Judt been dropped off by a black cab who insisted on £15.00 upfront to high green. When we go to high green no change was offered. After a heated discussion the driver intimidated myseld and my brother. Myself and my brother left the cab, yet the driver seemed to want more, he waited at the roundabout, revving the engine. He sped away after i went to confront him. Would like to know if other peeps have had other similar problems, and would like to create or join a group against such activities.

Did you take his taxi licence number - this should be reported to the council

Welcome to Sheffield BTW :(

There's more where that came from - till you get dried off behind your ears ;)

I really feel for you as I have had the same problem from arrogant black cab drivers like the one you just mentioned, It is an experience that is similar to being mugged as you feel there is no choice than to accept what has been charged, it is very annoying as it seems there is nothing that can be done against the people responsible.:rant:

Never had a problem - always experienced friendly (if a little over enthusiastic on corners) drivers and reasonable fares. If they're legal they are bound to keep fares at a city standard.

IF they're legal....

Would recommend Mercury for minicabs, btw.

I've got to ask - what sort of accent do you have?

Originally posted by Strix
I've got to ask - what sort of accent do you have?

Who...me?

Kind of normal middle class bland with a hint of Sheffield!

I'm from High Green, I have a common northern accent.

i had same one thursday night he did not ask for cash up front was also going to high green but did seem more coming back from town to going .
would say he had a bad attitude also when dropping my mates off first i made him wait while i counted the fare out penny by penny because of this and no he did not get a tip.
would say he was between 40 -50 fatish build slight beard mayby asian not sure.
to be honest as a rule i try to not get black cabs as i always find them a rip off but when your cold tired and drunk and just want to get home your options are limited

Originally posted by ceallachan
I'm from High Green, I have a common northern accent.

COMMON?........its not common. :rant:


It is about £15 to High Green....:(

depends on driver its been around 11 to 12 pounds in past

Id say get in a cab ,ask for your destination and if they want money up front say £10 then we'll pay the rest on arraival.
We never put money upfront to get home ,if they dont like it ,get out and get another.....

I paid £4.30 from the Leadmill back to westone :o
I was pi**ed as a fart and could barely walk, but I still had to scrape my jaw up off the floor when I saw the price!

black cabs are **** for short jurneys cos price starts off at £2.50 even before youve moved!
And west one.....you lazy sod thats a 5 min walk!

at 1am and alone? Yeah... Good move!

You'd be rate........ ;0)

Originally posted by Snakey_B
You'd be raped ........ ;0)

Yes, probably!

never get in a black again we were involved in an accident whilst in a black cab both myself and the wife recieving stitches to head injurys.when we tried to get details of the taxi driver a few days later it turned out he had left the country and he was driving it for a family friend.it took 6 months to come to agreement with the taxi owners insurance company.
more checks should be carried out to check the right peaple are driving black cabs.
When did you last see a black cab pulled over by the police for a routine check?

they take the pi*s, but only if you let them, your the customer after all.

Pay what the meter says and the jobs a good un, if he gets clever, drag him out of the Taxi, tie him to a lamp post and set it on fire, then take all his takings. I garentee you now (if he lives) he won't take the pi*s again.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

£15 seems reasonable considering I always have to pay £10 to Ecclesfield...

Black cab drivers Grrrrrrr, when ever I get a black cab the driver never seems to be able to speak a word of english until it comes to taking my money :rant: they can be going in totaly the oppisite direction to where i want to go, but no matter how much you tell em they insist on going there way :mad:

I have to say I cannot remember ever having a problem with a black cab, although I've never been so drunk that I don't know where I am!

I've also never had to pay up front except once, and that was a cross boundary journey from Chesterfield, that is normal practice. However I believe for long journeys taxi drivers sometimes do because they would lose so much if you did a runner.

When I get into a cab I always say hello and tell the driver not only exactly where I want to be, but also a summary of which way I want to go to get there.

I rarely use private hire because it's so difficult to get hold of one on a Friday or Saturday night!

A few months back we were leaving Republic in the early hours of the morning, and it was about an hour before closing so we were the only group outside looking for a cab (5 of us). There they all were, lined up ready for when the club emptied, yet would any of them take us back to Woodhouse?

No.

We tried every cab in the line, all who just shook their heads. In the end we had to walk around the corner and try to hail one down. I am known to get quite stubborn when I've had a few, and plus I know that in Australia the customer has the right to book a cab/hail one down without having to state where they're headed (within reason of course, I think its something like you're required to state your destination if it's over an hour away) so I told the others to hail a cab, jump in and tell the driver where we're going once we're ready to set off.

Eventually we found one and made our way back home. My question is - why were so many drivers reluctant to go to Woodhouse? We've never had a problem in the past until this occasion in July. Strange.

Travel back most weekends to Sheffield and take a black cab from the station. Amazing what routes they will take to where I live. Therefore I always give them directions.

Re the 15 pounds I would take the driver number and report to the council.

With Caprice on this one, Safer in a cab back..

I don't tend to drink as much these days, I much prefer driving and drinking soft drinks, I still have the great laugh I used to and don't waste £30/£40 on booze :)

15 quid sounds about right, I pay the same to Harley and its the same distance from town. Well it's usually 14 quid but I always make it up to 15, I expect it to be so yeah. Plus Harley is really out of the way. One guy wanted to charge me 20 quid before, flat told him it was never more than 15 and he said, I've known it be 20 and you're a big guy.

I didn't understand his reasoning and didn't give him my custom, my advice is to never go anywhere except on the meter, that way you know that you're not being robbed. Don't be afraid to be assertive and tell him the way you want to also if you know your road names. The amount of times cab drivers have asked me which way I want to go makes me think some people must egt soem really dodgy black cabs, I've not had a single one yet.

Wilf

Originally posted by SeAnY
Black cab drivers Grrrrrrr, when ever I get a black cab the driver never seems to be able to speak a word of english until it comes to taking my money :rant: they can be going in totaly the oppisite direction to where i want to go, but no matter how much you tell em they insist on going there way :mad:

When I'm not too pi$$ed, the cabbie usually asks me what route I want to take home. If he doesn't, he goes the fastest way anyway.

In general I've not had too many bad experiences.

What did surprise me was when we'd ordered a Mercury cab to take us from Hallam down to Ecclesall Road. The driver took ages to find us at the Sheffield pub and didn't know the way to Ecclesall Road - despite his having SatNav in his car.

He did though, know how to charge.

Infact, hiring a cab seems to be a very expensive mode of transport these days. I made a comment in my 1986 diary: Cab home from town (to Fulwood) £2.60.

What would it be today? A tenner I'd guess.

Also, it must be a sign of the times when cabbies ask for fares upfront, worried that their passengers might do a runner on reaching their destination.

I also come from High Green n i have been asked to pay £15 up front before it might be a 'lets rip people off from High Green' Kinda thing

i gt a mercury Taxi the other day. It picked me and my friend up from my home n took us to fuel in sheffield. I think i got ripped off because the driver went all the way through west street down all the back roads, whereas he could have gone a quicker way. It ended up costing £12 and should have only been about £8 -£9

I get around one per week and I have never been ripped off, I am friendly to the driver and this often leads to an interesting chat and a sincere "goodnight" at the end of the journey. I tip 10-15 % and everyone's happy.

Almost all the drivers are asian and I believe it's a good cultural learning oppertunity for me, don't know what they think though as I'm usually stoned/inebriated.

Originally posted by ceallachan
Judt been dropped off by a black cab who insisted on £15.00 upfront to high green. When we go to high green no change was offered.


I live in Aston and Black Cab drivers do exactly the same to us, even when its tipsy women in high heels who are very unlikely to do a 'runner' Its annoyed me and others I know for years!

Originally posted by julz
I live in Aston and Black Cab drivers do exactly the same to us, even when its tipsy women in high heels who are very unlikely to do a 'runner' Its annoyed me and others I know for years!

I used to live there and have never been asked to pay a deposit when getting a cab home.

They take you the longest way round possible, because they presume everyone is drunk and will forget !!!

It it about time peolpe started speaking out, make more people complain to the Taxi council !!!!!

I have been told by one honest taxi driver that my Taxi fare from my sons to home is £12. I have been charged in the past with tip up to £17.
The same with the trip from Netherthorpe to Pond St. Anything from £3-5. I've come to the conclusion that cab drivers are very dishonest.
I am elderly and sober and travel durring the day.

hazel

Originally posted by Andy
I used to live there and have never been asked to pay a deposit when getting a cab home.

You used to live there, when was the last time you got a black cab after midnight back there? cos they've been making us pay upfront for at least 5 years, but is is especially prevalent with the cabs from the train station, more than any other rank.

I've been in a black cab that was surrounded by about 5 other cabs, and our driver was dragged out and his keys taken from him. They went on to explain to us in the cab that he was unlicenced and had been in a couple of uninsured accidents. Fair play to the guys for dealing hands-on with a problem the police couldn't be bothered with - they claimed they had reported him several times but no action had been taken. I know Sheffields roads and can't honestly remember a black cab trying to take the ****.
Mercury, (who have been named-dropped here on a couple of occassions) on the other hand have offerred some of the worst service I've ever had. They've failed to turn up when promised so often (including to the airport and train station) that i've vowed never to book 'em again, and will not allow them to be booked from work either. When confronted with my irritation their attitude was one of complete indifference. The drivers are OK, but that's not good enough.

Originally posted by julz
You used to live there, when was the last time you got a black cab after midnight back there? cos they've been making us pay upfront for at least 5 years, but is is especially prevalent with the cabs from the train station, more than any other rank.

Well I moved away in January of this year, and used to get cabs home about once a month after midnight. I was never asked to pay in advance. Maybe I just look honest? :D

I think its down to where I live. I tell them High Green, they put £3-4 on the price. Its now Thursday and I'm still fuming.

Thinking about it, we should have got out when he asked for money up front. Won't make that mistake again.

Seems a few rogue taxi drivers are giving black cabs a bad reputation.

Years ago, when were allowed to flag a private cab in Sheffield City Centre, they were a lot cheaper and got you home quicker.

I have to say I cannot remember ever having a problem with a black cab, although I've never been so drunk that I don't know where I am!

I've also never had to pay up front except once, and that was a cross boundary journey from Chesterfield, that is normal practice. However I believe for long journeys taxi drivers sometimes do because they would lose so much if you did a runner.

When I get into a cab I always say hello and tell the driver not only exactly where I want to be, but also a summary of which way I want to go to get there.

I rarely use private hire because it's so difficult to get hold of one on a Friday or Saturday night!

Well said mate lucky the driver picked them up in the first place they would never of got in my cab if they was that drunk no way
rather have a no pick up than have some one ****** and ready to throw up at any min cause they can not take there drink