CAUTION: cab driver scam from YVR

[kdakda]

I just read a post in the past few days about a cab driver asking to be paid in cash (and very willing to take US dollars). It's clearly posted at YVR that fares from the airport are priced by zone and YVR to the Pan Pacific hotel/Cruiseport zone is $38.  I'm assuming that's Canadian, which would be approximately $28.50 US. I had my credit card out and he asked if we didn't have cash.  I said only US dollars and how much would that be------  he said $55.    I can't make this up!

I just stared at him and said it was posted at the airport that there was zone pricing and that would be less than $30 US.  At one point the driver said he'd take $40 US.  Dear Husband, being totally exhausted from minimal sleep and an early morning flight from the East Coast (and not having read these Boards), was all set to pay what the driver asked PLUS tip.  Neither of us wanted to get into an argument, and were so glad to finally be at the hotel, so I just got out of the cab and let him handle it....... 

[martincath]

Sorry you had a weaselcabbie - while there really aren't any unique-to-Vancouver cab scams (many other cities operate zoned fares, many other countries have informal acceptance of USD at rather variable exchange rates, so the same things happen elsewhere) and I've generally found cabbies here to be no more weaselly than most other places, it's never a bad idea to point these things out so others can learn from your misfortune!

 

Sorry to 'Monday morning QB' you, but you or DH should have simply paid by card as you first tried to; even if you have a card with a 2.5% foreign transaction fee no cabbie will ever give you an exchange rate that comes close to that, even if they are genuinely trying to do you a favour by taking foreign cash on a 'what will it cost me to go swap it at my bank' basis.

 

Sometimes cabbies will pretend that their machine is broken - if you stick to your guns and say 'sorry, no cash' then the machine magically stops being broken... They MUST accept Visa and Mastercard, as well as Canadian Debit system Interac, as part of their license conditions - if a card reader actually does genuinely break mid-shift they can call their dispatch office and run the card remotely.

 

Whether you're abroad or in your home city, just snapping a pic of the cabbie's license when you get in  generally ensures that they avoid scamming you - because even if you find out you were scammed after the fact you can still report them! Works anywhere with a regulated taxi system.

[kdakda]

I would have done exactly what you recommend (because I'd just read about this situation somewhere on the Boards), but Dear Hubby chose to get involved and thought I was giving the driver a hard time.  We were both very tired and just wanted to get in the hotel.

It never crossed my mind that Vancouver drivers were any different from in other cities------ just wanted to let others know of this potential situation.  Next time I'll verify the rate when we  first get the cab and be sure I can use a card.  Thanks for all that you share and educate!

[LB_NJ]

FYI, it is $34 Canadian 

[martincath]

22 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

FYI, it is $34 Canadian 

Not to the pier - that's the price to the Downtown zone which lacks the bottleneck of limited access streets and extra driving that the pier area suffers from.

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

Not to the pier - that's the price to the Downtown zone which lacks the bottleneck of limited access streets and extra driving that the pier area suffers from.

I did not look at the map that closely.  It is only a small sliver where the price switches from 34 to 38.

[GTJ]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:30 PM, kdakda said:

We were both very tired and just wanted to get in the hotel.

You were at a severe disadvantage, needing to assert yourselves when you were not physically fit to do so. Whenever traveling by taxi, and not paying by prepaid ticket, one should always be alert for taxis are a hotbed for scams in most cities. As noted elsewhere, the proper response would have been, first, to refuse to pay anything else but that which is authorized by the taxi regulation (in this case, 38.00 CAD by credit card), and second, in the event of any resistance by the taxi driver, to call for police assistance. In all but the most corrupt cities, where the police themselves are on the take, the police will almost always protect the passengers, not the taxi driver, especially when it is apparent that the taxi passengers are visiting and not local persons seeking a free taxi ride. But if one is too tired and places hotel check-in as most important, or if one is running late to board a bus, train, airplane, or cruise vessel, and therefore unable to wait for police assistance, then one is at a severe disadvantage.

 

A good taxi system, one that more transportation terminals should adopt, is to make available (or to mandate) prepaid tickets, sold either from a booth or machine. I remember this being the situation when we were in Puebla, México, arriving in the evening by bus from Oaxaca. In the arrivals gate area is a manned ticket booth, we purchased a ticket to our hotel the city center from a booth in the gate area for arrivals, went to the taxi area--itself located among the arrivals gates--the dispatcher directed us to a taxi, baggage was loaded, and we provided the ticket to the taxi driver (who would then later redeem the tickets that he or she collected from the bus terminal authority). No further money being expected to change hands. Perfect: easy and no scams.

 

I also note that public transportation is almost entirely without scams. Rarely is there any opportunity for anyone to scam because, in most cases, the money paid goes directly into a locked vault where no one can share. Yes, there are a few instances where drivers will take cash fares in hand, but very infrequently. It is a very secure means of transportation.

[Urban trekker]

MartinCath - I rarely used taxis in the city but aren't they all suppose to show the number for a taxi hot line to lodge a complaint. If this old and weary mind remembers correctly wasn't this brought in due to some taxis not wanting to pick up certain fares etc.

[martincath]

1 hour ago, Urban trekker said:

MartinCath - I rarely used taxis in the city but aren't they all suppose to show the number for a taxi hot line to lodge a complaint. If this old and weary mind remembers correctly wasn't this brought in due to some taxis not wanting to pick up certain fares etc.

You're right Dennis - the driver's ID, the 'hot line' number, and when at YVR the zone map should all be available and a 'good cabbie' will have them hanging in a plastic folder around the headrest of the passenger seat, visible to folks in back. But just like price and serving size lists in our bars and pubs, the de jure standard is 'as long as it is available' which is about as protective as a chocolate fireguard as folks ignorant of the requirement will not know to ask to see it if it's not on display!

 

I actually had to make use of such a hotline very soon after moving to Canada - a van cab we used to collect our shipped goods from the bonded warehouse at YYZ stiffed us, wouldn't turn the meter on (this was a decade before the fixed zone fares began), and when I complained eventually agreed to a price that was equivalent to the cab fare we paid heading out there but demanded cash, obviously didn't intend to run it through the system. When we arrived and unloaded, he then literally just drove off with my money after saying he needed to get change from inside the van!

 

IIRC it was something like $15 I wanted back from a $50 so my wife said just let it go - but I figured if he was that brazen to us, after I had called him on the No Meter issue he'd do the same or worse to others who could afford the loss less than we could. A three minute phone call, quoted the cab license, driver name and our details, job done - a couple of weeks later we got a registered letter with a $50 bill and a copy of the driver's disciplinary infraction letter indicating he needed to repeat his 'core customer service' class!

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

[A] van cab we used to collect our shipped goods from the bonded warehouse at YYZ stiffed us, wouldn't turn the meter on (this was a decade before the fixed zone fares began), and when I complained eventually agreed to a price that was equivalent to the cab fare we paid heading out there but demanded cash, obviously didn't intend to run it through the system.

The cost of the ride, from the point of taxi entry to the point at which the driver eventually engages the meter, is free. Any issue, call police.

[martincath]

9 hours ago, GTJ said:

The cost of the ride, from the point of taxi entry to the point at which the driver eventually engages the meter, is free. Any issue, call police.

Great advice... if we'd had a cellphone! We had just arrived 'fresh off the boat', and many wheels were in motion at the time, metaphorically and literally, but my research had confirmed that Canadian telecoms were the most over-priced in the world at that time (still among the worst today!) so finding the least evil cellphone provider took longer than our first shipment of goods.

 

This why I also wrote down the details rather than following my own prior advice and just snapping a pic - all-in-all, within the spectrum of options available, negotiation seemed the wisest first course of action as I could always escalate from there if needed (we had just collected our shipped weapons so we were not particularly concerned about it turning into a worst-case 'cabbie tries to drive us somewhere off-grid to rob us' scenario!) and frankly given we'd taken a metered fare an hour earlier the negotiated amount was absolutely fair.

 

It still illustrates the point that a very simple up-front action enables the problem to be successfully dealt with afterward, when one is no longer jet-lagged etc. Also that old-school pens & paper are still useful as cellphone batteries never die when you don't need to use the phone - we loaned a pen out to several people on every plane, train, and bus we've ever taken over a border pre-Pandemic.

 

[Mary229]

I had very good Uber drivers last year in Vancouver.  Used them for 3 days touring.  Best part is there is no direct exchange of funds. Same thing in Florida.  Use the Uber, let Uber take care of the transaction 

[NWA395]

Our experience in April and May was the complete opposite.  Taxi from YVR was as posted and Uber for the rest of the days was seamless.  Hate to hear you got taken by a shady cab driver.

[boltnut55]

Even at home we were scammed from a service that we've used for many years... the company is only as good as the driver.  I reported the person to the service, and they said they won't send him again.  Our last ride back to the airport from our hotel to JFK in NY was similar.  That one did have a specific rate of $52, I think, and he said it'd be $67.  I told him it's $52, and he said that's the start without his fees and tolls.  Finally he said $63 because he'd go the way without tolls to save me money.  Right.  And he insisted on cash since he made sure to ask us if we had that first. 

 

Unfortunately, we are at his whim... if we didn't agree, who knows where he'd take us to. And we were so ready to leave after spending a week in Manhattan.  His license was right in front of me (in the back seat), and I think I did take a photo.  I tried to report it, but in NYC, it's a general number, not to the taxi company itself... they are brazen.  If again, I'll do what martincath suggested:  get in and snap the photo right away.

I wonder if we had ended up paying by credit card, would we have been able to dispute it afterwards?  Then if the taxi company got charged back, they might ask who the driver was.