overcharged taxi fare
Discussion
Took a cab from the ricoh arena to nearby hotel a week ago. Driver said as we got in "you realise this will cost 30 or 40 pound" to which we assented. certainly seemed a legit mercedes van based hackney carriage.
But meter goes round like comedy, driver took a wrong turn (quickly picked up on, he aggressively blames the postcode we'd given him which funnily enough worked fine for us a few hours ago, although this episode didn't add much time TBF)
Google has the drive on my timeline as 27 minutes and 8.5 miles. Came to £80. https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-estimati... recons it should have been £30.50. Paid by credit card which shows up as sumup on statement, don't have driver details, my bad but it was late etc.
What's the best way of proceeding?
But meter goes round like comedy, driver took a wrong turn (quickly picked up on, he aggressively blames the postcode we'd given him which funnily enough worked fine for us a few hours ago, although this episode didn't add much time TBF)
Google has the drive on my timeline as 27 minutes and 8.5 miles. Came to £80. https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-estimati... recons it should have been £30.50. Paid by credit card which shows up as sumup on statement, don't have driver details, my bad but it was late etc.
What's the best way of proceeding?
Complaint to the local taxi licensing authority:
https://www.coventry.gov.uk/hackney-carriage-ie-ta...
https://www.coventry.gov.uk/hackney-carriage-ie-ta...
Did you flag the cab in the Street or prebook?
Did you get the driver's badge number? Or vehicle registration and plate number?
If you prebooked, it is likely a Private Hire vehicle and they are not governed by local council pricing rules. Effectively you agree a price for the journey.
PM me if you want to discuss. This is my business.
Did you get the driver's badge number? Or vehicle registration and plate number?
If you prebooked, it is likely a Private Hire vehicle and they are not governed by local council pricing rules. Effectively you agree a price for the journey.
PM me if you want to discuss. This is my business.
Mercury00 said:
Did you not object to the bill being £80 after he'd specifically said it would be £30-£40?
There is this too.If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
Tyre Smoke said:
There is this too.
If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
..or charged on the meter (as set by council regs)If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
NGee said:
Tyre Smoke said:
There is this too.
If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
..or charged on the meter (as set by council regs)If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
Werks said:
Got this from Coventry City Council website. Hope it clears some points up. Hackney Carriage Vehicles
It is mandatory for Hackney Carriages to use a meter when a journey is within Coventry and cannot charge more than the meter indicates at the journey's destination.
This meter works on both distance and time. Therefore if there is slow-moving traffic the price may be higher than if the traffic is light. If the journey is going outside the boundaries of Coventry then the driver can refuse to take the customer or agree a price with the customer, however this amount has to be agreed before the journey commences (in this instance it is not mandatory to use the meter).
That is the same all over the country. Effectively a Hackney Carriage is legislated by the local authority. It may travel outside that area, but effectively becomes a Private Hire vehicle for that journey. It is mandatory for Hackney Carriages to use a meter when a journey is within Coventry and cannot charge more than the meter indicates at the journey's destination.
This meter works on both distance and time. Therefore if there is slow-moving traffic the price may be higher than if the traffic is light. If the journey is going outside the boundaries of Coventry then the driver can refuse to take the customer or agree a price with the customer, however this amount has to be agreed before the journey commences (in this instance it is not mandatory to use the meter).
Tyre Smoke said:
NGee said:
Tyre Smoke said:
There is this too.
If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
..or charged on the meter (as set by council regs)If it was a Private Hire vehicle, no roof light and meter is optional and can be set at anything, the fact you agreed a fare prior to the journey makes it legit. Underhand, but legit. A Private Hire vehicle can charge what they like, but it has to be prebooked and price given before the journey. A Hackney Carriage (not necessarily a black cab) has a roof light and a meter. The meter is set by the council as the maximum that can be charged. There should also be a tariff card on display or available for passengers to see which is produced by the Local Authority. They can also wait on a taxi rank (but only in their own Authority area) or be flagged in the street.
The company I drove for had about 60 cars and ALL cars both Hackney and PH (probably split about 60/40) were fitted with security tagged meters sealed by the council and regularly spot checked.
Tyre Smoke said:
There is no legal requirement for a Private Hire vehicle to have a meter fitted. And if they do there is no requirement for it to be set at the local authority rate. That is national legislation.
I have no idea what the national legislation is, I just drove the bloody thing!But I do know for a fact that the local council did spot checks on all cars, including PH, and they did check the security seal on the meter.
However it wouldn't surprise me if the local council got it wrong!!
Without at least one of the following there is absolutely nothing the OP or Coventry City Council can do:
Driver's badge number/name
Vehicle registration number
Vehicle plate number
Also, for all we know, it could a Private Hire vehicle from another area illegally plying for hire (acting like a Hackney Carriage)
Driver's badge number/name
Vehicle registration number
Vehicle plate number
Also, for all we know, it could a Private Hire vehicle from another area illegally plying for hire (acting like a Hackney Carriage)
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