and at least $60 in taxi fare! Well the foreign taxi driver didn't like the fact that I was paying by cabcharge even though I stated as soon as I got in the taxi where I was going and how I was paying. He told me that he couldn't accept cabcharge if it was over $50 - well that's funny, I got a cab to work on Wednesday and it was $58! So I even told him that if he can't take me all the way then I'll have to call someone to pick me up but he muttered something under his breath and said not to bother. By the time we got off the Southern Expressway after a hair-raising 130kmph drive along it, the meter reached $60! He suddenly stopped and said he couldn't take me any further!

 

I was utterly shocked - by now it was 10.30pm! After 15 minutes of arguing with him because I didn't have any money or credit cards to pay for the fare - only a cab charge - he was shouting at me and blaming me saying it was all my fault!! He put the cab charge through his machine (after many so called attempts and it being declined) and charged $49 and he wanted the rest of the money making up that he would have to pay the rest out of his own pocket! Obviously I couldn't pay this and when I asked for the receipt, he said he wouldn't give me one - I then told him I was going to report him - I had already noted his taxi number. He shouted at me again and then got a receipt book out and wrote out a receipt (not a cabcharge one!).

 

I got out of the car, he popped the boot and I got my small suitcase out and as soon as I put the boot of the lid down, he sped off at speed - leaving me all alone on Main South Road at 10.30pm to walk home with my suitcase!

 

When I got home, Jon was there and was not at all pleased, we called the taxi firm and reported him.

 

I'm never getting another taxi home in the dark again!

[Lazy Cow]

That's absolutely appalling! No wonder there's been a plethora of taxi-cab horror stories in the paper lately.

Thank goodness you were ok. Is it worth reporting what happened to the airport?

LC

[Moosh]

I've put in a written complaint to the taxi firm. If I do not get a satisfactory outcome then I will be taking it to the press. This man should not be on the roads.

[Guest Django]

Makes the London cabbies look like gentlemen. On par with the New York ones though. Hope you get a good outcome from his firm. If not advertise his licence number and get him off the road or else we may get him when we eventually arrive.