Cautionary New York Taxi Tale!
 

This little saga is meant to serve as a PSA for people taking taxis in New York.

My BF and I arrived at JFK this past Sunday after spending a delightful week in Turks and Caicos. After conquering customs and baggage claim, we hopped in a cab to head back to our apartment in Manhattan. The taxi stand operator handed us the little sheet of paper that lists the cab information and rate. I threw it in my bag and forgot about it.

We arrived at our apartment, paid the cabbie, and asked him to pop the trunk. We went around to the back of the cab to grab our bags out of the open trunk. As we approached the cab, it started to pull away. My BF was able to grab one of our bags before the cab sped off down Sullivan Street with its trunk wide open! My BF took off running, but he was long gone. The bag sitting in the cabbie's trunk contained about $2K worth of scuba equipment.

After frantically calling 311 and the T&L commission, I realized that I had that little slip of paper from the taxi stand at the airport. Lo and behold, the taxi's medallion number was on it. We were able to track down the cab company, thank god! The owner finally called us back yesterday, and we got the bag back. Of course he wanted us to schlep all the way to Brooklyn to get it, but we would have none of that. We told him that the cabbie could bring the bag to us, or else we would file a complaint with the TLC.

So....moral of the story - pay attention to who's driving your cab! I take cabs several times a week and am typically oblivious to this. We would have been totally screwed if not for that little slip of paper from JFK. The medallion number for you taxi can be found on the doors of the cab.

That's it for my PSA - have a great morning!

Excellent suggestion. Even us seasoned New Yorkers usually ignore medallion numbers. Scribbling it on any scrap of paper (or keeping the yellow JFK receipt) can save a lot of headache. Thanks for the reminder!

So glad you got your stuff back! I have heard of this happening before unfortunately. It reminds you to not pay until you have retrieved your bags, if that is possible. Those cabbies are hot to get back to airport to get another fare. Time is money to them.
Debi

Debi you are so right ! My husband always gets out of the taxi, stands by the trunk as he reaches for his wallet, and doesn't pay him until all our bags are out - he learned his lesson well once when he paid while still in the taxi and his wallet slipped onto the seat and he didn't realize it until the taxi pulled away and he went to pay the bellman - lucky for him the next customer was a nice guy who took his wallet with him and called the number on his business card in his wallet and told him where his office was so he could retrieve his wallet ! So now he doesn't remove his wallet until he is outside of the taxi and all the bags are out too.

Sorry to hear about that, lizzie. That stinks. I hope your cabbie got fined by the TLC.

When I'm with my DH in a cab and we have something in the trunk, one of us usually stays in the cab to pay the cabbie while the other (usually DH) gets out to get the bags. But when we have smaller bags with us, we usually bring them in the back seat with us.

Thanks for the solidarity! We were lazy and assumed that b/c he popped the trunk while we were in the cab, it was okay. I wonder how long he drove around w/ his trunk wide open before he realized it. The scary part was that he wasn't even on his cell phone!

Having him pop the trunk isn't enough. I stand there while the driver unloads the trunk. Often they prefer not to get out of the cab. But - I tip well - and part of the service is taking any luggage in and out of the trunk. So - I stand there until they get out and unload the lugage. (The polite one take the luggage over to the sidewalk for you.) Then I pay them.

That way you never have a problem.

How scary! Thanks for the warning.

Thanks for info--we are going to NYC in a few months and will keep this in mind. Glad to hear things worked out for you :)

Jebus - you should still make a complaint. You should be able to press charges. Unbelievable.

Now that we have our stuff back we've relaxed a bit. I did almost have a coronary when the cab company wanted us to pay the driver to drop the bag off. My BF had to put one hand over my mouth while he was on the phone w/ the owner:-)

Thanks for the warning and glad it all worked out.

Press charges? And be told the cab driver simply made an "honest mistake?" Sure.

Dukey - The way lizziea06 told the story it didn't sound like an honest mistake.

Thanks for the heads up lizzie!

Thief!

Just awful. So it sounds like this was purposeful, yes?

I don't think it was intentional...the guy had no way of knowing what was in the other bag. I think he just had a brain fart and wasn't paying attention.

This sounds at the very least like a felony. You should be able to file a police report on the taxi driver.

You will probably get better results filing a complaint with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. Here is a link to file a complaint online:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/pas...omplaint.shtml

You might, however, have to take time off to testify. But, that is how you would punish to the taxi company.

But if the trunk was wide open, surely he had to see that?

It's definitely not a felony, just a bonehead mistake. The owner of the cab company told us that the driver called him a few hours after this occured and told him that he had our bag. I think if he really meant to steal from us, he wouldn't have reported the lost luggage to his boss. I'm sure he "forgot" to tell his boss that he drove off with it in his open truck. We took care of that :-)

There have been stories of cabbies driving off with car seats in the back seat. I've been getting into a cab when all of sudden it starts moving. Like many other drivers, they get distracted, maybe even more so b/c they drive all day. It also doesn't help that they always seem to be on their cell phones.

The point of this tale was to let people learn from our mistake and to remind everyone to pay attention to details! Trust me, we are all over the TLC website and complaint form. What we really cared about was getting our stuff back, and we did!

<This sounds at the very least like a felony.>

So, at the very worst what would this be? I'm curious as to how making a mistake and driving off with someone's bag could be worse than a felony.

Anyway, glad you got your stuff back and thanks for the advice lizzie.

I've always been surprised how overly helpful cab drivers are in NYC. They always insist on loading and unloading the bags themselves and usually make a point of sitting them over on the curb, not just on the street behind the trunk. I've noticed too that they recently started writing down the cabs number on those slips at the airport, which also explain the rates to unkowing tourists.

I would say they help me about 50% of the time. The other times they are yapping obliviously on their cell phones while I'm struggling to load my bags.

My observation has been that they help me with the bags about 50% of the times at best... but if I'm with my gf & she hails the cab, then we get help 100% of the time. :)
There are all sorts of drivers out there- recently there was one who was in the news for having returned a briefcase containing $500K of diamond rings after tracing the bag to its rightful owner. And then I remember one of my Japanese friends (who barely spoke English) who was threatened by the crazy taxi driver and charged him $200 to get to a midtown hotel from JFK. Thus, I always stay alert.

The worst cab driver I've ever had was an individual named Hitler. Swear to god. As soon as we started driving, he turned on this death metal music and drove like a complete lunatic. We were too scared to ask him to stop. When we finally got to our destination, we threw money at him (no tip) and ran behind the cab so that he couldn't run us down.

Agree: never pay until all your stuff is out of the taxi - I learned that 40+ years ago in Manhattan.
M

Lizzie,

You can still file a complaint with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. The taxi company sounds liable for penalties for their behavior after you reported the missing luggage. The taxi company should not have attempted to charge you to return the luggage. There are also rules about taxi driver behavior when transporting passengers with luggage.

I'm pretty sure you can't be penalized for a being an a**hole, but it would be nice! The taxi company isn't liable for property lost in cabs, nor is the driver obligated to return any lost property directly to the owner. They are supposed to drop off lost items at a designated precinct, but I'm sure most drivers don't even bother to take the time do it.

I'm sure the cab driver told his boss that we forgot our luggage in his cab, so I can't really fault the owner for not wanting to do us any favors. He was more accommadating once we explained the situation. Frankly, we just wanted the stuff back.

Actually, if you own and operate a taxi company in NYC, you can be penalized for being an a****le. Our friend works for the Pennsylvania PUC prosecuting violations of common carriers like taxicabs, limousine companies, and charter bus service. At least, that is what she just said to me on the phone.

This a***nine behavior would be penalized under PA law. Taxi companies realize that too many complaints could lead to a suspension of their medallion. I am sure NY state has similar rules for transportation carriers.

You have nothing to lose by filing a complaint, except a little time to fill out the complaint and time to testify at a potential hearing. But, you would gain some satisfaction the taxi company would pay for this.

Here is the link to file a complaint online:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/pas...omplaint.shtml

Use it if you like, or not. I know that in PA, these complaints are taken seriously.

Sorry I wasn't clear - we filed a complaint.

Good for you. I hope this works.

Yikes Lizzie, what a nightmare! I've only had that happen to me in DC, but never in NYC. At least not yet.

But I don't ever pay in the cab. If alone, I open the door closest to the sidewalk, and then don't close it until I get my luggage, whereupon the driver gets paid for the ride. If not alone, one of us is in the cab until everything is out.

It's more difficult in DC to complain to anyone as there are many different companies, and not one centralized agency to deal with like in NY.

But I have to agree with NeoPatrick. The cab drivers I've had have always removed my luggage from the trunk, except for this one guy who had then recently had surgery (and he told me so upfront before I got in the cab at the airport so I knew what I was dealing with).

Oh, but there is a central agency to complain about taxicabs in DC--the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission. They also handle complaints of limousine drivers.

Late arriving with this information but, to be able to track your cab and property, get in the habit of ALWAYS asking for a receipt. The data on the individual cab is printed there, plus time and date, making it easier to track them down and/or report a problem.

Example: I got in a taxi one New Years Day to go across town for lunch. The driver was drinking vodka out of a pint bottle (which he put in a paper bag AFTER I saw it, but kept drinking!) After happily arriving at my destination, I could make a phone call using info on the receipt to report it. (easier than copying down cab number on license posted in cab.) Dont' know what happened, but at least I was able to send out a heads up.

wow - lizziea
thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. i had no idea, and the others who posted with good advice is excellent.

Today we had a cabbie who was inexperienced or stupid. In any event, besdies those that may be criminal there is a strong element of incompetence. I do notice the cab number becasue the license is usally shrouded in bad light or behind scratched pleiglass.

One morning I got a cab driver and it was first day and he did not know how to operate the doors.

Maybe it's just my luck, but I have found NYC cabbies to be very good. I tip good and have never had a cab driver fail to assist me with my bags from the trunk.
In addition, I do not see NYC cabbies use the 'roundabout' drive to increase fares as often as elsewhere. The absolute worst are the cabs at MIA.
Every single cab I took during my last trip managed to hose me on the routing.

Glad everything worked out for you