Paris Taxi Attempted Scam?
 

On May 28, my husband, 12-year-old granddaughter and I arrived at the Gare du Nord on the Eurostar from London. We joined the taxi queue to go to our apartment near the Louvre-Rivoli Métro station and when we were next in line, a taxi van pulled up and we were directed to it. Our three carry-on bags were loaded and we set off. Before we turned right at the end of the taxi driveway, I noticed that the meter showed E55.00. I pointed that out to the driver and asked him to turn on the meter. He said that that was the correct price since we were in a large vehicle. I disagreed and asked him to let us out. He then turned right (rue Maubeuge?) and took us up to the end of the taxi queue where we got out. I regret that I did not have the presence of mind to get his license number, but I did not. We rejoined the queue and I went to the front to inform the man who was managing the queue and told him what had happened. He confirmed that the driver was wrong and should have started the meter, and put us in another taxi right away. Had we not been knowledgeable about taxis in Paris and had I not been able to speak to the driver in French, we would have paid E55.00 for a ride that actually cost E18.00.

You did the right thing by speaking out. I am glad he let you out without any problems. My last taxi experience in Paris was a terrible one as well.
I hope you still had a great time in Paris.

The taxi drivers at Gare du Nord are notorious for the 55€ fixed fee ploy. There is a sticker on the left side passenger´s window, in French and English, explaining the cost structure and clearly stating that 55€ is the fixed fee only from the Left Bank to CDG. I asked a driver recently about this, and he said that many of these dishonest drivers only work Gare du Nord just to take advantage of vulnerable visitors.

Last fall, some friends and I took a cab from Gare du Nord to my apartment. The driver never started the meter. Upon arrival, I made sure everyone got their bags, I took out my smart phone and took pictures of his parking permit and license plate. The driver was not amused. I was prepared to give him up to 20€ but he left, after a few words, without taking any money, saving himself from a report to the Préfecture. I cannot make a complaint about a free ride.


This will continue until the police step in but without complaints from passengers, nothing will change. This is the form, in English, you fill out and send to the préfecture.

Alternatively, when arriving Gare du Nord, arrange for pickup in advance with the SNCF service called Mon Chauffeur.

cafegoddess - When I spoke up about the amount on the meter, I honestly sort of thought the driver could have made a mistake or something. Then when he said that was the fixed price for a large vehicle, I knew it was deliberate. He was very polite when I said we wanted to get out but still insisted the price was correct. His parting words were that we should be sure to ask for a "petite voiture" next time. Strange. Anyway, we had a wonderful time in Paris, as we always do.

Sarastro - Thanks for all your good information. Here on the forum people are advised to use the official taxi queues assuming the taxis there are official and will follow the rules. Apparently not so. I have been in Paris more than 20 times since my first visit in 1962. We do not use taxis often during our stays, but occasionally we have encountered grumpy drivers. I don't remember ever thinking, however, that we were being overcharged or cheated. If this becomes more common, it will help drive people to Uber or similar where the price for the ride is confirmed in advance. Hope not. We did have a good experience with the G7 app when booking our trip to CDG at the end of our stay. I think I will complete the complaint form and send it in even though I can't identify the driver. It will add to the numbers of complaints about this scam.

I think it may be time for Gare du Nord to put up visible signs in or near the taxi queue explaining that there are no fixed fares from Gare du Nord to any destination except the airports.

I agree with Kerouac's idea and would expand it to all major train stations in the city where thousands of people, foreigners and French, arrive daily who may be vulnerable to such scams. In fact, I think I will add his good suggestion to my complaint form.

Oh my God, this is plain awful. Thankfully you were able to speak some French and even looked at the meter. Honestly I usually don't remember to check the meter and if the price seems inflated to me I just say the city is expensive...... Well with this I have learnt a very valuable lesson. Thanks so much for sharing.

Taxi scams can happen anywhere. I personally almost always try to use public transportation to avoid such problems, but I have faced scams in New York, Manila, Hanoi and Tunis. In fact the only city in the world where I have 100% confidence in taxis is Singapore, but I am probably wrong to do so.

Agree that for travelers, cab swindles are so commonplace they are just part of the experience. At Kennedy airport I had to make a switch from Air India to United. The stated fare between terminals was posted on the back of the seat in front of me. When I was told a vastly inflated fare and protested pointing out the sign, the New York cabbie replied. "Do you want your luggage?" I broke into laughter, paid him and went on.

I also have taken public transport just to avoid potential hassles and scams. Even if we agree that taxi scams are relatively rare and that most taxi drivers around the world are honest, where there is a lack of transparency and customers who don't know how it's supposed to work, it breeds scams or even just perceptions that you might be scammed. I travel a lot and when you arrive at an airport, unless you research it, you have no idea what the taxi into town should cost. You jump in and you don't really know how the meter works or if anything will be added. You don't know if it should be fixed price or meter. Will they take a credit card? Do I have enough local currency? What about tipping? Will my credit card be safe? Is he going to pull some non-sense that I need to argue about when I'm tired and just want to get to my hotel. Should i be trying to act like I know the city and where I'm going to avoid looking like an easy target? We all love local differences and local 'colour' but I think that with taxis, consistency and predictability is key.

I know that Uber, etc have their issues but the perception is that you know how it works wherever you go and that it will be predictable and hassle free. I know this isn't always the case but it's this perception that has caused Uber, etc to take hold. Gives customers a feeling (rightly or wrongly) that they are empowered and not like a sitting duck. The customer perception and expectation with a random taxi is very different.

"Singapore and Japan"

Yes, I should have mentioned Tokyo and also Seoul, but I haven't been to either in more than 30 years.

Such good reasons to 'read up' on the Fora and travel sites before planned travel to learn the details of Taxi scams/prices/meters/ tips......etc.

Try Mexican City...for a fun time with taxi rates..
or Russian cities

Not Paris but instead Rome’s Termini Station:
I was not sharp one morn regarding taxis in these major Euro cities. Maybe the cause was lack of sleep due to an unholy early train departure time? We had been warned by numerous sources, local and otherwise, not to trust Termini taxis drivers there, and that the maximum fare to our Monti rental should be no more than 7 euros. So, when our turn came at the head of the line, I sternly asked the young driver whether his taxi metre was working. He was a bit taken aback and pointed to his perfectly-functioning meter. In short order, we pulled up in front of our rental and the driver kindly commenced to unload our pair of suitcases. He mumbled some total fees, which I misunderstood to mean were to be combined as extra amounts for the heavy bags. For all my “Ain’t nobody gonna’ rip us off!” bravado, I ended up paying the driver more than he asked!

I am done. The Eedyawt!

We had a similar experience at Gare du Nord, May 2018. Came from Brussels, and went to cab line. A man, who seemed like he was managing the queue, told us the taxis were on strike, except the ones going to the airport. He told us he had one for 80E to take us to the 11th, Place Voltaire. We knew that wasn't right, so we parted company, and finally found a bus that took us there, for 2E each.

Unfortunately, the trains did go on strike while we were there, and we never made it to Troyes or Provins.

There is no paucity of taxi horror stories everywhere in the world, but I hope that this thread at least will make enough people aware of the Gare du Nord problem. I doubt that other Paris main line stations have this affliction (if one other station does, it would be Gare de Lyon due to trains arriving from Italy and Switzerland), but Gare du Nord is an easy mark with the Eurostar and also clueless people arriving from CDG on the RER. Unfortunately the forums are partially responsible for the problem since many people portray Gare du Nord as a scary place full of pickpockets and other dangers (the former annoyance of the Roma beggars/scammers no longer exists -- that's a plus). Gare du Nord is the busiest train station in Europe, so that should of course be taken into consideration, but taking the metro or the bus from there is really among the simplest things in the world. The bus is particularly advantageous since numerous bus lines have their terminus on top of the suburban station, so even people with voluminous baggage will not have a problem -- the buses are empty at their starting point, so you can stow your baggage in the central area and sit right in front of it. Even if most of the taxi drivers are honest, they are also a huge source of pollution on the streets of Paris, so if you can choose a more ecologically responsible method of travel, it will be good for all of us.

I agree with kerouac that the exploitation of clients occurs particularly at Gare du Nord. The taxi drivers are the airports all now generally adhere to the 50€/55€ CDG fixed fare and the 30€/35€ ORY fixed fare and are otherwise very honest.

In the past, I have recommended using the SNCF´s Mon Chauffeur to arrange for pickup at Gare du Nord and avoid the thieves working the official taxi queue. However, I have found you can contact Snapcar directly, the company that supplies many of the cars/drivers for Mon Chauffeur, and save about 10€ to 15€ over the prices quoted by Mon Chauffeur.

Snapcar also has an app for your smartphone.

Public Transport in Paris
 

It is inexpensive and easy to navigate. I have only tried Paris taxis once and that was because of a rail strike and I had to get to CDG. Otherwise it is public transport. And this is about the same throughout Europe.

Interestingly, I have never had a taxi scam performed on me, although I'll admit I rarely take taxis anywhere, I'm just not a taxi kind of person. Just don't like the whole deal of being in a car with a stranger and not really knowing exactly what is going to happen with fares, etc. I really like it when there is a fixed fare from airports, which is the case in numerous Mexican cities, thank goodness. I've never been to Asia, though, but Ive never been scammed in NY or Washington DC or other US cities, although as I said, my experience is limited. I have taken them from Gare du Nord but not for a long time.

I just don't like the music they often play on the radio, having to talk to them as occasionally I get a chatty one, and I generally want to be left alone, etc. I really often dislike the music they play on the radio. On the other hand, riding in silence with a stranger in a car for 45 minutes is also uncomfortable if you're alone. I just don't like the whole taxi thing. I do like it okay when I got to places like Prague or Krakow and my hotel arranges a private driver, though, at a reasonable rate.