I got a taxi to my boyfriend's house the other night and as usual I called RCA as they tend to be reliable.
For the whole 15 min journey he had a dvd of R'n'B videos on a screen in the front of the car where he could watch them.
I was obviosly concerned with his concentration and for my own safety so I asked him to turn it off. He laughed and said it was no different to a stereo and if I didn't like it I could walk.
Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?

Disturbing...I use RCA a lot and I am seriously concerned by this.

I'd contact them.

Should have asked him to put a different channel on, just to see what he said!

Should have asked him to put a different channel on, just to see what he said!

I know 15 min's of R'n'B, I was hoping he would crash the car and kill me :hihi:

I would definately report him

I have now contacted them and they say they will look into it:suspect:
They thanked me for contacting them but I wonder If my next booking with them will turn up.

I have now contacted them and they say they will look into it:suspect:
They thanked me for contacting them but I wonder If my next booking with them will turn up.

Change your firm mate, that sounds really dodgy. :suspect:

I have now contacted them and they say they will look into it:suspect:
They thanked me for contacting them but I wonder If my next booking with them will turn up.

You did the right thing here. This is worse than talking on a mobile phone. I would try them once more and if it happens again ,get another firm.

yes you did the right thing...I thought it was illegal for any driver to have a dvd player in the front anyway??

yes you did the right thing...I thought it was illegal for any driver to have a dvd player in the front anyway??

You cant believe the cheek of it can you ? :o

Any display screen should be linked to the handbrake so that it is impossible to watch it unless the vehicle is stationary.

i use rca always been ok. but you do get bad drivers same as all taxi firms .:suspect:

:thumbsup: report him to the town hall

Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?

RCA being RCA then you'd just be wasting your time complaining because the head office is twice as useless as the driver. My advice would be to use a different company and avoid arsey taxi's as much as possible..

My family had the experience of travelling with this guy last year when he took us on a white-knuckle ride from Lodge Moor to Centertainment.

So preoccupied with showing off his retractable DVD player and its sound system and effects, I seriously wondered how this otherwise affable guy managed to do his job without the majority of his customers leaving a deposit of the brown sort on his back seat.

I was sat in the front. The young man just would not stop playing with this box of tricks. Even whilst trying to negotiate Brook Hill roundabout on a busy, wet day, he was more interested in showing me what it could do. I wondered if there was an F1 button on which I could pre-order an ambulance.

His driving position was almost as if he were sitting side on as opposed to facing where the car was going. Maybe he'll order a reclining, revolving driver's seat next for maximum comfort?

I'm not a bad traveller but admit that I felt concerned for the safety of my family whilst in that taxi.

He's a pleasant fella and I wouldn't wish to see him lose his job. But safety is paramount and I don't really think RCA can afford to employ somebody like this, either.

Anybody who orders a taxi and is in anyway unhappy about the service MUST report them to sheffield town hall private hire licensing department.

Please remember if possible to take there badge number (ask them for it) which should be displayed clearly on the person driving the vehicle AND if possible the plate number on the back of the car.

If they have no badge they are illegall but at least get the plate number from the back of the car it will consist of a few numbers.

In this way the the driver of the car and the taxi company can be recognised by the town hall records.

Very rarely taxi companys repremand drivers for anything as they do not want to lose the driver and there money they earn them from car radio rents etc.

Anyway that you were treated or there driving or even cleanliness of the car can be reported !

i've always thought it would be better if their number was displayed inside the car somewhere too, so it's easier to get a look at it for these situations

They should have it displayed in the car aswell on a small card but again its not always easy for the customer to see. The easiest one is the plate at the back of the car. (not the cars registration number plate).

i've always thought it would be better if their number was displayed inside the car somewhere too, so it's easier to get a look at it for these situations


the plate number is on a yellow card inside the car and should
be displayed at all times and the driver must wear his badge
at all times!!!

I think I'd have reported him to the licensing authorities as well as the company he's taking work from. His driving is definitely illegal if he's got a screen on in the front of the cab, and to me the legality is secondary to the safety issues here. If he hasn't had a crash thus far, it's more by luck than skill.

Was this a car private hire car or a blck cab type of a taxi? Not that it makes it any less serious but I have seen a black cab with a screen playing stuff, but that was such that it was behind the driver and only the passengers could see it.

It was a normal private hire car, and this definitely was not for passenger viewing.
Apart from anything else, having thought about it, the videos he was watching could have been quite offensive for some passengers, but thats neither here nor there as he shouldn't have had the damn thing playing in the first place.

Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?


Make it to the Police instead. Dial 101.

Make it to the Police instead. Dial 101.

You are dead right there that is what I would do straight away.
I would tell him to stop first then get out after I had his badge number.
I find it hard to understand why any one would not report him straight away, and why anyone would continue the journey.

I got a taxi to my boyfriend's house the other night and as usual I called RCA as they tend to be reliable.
For the whole 15 min journey he had a dvd of R'n'B videos on a screen in the front of the car where he could watch them.
I was obviosly concerned with his concentration and for my own safety so I asked him to turn it off. He laughed and said it was no different to a stereo and if I didn't like it I could walk.
Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?
NOt so MUch yoou couldnut spel. oh, you did not wait til you got home? yes yo did! HE TOOK YOU HOME AND DID HE CRASH.. NO! If you were that concerned why not ask him to stop!?. So you could get another cab.:confused:

You should write to -
Licensing Section
Town Hall
Surrey Street
Sheffield
S1 2HH

If you don't have the taxi driver's name or badge number, just tell them what the date of the journey was, where from and where to. Taxi Licensing section have a legal right to the inspect the records of bookings, and can therefore trace the driver.

Licensing officers will then inspect the vehicle, and if necessary, refer any concerns over driving standards to the Licensing Board.

I got a taxi to my boyfriend's house the other night and as usual I called RCA as they tend to be reliable.


If they are normally reliable, then one driver shouldn't put you off. As has been posted there are crappy drivers on every firm.

I would definately report him
agreed, but to the council if you feel it's necessary.

Very rarely taxi companys reprimand drivers for anything as they do not want to lose the driver and there money they earn them from car radio rents etc.

Although, the rest of your post was quite correct and informative, this bit is wrong....

It's not that they don't want to lose the radio rent, why would a company want £80 a week from someone that might cause the company to lose customers / damage a company name (like things like this might thread do)

The correct or better answer is, if the council are informed of several incidents with a certain driver, then the council have massive powers. (i.e take the plate off the vehicle and revoke his license), however if a company takes a radio out without the council being informed of any wrong doing, the driver could if he liked, take a company to a tribunal(sp). It's costly, time consuming, and messy.

If you have a complaint with a driver, the best course of action is to inform the council of your complaint, and if you feel the need, inform the company of your actions.

Hope that helps :)

NOt so MUch yoou couldnut spel. oh, you did not wait til you got home? yes yo did! HE TOOK YOU HOME AND DID HE CRASH.. NO! If you were that concerned why not ask him to stop!?. So you could get another cab.:confused:

Firstly, stop being pedantic

Secondly, for reasons that are none of your business, Mojo1 is not able to be dropped of in the middle of her journey and needs to get to her destination.

Thirdly, she asked him to turn it off and he laughed at her :loopy: , not only was it dangerous, it was down right offensive material that was being played.

Just because you state that it's ok because he didn't crash, it's not!! Its dangerous and carries heavy penalties, its no different to driving whilst on a mobile or worse.:suspect:

Are you the driver of said cab by anychance, because you seem overly defensive :loopy: :rant:

theres no problem using the screen whilst the vehicle is stopped, but this should be the only time.

NOt so MUch yoou couldnut spel. oh, you did not wait til you got home? yes yo did! HE TOOK YOU HOME AND DID HE CRASH.. NO! If you were that concerned why not ask him to stop!?. So you could get another cab.:confused:



He sounds like the type of guy who would make a point of dropping her in the middle of nowhere...if he's awkward enough to laugh at her after a sensible request then I wouldn't put it past him.

Are you him by any chance?

NOt so MUch yoou couldnut spel. oh, you did not wait til you got home? yes yo did! HE TOOK YOU HOME AND DID HE CRASH.. NO! If you were that concerned why not ask him to stop!?. So you could get another cab.:confused:

God I wish I was you, captain perfect :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

In the scheme of things it isn't the most serious offence that any of us may have heard of, but would be nice find out what the OP is going to do after taking advice from here on SF. Rather than argue amongst ourselves, would be nice to see a result.

In the scheme of things it isn't the most serious offence that any of us may have heard of, but would be nice find out what the OP is going to do after taking advice from here on SF. Rather than argue amongst ourselves, would be nice to see a result.

I'm going to write to the adress that Redrobbo gave me and let the relevant people handle it from there.

I'm going to write to the adress that Redrobbo gave me and let the relevant people handle it from there.
Well done. Only too often we feel strongly about things and over few days just let it drop without doing anything about it, and wish we hadn't of course when it happens again to some one else.
People like that are not only a danger to their passengers but also bad reps for their respective companies.

NOt so MUch yoou couldnut spel. oh, you did not wait til you got home? yes yo did! HE TOOK YOU HOME AND DID HE CRASH.. NO! If you were that concerned why not ask him to stop!?. So you could get another cab.:confused:

If he had driven recklessly, at 150mph, and scared the wits out of mojo, in the same way, would you be saying "aww, what the hey.... he 'might' have been doing 150mph, but he didn't crash, did he?

There are LAWS in this country, to regulate behaviour like this, for the protection of the public at large, the passenger in the vehicle, and the cretin who was driving the vehicle mojo was travelling in. they aren't there for the sake of it, they are there to prevent loss of lives in accidents.

Mojo was very lucky the cretin didn't kill her and himself, with his illegal pratting about with his dvd player.

as thingsonstix, and others have said, report him, to the town hall, as soon as you possibly can:- the next unsuspecting soul who gets into his taxi might not be so fortunate.

I got a taxi to my boyfriend's house the other night and as usual I called RCA as they tend to be reliable.
For the whole 15 min journey he had a dvd of R'n'B videos on a screen in the front of the car where he could watch them.
I was obviosly concerned with his concentration and for my own safety so I asked him to turn it off. He laughed and said it was no different to a stereo and if I didn't like it I could walk.
Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?


go to the council not RCA

Sounds like the same cab that I had the mis-fortune of being in.

Had DVD player, taxi system, speed camera detector and Sat Nav.... and was about 5ft tall and couldn't see over all these devices to actually see the road. I swear at one point he only noticed the bend in the road because he saw it on the Sat Nav.

I got a taxi to my boyfriend's house the other night and as usual I called RCA as they tend to be reliable.
For the whole 15 min journey he had a dvd of R'n'B videos on a screen in the front of the car where he could watch them.
I was obviosly concerned with his concentration and for my own safety so I asked him to turn it off. He laughed and said it was no different to a stereo and if I didn't like it I could walk.
Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?

use mercury there a lot better, a lot fo the rca drivers have got attitude problems.

That's bit unfair to the majority of very helpful, friendly and professional RCA drivers. I am disabled and use them a lot. Please don't let a rogue driver colour your view of this firm. You are doing the right thing in reporting him to the council. They have the power to get this idiot stopped.

i would report the taxi driver it is not right to watch dvd while driving.superbitch.

i used rca to get to my b/f who was dj'ing in his regular saturday night pub not being a driver myself and being rubbish about directions i did not know exact location just the name. unfortunatly for me neither did the taxi driver after taking me on a national speed limit rd in the middle of nowhere he told me he was taking me no further and i had to pay my fare and get out. it was dark and there was no curbs on this road and i'd get lost i refused eventually he agree'd to find the pub after getting directions of my b/f there a rubbish company you did right.

I'de report him but he did say.

I didn't like it I could walk.

After an unexpected visit to the Northern General A&E in the early hours of this morning, we left at just after 2am in need of a taxi. Now I don't do taxis as a rule so I was a little stuck for numbers. Anyway, I tried what it later transpired was the right one for RCA but there was no answer, so I tried another which I knew simply because my best mate's home number is almost the same and they used to get lots of calls in the night (to the point of unplugging the phone) for taxis.

Turns out that this was RCA but the attitude of the snotty mare who answered was unreal. First of all, she was too busy talking on the other end to answer the phone properly so I had to ask who I had called.

"Can I get a taxi please?"
"Who is this?"
"I'm at the Northern General."
"Can I ask how you got this number?"
"I guessed."
[heavy sarcasm] "Huh, well it was a good guess then. This is our hospital priority number."
"Well I'm at the hospital."
"In future you need to use 2393939."
"I did but there was no answer."
"You were in a queue."
"And I'm supposed to know that?"
"Well in future use that number please."
"Don't worry I won't be using you in the future."

I mean, seriously, it's 2 in the morning and I've just been sat in A&E for nearly 3 hours, do I need this? How am I supposed to know it's their "hospital priority number"? And seeing as I'm at the hospital, how is this a problem??

To be fair to the taxi driver he turned up almost within seconds and it only cost us £8 from the NGH to Newfield Green (it's been known to cost me that just from town). It also wasn't his fault, although I sat and slagged the operator off all the way home, but I think RCA's customer service is atrocious and if there's ever a next time, I'll pass on the trip in the ambulance and take the car :rant:

To be fair to the taxi driver he turned up almost within seconds and it only cost us £8 from the NGH to Newfield Green (it's been known to cost me that just from town). It also wasn't his fault, although I sat and slagged the operator off all the way home, but I think RCA's customer service is atrocious and if there's ever a next time, I'll pass on the trip in the ambulance and take the car :rant:

odd, that! even in a black cab it should only be about six and a half, max... the distance from town to newfield green is approx 2.5 miles to about 2.8 (I used to live just on from Newfield Green, and used to taxi it a lot, so I knew the milage to the tenth of a mile, so it should only be about five and a half to six quid.

Turns out that this was RCA but the attitude of the snotty mare who answered was unreal. First of all, she was too busy talking on the other end to answer the phone properly so I had to ask who I had called.

Hmmm, attitude of the snotty mare was unreal? Not from the conversation you set out, if anything it's all quite logical and efficient. You may want to consider others working through the night for your benefit, and not feel so sorry for yourself.
They provided excellent service and yet you still bad mouth them,......nice.

Hmmm, attitude of the snotty mare was unreal? Not from the conversation you set out, if anything it's all quite logical and efficient. You may want to consider others working through the night for your benefit, and not feel so sorry for yourself.
They provided excellent service and yet you still bad mouth them,......nice.

In December I had the ignorant unprofessional sociopathic bitch treatment too - I would bet it was the same woman. It certainly sounds familiar. Well, tab1, I'm sure you'll concoct some excuse as to why I *deserved* to be treated in such fashion - after all, I rang and politely asked to book a taxi, in daylight hours outside peak times, so it's no wonder I got an earful of abuse. I'd be interested to hear your reasoning.

And since when has an urgent visit to hospital constituted 'feeling sorry for yourself'? Does it cross your mind at all that the patient might have had good reason to get home again in good time (and without the added stress of a stroppy bitch abusing her customers). Your callous and arrogant attitude fits in nicely with the ethos of RCA.

PS taxi firms and their employees are not 'working through the night for our benefit' - they are a business, they're doing it for themselves not charity, and they should start treating their customers with respect.

After an unexpected visit to the Northern General A&E in the early hours of this morning, we left at just after 2am in need of a taxi. Now I don't do taxis as a rule so I was a little stuck for numbers. Anyway, I tried what it later transpired was the right one for RCA but there was no answer, so I tried another which I knew simply because my best mate's home number is almost the same and they used to get lots of calls in the night (to the point of unplugging the phone) for taxis.

Turns out that this was RCA but the attitude of the snotty mare who answered was unreal. First of all, she was too busy talking on the other end to answer the phone properly so I had to ask who I had called.

"Can I get a taxi please?"
"Who is this?"
"I'm at the Northern General."
"Can I ask how you got this number?"
"I guessed."
[heavy sarcasm] "Huh, well it was a good guess then. This is our hospital priority number."
"Well I'm at the hospital."
"In future you need to use 2393939."
"I did but there was no answer."
"You were in a queue."
"And I'm supposed to know that?"
"Well in future use that number please."
"Don't worry I won't be using you in the future."

I mean, seriously, it's 2 in the morning and I've just been sat in A&E for nearly 3 hours, do I need this? How am I supposed to know it's their "hospital priority number"? And seeing as I'm at the hospital, how is this a problem??

To be fair to the taxi driver he turned up almost within seconds and it only cost us £8 from the NGH to Newfield Green (it's been known to cost me that just from town). It also wasn't his fault, although I sat and slagged the operator off all the way home, but I think RCA's customer service is atrocious and if there's ever a next time, I'll pass on the trip in the ambulance and take the car :rant:
I've had problems with RCA people too before. They were a little bit judgemental as to why I did use their taxi service for. :rolleyes:

Whether they like it or not, or thinks that I should use the bus instead. I chose to use the taxi, and for a good enough reason to myself. I don't need to justify why I choose to pay a taxi service. I don't want to justify myself and say to them that I do not have a car, or a license...

Anyway, it is easier to let it by... now their services are much better, and are not so judgemental. RCA are merged by a few other taxi companies. If it wasn't for regular customs, then they wouldn't have grown.

In December I had the ignorant unprofessional sociopathic bitch treatment too - I would bet it was the same woman. It certainly sounds familiar. Well, tab1, I'm sure you'll concoct some excuse as to why I *deserved* to be treated in such fashion - after all, I rang and politely asked to book a taxi, in daylight hours outside peak times, so it's no wonder I got an earful of abuse. I'd be interested to hear your reasoning.

And since when has an urgent visit to hospital constituted 'feeling sorry for yourself'? Does it cross your mind at all that the patient might have had good reason to get home again in good time (and without the added stress of a stroppy bitch abusing her customers). Your callous and arrogant attitude fits in nicely with the ethos of RCA.

PS taxi firms and their employees are not 'working through the night for our benefit' - they are a business, they're doing it for themselves not charity, and they should start treating their customers with respect.

Well said, Purdyamos. Customer care should be the same regardless of the profession.A little empathy from the taxi company wouldn't go amiss!!

You should complain to the chief exec of the teaching hospitals as that taxi firm has just been given a contract from the trust.

Please report this man to the Town Hall. Licensing Section, if you give them the name the booking was made in the time of booking and where it went to they will identify the driver through the operator who will be duty bound under thier conditions to id the driver of the vehicle.send complaint to taxi.licensing@sheffield.gov.uk.

after all, I rang and politely asked to book a taxi, in daylight hours outside peak times, so it's no wonder I got an earful of abuse. I'd be interested to hear your reasoning.

Your callous and arrogant attitude fits in nicely with the ethos of RCA.
Polite? .....:confused: Calling people arrogant and callous is indeed very polite and I suspect well deserving of that proverbial earful :hihi:
The lady did say that the driver turned up in seconds, and guess who sent him? the same lady who answered the phone, so she did her job right, The fare was reasonable too. The only problem is her being asked how she came by a priority number which is a Hospital priority number for a good reason. What is wxactly wrong with being asked not to use that number because it is a PRIORITY number for a HOSPITAL?
Indeed RCA is not a charity nor is it a psycotherapiy service, and although there may be occasions to copmlain of this or other taxi firms behaviour, I contend this isn't one of them. If to defend this standpoint makes me arrogant then so be it.
Maybe for yourself they should have a taxi on standy on the 999 number? :lol

You should complain to the chief exec of the teaching hospitals as that taxi firm has just been given a contract from the trust.

It's probably the chief exec who asked for the priority number that she was asked not to use again :roll:

Polite? .....:confused: Calling people arrogant and callous is indeed very polite and I suspect well deserving of that proverbial earful :hihi:
The lady did say that the driver turned up in seconds, and guess who sent him? the same lady who answered the phone, so she did her job right, The fare was reasonable too. The only problem is her being asked how she came by a priority number which is a Hospital priority number for a good reason. What is wxactly wrong with being asked not to use that number because it is a PRIORITY number for a HOSPITAL?
Indeed RCA is not a charity nor is it a psycotherapiy service, and although there may be occasions to copmlain of this or other taxi firms behaviour, I contend this isn't one of them. If to defend this standpoint makes me arrogant then so be it.
Maybe for yourself they should have a taxi on standy on the 999 number? :lol
You work for a taxi firm, don't you? :hihi:
Call it intuition. :)

I think people need to know what is a "hospital priority number", and why it is classed as that. Are customers not supposed to use them if they are not going from the hospital? Is that why? The RCA posters for a service are plastered everywhere near the telephones in the Northern General.

I still use their old telephone number. lol. :P If they don't want it, then they could cut it off. Which meant less customers using them for convenience, but...

You work for a taxi firm, don't you? :hihi:
Call it intuition. :)
Womens intuition, can't beat it:hihi:


I think people need to know what is a "hospital priority number", and why it is classed as that. Are customers not supposed to use them if they are not going from the hospital? Is that why? The RCA posters for a service are plastered everywhere near the telephones in the Northern General.

I still use their old telephone number. lol. :P If they don't want it, then they could cut it off. Which meant less customers using them for convenience, but...

Hospital priority phone numbers are so staff at the hospital can order cars for patients/specimens/equipment for the contract that they bidded for. (which can be a huge quantity of work)

You work for a taxi firm, don't you? :hihi:
Call it intuition. :)

I honestly do hate to burst your buble but no I do not, but hey, don't let that get in the way of intuition.

The RCA posters for a service are plastered everywhere near the telephones in the Northern General.
... And as such you would have thought it would be hard to miss a regular number but this customer feels well above the rest of us. So instead of a number that's plastered everywhere she goes and uses a number reserved for Hospital internal business, and I would consider Hospital business to be little more important.
I still use their old telephone number. lol. :P If they don't want it, then they could cut it off. Which meant less customers using them for convenience, but...
Maybe they should have a special number for people who have had a particularly bad day and one for the rest of us:hihi:

Ah... so that's all cleared then! :hihi:
My intuition was a little bit off tune. :P

Use Mercury next time! Especially if your in the north of the city like the A@E at the northern General.

They cover all of Sheffield though and have strict guidelines to what you can have in a Taxi (Taxi data box/ sat navs) and they do check up on their own drivers if a complaint is made to them.

RCA are trying to attract as much drivers as they can to compete with Mercury so they will obviously be reluctant to chastise their own.

Also alot of the RCA drivers are ex A1 and City car drivers that had a bad rep for years, hope this helps and once again USE MERCURY!!!

Should I make a complaint to RCA and do you think they will take it seriosly?

As far as I'm aware a TV screen in the front is illegal to use when driving, as such you should report him to the police asap.

It's probably the chief exec who asked for the priority number that she was asked not to use again :roll:

Oh dear......
He would not advocate, nor like rude behaviour. This person was in hospital, and we also use that for patients.
:roll:

Polite? .....:confused: Calling people arrogant and callous is indeed very polite and I suspect well deserving of that proverbial earful :hihi:
The lady did say that the driver turned up in seconds, and guess who sent him? the same lady who answered the phone, so she did her job right, The fare was reasonable too. The only problem is her being asked how she came by a priority number which is a Hospital priority number for a good reason. What is wxactly wrong with being asked not to use that number because it is a PRIORITY number for a HOSPITAL?
Indeed RCA is not a charity nor is it a psycotherapiy service, and although there may be occasions to copmlain of this or other taxi firms behaviour, I contend this isn't one of them. If to defend this standpoint makes me arrogant then so be it.
Maybe for yourself they should have a taxi on standy on the 999 number? :lol

Yes it does. But at least you called me a lady. And as for the taxi on standby on 999, the ambulance and emergency-response paramedic turned up very promptly, thank you.

It's about 5 years since I had the misfortune to have to ring for a taxi. I know that the number in question belonged to a taxi firm because, as I pointed out, it is nearly identical to the home number of my mate and they used to have to unplug their phone at night to stop drunken numpties ringing them instead of the correct number which she told me. This is anytime within the last 13 years that I have known said mate. I don't know how, then, I'm supposed to know - least of all at 2 in the morning, after a unexpected visit to A&E - that this number is now not for general consumption but for who or whatever comes under "hospital priority number". In the stress of the situation, it was the only taxi number I could remember given my aversion to using them (and I do have a very good memory for telephone numbers). Unfortunatley when I tried 2393939, I obviously wasn't a VIP priority caller so they didn't bother to answer it.

Hmmm, attitude of the snotty mare was unreal? Not from the conversation you set out, if anything it's all quite logical and efficient. You may want to consider others working through the night for your benefit, and not feel so sorry for yourself.
They provided excellent service and yet you still bad mouth them,......nice.

If she doesn't like working unsociable hours providing a service, that's her fault and not mine. She could have been explained a little more politely, whereupon I might have apologised. And as for excellent service, so what? I'm paying for that service and that's how it should be every time!

Incidentally, my boyfriend has now been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and is awaiting further tests so my only consideration is for him and I reserve the right to feel a bit sorry for myself :rant:

report him i would rca are a shoe string op i got one last year and the driver was smokeing dope mad:huh:

Any display screen should be linked to the handbrake so that it is impossible to watch it unless the vehicle is stationary.

This is true, but back in the day I used to sell cars. One day one of the new guys was supposed to deliver a car with a screen in it, had forgotten to order the screen to be fitted by the workshop and gone on holiday leaving one of the other guys to do the delivery, which was set to be on a Saturday afternoon (no workshop!)

We rang the customer and they were adamant (Dog Eat Dog, anyone?) that they wanted this screen yada yada. So we offered to buy them a bigger screen than the one they didn't have in stock, only thing was we would ahve to take the car down to Halford's and get it fitted by them too. We rang them up and did the deal, I took the car down myself, as the others were busy, the kid fitting the screen asked me if I wanted the handbrake microswitch fitting or just fixed in the closed position.

I guess it wouldn't even have been too hard for the taxi driver to rig it himself if he wanted and had some basic know-how.

Other than the fact that he is breaking the law, there might even be an insurance implication if you were to have an accident.

I'd like to hear if there was any follow-up from this, or if anything got done. I wouldn't hesitate to get a driver to stop and get his details if this happened to me but I appreciate that a woman by herself (no sexism intended!) might be reluctant to do this and potentially end up stranded somewhere.

I'd suggest using Mercury in the future (they're the only other firm I know in town in fairness). While I appreciate that this guy (and the telephone lady mentioned above) are not indicative of all the staff at a company, bad experiences can put you off.

If she doesn't like working unsociable hours providing a service, that's her fault and not mine. She could have been explained a little more politely, whereupon I might have apologised. And as for excellent service, so what? I'm paying for that service and that's how it should be every time!

Incidentally, my boyfriend has now been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and is awaiting further tests so my only consideration is for him and I reserve the right to feel a bit sorry for myself :rant:
I expect you were upset and after learning the reason I appreciate you must have been under considerable stress. The service industry however, is not there for our stress relief so that we can treat them with contempt and still blame them for working there in the first place. Sometimes we aren't in the mood for humor and it's quite possible you may have over reacted to otherwise quite simple banter or attempted humor. My view was simply that from the conversation you explained, you weren't insulted but were given good service by the company, so am perplexed why you feel that you were somehow insulted.:roll: So much so for RCA to deserve a roasting on SF.
As for the driver with the screen issue that is wrong and deserves to be stopped by the council enfrocement officers who actually get paid to do a job.

Simple banter or attempted humour, my @rse. I have to use the phone a lot during the working day, and have done for my entire working life, so I know what both of those things sound like, just like I know that dishing out attitude doesn't endear you to anyone.

Seeing as you know so much, perhaps you can explain how a simple mortal such as myself could possibly be aware, without the benefit of psychic powers or a crystal ball, that the number I was dialling was for a specific purpose and not for common customers?

No matter, my low opinion of taxi firms hasn't changed and it'll be a cold day in Hell before I use one again.

Please report this man to the Town Hall. Licensing Section, if you give them the name the booking was made in the time of booking and where it went to they will identify the driver through the operator who will be duty bound under thier conditions to id the driver of the vehicle.send complaint to taxi.licensing@sheffield.gov.uk.

Are you suggesting that the OP should report an incident that happened in early March?