Hotel called taxi to take us to Paris Nord Station. When taxi came by to pick us up at hotel his meter was set at 8.80 euros. When we were on our way I questioned why meter was so high and he very arrogantly stated that when he gets a call from Hotel he starts the meter automatically as he will not be picking up any customers. Needless to say I was very upset. I wrote down taxi number and want to know where in Paris do I report this idiot so that other passengers do not pay this additional money.

IT is common practice that you are charged from the moment he leaves where he was. That's why it's better to go to the taxi stand.

Why call the cab driver an idiot when you obviously do not know the customs and rules of another city.
It is common for the meter to start when the driver gets the call. You have reserved him for the time it takes to get to your location and he should be paid for that.
If you want to avoid the charge then walk to a cab station and get your cab there,

You've got your answer. You didn't know what the rule was, and he is no idiot.
And if you had kept him waiting at the hotel, the meter would keep running.

The taxi driver is not the idiot here. What are you going to report him for? Following policy? The meter starts when the cabbie gets the dispatch and this is true for Paris and many other cities as well.

Next time take the bus or metro.

It would have been much better if you had asked about this rather than accusing someone of trying to cheat you or wanting to report someone for doing the right thing.

You're the idiot here. Every taxi cab in Paris (and plenty of other cities around the world) starts the meter running as soon as the call comes in from a customer. If you don't want to pay the charge, walk to a taxi stand or take another form of transportation.

I'd love to hear how your attempt to "report" him turns out - that's truly laughable! I can hear the Parisian authorities howling all the way across the ocean.

Wdiamond--I'm so sorry you got 40 lashes.

Hey, you learn as you go, wdiamond. None of can possibly know everything our first time around.

On the bright side: Now you know Paris taxi rules, and you'll be able to tell others.

If it makes you feel any better, we did not know the "meter starts running with the call" rule either our first time. Yeah, we did assume it was something like other locations' "automatic airport addition fare" etc, but it wasn't something we had absorbed.

And it's only lately that we just go to reliable taxi stops. Fact of the matter, not all of them ARE, so even knowing to go to one of them may not have helped.

Hope you get to return

This "custom" has been reported here for YEARS--usually under the "how to get to CDG from my hotel".
AND the fact that you don't just hail a cab in Paris--you go to the taxi stands which are on many maps.
It's a great reason to read posts here-or probably look in guide books.

Gretchen--
Actually, we all spend a lot of time telling people ad nauseum how to get a taxi from CDG ("Take the taxi! Take the taxi!") and we spend very little time posting about any rules to get back via taxi.

So perhaps the next time I repeat my constant "Take the darn taxi!" on the way in, I might mention the "how to get back via taxi" rules, too.
--We should add tipping rules.
--We should add "When you need to leave at rush hour when it's pouring, don't expect your guaranteed taxi to show--always have Plan B and Plan C".

8.80€ is a very good price for an arriving taxi. You should be thankful that the meter was so low when it arrived.

I don't care whether it has been reported on here or not, lots of people dont memorize Fodors or read every post (especially if not relevant). So I don't think that is a reason for anything.

However, in general, that rule sounds very normal for a taxi to me, so unless I found out otherwise, I wouldn't be calling taxi drivers idiots for doing somethign like that when I asked why there was a charge on the meter upon arrival.

Can someone please explain to me why we are not supposed to,hail a taxi in Paris? I've that here a few times and clearly, I am missing something, because I do it fairly often.

When/why you can't hail a taxi in Paris (the cab drivers are very well organized and have rules):

http://www.paris.fr/pratique/Portal....sheet_id=18589

And starting around now, new taxis in Paris will have green lights on the Taxi Parisien signs on top of the cabs if they're free, and red ones if they're taken, which is a lot less confusing than the current white light signals which are designed to let you know whether they're free or not and which fares will be charged (according to time of day and day of the week and other factors).

You can hail a taxi anywhere in Paris if you are at least 50 meters from a taxi station. Bring your measuring tape with you.

So,, the taxi driver,, doing his job was the "arrogant" one, ha ha,, guess what , you were the arrogant one accusing a man who is doing his job and who did explain to you why the meter is charged from call, bet you ran home and told all your old cronies about how mean the french were, right? Stay home.

HE isn't the idiot. this is how it works when you call a taxi in paris. If you don;t want to pay that you go to the nearest taxi stand to get one - or reserve a car service at a flat fee (which will be more than the taxi).

Allesandroe. There are innumerable posts about ordering a taxi to CDG from a hotel. They read much like"ask your hotel to call you a taxi. When it arrives it will have X on the meter from its stand." That is how I knew what to expect, AND to tap my foot when my DD was late arriving to go with us.

I have visited several cities in Europe and this is the first time this ever happened to me. It seems this rule exists only in Paris. He was an IDIOT and ARROGANT...very rude, not tourist friendly...I am only referring to this particular driver...he must have had a bad day...and there is nothing wrong with me questioning why meter fee was so high for him to answer so rude. I commented this incident to other taxi drivers in other countries and they are the ones who suggested I report this as it makes them look bad...
P.S. If taxi comes from the other side of town and charges 20Euros...I would have to pay that??? Where i the control!!!

I'd like to hear the taxi driver's side of this story, and how he would describe wdiamond's behaviour.

Your hotel called him--they call to the nearest taxi stand. You must have been a distance from one. You don't "control" unless you go to the stand. It is really quite simple.
Other taxi drivers in other countries? What possible use is that--it is not the way taxis are regulated in THOSE countries/cities.
Maybe you also need to know that you are charged a euro or so for each piece of luggage. It is added in to the final meter.
And yes, I imagine if the first words out of the potential passenger's mouth is about the meter, it isn't going to be a pleasant ride.