taxi scams....
 

Just visited the United States forum and they have a thread started regarding taxi scams....has anyone had problems with taxi scams in Europe?

Always , always go to the offical taxi line when arriving in Rome, either at airport or Termini, we were ripped off once and that was enough . I also prefer the REAL "Black" taxis in London , every time I've taken a minicab it always seems to cost more and they really go in aroundabout way thinking you're a tourist and don't know any better, I had to ask one guy where the hell he thought he was going because it was a ride I'd taken many many times before !

Same thing goes for Paris. Always get in the "real" taxi line and get in a cab marked "Taxi Parisien." You may well be approached by people asking you for rides - don't take them.

SkyHarbor Airport, Phoenix: Stand in line for the taxis; don't fall for "ride in a limo for the same price as a taxi!" I used to keep saying no thanks no thanks, and the drivers would just keep hollering. Now I say "I LIVE HERE AND I KNOW WHAT A TAXI COSTS", and they go away. <BR> <BR>Anywhere in Morocco - agree on the price for a Grand Taxi before you get in, and if it's for round trip, make it clearly understood the price is for the round trip.

Don't know if its a scam or not, but I've heard that some taxis in Barcelona pick you up at hotels with money already on the meter-they claim its a fee required because the cab was ordered by the hotel. I don't think thats how its supposed to go. My only problem with taxis in Barcelona was going to the airport early in the morning, our driver passed up an exit to the airport and when questioned explained that there was a lot of construction going on. The fare was almost double what it was coming from the airport the day before!

topping

&lt;&lt;I've heard that some taxis in Barcelona pick you up at hotels with money already on the meter-they claim its a fee required because the cab was ordered by the hotel. I don't think thats how its supposed to go.&gt;&gt; <BR> <BR>It's no scam. Same in Paris. If you get in a taxi at a taxi stand you start at zero. If you order one to pick you up, you pay for the trip from the taxi stand to the hotel, restaurant. For more Paris information e-mail me – [email protected] <BR> <BR>

We arrived at the Milan train station from Venice around 11:00 - 11:30 p.m. one night last month. The last shuttle provided by our hotel had already left, so we had to get a taxi. We actually needed 2 taxis -- there were 8 of us, with luggage. The cabbies first said 120,000 lira per cab, but he then said since we were getting 2 cabs, he & his friend would take us to our hotel for 100,000 lira per cab (they spoke limited English & we spoke limited Italian, but this is what was agreed upon). <BR>Halfway to our hotel, the cabs pulled off the road & the two drivers got out & had a "discussion" (one of the drivers was quite upset). When we arrived at the hotel, they tried to charge us 124,000 lira for each cab & said this was the price we had agreed on. To make a long story short, the very nice desk man at our hotel told us that this had happened before to guests at the hotel. We ended up giving each driver 110,000 lira and let them know we would not give them any more and that they were nothing but dishonest. The cabbies were unhappy, but they did leave. <BR>The next time this happens to us & a price is agreed upon, I will get it in writing before I get into a cab!

Pull the thread on taxi scams in Prague and do a search on taxi's in Lisbon... <BR>Both will drive you crazy! <BR>In Prague I met a lovely, naive couple with 3 children and a parent, who paid a FORTUNE from the train staion in Prague to their hotel. The cabbie kept telling them he could not find the hotel. Finally, the couple were let out at a friends house. That friend called another cab who insisted it was too many people in his cab and another needed to be called in as well. They also "got lost" and couldn't find the hotel. Well, they did eventually.(This is all going on at midnight, no less.) Imagine these people's surprise when the next morning they awoke to the train station less than 6 blocks from the hotel! <BR>In their lovely, naive way, they still believe it was all an honest error on the part of these cabbies. :) <BR>

I had a cab driver in Prague pull the "where is the hotel" scam on me many years ago, in CSSR days, and when I showed him on my tourist bureau map how he had driven a big circle around the old town when a straight 5-minute shot would have done it, he asked me if I would like to exchange western money on the black market (which I was real tired of hearing having been working in E. Europe for a few months by then). I said no way, pal, and he flung my bags onto the pavement in front of the hotel, and growled "Gratis" when I offered him Czech money for the ride (a smaller amount than he had asked). But I pulled out a couple of colorful (worthless) Polish bank notes inadvertantly allowed out by a careless Polish border guard, and gave them to him. He stood there trying to make out what 1000 Zloty was worth(less) in (worthless) Koruna, looking perplexed, as I went into the hotel.

When in Paris a number of years ago I had to take a cab between train stations so that I could catch the final train of the evening. When we arrived at the destination station, I handed the cabbie my only bill and went to get my luggage. As soon as I had pulled the bag out of the trunk, the cabbie drove off, giving himself, in effect, a 400 FF tip. Sigh... <BR> <BR>Ever since then, when I have luggage in the trunk, I leave the door to the cab open so that they can't get away so easily -- once burned, twice shy.

In some touristic spots in Paris,if you're a foreigner, an official taxi driver could propose you an overall price for your ride. Not only it's illegal, but also the price proposed will of course always be higher than what you would have paid by the meter.