Taxi Extortion Options

[Wicca]

Having needed to get a taxi back from the works Christmas 'Do', my partner and I discovered that they were charging a starting fee of £10 before even starting the journey.

From previous use we know that a £2.50 charge is the standard starting charge, fair enough the weather is dangerous but a 400% increase is a bit over the top. I appreciate that taxi drivers have to make a living but I feel that its way too much and taking advantage of the situation.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[Richard Garvie]

Hi Wicca,

What firm did you use?

[gel]

Having needed to get a taxi back from the works Christmas 'Do', my partner and I discovered that they were charging a starting fee of £10 before even starting the journey.

From previous use we know that a £2.50 charge is the standard starting charge, fair enough the weather is dangerous but a 400% increase is a bit over the top. I appreciate that taxi drivers have to make a living but I feel that its way too much and taking advantage of the situation.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Thought charges were laid down/agreed with WBC.

What time of day was pick up??

[Iommi]

Isn't £2.50 based on off the rank?

[Dodgys smarter b...]

Aren't fares calculated FROM the rank to destination?

Thus if you call taxi from Newbury to pick you up at the White Horse in Hermitage and take you up the road to the Fox in Hermitage it would be daft to expect a cab to do all that journey and only charge you £3.00 (or whatever) They are allowed to charge an 'extra' fee to cover this. It says on the fare chart, and the meter has an area marked 'extras'.

The Company I use both personally, and for business, are really good. They even text you when they are outside, giving you the name of the driver and details of the vehicle picking you up. (this is for your own safety) (as is getting a quote to start with) (as you didn't)

You can always ask the company for a 'quote' to start with, You obviously didn't. You can always ask for a reciept and take it up with the company concerned. All cabs have copies of their licences and badges displayed inside the cab, so that you get details and complain to the Council, I assume you obviously didn't get these details.

Where was your journey to and from?

Personally, driving around in that freezing snow picking up people who were to drunk to drive themselves....well, you'd have to pay me an awful lot more that.

[Strafin]

Wicca, they were trying to rip you off pure and simple. If they wanted to charge you that much to start with I believe they should have told you. I do not consider a £10 bonus for the driver a usual cost and therefore not expected. You should put down in the bouquet & brickbats thread on here who they were. Taxi's in Newbury charge an absolute fortune, in line with London I'm guessing? I have had £2.50 put on before as an extra but refused to pay it and it has come straight off the meter. Which means they're probably pocketing it anyway.

[Darren]

http://www.westberks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8280

Taxi tariffs

Was it a Hackney Carriage or a Private Hire vehicle?

[Wicca]

A colleague used Cabco, I found they were quite resonable last year (same weather conditions) but decided against the unusually expensive starting cost for this year with a much more pocket friendly taxi of Mum

[Dodgys smarter b...]

You still haven't told us where the journey was to and from...

[Wicca]

West Grange Hotel to Thatcham Station, a 15min journey as the roads were perfectly clear.

[Dodgys smarter b...]

So you'd expect a taxi to drive from the Market place in Newbury all the way to West Grange, go round the corner and only charge you for that bit? Good luck.

Do you think a Hungerford company would do that? or a Tilehurst one? So why Newbury Cabco?

Why not use a Thatcham Taxi company?

They were not charging a starting fee, only an 'add-on' to cover dead mileage. They are obliged to tell you this before the start of the journey, (which apparently they did - and then choice is then yours, I guess)

But that add- on only applied to your particular journey, and was not a general surcharge on all journeys as you seemed to be implying.

Ignore Strafin...he / she is talking out their a**s and obviously is not aware of the difference between a Taxi and Private Hire booking.

[Strafin]

Wow, somebody is very defensive, you're obviously something to do with one of the rip off "run out of a council house" taxi firms. There is no reason to mention the difference between a hackney carriage and a private hire. If the cab was coming from Newbury and wanted to charge from the rank, they should have been up front or not taken the booking. I have called cabs from Newbury before and £2.50 is not totally unreasonable, but to be fair there shouldn't be a charge at all. If you can do the trip as you're in the area great, otherwise say no. If the hotel were asked I am sure they would have numbers for local firms in Thatcham who wouldn't have charged extra. And you always have the option of saying no before you leave.

[Strafin]

You can always ask the company for a 'quote' to start with, You obviously didn't.

They were not charging a starting fee, only an 'add-on' to cover dead mileage. They are obliged to tell you this before the start of the journey, (which apparently they did - and then choice is then yours, I guess)

So did he get a quote or not? You are contradicting yourself.

[Bofem]

In all likelihood, this is WBC's fault.

Like most councils, WBC sets the maximum price for taxi fares, a price ceiling if you will. This serves to distort the market and results in hidden charging.

The way forward is to scrap council price-setting and let customers decide what they want to pay. To be fair, WBC has relaxed the number of licences (I think it went up from 100 to 300 in last 5 years).

But AFAIK, all the firms operate don't compete on price (or even customer service training for drivers), but on peripheral issues like texting you when they arrive.

[Exhausted]

In all likelihood, this is WBC's fault.

Like most councils, WBC sets the maximum price for taxi fares, a price ceiling if you will. This serves to distort the market and results in hidden charging.

Well, we blame WBC for everything else so why make an exception here.

I would be interested to know how the maximum fare table distorts the market and results in hidden charging. Perhaps you could give some examples.

The Hackney carriage rules and charges are quite clear as laid down by WBC and usually as a result of discussion and agreement with the taxi association.

As far as the £10.00 surcharge, I would suggest this is not a surcharge but the cost of coming from the rank to the location for pick up and will be within the rules. From the table of fares by WBC.....

Customers should be aware that these charges are the MAXIMUM to be charged and any lesser fare negotiated prior to commencement of the journey. The meter may be engaged in the hired time mode at the agreed booking time. (Local Government ( Miscellaneous Provisions ) Act 1976 sec 67)

[Dodgys smarter b...]

Wow, somebody is very defensive, you're obviously something to do with one of the rip off "run out of a council house" taxi firms. There is no reason to mention the difference between a hackney carriage and a private hire.

Silly boy. Firstly no I'm not., so no need to get personal, and secondly, all bookings made over the telephone come under the Private Hire Regulations, NOT Hackney Carriage laws.That would make this a Private Hire job. You stated spouting about Taxi regulations. You were wrong, they don't count. Thirdly, are you allowed to run businesses from 'Council Houses'? I think not. If you're talking about West Berkshire, do you mean Soveriegn Housing? (and you can't run businesses from them either)

If the cab was coming from Newbury and wanted to charge from the rank, they should have been up front or not taken the booking.

Apparently they were upfront, when she learned of the situation Wicca chose not to use one. What more do you want? Did you read the posts, or did you just go off half-cocked? She didn't use anyone but her Mum.

[Biker1]

Silly boy. Firstly no I'm not., so no need to get personal,

You tell Strafin not to get personal after telling him/her he/she was "talking out of their a***e"!

[Rosewinelover]

Once again the taxi driver I had Friday night didn't know where my road was. Took a few mins to explain it. Then when my friend and I told him the 2 address to take us to, he then said, 'Yeah and where after that'...I said 'Uh, there is only 2 of us, so no more addresses'. Then when we made it to my road I gave my friend some money towards the taxi, the driver asked me to pay, I said my friend will when you take her home. He said'Well, where is she going? You only said to here'... My god it was confused.com. I said 'We told you the other address when we got in', he said 'No you didn't'. Well by this point all my friend and I could do was laugh, it was bloody ridiculous. She finally made it home though

Taxis are expensive, especially in the christmas period. I still think £10 is a rip off Wicca, fair play to your mum coming to get you. At least you didn't risk falling over/being mugged by walking home.

And DSB - WOW, what is wrong with you, wrong side of the bed this moring?

[Chesapeake]

So you'd expect a taxi to drive from the Market place in Newbury all the way to West Grange, go round the corner and only charge you for that bit? Good luck.

Do you think a Hungerford company would do that? or a Tilehurst one? So why Newbury Cabco?

Why not use a Thatcham Taxi company?

They were not charging a starting fee, only an 'add-on' to cover dead mileage. They are obliged to tell you this before the start of the journey, (which apparently they did - and then choice is then yours, I guess)

But that add- on only applied to your particular journey, and was not a general surcharge on all journeys as you seemed to be implying.

Ignore Strafin...he / she is talking out their a**s and obviously is not aware of the difference between a Taxi and Private Hire booking.

I used to manage a cab and courier firm in London before the new licenced regulations came in. Firstly when a booking is taken it should be given to the nearest cab to the pick up point thus reduce any "dead" mileage. The pricing is calculated from pick up point to destination, not from the "rank". Hasn't anybody seen taxis parked up around the area seemingly doing nothing? This is because they have delivered their "fare" and are waiting for their next job hoping that they will be the nearest therefore making their jobs for the day cost effective as they only will have to drive a short distance to the pick up point. There is a minimum charge for a journey and any extra mileage after that minimum charge has been used will be charged on top, usually per mile for a private hire vehicle. It would cost an extortionate amount if a private hire booking was calculated from base each time.

When getting a taxi of any kind it is always sensible to ask for a quote beforehand thus giving you the option of accepting or not.

Maybe "Dodgy's Smarter Brother" is Dodgy's Not So Smart Brother" at the moment for some of the comments he has made here?

[Weavers Walk]

When getting a taxi of any kind it is always sensible to ask for a quote beforehand thus giving you the option of accepting or not.

That would appear to be in essence what he said.

If the rest of your post is correct you should know the difference between a Private Hire booking and a Hackney one then. You should know the difference between plying for hire on a rank and somebody ringing an office. You should know about the Miscellaneous Provisions Act and JC Buttons (which apparently, my friends at Public Protection tell me is used as 'Gospel' by West Berks)
It would seem though that you aren't aware as to how these are interpreted here in West Berks.

Maybe you're better suited to your new job.