Le Chic Geek
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One thing I’m familiar with is getting ripped off by taxis in Paris.
Some drivers automatically assume Americans don’t know where they are going and do crazy routes (and add unnecessary surcharges) to rip you off.
Pizza in Motion had good advice. If you know you are getting ripped off and you are on your way to the hotel, involve the hotel in negotiating.
I had a ride in Paris where I couldn’t use that method… well, because the taxi driver wouldn’t drive us to the hotel. He was going in the wrong direction, eventually started sighing about how far our hotel was, and told us to just take the metro.
My mother pointed out we had heavy bags. He replied to my mom in French. She translated, “Throw your suitcases down the stairs.”
At that moment, I said, “pull over.”
I gave him exactly what the meter said. Even though I didn’t want to give him much of anything.
We got into another cab and he took us straight to our destination.
What would you have done in that case?
In that case, paying the driver would have been very low on the list. I’ve refused to pay the requested rate both at home and abroad, I instead calculate the distance on google maps and the rate on the window to come up with a fair offer, which was acceptable to the driver compared to the complaint with the licensing agency and their dispatch office.