..It was a private hire car, hired directly from the owner who had
given me his card previously.
I phoned him directly because we needed a 7-seater, and I knew he had
one;
It normally costs in the region of £10 to taxi from my house to the
city centre. I didn't ask for a price up front because it is such a
routine journey; and we had to divert slightly to pick up one more
passenger on the way. Both those factors could put the price up a
little. Perhaps to £15.

At close of journey he asked for £25. I made some slight protest. He
said "Time and a half" which is nonsense, but under percieved pressure
to look after my six guests, I caved in and paid up.

I'm kicking myself for giving him so much money so easily.

I suppose since we didn't discuss it beforehand, and since he isn't
working under the rules of a managing company he can legally charge
me what he wants. (?)
How would you have handled it?

Tony

At close of journey he asked for £25. I made some slight protest. He
said "Time and a half" which is nonsense, but under percieved pressure
to look after my six guests, I caved in and paid up.

IANAL

It may depend on the time of day, as they do have variable rates
depending on time, just as they can for bank holidays. Some areas also
add a per-passenger fee.

You should be able to enquire at the taxi licensing office at your
local council to get a list of applicable rates.

In message
,
tonyjeffs writes
..It was a private hire car, hired directly from the owner who had
given me his card previously.
I phoned him directly because we needed a 7-seater, and I knew he had
one;
It normally costs in the region of £10 to taxi from my house to the
city centre. I didn't ask for a price up front because it is such a
routine journey; and we had to divert slightly to pick up one more
passenger on the way. Both those factors could put the price up a
little. Perhaps to £15.

At close of journey he asked for £25. I made some slight protest. He
said "Time and a half" which is nonsense, but under percieved pressure
to look after my six guests, I caved in and paid up.

I'm kicking myself for giving him so much money so easily.

I suppose since we didn't discuss it beforehand, and since he isn't
working under the rules of a managing company he can legally charge
me what he wants. (?)
How would you have handled it?

If this is a *private hire* vehicle then he can, in theory charge what
he likes. Some (most) insist that the fare structure is shown in the
vehicle. Some will have metered PH vehicles others do not.

As this was a hiring for 7 people with a 'slight diversion to pick up
one person'. How far was the diversion. Sometimes what appears to the
passenger to be a short distance is actually longer than it seems.

Really speaking you should have agreed the price (or an approximation)
beforehand.

The best way (and I would say the *only* way but I'm biased) is to hire
a properly licensed taxi which has a meter than shows the properly
approved Local Council rates.

--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England
Interested in American trains real and model?
Look here http://mikehughes627.fotopic.net/

You should be able to enquire at the taxi licensing office at your
local council to get a list of applicable rates.

Some local authorities mandate a 50% surcharge over the ordinary (eg
metered) rate for vehicles which can carry 5+ passengers. That might be
what the driver meant by "time and a half". If so the price was
equivalent to £16.67 in an ordinary vehicle, and it's over to what Mike
Hughes said about diversions.
--
Robin

Thanks All

The diversion was minimal. Almost the exact route the sat-nav would
have taken us, plus 500 yards to the house, as opposed to the route
most people go. About 6 miles total journey.

Morally, though not legally, I feel the driver ought to have said
something at the outset such as "This is going to be much dearer than
an ordinary cab, you know",
but I'm annoyed with myself rather than the driver... I'd feel happy
if I'd bargained him down even by a pound -just to make my point, or
at least put up more of a fight. It aint the money - it's the
wimpiness!


I'll put it down to experience, and take Mike Hughes' advice in
future.

I feel better for getting it off my chest.

Thanks

tony

tonyjeffs wrote:
..It was a private hire car, hired directly from the owner who had
given me his card previously.
I phoned him directly because we needed a 7-seater, and I knew he had
one;
It normally costs in the region of £10 to taxi from my house to the
city centre. I didn't ask for a price up front because it is such a
routine journey; and we had to divert slightly to pick up one more
passenger on the way. Both those factors could put the price up a
little. Perhaps to £15.

At close of journey he asked for £25. I made some slight protest. He
said "Time and a half" which is nonsense, but under percieved pressure
to look after my six guests, I caved in and paid up.

I'm kicking myself for giving him so much money so easily.

I suppose since we didn't discuss it beforehand, and since he isn't
working under the rules of a managing company he can legally charge
me what he wants. (?)
How would you have handled it?

Tony


How many miles?

tonyjeffs wrote:
Thanks All

The diversion was minimal. Almost the exact route the sat-nav would
have taken us, plus 500 yards to the house, as opposed to the route
most people go. About 6 miles total journey.


As you've already said, in a black cab the price should probably have
been around £12-15. In 2006 they seemed to average around £3 for first
mile and £1.50 per further mile - see this link for black country prices:
http://decisionmaking.wolverhampton....?Document=2139

However, although councils regulate black cab prices, private hire can
do what they like....



Morally, though not legally, I feel the driver ought to have said
something at the outset such as "This is going to be much dearer than
an ordinary cab, you know",
but I'm annoyed with myself rather than the driver... I'd feel happy
if I'd bargained him down even by a pound -just to make my point, or
at least put up more of a fight. It aint the money - it's the
wimpiness!


I'll put it down to experience, and take Mike Hughes' advice in
future.

I feel better for getting it off my chest.

Thanks

tony

tonyjeffs wrote:
Thanks All

The diversion was minimal. Almost the exact route the sat-nav would
have taken us, plus 500 yards to the house, as opposed to the route
most people go. About 6 miles total journey.

Morally, though not legally, I feel the driver ought to have said
something at the outset such as "This is going to be much dearer than
an ordinary cab, you know",
but I'm annoyed with myself rather than the driver... I'd feel happy
if I'd bargained him down even by a pound -just to make my point, or
at least put up more of a fight. It aint the money - it's the
wimpiness!


I'll put it down to experience, and take Mike Hughes' advice in
future.

I feel better for getting it off my chest.

I could understand you wishing that you had negotiated a price before
starting the journey (something absolutely vital in many, many other
countries). And being annoyed with yourself for not having done so in
this instance.

I'd be tempted to get someone to phone him to enquire about a booking at
a similar time and day and similar distance and see what the quote is.
It may be that it is no different to what you were charged. It may even
be more. Unless you know that, all your self-criticism could all be
without cause - he may have charged you the "going rate", after all.


--
Sue

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:15:05 +0100, Mike Hughes
wrote:

In message
,
tonyjeffs writes
..It was a private hire car, hired directly from the owner who had
given me his card previously.
I phoned him directly because we needed a 7-seater, and I knew he had
one;
It normally costs in the region of £10 to taxi from my house to the
city centre. I didn't ask for a price up front because it is such a
routine journey; and we had to divert slightly to pick up one more
passenger on the way. Both those factors could put the price up a
little. Perhaps to £15.

At close of journey he asked for £25. I made some slight protest. He
said "Time and a half" which is nonsense, but under percieved pressure
to look after my six guests, I caved in and paid up.

I'm kicking myself for giving him so much money so easily.

I suppose since we didn't discuss it beforehand, and since he isn't
working under the rules of a managing company he can legally charge
me what he wants. (?)
How would you have handled it?

If this is a *private hire* vehicle then he can, in theory charge what
he likes. Some (most) insist that the fare structure is shown in the
vehicle. Some will have metered PH vehicles others do not.

As this was a hiring for 7 people with a 'slight diversion to pick up
one person'. How far was the diversion. Sometimes what appears to the
passenger to be a short distance is actually longer than it seems.

Really speaking you should have agreed the price (or an approximation)
beforehand.

The best way (and I would say the *only* way but I'm biased) is to hire
a properly licensed taxi which has a meter than shows the properly
approved Local Council rates.

I reckon that their thinking is as follows...

Customer wants us to transport 7 on a trip that is normally £10. If
we use a normal taxi that would need 2 of them. So we will double
that charge to put them all in one, bigger limo.

Fianlly , he probably thinks that you are rolling in money...

David

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:15:05 +0100, Mike Hughes
wrote:
If this is a *private hire* vehicle then he can, in theory charge what
he likes. Some (most) insist that the fare structure is shown in the
vehicle. Some will have metered PH vehicles others do not.

If, in theory, they can charge what they like then how would one
handle a driver who asked for a blatantly excessive fare? For example,
in this case had the driver asked for £100 and the price was not
negotiated upfront would he be entitled to expect payment in full?

If this did reach court would "reasonableness" come into play?

I know this is a hypothetical and highly improbable scenario but I
would be interested in the legal point of view nonetheless.

Regards

Tom