Taxi Charge Horror Stories. What happens when you don't use TaxiPass.

"telling a taxi driver you just murdered their family wouldn't anger them as much as paying with a credit card"

2012-01-13T02:30:00.003-08:00

"credit card swipe machine never seems to work"

2012-01-13T02:30:00.001-08:00

free ride (instead of credit card ride)

2012-01-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

Cash is still king for San Francisco cabbies who protest credit card fees

2012-01-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

Some San Francisco taxi drivers prefer being paid in cash instead of accepting credit cards, which require drivers to pay a 5 percent surcharge on each transaction.

Taxi passengers in The City are complaining about being left out in the cold by drivers who won’t take credit cards, despite a city law mandating the acceptance of plastic.
Drivers have been up in arms about a new policy forcing them to pay 5 percent when they accept credit cards. To protest the policy, some tell passengers that they don’t accept credit cards, or that their card swiper is broken.

“About 40 percent of the time I take a taxi, drivers tell me that they don’t take cards,” said Nick Halsing, a city resident. “It’s the first thing I hear when I get in the car.”
Blake Manship said he frequently encounters the problem, which is particularly troublesome when he’s short on time and cash.

“I’ve had to swing by an ATM and take cash out to get a ride,” Manship said. “It was a huge pain, plus I got hit with a surcharge from my bank.”

As part of a 2010 city ordinance, accepting plastic is mandatory for all registered San Francisco cabdrivers, according to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesman Paul Rose. If a card swipe is broken, drivers should have a backup processing method, Rose said.
He said the agency is aware that drivers refuse credit card payments. Any time passengers experience this situation, they should call 311 and report the taxi number, time and date, he said. Drivers who don’t take cards could be forced to go through re-training or face fines, Rose said.
Michael Patrick, a doorman at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square, said he often gets complaints about this from hotel guests.
“The drivers will go a few blocks and then say they don’t take cards,” Patrick said. “They make the passengers stop by the ATM if they don’t have cash.”
However, cabdrivers queuing recently in front of the St. Francis behaved otherwise. Over two days, nine different drivers polled by The SF Examiner said they took credit cards, despite gripes about the fee.
“I’d rather take the 5 percent hit than lose the fare,” said Mike Singha, a Town Taxi driver.
A Royal Taxi driver readily accepted a reporter’s credit card for an $8 ride.
Although few drivers admit to refusing credit cards, cabbies said they understand why it happens.
Earlier this year, the SFMTA approved a measure that let cab companies charge drivers a 5 percent card fee per fare. The move was designed to help out companies paying high monthly fees for credit card usage. Drivers, however, said the fee unfairly targets working-class individuals who already struggle to make a living in San Francisco.
“Drivers are not refusing credit cards,” said John Han, a taxi driver. “They’re refusing the unfair cost that comes with taking credit cards.”
While that stance may be appreciated among drivers, it doesn’t go over too well with passengers.
“I got kicked out a cab just the other day on Market Street because I didn’t have cash,” said Elizabeth Baksi. “That was not fun.”

How Taxi Companies Rip Off Their Drivers

2011-11-21T08:52:00.001-08:00

If you have been aggravated about what you perceive as high taxi fares, especially in New York or other major cities, and you think the drivers are making off like bandits, think again. I have been interviewing cabbies in major cities across the country about how they get paid and what they make, and the dollars can be pretty dismal except in rare cases, or where the Taxi Authority jacks up the rates for special events or major weather problems like the hurricane in New York on August 27^th that never came but the fares were doubled anyway.

I rode with Alvan Narine in Boston the other day. He is an immigrant from Trinidad and came to America thirty-five years ago, when he started driving cabs. Now he owns one at age 71 and drives three 12-hour shifts a week. The other days he rents his cab out to other drivers for $75 to $100 a day. He is responsible for all maintenance and insurance, while the drivers pay for gas.

I asked him what he can make if he has a really good day. His answer was maybe a hundred dollars.
He said a vast majority of drivers are immigrants and need the jobs, so they work like dogs for essentially minimum wage. They can get paid in two different ways: either by a percentage (usually about a third) of the gross fares, or by renting the cab by the day or week and paying all fuel costs.
If they rent, it is usually about $100 per day for their cabs plus fuel. So do the math. If they gross $200 in fares on a good day, they clear maybe $75 when you subtract gasoline costs. Would you like the hassle of driving through heavy traffic all day for eight or nine dollars an hour? Probably not.
The other problem with accepting credit cards, according to many drivers, is the delay in payment by the cab companies. They can take up to three weeks to remit the money back to the driver, according to a cabbie I spoke with in New York. So that means that when you pay by credit card, the driver is not getting the money at the end of the shift, has to pay a premium to get paid, and may have to wait until the cab company gets around to settling with him.

I have a suggestion for cab drivers: hire legal counsel and demand to know what the exact charges are for each kind of credit card that the taxi company must pay, and then tell the company owners that you expect to be paid for what you earned, less their actual costs. The cab companies should be in the business of supporting their employees, not extracting a penalty because their passengers elect to use a credit card rather than paying in cash. In my world, that is called fraud and if all cab drivers complain about it, maybe the companies will get the message.

still using Etch a Sketch to charge my credit card

2011-11-18T01:37:00.001-08:00

@PTramutolo: Taxi driver says credit card machines don't work in the rain welll how the hell am I suppose to know that I have noo cash

@memcmp: @SafeNetInc I paid a taxi driver, he needs my credit card to swipe it on front. Now he can use it online, he has all data. #securechat

@blair10nelson: RT @kirstenstubbs: Seriously? In an age of space exploration & nanotechnology, taxi drivers are still using an Etch a Sketch to charge my credit card for fare?

"we appreciate cash"

2011-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

"gives me sh** about paying with credit card"

2011-10-24T18:28:00.001-07:00

My credit card machine doesn't work

2011-10-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

"Safer to pay by credit card on internet vs. cabdriver"

2011-10-06T07:39:00.001-07:00

Can I pay with credit or debit card in your cab?

2011-09-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

September 27, 2011Cabdrivers are hardworking people who put in long hours and deal with a lot of confused, impatient or drunken passengers. While many riders are polite, some are not (cough, Patrick Kane, cough), so I always make an extra effort to be courteous. I sit in the back seat, give clear directions, pay promptly and exit curbside.Every time I slide into a taxi's back seat, the city's passenger and driver bill of rights is on full display behind a layer of clear plastic. Yet my friends and I have found that many cabdrivers ignore one of those rights — the right to pay by credit or debit card.For me and many others, the debit card has become king. No longer do I have to worry about bills floating around or coins jangling around and taking up precious cargo space. And checks — well, checks are for rent and dinosaurs. Instead I use a thin piece of plastic — one thing to keep track of and one-stop access to my funds.But countless times my friends and I have been told that the cab is cash-only and the driver will not take our cards. The excuses vary — the machine is broken, there's no paper in the printer, your trip is too short to use a card, etc. I had one cabdriver ask if he could take me to an ATM to get him cash instead of paying with a card.Another time, even before I stepped into a cab, I announced that I planned to pay by card, and the cabbie drove off so fast he almost ran over my toes. Others who actually let us in the cab sometimes seem bitter and resentful — speeding, taking corners hard and trying to get us out as fast as possible.Why is it that some cabdrivers don't hold up their end of the bargain? Isn't it my right to use plastic?Efrat Stein, spokeswoman for Chicago's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, said yes.If the cab doesn't have a back-seat swipe machine, the driver should have a machine in front, she said. If the machine isn't working, the driver can use a manual imprint machine or call in the credit card number to the company."If their equipment is not working, the driver should have a backup," Stein said.Of the 6,800-some cabs in the city, only about 230 are independent and owner-operated and are not required to take credit cards, she said."We are looking at changing this exemption and requiring all drivers to accept credit cards in the near future," Stein said."If the driver's not going to accept a credit card, we encourage riders to call 311 to file a complaint," Stein said. "Have the cab number, company, time and date available when you call. Not taking a credit card is breaking our rules."While it's not required to tell the driver you're planning to use a credit card upon entering a cab, it might be a good idea to do so, Stein said."It gives the driver a sense of how you expect to pay, as credit cards often take a bit longer than a simple cash exchange," Stein said. "That way they can be sure to pull over to a safe location appropriate to wait for a longer transaction."Kousay Ahmad, a cabdriver for City Service Taxi Association, said he doesn't mind cash or credit but has heard from passengers that his stand on payment is a rarity."I have a machine in the back, and if that's not working, I'll run the card manually," Ahmad said.One problem with card swipers in the back of cabs is customers who don't know how to use them, Ahmad said."If I'm pulling over on Michigan Avenue to let out a customer and they're taking forever with the machine, I'm obstructing traffic and I'm going to get a ticket from the police," Ahmad said. "That's not helping us."Mike Levine, owner of Yellow Cab Co., said when he came to Chicago in 2005 from New York City to take over the company, the difficulty of using credit cards in city cabs was the biggest complaint he heard from riders.The reason many drivers prefer cash, Levine said, is that they pay a 5 percent fee on each credit card transaction. Ahmad also cited the fee, saying, "If the trip is only $4 or $5 and the customer is paying credit, it's almost not worth it because we pay out 5 percent."But Levine said company research shows that credit card users tip about 18 to 20 percent, while those who pay with cash generally tip about 15 percent."Our drivers are making more on tips with credit cards but pay out 5 percent," Levine said. "Essentially, they're losing 2 percent. I tell my drivers that they will always accept credit cards. If we can get that reputation, maybe they'll get business they normally wouldn't have."Since he joined Yellow Cab, Levine said he's made it his mission to put more card swipers in the back of cabs so passengers can avoid confrontation with the driver.Until all cabs have back-seat card machines, I'm sure I'll be wrestling with drivers to accept my plastic at the end of a long night. But I will still tip well, regardless.

"it is safer to use your credit card on the internet than in a taxi"

2011-09-24T12:25:00.001-07:00

Granny Cabbie calling in a Credit Card Transaction

2011-09-24T12:24:00.001-07:00

Boston cabbies deny credit cards

2011-09-20T19:06:00.001-07:00

Scores of stubborn Hub cabbies have brazenly flouted a two-year-old city rule and flat-out refused to let cash-short riders use credit cards this year — with some drivers accused of lying and coercing customers into forking over hard currency, a Herald review of consumer complaints found.“All the time. It happens all the time,” Boston businessman William Shaw, 47, told the Herald after paying cash for a cab ride to South Station this week. “The struggles of living in the city are hard enough. I don’t want to struggle with a cab driver.”Boston police have fielded nearly 100 complaints since Jan. 1 accusing taxi drivers of spurning customer requests to use plastic to pay for their rides, the review found — even though cabbies have had to accept credit cards since 2009 and the processing fees were factored into a 16-percent fare hike. First-time offenders are slapped with a three-day suspension.Mark Cohen, chief of the Boston Police Department’s Hackney Carriage Unit, said the offenders belong to a small but persistent group of drivers who long for the cab trade’s bygone cash-only era.“They’re moving from an underground economy to the traditional role of a businessperson. There’s a general sense of uneasiness about that,” Cohen acknowledged. “It is not a rarity for a passenger to get into a cab in Boston, ask to pay with a credit card and be . . . refused or given a long song and dance about why it’s not a good idea for the cab driver.”A Herald reporter took several cab rides this week, asking after each trip whether he could pay with a credit card. Some drivers welcomed the plastic gladly, with one even offering the option. Another accepted a credit card payment but had a piece of black electrical tape draped over his card reader’s display. A third cabbie complained he made no money on credit card payments.“Why, you don’t got cash?” the driver said when he was offered MasterCard.After a pause, he added, “Drivers don’t make any money when you use the card.”Any answer other than “yes” is inappropriate, Cohen said.“If you say to the cab driver, ‘Do you take credit cards?’ and the cab driver says anything but ‘Yes,’ I consider that to be a bit of coercion,” Cohen said. “In the end, I think passengers are to some degree intimidated . . . and I think that’s wrong.”Boston taxi drivers do, in fact, profit from credit card transactions, Cohen noted. Card-processing fees are capped at 6 percent, and Cohen said those fees were factored into a 16-percent fare hike in 2009 to cover the cost of card readers and other business expenses such as gas price increases.That means cash-paying customers — currently, about two-thirds of Hub cab riders, Cohen said — are actually giving their drivers a bonus — another possible incentive for cabbies to discourage plastic.“If one third of the fares use credit cards, there’s another two thirds out there that aren’t even being charged that 6 percent,” Cohen said. “(Cabbies) win two out of three times currently. They are way far ahead.”Driver Naoufel Titiahi, 47, said credit cards are convenient for customers yet insisted they hurt his bottom line.“That 6 percent (processing fee) hurts us because we have family, kids to feed,” he said.

driver threatens to charge passenger 30% fee to accept card

2011-09-20T19:00:00.001-07:00

i had a cabbie tell me that if I used my card, I would be charged a 30% fee on the total fare from the cc company. I told him he was full of crap (not the words I used) and he could either let me swipe my card, or he wasn't getting any money at all.

"Don't disrepect me."

2011-09-16T19:41:00.001-07:00

This in not Manhattan, we don't take credit cards here.

2011-09-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Taxi Credit Card Charge occurs 2 Months after the ride was taken

2011-08-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Driver Asks for Credit Card #, Address & Phone #....(whoa)

2011-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

It takes 22 seconds for the cabbie to figure out if he accepts credit cards

2011-08-16T06:24:00.001-07:00

MSN Money: Times you shouldn't pay with plastic

2011-08-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Credit cards are convenient and offer you lots of protections -- but there are times when using them (or trying to) just buys trouble.

We're used to thinking of credit cards as something we can use whenever we choose. But a few recent stories are reminders that we either can't or shouldn't use credit cards for absolutely everything.

When you want a peaceful taxi ride

In some cities, taxi drivers may give you a hard time if you try to use a credit card to pay your fare -- in spite of the fact that their cabs may be festooned with American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa stickers. The Bay Citizen suggests that San Francisco may be the latest such city.

Apparently, cab companies have imposed a 5% fee on card transactions, and drivers are understandably resentful over having their incomes "taxed" in this way. The Bay Citizen website has a scary video of the sort of conversation you may expect if you try to flash your plastic in a San Francisco taxi.

Instant Fail

2011-08-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

Sabotaging Taxi Credit Card Transactions

2011-08-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Manual Imprinting Credit Cards (& praying they are good & not sold to a strip joint)

2011-08-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Credit Card Info broadcasted over CB Radio

2011-08-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Credit card fail

2011-07-24T07:37:00.001-07:00

San Fran cab credit card issues

2011-07-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Philly cabs don't like taking credit cards

2011-07-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

The guy at the airport that buys/sells taxi credit card slips (yikes!)

2011-07-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

more taxi credit card drama from the twitterverse

2011-07-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

#verycomplicatedthings

2011-07-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

cab driver heaves a sigh when you use a credit card

2011-07-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ever had a cab driver heave a sigh when you use a credit card? Kristine Casman says that's nothing.

"I've had them get very angry, even when there's a sticker on the side of the taxi. It's like, 'You clearly displayed to me that you accept Visa,'" the 24-year-old Lincoln Park resident said.

The city of Chicago requires taxis to have equipment to accept all major credit cards, but some customers complain that drivers give them a hard time for not paying with cash. Some even say cabbies claim too often that the credit card machine is broken.

"Almost every other [bleeping] time," River Russell, 21, of Lakeview said. "They're probably faking it. It probably does work and they just want cash."

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which licenses taxicabs, says it does receive complaints about taxi drivers not taking credit cards.

"It's a violation and a fine," spokeswoman Efrat Stein said. "My suggestion would be for passengers to file a complaint with the taxicab number and the time and date."

Most cabdrivers are independent contractors who lease their cabs from taxi companies for a monthly rate. Drivers also pay credit card processing fees to the cab company.

At Yellow Cab, drivers pay 5 percent of the fare to swipe a credit card, which is standard across the industry, CEO Mike Levine said. This percentage covers the costs his company pays in swipe fees to banks and to rent the credit card terminals, he said.

When he receives complaints of drivers not taking credit cards, Levine says he investigates them and takes action if necessary, but drivers usually are just frustrated. Most of the time drivers still accept the credit card, he said, "but they grumble."

The driver agreed to waive the fare..if i didn't press charges

2011-07-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

I was running late to an important doctor's appointment and the credit card machine in the cab wasn't working. I specifically asked before getting in the cab if he would take a credit card. After a lot of yelling and arguing about how I wasn't doing it right, he got into the back seat, swiped my card, and agreed the machine was broken. He offered to drive me to an ATM, but I was already late, and, after all the screaming, wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible. I got out of the cab, and the cabbie followed, grabbed my arm, and tried to take my purse ( I had no cash on me anyway). I had bruises on my arms for weeks. Luckily, someone driving by saw the assault, intervened, and called the police. The cops I'm sure had better things to deal with, and told me the cab driver had agreed to waive the $16 fare if I agreed not to press charges. I was so angry, but also still running late to my appointment, so I agreed, and the ordeal was over. I still wish I would have pressed charges against the cabbie--if he can assault one passenger, what is keeping him from doing it to others? I always thought cabs were the safest way to get around--not anymore. And while I don't know the driver or cab number, I will never ever ever take a City Service cab again.

if your driver tells you he won't take a card...just don't pay him.

2011-07-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, a cab wouldn't take my credit card when I was getting a ride from O'Hare because his, "machine was broken." I went to Chicago's official website for reporting such instances, and the submission form was broken. I went to the contact form on the website to report that the complaint page was broken...(that worked). Two weeks later, no response. The city of Chicago isn't equipped to help you, you're on your own.

So essentially the lesson here is, if your cab driver tells you he won't take a card...

1) Just don't pay him.

2) Always ask before you get into the cab, that your legal right as a taxi rider are going to be respected.

3) This is for the super paranoid, take your luggage with you into the backseat so they can't hold your items ransom in exchange for a cash payment.

4) If you're forced to stop at an ATM to get cash, calculate how much money YOU make per hour, then multiply your rate x time you spent getting cash and going out of your way and subtract that from the total fare.

The system is broken and not enough people (myself included) have the energy to fight this ridiculous reality we're dealing with. Sure, this is the epitome of a #firstworldproblem, but regardless, this blog post is me trying to help fight the issue.

Hopefully someone who works for the city of Chicago is listening. If so, on a micro scale, you should have a chat with Cab #4619TX, on the macro, you should create an environment for taxis that doesn't result in them having to lie or deceive customers in order to maximize earnings from their livelihood. (In other words incentivize them for using cards, don't punish. That's how you change behavior for the better).

He immediately threatened to eighty-six me (for wanting to pay by card)

2011-06-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Last week, I got into a taxi and asked the driver if he accepted credit cards. He immediately threatened to eighty-six me. He didn’t even ask if I had money. I showed him a ten so he took me to my destination.

Wow it's amazing how all cabs in Chicago have broken credit card machines...

2011-06-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Dear taxi drivers, if your cab says it accepts credit cards, don't give me crap when i use one

2011-06-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure the real reason Sherman burned this city down was because he, too, couldn't find a taxi that would take a credit card.

2011-06-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

@nerdliness‎

#shady

2011-06-09T07:07:00.001-07:00

a charge has mysteriously appeared on my work credit card for a taxi in Mpls on May 3 when I wasn't even there then!
@kgoingglobal‎

Noticed that a lot more SF taxis' credit card machines seem to be "broken"

2011-06-09T07:05:00.001-07:00

@zoecorneli

All cabs are supposed to take cards right?

2011-06-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Apparently not this one! Way too expensive for having to take the damn bus home anyway.
@scalpelandspoon‎

Why do cab drivers put credit card machines in their cabs if they don't want you using them?

2011-06-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

Chicago has gotten rude since I was here last!
@KLLogan‎

"Get out of my Cab" - to passenger who wants to pay by card

2011-06-02T19:54:00.002-07:00

sorry the credit card machine is not working

2011-06-02T19:54:00.001-07:00

Ed Meng just wanted to go home. It was late last Sunday night and Meng needed to get out of Potero Hill and back to his bedroom, stat. He didn't have any cash on him but he hailed a cab anyway, assuming he could use his credit card. He figured paying with his card was a safe bet because most San Francisco cab companies have willingly accepted plastic for years. Besides, thanks to a new SFMTA rule, all cabs operating in the city are now required to accept cards.

Things did not work out precisely how Meng had envisioned.

"When [the driver] picked me up, I said I need to pay with a credit card, and she immediately said, sorry the machine is not working," Meng recounted to the Appeal.

"I had no cash on me, so I asked if she had the swipey manual card thing they use to make carbon copies...and she flips out on me, starts screaming at me, so I got concerned and started filming it."

Meng's video reveals a tense situation. The driver won't accept Meng's card even though signage on the cab clearly states the contrary. She tries to kick Meng out of her cab, but he stands his ground asking for her name and her cab identification number. Eventually Meng gets a name and ID number, hops out of the cab and quickly hails another one who was more than happy to accept his card.

Stories of cab drivers feigning broken credit card scanners or just refusing to take cards have abounded in the months after SFMTA imposed a 5% processing fee on all credit card transactions.

Credit card usage in cabs has been on the rise in recent years and currently accounts for one third of all fare payments. Some in the industry, such as Yellow Cab General Manager Jim Gillespie, speculate cards could be used to pay for up to half of all trips within a decade.

In a business with margins as razor-thin as cab driving, some are opting to take the chance of losing a passenger's fare entirely in the hopes of forcing them to pay cash. With cash, not only do drivers get to keep all of what they earn, but those earnings could be entirely tax free if they simply "forget" to report them, some say.

Cabbies Request Cash After Credit-Card Fee Is Imposed

2011-05-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

On a recent night, Sarah Rachlin hailed three separate cabs in San Francisco — one to an event in Pacific Heights, one to Russian Hill and one to downtown.

Each time, she said, the driver told her the credit-card machine was broken and requested cash. Ms. Rachlin, who works for a technology company in Silicon Valley, said she began to wonder, what was going on?

Other cab riders in San Francisco may well be asking themselves the same question.

But the problem isn’t mechanical. “All the machines are working just fine,” said Jeffrey Rosen, a cabbie. Rather, what would seem to riders to be an increase in malfunctions can be traced to a 5 percent fee that taxi companies recently imposed on drivers for credit-card transactions. The levy is one of many changes that in recent weeks have led cabbies to protest and threaten to strike.

But the fee has provoked another kind of rebellion: since the charge does not apply to cash payments, some drivers have decided to just say no to credit cards — even though all cabdrivers in the city are legally required to accept them.

Claiming the machine is broken is “a good excuse,” said Prithvi Upreti, a Yellow Cab driver for four years.

Some drivers are even bolder. Mychael Monroe, a driver for 22 years, said that “quite a few” drivers have added the word “no” to the “credit cards accepted” signs in their cabs.

It is not possible to know how common such practices are, but drivers, passengers and an industry regulator contacted by The Bay Citizen said that the number of cabbies refusing credit cards had increased markedly since the fee took effect.

Violators may face disciplinary action.

Many drivers who do not want to flout the rules have nonetheless started encouraging customers to pay with cash.

“Nobody has the right to refuse credit cards,” Mr. Upreti said. “They can politely tell customers that credit card is a pain.”

The fee stems from the large increase in credit-card use in recent years. Unhappy about having to cover transaction costs, the DeSoto Cab Company declared in April 2010 that it would stop accepting credit cards.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency threatened to sue DeSoto. The company retreated and in July, the agency voted to allow companies to pass transaction costs on to drivers.

About three-fifths of the 5 percent charge covers credit-card fees. The rest goes toward the installation of new backseat “passenger information monitors.”

On Tuesday, after a series of town-hall-style meetings with drivers, the agency agreed to raise fares for the first time in eight years.

But the fee is not likely to go away because it puts San Francisco in line with Boston, Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia.

liars who say their credit card machines broken

2011-05-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

@dovzmood
I've noticed taxi drivers get rather testy when you call them liars after they tell you that their credit card machines are broken.

#shady

2011-05-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

@kgoingglobal
a charge has mysteriously appeared on my work credit card for a taxi in Mpls on May 3 when I wasn't even there then!

Cabbies charged 15% to take cards - no wonder they don't

2011-05-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Please Pay Cash!

2011-05-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Why bother protesting [credit cards] when they can just lie

2011-05-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

I don't see the problem. The last time that I took a taxi to SFO, the driver just lied and said his credit card reader wasn't working. This is akin to their telling potential passengers that they're going off shift if they're given a destination where they don't want to go.

Why bother protesting when they can just lie

cash is faster & easier

2011-05-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

You can only charge rides over $25

2011-05-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

taxi credit card machines mysteriously break

2011-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

You should check that the taxi's credit card machines don’t mysteriously break when you arrive at your destination, creating an awkward and occasionally contentious situation.

It’s fluky, but I’m sure the true taxi of the future will have overcome this glitch.

Watch the 8 minutes it took to charge my ride (at 4x speed)

2011-04-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Why do taxi cab drivers in San Francisco hate taking credit cards?

2011-04-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

I've had cab drivers claim the machine is broken and argue with me about taking credit cards (from SFO) and saying the money comes out of their pocket. I tip nicely but i prefer to only use my cash for situations where credit cards really aren't an option and credit cards for everything else.

Dean Clark, Out of work teacher, having to drive ...San Francisco Cab Drivers Pay 5 to 10 percent of the fare to the credit card processing fees, so if your fare is 50.00 dollars they pay up to 5.00 to take your credit card. San Francisco Cabbies do not make a lot of money and are not covered by health insurance, retirement, nor uninsured motorist. In addition are responsible for paying taxes as an independent contractor. Every money they get a San Francisco Cab Driver needs. I myself as a cab driver don't mind taking credit cards, but the fees are killing the money I need to put food on my table for my family!

NYC Taxi companies are double charging credit cards

2011-04-11T08:43:00.002-07:00

We spoke with the TLC after they reviewed our mailed-in complaint letter. We went over each of the double-charges on our statement and learned that the four charges that showed up on February 22 were in fact erroneous double charges.

The TLC official said that they have received numerous complaints about this. They explained to us that many cab drivers are still trying to discourage people from using credit cards. The drivers sabotage the meter so as to make it appear as if their system is unable to accept credit cards. When the passenger swipes their card the first time and the driver says, “It did not go through”, the charge did in fact go through. On one’s credit card statement, there will be a charge but no medallion will be associated with it. When the passenger swipes the second time, if the driver relents and enables the system, that charge will then be associated with a medallion.

If you see back-to-back identical charges from a NYC taxi on your billing statement, you were likely double charged. Look to see whether there are medallion numbers associated with each charge.

As if it were not bad enough in New York City to have many taxi drivers, years after the introduction of the credit card payment methods, still pretending to have broken credit card machines or becoming hostile and violent to passengers trying to use credit cards, the taxi drivers and cab companies are now double charging credit cards. BatteryPark.TV has been monitoring the monthly business card reports and has spotted numerous cases of identical, back-to-back, charges run through by taxi companies.

We are initiating a full investigation with our bank and the TLC. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, this is a link on the TLC web site related to these problems. You can file a complaint with the TLC at this address:

Pansy Mullings

Deputy Commissioner

Taxi and Limousine Commission

2455 BQE West

Woodside, NY 113377

Sorry the machine is down

2011-04-11T08:43:00.001-07:00

The City of Chicago requires that all non-independent taxis accept credit cards. (almost all cabs in the city are affiliated) However, when trying to pay with a credit card it is not uncommon for the driver to say something like "Sorry the machine is down," especially if they believe that you may be a tourist. It is however, considered polite and fair, as it does cost them to process the card, to pay in cash for short (ie. less than 15$) trips. If you can only pay with credit consider adding a dollar or two to the tip.

Australian Taxi driver charged with card fraud

2011-03-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

A taxi driver has been charged with theft and deception for allegedly using a credit card left behind by a passenger.

Adelaide police say a woman used her card to pay for a fare early on Sunday.

It is alleged the driver, 21, took note of the PIN and used the card to withdraw money from an auto-teller in the city.

The man allegedly fled when questioned while making a purchase at a food store and was arrested by police a short time later.

Phoenix Cab Driver Involved In Credit Card Identity Theft Scam

2011-03-13T21:39:00.001-07:00

Phoenix SWAT team officers have broken down the door of a Phoenix taxi driver's home near Interstate 17 and Greenway Road.

Phoenix police officers were at the home to serve a search warrant in connection with an arrest made Wednesday at a grocery store, Sgt. Jason Davis said.

Police said Roberto Sambra used a stolen credit card to purchase groceries at the store. Since he used his personal club card, officers were able to track Sambra down and arrest him.

During the police interrogation, Sambra told officers he was given seven bogus credit cards from the taxi driver's house.

Officers went to the taxi driver's home on North 23rd Lane today to serve search warrants and investigate the man's allegations. That's where they arrested 28-year-old Jhoan Quiala in connection with the identity theft. They believe he was stealing the credit card information of his customers in order to make the fake cards for himself and his friends.

Ever Try To Use Credit In A Boston Cab?

2011-02-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a year and a half since the city of Boston mandated that all of its cabs install credit card machines in the back seats. But that doesn't necessarily mean using them is so simple.

BOSTON — It’s a frigid cold Sunday night and a group of young people are huddled together outside a bar, shivering. All they want is a cab. Well, that’s not entirely true. They also want to pay with credit. But none of them are particularly hopeful.

“A lot of times they’ll say they take credit cards and then the machine’s broken,” one man says.

“I’ve been in a cab and tried to ask them to drop me off at an ATM machine so I can get cash because I don’t want to go through the s*** of trying to use my debit card,” a woman says. “It kind of sucks.”

It has been about a year and a half now since the city of Boston mandated that all 1,825 of its cabs have credit card machines installed in the back seats — and that drivers must accept those cards when the passenger asks. But all you have to do is bring it up and everyone seems to have a story of what happened last time they or one of their friends tried.

Policing The System

The folks at the Boston Police Department have heard it all. Especially Mark Cohen, the director of licensing for the Hackney Division.

“We probably are receiving at least five or 10 complaints a day on a bad day,” he told us when we visited him at police headquarters, to see how his team is handling regulation of the system.

There isn’t actually much to see, though, in Hackney, where most of the policing is being done digitally. The complaints usually come in by e-mail. Cohen had received this one the day we visited:

When we were asked to pay, I took out my credit card, but was told there was a minimum of $10 in order to use it. This had not been mentioned at the beginning of the ride. I became more skeptical of the driver’s claim when the credit card began to process and asked me for a tip amount. He hastily reached into the back and pushed cancel. I don’t know his intention, but this isn’t the first time this has occurred.

Of course, there is no minimum dollar amount for a credit card transaction on a cab ride.

So the next move is for an officer to call the driver of the cab in for a hearing, to get his side of the story. But given that all these transactions leave digital footprints, it’s pretty easy for the police to figure out who is telling the truth.

“Nobody keeps records like banks,” Cohen jokes.

“The credit card machines are absolutely the best thing that’s ever happened to the cab industry.”
–John Ford,
owner, Top Cab and City CabIf it turns out the driver was the problem, the police slap him with a three-day suspension. It is in Hackney’s interest to take these claims seriously — a year and a half into the program, Cohen estimates one-third of all cab transactions are already by credit.

And he is convinced that many of those transactions are customers who would not otherwise have taken a cab, because a few months after the machines went in, he said, cab ridership in Boston went up for the first time since Sept. 11.

That’s why the cab companies like the new rules, too. John Ford, the owner of Top Cab and City Cab, two of the seven accredited taxi companies in Boston, said his business is up 15 percent since the machines became mandatory.

“From my end of the business, which is the boss, I think the credit card machines are absolutely the best thing that’s ever happened to the cab industry,” he said.

So Ford has no tolerance for resistant drivers. In fact, he doesn’t hesitate to hand them over to Hackney. “If the same guy is continuously doing this to customers, we will turn him in,” he said. “Because it hurts everybody. He hurts my business by doing that; he pisses off my customers.”

The View From The Front Seat

If the cab companies love the new regulations, and the police department loves them and it is meaning more business for everyone — what exactly is it that is motivating these drivers who give you a hard time when you try to swipe?

We recently hailed a cab outside our studios on Commonwealth Avenue and met Tony Mwokeji, a driver for Independent Taxi Operators Association, and asked him if the credit card machines are costing him money.

“Oh yeah, big time,” he said without pause.

Mwokeji lists two major reasons: the 6 percent fee he’s charged on all credit card transactions and the fact that he has to wait 24 hours for the transactions to go through, meaning he’s shorter on cash.

“Sometimes I don’t have cash to buy lunch because everybody uses credit card,” he said.

“Sometimes I don’t have cash to buy lunch because everybody uses credit card.”
–Tony Mwokeji,
Boston cab driverBut it was the 6 percent fee that was easily the biggest complaint we heard from drivers. The payment system is set up between the cab companies and the two credit card processors who run those services for all Boston taxis, Creative Mobile Technologies and VeriFone.

The drivers have no control — which makes Mwokeji furious. “They make you take the bank that you don’t want to deal with,” he said. “I don’t like Bank of America. I have my own bank.”

Then there are the technical issues. The same morning we got in Mwokeji’s cab, he’d had trouble getting his credit card machine to work after taking a customer from Logan Airport to Newton. The customer didn’t have the $68 in cash, so Mwokeji had taken down the man’s credit card number by hand on a piece of paper, along with his cell phone number in case of any issues.

“I don’t know whether anybody will cash this for me,” Mwokeji said, holding up the slip of paper. “Sixty-eight dollars, that’s risky business.”

And this was one of the good customers. Mwokeji says there have been many cases where the machine goes down and a customer just flat out refuses to pay. Often, he says, they think he’s lying because drivers have earned that reputation. But there is nothing he can do about it.

“It’s lost money,” he said. “I have [a] wife and four kids and my mortgage to pay. And every day I come out, I have to take risks like that. It doesn’t make sense.”

‘Change Doesn’t Come Easy’

Back at the police department, Cohen would dispute a few of these claims.

He says finding out whether a machine was working or not is as simple as checking the records. As for the 6 percent, “the requirement for every taxi to have this kind of equipment was paid for by the last rate increase,” he says. “We built in a percentage of rate increase to cover that 6 percent.”

And, while Cohen doesn’t love to say it, he admits that an undeniable part of all this revolves around the nature of the cab industry itself.

Ford, of Top Cab and City Cab, is more blunt.

“Change doesn’t come easy, especially in this industry,” he said. “These guys don’t like change at all and it’s tough to get them into new ways of thinking.”

Most of the drivers, Ford says, have already come around. There are more than 6,000 cab drivers in the city and the majority will accept your credit card without a word. But that small group of stubborn holdouts are the ones you are always hearing about.

But Ford thinks they are part of an era that has now almost past.

“I’ve been in the business since I was 17 and it’s almost 44 years,” he said. “I have seen this industry from shaggy, shifty, sleazy to where it’s pretty much all spit and polish right now, and high tech. So I’ve been the whole gamut of this industry and right now it’s the best it’s ever been.”

And, in the end, taxis are a service industry, which means the customer is king. Just keep in mind, if the driver says the machine is not working, there is a chance he’s telling you the truth.

Sorry No Credit Card

2011-02-15T07:57:00.001-08:00

jumped out of a speeding taxi to save herself from an unhinged hack who didn't want to take her credit card

2011-02-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Woman Jumps from Moving Cab to Escape Furious Hack

CASH ONLYIt's been a while since we've had a good cabbie freakout story, so we welcome this lawsuit filed by an area woman who says she jumped out of a speeding taxi to save herself from an unhinged hack who didn't want to take her credit card. Amy Ewertz, a 26-year-old who resides on the Upper East Side, was headed home from a late dinner in Chelsea when she flagged a taxi with her friends. They were dropped off at 48th and Eighth, and then she directed the driver to her abode on East 65th Street. And that's when her hack from hell got hostile.

The unidentified driver for Enaf Taxi had turned off the meter at the first stop without telling Ewertz, then restarted it, thus "improperly increasing the total fare," according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the NY Post. When Ewertz arrived at her address, the driver allegedly demanded that she pay the first fare in cash, in addition to the second fare. But Ewertz wanted to pay by credit card, and suggested covering the first fare with a big tip on the second fare. The suit says the driver "cancelled the transaction, and demanded that the first fare be paid in cash."

As they argued, Ewertz says she "managed to distract the driver long enough to swipe her credit card a third time, and she was able to complete the transaction." That was the last straw, and the driver allegedly sped off with Ewertz as his prisoner, screaming, "I don't care if you report me. I don't care if I lose my license. I don't care if I lose my life." But before the guy could pull a Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky, Ewertz managed to pry open the lock and jump from the moving taxi. "As she hit the ground, her left foot was caught between the left rear wheel of the cab and the curb, causing her excruciating pain, burning the skin on her ankle, and causing extensive bleeding," the lawsuit alleges.

Ewertz says the driver kept going, leaving her bleeding in the street. But for some reason, she waited three weeks before filing a police report. The Daily News reports, "When detectives tried to interview her, she didn't cooperate, and her lawyers told cops she wasn't interested in pursuing a criminal case. After Ewertz notified the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the agency tried to pursue the case, but she did not return calls."

"Don't trust cabbies with your plastic!"

2011-01-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Bank drained after using credit card in taxi

2011-01-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

After attending an Indianapolis Colts game and going out for a drink, she and her husband, Josh, took an early-morning cab ride home to the Southport area. The driver put her card into a device that used carbon paper and a manual slider to make an imprint of its face.

Eighteen hours later, police say, the driver and another man walked into a Walmart in Greenfield with a counterfeit card containing Cook-Anderson's account information.
They drained her checking account of $1,040 to buy two laptops, kicking in $62 in cash to cover the rest.

"It literally took me to a zero balance," said Cook-Anderson, 33, who quickly contacted police. Her bank reversed the charge. "We were doing the right thing (by taking a cab), and it backfired."

The driver, Abdi A. Ali, 31, was suspended by A-Star Taxi after the company helped police identify him in images from the Walmart's security video, according to a probable cause affidavit. Ali faces charges of fraud and theft in Hancock County

Cabbie receives $250 ticket for taking credit card

2010-11-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

Taking credit cards manually is slow...and so the driver got a $250 ticket for impeding traffic.

Woman Sexually Assaulted bec cab's credit card machine didn't work

2010-11-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

A young woman is suing Arlington Blue Top Cab, claiming she was sexually assaulted after a cabbie dropped her off in a dangerous neighborhood at 3:30 a.m. because she was $1.95 short on the fare.

According to the lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News Service, the woman was taking a Blue Top taxi from Arlington to Alexandria. When the cab arrived at her house in Alexandria, the woman says she tried to pay with a credit card.

The cabbie ran the card twice and each time said the card was rejected, when in fact the payment went through, according to the lawsuit. When the woman only had $18 in cash for the $19.95, the cabbie is alleged to demanded that he drive her to an ATM.
The ATM, located in a high-crime section of Alexandria, was out of service, the lawsuit claims. After the woman got back in the cab and told the driver about the out of service ATM, he is alleged to have pulled over, taken the $18 she had in her possession, and — despite pleas for her safety — forced the young woman out of the cab.

“Immediately after being ejected by [the driver] from the Blue Top taxi cab, while attempting to walk to a safe location, [the plaintiff] was approached on the sidewalk by a man who indicated he had a gun,” the lawsuit says. “The man threatened to shoot [the plaintiff], then dragged her into a nearby parking garage, where he brutally sexually assaulted her.”

The lawsuit, filed in Alexandria Circuit Court, seeks $5 million in damages from Blue Top Cab and the driver for negligence, fraud, breach of contract, false imprisonment and the infliction of emotional distress.
A call to Blue Top Cab management has not been returned.

$800k in Bogus Taxi Charges

2010-11-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Cabbie uses woman's credit card for $775 bar tab

2010-11-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

A Chicago cabbie chatted up a west suburban woman at a Wrigleyville bar's Halloween party -- then secretly used her credit card to settle a $775 tab, prosecutors allege.

Taxi Driver Albert Williams, 30, is charged with unlawful use of a credit card after he met the 21-year-old Bloomingdale woman at the Rockwood Place bar Friday night, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Sam Cervera said.

The woman hadn't given Williams permission to use her card.

A bartender identified Williams as the man who used the woman's card, according to a police report.

Judge James Brown ordered Williams, who has prior convictions for fraud and lives on the 4600 block of North Malden, held on bail of $90,000. Kim Janssen

5 Minutes to Charge Card = Ticket -> FREE RIDE

2010-11-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

10+ Cabs Later, I got a taxi that accepts credit cards

2010-09-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

I seriously thought he was about to attack me (for trying to pay by card)

2010-09-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Got in near Grand Central, wanted to go to Sunnyside in Queens.Driver started driving but then after 10-15 blocks told me that his credit card machine didn't work and asked me if I had cash: f not I would have to get out. I had no cash on me but Immediately called my wife to ask her if we have cash at home - turned out we didn't. So two blocks later I asked him to stop so that I could get out (this is on Lex on 53rd). He started yelling like crazy and cursing me out. Then he pulled over, got out of the car and started screaming, "give me my $5!". I got out and said that I am happy to pay with a credit card. And since he didn't tell me when I got in that his credit card machine didn't work, it wasn't my fault that Ihad no cash on me. He continued to scream and curse, and pretended he was calling the cops (which he wasn't). I just walked away and grabbed another cab. Beware of 1N11. I seriously thought he was about to attack me

Boston Taxi Drivers Claim Credit Card Machines Are Broken

2010-09-03T10:39:00.001-07:00

In early 2009, the city mandated that all Boston taxi companies operating within the city to be equipped for credit card processing. Many taxi drivers have been reluctant to accept credit cards and claim the credit card equipment is currently out of service and not working. Travelers can simply swipe their credit card from within the rear compartment of the taxi without providing the card to the taxi driver. The equipment displays the taxi fare, tolls, additional fees and allows the traveler to enter the tip amount for the taxi driver.

The Hackney Carriage Unit of the Boston Police Department which regulates taxis in Boston has received numerous taxi complaints about Boston taxi drivers not accepting credit cards as payment. To file an official taxi complaint, contact the Hackney Carriage Unit of the Boston Police Department directly at 617-343-4475 or access the taxi complaint form online.

Boston Taxi Service Complaint Form
www.cityofboston.gov/police/taxi.asp

Most taxi drivers are independent contractors and lease their taxis from Boston taxi companies. Boston taxi drivers are reluctant in accepting credit cards for various reasons.

Why Boston Taxi Drivers Refuse Payments by Credit Card

* Boston taxi companies charge drivers excessive processing fees up to 6% of the total credit card transaction.
* Drivers typically wait atleast 2 business days for cash reimbursements for credit card transactions. Additional bank fees may apply for access to the account.
* Many Boston taxi drivers rent their taxis daily and are required to pay for the taxi rental in cash upon completion of their shift.

Get a free ride! just ask to pay by card.

2010-08-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

Let drivers complain. The law is they have to take credit cards or eat it. I know several folks who offer a credit card after their ride, the driver gets angry and kicks them out. Free ride!

Weird taxi credit card charges/overcharges

2010-08-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately we just learned we have been victimized by taxi driver and/or company in Melbourne.

We took a cab ride that cost approx. $10 to the airport from the Comfort Inn and Suites Essendon and used our credit card to pay. The cabbie indicated that his EFTPOS machine was not working and used an old style swipe carbon copy machine to take our information. We received our statement this week and were charged $90.09 for this ride! Also, we have received another charge for a limo service in Australia for a date 2 weeks after we returned to Canada. We have been told that this is not the first time this has happened to cab customers in Melbourne. There has been a number of instances where a 'limo' charge has been applied to a credit card after taking a taxi in Melbourne.

The first charge, for the $90.09 came up on our statement as Black/Yellow Taxis Nth Melbourne AU. Does anyone know which company this is? I have contacted the Yellow Cabs and they say that their charges only come up as Black Cab.

The second charge, for the ride we never took. Comes up as Cab Account Aust Brunswick AU. When we called our credit card company they indicated that this was a limousine company.

We are disputing the charges with our credit card company and have filed a complaint with the Victoria Taxi Directorate.

First of all I want to warn all travelers to Melbourne about this scam (well all people that use taxis for that matter). If you have used your credit card to pay for a cab in Melbourne you should definitely keep an eye on your statements for weird charges or overcharges.

Also, I would like to know if anyone has had a similar situation or if anyone has any more information on this scam. Or if anyone knows which cab company's charges are listed as Black/Yellow Taxis Nth Melbourne.

Thank you and beware!!!

Why is the taxi credit card machine always broken?

2010-08-18T01:57:00.000-07:00

What's up with Red Top cab drivers who always have credit card machines that are not working or they do not have the credit card slips? If this was a one time thing, I could understand but it's not. I am a regular cab passenger or I hire cabs to take our company's business associates to the airport or other destination. I am not sure why a good majority of cab driver's only want to deal in cash; maybe because they loose money paying fees, or they don't want traceable transactions....but I have a feeling there must be some regulations/guidelines governing these types of transactions. In the future, I will make note of every cab I take or get for another person, where the driver gives the same line about broken machines or no slips.

1 in 7 credit card rides successfully refused in NYC (more attempted)

2010-08-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

47—"slightly" accepted credit cards.
9 drivers refused to accept credit cards at all.
1 driver accepted the credit card, and then tried to levy his own $0.35 transaction fee.

The nine drivers who refused offered a litany of poor excuses, including:
"There is a minimum cab fare for credit card use." (There isn't, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission.)
There is a 35-cent transaction fee for credit cards." (Not so.)
"It's too short a ride." (No such thing.)
"It better be a good credit card." (Passengers can always pay with cash if the card is declined.)
The device doesn't have to be activated until the new year. (If it is installed, passengers can use it.)

If a cabbie gives you a hard time, you are in good company—Matthew Daus, New York's Taxi Commissioner, has been twice refused.

Credit Card failed so forced to pay with Ipod

2010-08-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

A 20-year old California college student touring New York City with a bum credit card was forced to pay her cab fare with an iPod nano, according to MSNBC.

According to reports, Natalie Lenhart took a cab from Manhattan to JFK airport, but when she tried to pay the $59 fare her credit card was rejected. So instead of running, like 95 percent of Americans would do, Lenhart faced officers at the airport who made her hand over her iPod nano, packed full of oldies such as James Taylor, valued at $140.

What kind of communist cop makes you pay a bill with personal property that is nearly twice as much as the debt? It sounds like some sort of gypsy cab scam that an American tourist would encounter in Eastern Europe.

When James Taylor read the story in the New York Post he was pretty peeved. So upset, in fact, that he decided to send Lehart a new iPod filled with his music.

A New Yorker “Would never have put up with it,” Taylor told the Post.

A true New Yorker would have had a few choice words for the driver and the cops I would imagine.

The cab driver has offered to return the iPod if the fare is paid.

Forced to use ATM vs. Credit Card Machine

2010-08-15T15:07:00.001-07:00

The last time i wanted to pay with credit card, the guy made me go to an ATM (LGA to water street ride) and pay him in cash... his machine was broken. As a matter of fact, I have yet to see a cab with cc machine that isn't broken...

Why Chicago cabs don't take credit cards

2010-08-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Chicago cab drivers really, really, don't want to take your credit card. While the non-independent drivers are required to do so, they have no problem expressing their open disdain for the holy trinity of Visa/MasterCard/AmEx.

As a passenger, there's nothing I hate more than being made to feel like an asshole for simply paying what I owe.

Last Thursday, after arriving back at O'Hare from a long four-day trip to Canada, I dragged my luggage to the cab stand. I always ask cabbies before getting in their ride, "will you take my credit card?" Though the required answer is "yes," if I see a flash of resistance, I'll opt for another driver. I simply don't want the hassle or annoyance.

When I asked the cab driver at the front of the cab line whether he took credit cards, he nodded and smiled, so I jumped in the backseat. Within seconds--we hadn't even left the "Arrivals" area, he started complaining. "It's rush hour, and you're paying with a credit card," he mumbled. "I don't need this."
"If you don't want to take it," I said, "let me out. No harm."
"No, no. It's okay. I take your card."
"That's great. Thanks."

The complaints started up again the second we hit the Kennedy. "This traffic is very bad. I'm losing money sitting here," he said, making eye contact with me in his rearview mirror.
"Sorry?" I said, more as a question than empathetic statement.
"You're wasting my time," he said.
"Then you shouldn't have pulled out of O'Hare with me in your backseat," I said with a voice that was atypically loud. I'm not a yeller.
He mumbled something in another language. Actually, it may have been English. All I could understand was that he was pissed off.

"Paying with a credit card," he said, shaking his head histrionically. We were approaching Cumberland, and I eyed the Renaissance Hotel on the south side of the expressway. "Get off here," I said, "take me to the Renaissance. I'm done."
"What? You want to go to the Renaissance now?"
"Yes. I'm getting the fuck out of your cab, just like you wanted."
"No, no. It's okay. I take you where you want."
"Perfect. I want to go to the Renaissance."
"It's no big deal. I keep driving you."
"It is a big deal. Let me out at the hotel."

We parted ways without any further conversation. I gave him my credit card...he ran it...and I approached the first cab I saw in front of the hotel.

I asked my standard question of the new driver. "Sure, I'll take a credit card," he said. And with that, we were off.

My new driver didn't complain like the previous one. Instead, he lectured me throughout the entire trip on the reasons why cab drivers hate taking credit cards. The gist is that they have to pay a percentage for each credit card transaction; which, depending on the cost of the fare and tip, could find them losing money.

"That's rough," I said. "But aren't we moving towards becoming a cashless society? Isn't it only going to get worse?"
"Yes," he replied. "And it's fucking bullshit."

By all accounts, cab drivers have it rough. They have to deal with random strangers who can be rude, drunk, and/or dangerous. They don't have the luxury of being able to call in sick--if they're not behind the wheel, they're not making money. They also have to drive in traffic that's rarely rational or moderate. In short, driving a taxi is a suck job.

I can't speak to the costs of being a taxi operator, nor am I conversant on the rules and regulations that the city of Chicago imposes on them. All I know is that when I'm paying for a service, I don't want to be belittled or demeaned for doing so.

Locked in by a cabbie who didn't want to take a credit card

2010-08-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

"He put his face into the plexiglass separation, the section that is left open, and screamed 'You f------ b----!' and spit at me, which I could feel spray all over my face. I screamed the loudest I have ever screamed in my life: 'Let me out of this cab!'" So ended a ride home to the Upper West Side for 24-year-old Sarah Snedeker, who claims her driver became irate when she insisted on paying by credit card, locking her in the cab for five minutes while they argued.

Earlier this month an East Village woman claimed a cab driver punched her in the face after refusing to accept her credit card payment; now more people are coming forward with stories of abusive cabbies. Michael Blumenthal, 28, tells the News how he narrowly escaped his driver’s wrath: The driver claimed his credit card machine was broken and during the ensuing argument he threatened to drive Blumenthal back to Manhattan.

Then Blumenthal attempted to get out of the car, opening the door at two red lights. Each time, the cabbie hit the gas. He finally got out of the cab at a red light in Long Island City.

"He then jumps out to come after me and I start to run," Blumenthal said. "He ran back to his cab and threw it in reverse. I run into an alley and he stops to go in after me with the car." Blumenthal said the cabbie couldn't catch him because the taxi got stuck behind a street-cleaning truck.

Neither Snedeker or Blumenthal took note of the cabs’ license plates or medallion numbers. Drivers have been trying to dissuade passengers from paying with plastic because they lose up to 5% of the fare on transaction fees. An undercover sting operation last month resulted in 93 summonses and calculated that cabbies refuse the cards about 7% of the time.

But judging by the anecdotal chatter we're hearing, hacks have been refusing plastic much more than that. Have you tried paying the fare with plastic lately?

Driver Kidnaps Passenger For Not covering credit card costs (through tip)

2010-08-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

"You will pay me my 10 percent tip, or I will not let you go," according to the police report.

While many people that work in positions where tips are expected, it doesn't make them mandatory, but a taxi driver thought different after kidnapping his passenger for not giving him a little extra for his services.

The driver was charged with extortion, false imprisonment and simple assault after his actions, along with having his cabbie license revoked.

Sohail Kahn, 57, taking a woman in New Orleans from her hotel to the airport, insisted on placing a $10 tip for the ride, but without her at first offering to actually tip.

Upon making the statement, the woman refused to allow the extra charge on her credit card and Kahn proceeded to hold her hostage until she gave him 10%, while waving his fist in her face.

Looking to make a point, the driver cut off the engine and locked the doors as the two engaged in an argument that lasted around half-an-hour until she dialed 911.

When authorities arrived, Khan was caught in a lie once he stated that he was simply trying to just cover the transaction fee for processing her card.

Good old public transportation there. I'll stick to good old bike or walking method. Better yet, just ask a friend

Taxi Rage: Woman Punched For Trying To Charge Ride

2010-08-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

There have been a number of reports of cab drivers balking at customers who try to pay with credit cards, but a woman is accusing a cabbie of actually punching her after she tried to charge a ride.

Tamara Perez tells CBS 2 HD she still can't believe it happened.

The incident happened Tuesday after Perez ran to her East Village home to pick up some papers. Once in the cab, the 35-year-old realized she had no cash the pay the $10 fare. Instead, she pulled out a credit card, but the cabbie wasn't having it.

"He wouldn't let me use the card, he wouldn't press the button," she tells CBS 2. "I said, 'You have to press the button,' and he's like, 'No, no I don't know, I don't know how to use it.'"

Perez says the driver got out of the cab and told her to go get cash. She refused, said she wanted to use the machine and would tip well.

"I tried to walk past him and he pushed me back into the cab. I got up and told him I was calling my husband who is a professional boxer," she says. "I started dialing the phone and he said, 'I give you a punch in the mouth' and he turned around and he socked me in the mouth."

Perez tried to copy down the driver's license number, but mixed up the numbers as he took off. She's hoping police can track down the crooked cabbie.

"I want new york to find him and prosecute him," she says.

Perez called 311 and 911 after the incident and filed complaints.

"We haven't yet identified the driver, but when we do he will be suspended. It is an aberration," says Matthew Daus, Commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Just yesterday, the TLC announced it had launched an undercover operation in place to try and catch cabbies if they refuse to use the credit card machine. Now the NYPD will be getting involved, too.

"When she got out of the car there was some kind of pushing event that she described that we heard initially. Now the story is that she was punched which is an assault, and obviously we will investigate that as an assault," says Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The TLC says you should be able to tell if a taxi's credit card system is working by whether or not the machine's display light comes on when you get in a cab. If a driver refuses to use it, call 311.

Why do Taxi drivers always say their credit card machine is giving them problems?

2010-08-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

This has really pissed me off lately, but I’ve been on several business trips where the Taxi driver says - "Oh my credit card machine is giving me problems, sorry."

It got worse with my recent business trip to Boston, where 3 out of the 4 taxi drivers told me the same thing, and the last one said that his machine was giving him problems all day, and he didnt even try to see if it was working.

So he said, "how much cash you got?" I said which is all I had, so then he gave a big sigh and then pressed his machine and swiped my card and VIOLA! it worked on the first try, what a load of crap he was giving me.

Cabdrivers Deported for taking Credit Cards

2010-08-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Weeks ago the Philadelphia Parking Authority mailed a letter to immigrant cabdrivers telling them that credit-card payments were owed to them and to come to the PPA to get paid, drivers said.

When 26 drivers showed up at the PPA garage and impoundment offices in South Philadelphia Wednesday, 23 wound up handcuffed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who determined the cabbies were in the United States illegally, according to ICE spokesman Mark Medvesky.

All but four were released but their names were placed on a deportation list. Medvesky didn't detail why the four others were held.

PPA spokesman Marty O'Rourke would say only that "the Parking Authority worked with federal authorities on this operation."

Two of the three cleared drivers identified themselves as American citizens and said that the experience had been both harrowing and humiliating and that they, too, had been handcuffed and interrogated.

One of them, Oliver, who didn't want his last name used, said a receptionist greeted him when he went into the PPA offices on Swanson Street near Ritner Wednesday morning.

"She asked for my Social Security number and said they had a check for me and that a gentleman was going to walk me into the next room to pick [it] up," he said.
Once inside, Oliver said, Immigration and Customs officers "grabbed me and pushed me against the wall and put handcuffs on me."

"I said I am an American citizen but they didn't listen to me," he said. "They took me to the warehouse behind the office. I met a lot of guys that were handcuffed there."

Oliver, who is from Nigeria and said he has been a U.S. citizen for nine years, said that he happened to have his passport in his cab and that after he presented it to ICE officials, they let him go.

He worked briefly yesterday, he said, but "I was really emotionally messed up. My leg was still shaking. It was terrible."

Oloyede, a cabbie born in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and naturalized here in 2006, said he, too, was traumatized. "I didn't know what I did wrong," he said.

Medvesky said the sting had been conducted because cabdrivers have access to areas of Philadelphia International Airport where the public doesn't normally go. "We consider this a public-safety issue. We're constantly looking for places with vulnerabilities, like the airport," he said.

He said those arrested were from the United Kingdom, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Jamaica, Ivory Coast and India.

Ronald Blount, president of the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania, said that he had received different figures from the PPA but that even if the arrested drivers were illegals, the 23 were "out of a pool of 5,000 drivers."

"It's not like it's a big problem in this industry," Blount said. "At least 85 percent [of taxi drivers] are first-generation immigrants and here legally."
He said the Parking Authority itself screens cabbies every year, and they must present proof that they are here legally when their licenses come up for renewal.

Taken for a Ride?

2010-08-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Taken for a ride.

You grab a cab, you should be able to swipe your card and pay your way. But we found some who try to cab it on credit are told the machine is broken. Our hidden camera investigation found that may not be true. Are you getting taken for a ride? Hank investigates.

Our undercover producers are hailing cabs for just one reason.

"Taxi!"

We want to see if they will let them pay with a credit card.

If you've been in the back seat of a Boston cab lately, you've seen the fancy brand new machines. Last July, the city's Hackney division -- part of the Boston Police Department -- told drivers: You've got to take plastic, or you can't take passengers.

Mark Cohen, Director of Licensing, Boston Police Dept.
"The police department is absolutely dedicated to make this work."

We found lots of cabs were with the program we hopped in, tapped the screen, swiped the card and were on our way. But we found some cab drivers trying to trick passengers into paying cash.

Watch this: "Do you take credit cards?"

The driver first asks: "How much cash do you have?" And then he tells our producer his credit card machine "doesn't always work." Knowing the score, she pushes the buttons, and it works just fine.

And our investigation found passengers say this driving deception is happening all over town.

Taxi Passengers:
"They say oh no the credit card machine is broken today."

"There will be a sign right by the credit card machine, or over the credit card machine, that says its broken."

"They'll insist that the machine is broken."

But then, when these savvy passengers insisted they had no cash, suddenly the machines were fine.

Taxi Passengers:

"It always works."

"If I try it, it does work."

"First it was broken, then it worked."

Officials admit, they know the "machine is broken" line is frequently just a line.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, 7NEWS
"How often are the drivers just not telling the truth?"

Mark Cohen, Director of Licensing, Boston Police Dept.
"More often than not."

In fact, over and over, drivers told our undercover riders their machines were out of order.

And it's not just us. We found complaints about this are pouring into the police department. Just since last July, they've gotten 245 of them. That's more than one every day.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, 7NEWS
"That's a lot of complaints."

Mark Cohen, Director of Licensing, Boston Police Dept.
"Well, I think we have our work cut out for us."

Why would cabbies do it? Credit card companies charge the drivers a fee for each transaction, so that mean they make less money for each trip. If they can get you to pay in cash, they cash in. That's against the rules, but here's what drivers don't know.

Police showed us this computer in police headquarters. It runs 24/7, recording and storing every taxi trip and every taxi transaction. So when customers report a broken credit card machine, the police can check to see if the claim is true.

Mark Cohen, Director of Licensing, Boston Police Dept.
What will happen is we we bring that driver in, and if he doesn't have a good reason, there's a chance that he will lose his license for a day or two.

Police hope cabbies will realize that in the long run taking credit cards is a good thing, encouraging more passengers and bringing bigger tips. But if you think you've been deceived, check out the link below for how to report it!

In the newsroom, I'm Hank Philippi Ryan.

To report something to Boston Police Hackney's Division: http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/taxi.asp

i had to force my way to pay by credit card in a taxi

2010-03-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

My cabdriver forced me to pump gas bec. he didn't take cards

2009-10-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

In the middle of my cabride, my cabdriver mentioned he didn't take credit cards. Since I didn't have an ATM, the question became how to pay for my ride.

His answer, 'fill up his tank.'

Not only was I forced to pay for my driver's gas (as that was the only way he took credit cards)...he even made me pump!

Always have cash to pay for a cab

2009-09-25T21:43:00.001-07:00

My biggest nightmare was when I was delayed at LaGuardia and arrived at O'Hare around 1AM on a Thursday (so Friday at 1AM) and had a conference call at 8AM. After getting back to Lakeview around 1:30AM, the cabbie said his credit card machine broke and offered to drive me to an ATM. I lived literally next to a Jewel, so I went there, and took out the money (with the ATM fee).

My cab ride was 41 dollars, and he received 43. I said "if you would have let me pay by credit card, I would have gave you a nice 20% tip, but because you wanted cash, and made me walk to an ATM at 2AM, I deducted my ATM fee and some extra". Boy, was I pissed...if I wasn't so exhausted, I would have called 311 on him...I know he could have called it in. It was 2AM, I had been in a suit since 7AM the day before, and I couldn't wait to get home!

My advice? Always bring extra cash for cabs...it makes it a lot easier all the way around.

Current process for Charging a Credit Card

2009-09-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

First, let’s review the current process for those of us who try to pay for a ride around the city with plastic. After the jump, of course. You won’t regret it.

1. Try and determine if the cab has a VISA sticker on the outside.
2. Get in the cab and tell the driver first that you have to use a card and risk being told that they don’t accept cards. OR wait until payment time comes and risk being told that “it don’t work” and is magically broken today.
3. Threaten to simply not pay for the ride or to report them to the taxi cab authority (which I doubt would accomplish much).
4. After they begrudgingly agree to take your card, they take no less than 4-5 minutes to find a pen and start to fill out the little form. This often requires you to tell them how much you want to tip before they have even run your card.
5. NOW the fun begins. They then pull out the 1980’s style, absolutely archaic slider machine that creates a carbon copy of your card info by manually moving a heavy piece of metal and plastic over the top of it several times (and they usually do is lots of times just for effect).
6. Next is time for them to hand you the form and your card…and for them to drop the pen. Once they’ve found the pen again, you can sign the form. Sometimes, if you are lucky, they even ask for your phone number so they can call you if “they have any problems”.

Hazards Of Paying A Taxi With A Credit Card

2009-01-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

EVANSVILLE - NEWS 25 learns your private information may be getting broadcast across the Tri-State.

When you pay with plastic, cab drivers need to make sure that card works. They call in the numbers over the radio and anyone who has a scanner can listen in. That's your information in the hands of a stranger.

Bill Bayne has been driving Evansville taxis for 14 years.

Three months ago he started his own company: Cardinal Cabs. The reason Bayne branched out? Safety. He says when passengers pay with credit cards in other cabs, the taxi driver calls in the card number to make sure the card's good.

"Anybody and everybody who listens to a police scanner get to listen to your credit card transaction," Bayne says. He says a few of his customers were ripped off when their card numbers were copied. "The scammers don't care-they're geeks and freaks who are trying to get your money any way they can."

When paying for a taxi ride using a credit card at the Cardinal Cab Company, you swipe your card through this machine. No numbers read over the radio. Bayne says it's the best way to keep your personal information safe.

"Maybe two percent of our business is credit cards-it's not a very large part of the business at all," says Heather Williams, Vice President of River City Cab.

It's the biggest cab company in Evansville and it doesn't have credit machines in the cabs. Drivers write the card number on charge slips; they can also call in the number.

"It's a private radio frequency," Williams says.

NEWS 25 asks: can't people listen in on that radio?

"It's not legal to do so if I understand correctly with that. I was just dealing with that because we had somebody listening in-doing some things illegally with that," Williams says.

"It really doesn't hit home to you on how it's happening until some Joe says look...I've seen this happen, I prefer you not to do it this way," Bayne says.

River City Cabs is trying to get money to install a GPS, credit card system inside its cabs. The vice president says it should happen later this year. She says she hasn't heard any customers complain about fraud.

Free taxi ride vs. paying for it by card.

2008-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

I took a $12 ride from a bar to my hotel room, as I got close I realized I didn't have enough cash. I asked the driver if he accepted credit cards and he said that he didn't, but he would be ok if I went to the ATM at my hotel. When I arrived at my hotel, I went to the ATM and it didn't have any cash available for disbursement. The driver asked to take me to another ATM, which I declined...so he said ok, then I won't charge you for this ride.

-Brian

The police had to help me pay for my ride by card.

2008-10-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

On route to New York City from Newark Airport, the passenger asked the driver if he could pay by credit card. The cabdriver said he did not accept credit cards, but he would be happy to drive the passenger to an ATM, but that extra stop would result in an extra $15 fee. The passenger was clearly upset about the matter, as well as didn't have the cash to pay for the ride so the cabdriver called the police to settle the dispute. The police arrived and forced the cabdriver to not charge the passenger a $15 extra fee for the stop so the passenger could go to an ATM to pay for his ride.

Choking on Credit Cards

2008-10-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

An aggravated-assault charge was reinstated yesterday against Ronald Blount, the head of the Taxi Workers Alliance, stemming from a March incident in which he allegedly choked a woman who wanted to pay her fare with a credit card.

"He starts choking me," the woman, Megan Saunders, testified yesterday as she put both of her hands to her neck in demonstration. "He slams my head" against the roof of the taxi van.

"He continues to strangle me," Saunders, 32, said. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die in broad daylight.' "

Saunders said that Blount's "bulging" eyes looked "evil."

Common Pleas Judge Frank Palumbo reinstated the aggravated-assault charge against Blount, 49, at yesterday's hearing.

Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania, has opposed credit-card payments for taxi rides for many reasons, including that drivers lose 5 percent of each fare to fees.

He now faces trial in Common Pleas Court on the felony aggravated-assault charge as well as misdemeanor charges of simple assault, unlawful restraint and related offenses.

At a preliminary hearing in May, Municipal Judge Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde dismissed the aggravated-assault charge, but held Blount on the other charges. Prosecutors then refiled the aggravated-assault criminal complaint.

Saunders testified that about 6 p.m. March 6 she was at Philadelphia International Airport, having returned from a business trip. At the taxi stand, she was assigned Blount's taxi minivan.

Blount drove her to her destination of Rodman Street near 6th, Society Hill. Saunders said that she then told him that she needed to pay with a credit card.

"He said his machine was broken," Saunders said. "It didn't look broken."

She said Blount then said, "Let me take you to an ATM," which she didn't want to do. He then electronically opened the back-passenger door for her, she said.

"I guess you got yourself a free ride," Saunders quoted Blount as saying as he stood outside her door.

Saunders said she was confused by his comment, and as she was about to step out of the back seat behind the driver's side of the cab, he started choking her.

Blount then slammed the upper back part of her head against the outside roof of the van, she said, then threw her upper body back into the van, so that her head landed on the passenger side of the back seat.

Throughout the ordeal, which lasted about two minutes, Blount continued choking her, she said.

"What were you thinking?" Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Shields asked.

"That he was going to kill me," Saunders said.

Saunders fought back by kicking Blount "in his fat stomach," she testified. She then tried punching him, but at that moment, he released his hands from her neck, she said.

She then jumped out of the cab and walked toward the back, where she tried to remember his license-plate number.

Saunders said she yelled: "You can't do this to somebody!" and told Blount she would call police.

"He was saying very arrogantly, 'I don't give a f--- who you call,'" as he slowly drove away, she said.

Saunders said she sustained a migraine and an injury to her right-cheekbone area from the attack, and that she couldn't eat solid foods for a while.

Blount's attorney, Paul Messing, argued that this was not an aggravated-assault case, contending that there was no serious bodily injury or attempt to cause such injury.

Shields argued that choking someone for two minutes is an attempt at serious bodily injury.

The judge held Blount for trial on the charge, noting that at the preliminary-hearing level, the commonwealth is entitled to have the testimony viewed in its favor.

After the hearing, Saunders declined comment.

Blount, who is out on bail, and his attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Blount is still working as a taxi driver, Philadelphia Parking Authority spokeswoman Linda Miller said later. She said that a judge at the Taxicab & Limousine Division allowed him to continue working as long as he checked in daily with the Enforcement Department. *

Taxi Rage: Woman Punched For Trying To Charge Ride

2008-10-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (CBS) ― There have been a number of reports of cab drivers balking at customers who try to pay with credit cards, but a woman is accusing a cabbie of actually punching her after she tried to charge a ride.

Tamara Perez tells CBS 2 HD she still can't believe it happened.

The incident happened Tuesday after Perez ran to her East Village home to pick up some papers. Once in the cab, the 35-year-old realized she had no cash the pay the $10 fare. Instead, she pulled out a credit card, but the cabbie wasn't having it.

"He wouldn't let me use the card, he wouldn't press the button," she tells CBS 2. "I said, 'You have to press the button,' and he's like, 'No, no I don't know, I don't know how to use it.'"

Perez says the driver got out of the cab and told her to go get cash. She refused, said she wanted to use the machine and would tip well.

"I tried to walk past him and he pushed me back into the cab. I got up and told him I was calling my husband who is a professional boxer," she says. "I started dialing the phone and he said, 'I give you a punch in the mouth' and he turned around and he socked me in the mouth."

Perez tried to copy down the driver's license number, but mixed up the numbers as he took off. She's hoping police can track down the crooked cabbie.

"I want new york to find him and prosecute him," she says.

Perez called 311 and 911 after the incident and filed complaints.

"We haven't yet identified the driver, but when we do he will be suspended. It is an aberration," says Matthew Daus, Commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Just yesterday, the TLC announced it had launched an undercover operation in place to try and catch cabbies if they refuse to use the credit card machine. Now the NYPD will be getting involved, too.

"When she got out of the car there was some kind of pushing event that she described that we heard initially. Now the story is that she was punched which is an assault, and obviously we will investigate that as an assault," says Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The TLC says you should be able to tell if a taxi's credit card system is working by whether or not the machine's display light comes on when you get in a cab. If a driver refuses to use it, call 311.

Taxi Ride = Strip club?!?!

2008-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

My wife looked at my credit card statement and instead of seeing a taxi charge, there was one for the same amount from a strip club. Wow, was she pissed. It seems that my cabdriver sold my credit card number to a strip club so he could get paid cash for my ride. Don't pay by credit card manually in a taxi as it almost got me divorced!

Frederick

Double Charged for ride..and then at Gucci?!?!

2008-10-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, I was in Orlando giving a speech at a conference, land of “have a magical day” and paid by card in the taxi ride out to the resort. They “take cards” in the cabs - since the average cab ride is 78 they sort of have to - but not even with a knucklebuster – with a driver who takes the receipt out of a crusty glove box and runs his pen over the card to emboss it onto the card receipt. He then calls it via his cell phone into the dispatch to get an approval code, which he does get.

Not 24 hours after I did this, did I discover that not only was I charged twice for the same amount, but my number was attempted to be used to buy stuff at Gucci! The card people turned them down since the address did not match. Well, at least they had good taste. Gee, I am wondering if the who he called was an approval person or a scammer.

Where’s TaxiPass when you need it!

Karen