A Taxi thread again

shinzon

can somebody officially tell me whether 858585's no 2 euro callout charge is just a loose rule they have or is it as the ads say it is, reason i ask is again a taxi driver charged me the 2 euro callout charge coming home from work the other evening and its beginning to piss me off big time, twice in the last 3 months ive been charged that

I reported the first guy to them and heard nothing back so didnt bother my arse this time, id take it further this time if i knew that for sure it was a rule rather then something that can be interpreted

thx

Shin

Neil_Sedaka

According to the Commission for Taxi Regulation:

"When a taxi is booked by telephone, email, fax, text, (or any method other than by hailing in the street or engaging at a taxi rank), taxi drivers will be permitted to charge a maximum of €2.00 for such journeys"

http://www.taxireg.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=94&pID=103&nID=137#4%20extras

This is standard practice, I suppose in some parts of the country, the driver may decide not to charge it though. He is however fully entitled to do so.

shinzon

yes i know all that but 858585 took the decision to drop the 2 euro callout charge last year, whether a taxi driver is fully entitled to charge it or not, when the taxi firm he works for decides to drop that charge then he is under the auspices of the taxi office he works for

Cant have one set of rules for one set of taxi drivers who dont charge and another set of rules for another working for the same company TBH, either they do or they dont, no grey

Shin

Bards

shinzon wrote:

yes i know all that but 858585 took the decision to drop the 2 euro callout charge last year, whether a taxi driver is fully entitled to charge it or not, when the taxi firm he works for decides to drop that charge then he is under the auspices of the taxi office he works for

Cant have one set of rules for one set of taxi drivers who dont charge and another set of rules for another working for the same company TBH, either they do or they dont, no grey

Shin

I would tend to agree with you.. If, they are advertising that they don't charge the Two Euro to gain competitive advantage over other firms and then do in fact charge you.. this is misleading advertising and are in breach of the advertising rules and regulations... a letter/complaint to the office of the Director for consumer affairs could be in order.

Cabaal

Bards wrote:

I would tend to agree with you.. If, they are advertising that they don't charge the Two Euro to gain competitive advantage over other firms and then do in fact charge you.. this is misleading advertising and are in breach of the advertising rules and regulations... a letter/complaint to the office of the Director for consumer affairs could be in order.

sounds like a plan, first off I'd sent a letter to 858585 to get them to confirm in writing that they've dropped the charge, then if it comes into dispute and you get charged you have them and can take it further

ROCKMAN

Right here' s what is happing The owner of 858585 placed them ads and even made a ad with fixed fees (the regulator give him a rap on the knuckles for the fixed fees part ) without consulting the drivers. The owner only has three or four cars where he can enforce the no call out charge. The regulator was informed about the ads, but since 99% of the cars working for 858585 are self employed and only rent the office equipment its is down to driver's discretion where he or she charges this call out fee.

shinzon

so out of 320 taxis on the road with 858585 99% of those can do what they want when they want, and he can only tell 3 to 4 taxis not to charge the callout charge

Somethings definitely wrong there somewhere and needs to be rectified pronto

shin

AdMMM

Are Hackney's also allowed to charge this fee? If they aren't then it may be worthwhile specifying that you want a hackney instead.

deisemum

Can someone tell me what's the difference between a hackney and a taxi over here? I was used to black cabs and mini-cabs when I lived in London but don't know the set up here.

Roen

I could be wrong but I don't think you can flag a hackney down on the street, you have to call them.

mad man

Hackneys to not have the taxi plate on the roof of the car.They are not allowed to stop on the street to pick up fares or use the ranks.In other words if you try and flag one down it would be illegal for him to pick you up.

You have to phone their office to call them to your location or go to the office yourself.

deisemum

Thanks

Sully

I spoke with a Taxi Driver of Rapid Caps not to long ago about the introduction of all these charges. He informed me that the €2 call out charge is decided by each driver individually, and is a "loose" rule. When will it be applied? He claims that most drivers will use it on people going to and from a short distance. Longer journeys will not have this charge applied, most likely.

Short Journey: City Square (by Burger King) up to the Garda Station. Apparently, a lot of people do this with their shopping as they dont want to walk the hill.

Long Journey: From the WIT College on the Cork Road to Superquinn OR to Musgraves Cash and Carry.

It really is up to the driver and the new taxi regulations support this (as stated earlier). He also recommended that each person request a receipt at the end of the journey.

Hope this clears up any confusion!

Our man in Havana

Short Journey: City Square (by Burger King) up to the Garda Station. Apparently, a lot of people do this with their shopping as they dont want to walk the hill.

That's pure laziness and they deserve to be hit with a extra charge.

Mossy Monk

Bond-007 wrote:

That's pure laziness and they deserve to be hit with a extra charge.

That's not a fair comment. What about the elderly?

deisemum

Bond-007 wrote:

That's pure laziness and they deserve to be hit with a extra charge.

What about those with a lot of shopping especially food that weighs a lot

shinzon

Sully wrote:

I spoke with a Taxi Driver of Rapid Caps not to long ago about the introduction of all these charges. He informed me that the €2 call out charge is decided by each driver individually, and is a "loose" rule. When will it be applied? He claims that most drivers will use it on people going to and from a short distance. Longer journeys will not have this charge applied, most likely.

Short Journey: City Square (by Burger King) up to the Garda Station. Apparently, a lot of people do this with their shopping as they dont want to walk the hill.

Long Journey: From the WIT College on the Cork Road to Superquinn OR to Musgraves Cash and Carry.

It really is up to the driver and the new taxi regulations support this (as stated earlier). He also recommended that each person request a receipt at the end of the journey.

Hope this clears up any confusion!

thats funny because ive talked to 2 taxi drivers since i was charged the 2 euro call out charge, and both have said that rapid cabs had a meeting with all the taxi drivers under there rentship, and all of them bar a small minority agreed to drop the call out charge, none of this loose rule thing, all agreed to drop it

Tbh its only a loose rule if you intend to be greedy and charge what you like, which is completely wrong, so it depnds who your talking to, i fully intend to pursue this after the easter weekend and get some kind of definitive answer from rapid cabs, because this duality of charges cannot be allowed to continue

Shin

Our man in Havana

Mossy Monk wrote:

That's not a fair comment. What about the elderly?

Of course the elderly are not lazy. I'll take that much back.
But for anyone else that uses a taxi to transport themselves a quater a mile at most just to avoid a hill is just being wasteful. If you are going to take a taxi that far then why not take it all the way home?

ROCKMAN

shinzon wrote:

thats funny because ive talked to 2 taxi drivers since i was charged the 2 euro call out charge, and both have said that rapid cabs had a meeting with all the taxi drivers under there employ, and all of them bar a small minority agreed to drop the call out charge, none of this loose rule thing, all agreed to drop it

Tbh its only a loose rule if you intend to be greedy and charge what you like, which is completely wrong, so it depnds who your talking to, i fully intend to pursue this after the easter weekend and get some kind of definitive answer from rapid cabs, because this duality of charges cannot be allowed to continue

Shin

Rapid does not employ the drivers. 99% are self employed or employed by the owner of the car. Rapid employs the office staff and the couple of drivers of the cars he owns, which by the way are three Hackneys and only one Taxi so he was dropping a charge he could not have charged on 75% of his own cars anyway. As for that meeting, the meeting was held after they advertise the no call out charge.

shinzon

ROCKMAN wrote:

Rapid does not employ the drivers.

Semantics but changed in my original post


Shin

shinzon

just got charged again the calllout charge, so 4 times in 3 months now, 13 euro coming to work is a complete and utter disgrace

so tomorrow letter goes off, sick and tired of being ripped off

Shin

sharkman

shinzon wrote:

just got charged again the calllout charge, so 4 times in 3 months now, 13 euro coming to work is a complete and utter disgrace

so tomorrow letter goes off, sick and tired of being ripped off

Shin

There is a booking fee of €2.00 for pre-booked journeys ,this charged at the driver’s discretion.Rapid does not employ the drivers. 99% are self employed or employed by the owner of the car.

I dont see what your problem is with this . FFS..

Take it to the regulator :http://www.taxiregulator.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=94&pID=101&nID=133

sharkman

If you are charged what is on the meter you are NOT being ripped off .

The Drivers did not decide the fare structure , thats up to the Commission for Taxi Regulation .

Our man in Havana

The drivers have control over what extras are on the meter.

Our man in Havana

shinzon wrote:

just got charged again the calllout charge, so 4 times in 3 months now, 13 euro coming to work is a complete and utter disgrace

so tomorrow letter goes off, sick and tired of being ripped off

Shin

As this is on the face of it looks like a case of false advertising, you should complain to the ASAI. I don't think the taxi regulator will help as the charge is sanctioned by them.

sharkman

Fare structure here :http://www.taxiregulator.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=94&3nID=94&4nID=103&pID=103&nID=137.

It's simple to understand . There should be no mistakes !

shinzon

makes me laugh, there is no way the fare structure is well fair, my problem is this, it is blatant false advertising from a company to advertise that they do not charge the callout charge, when they have no apparent right to do so, if they cannot control there drivers and what they charge and not charge then they should never have advertised it in the first place

And tbh 13 euro is in no way shape or form fair on the customer to have to pay, and if you were charged this on a regular basis then you wouldnt be coming on here qouting rules and regulation either sharkman. And as for not having any control over whats put on the metre thats complete bollocks yes they do, simply dont push the extras button

Shin

sharkman

You have the fares in front of you , does anyone force you to get a taxi ..NO , its your choice . Once the appropriate extra's and nothing else is charged , well where is the problem ..

The Irish public asked asked for the regulator to be established and had their say . Now its here and still giving out .

The driver is entitled to charge you pick up fees , your gripe is not with him , but with the company advertising something they can not control.

Oh , and how is the fare structure not fare ????

shinzon

sharkman wrote:

You have the fares in front of you , does anyone force you to get a taxi ..NO , its your choice . Once the appropriate extra's and nothing else is charged , well where is the problem ..

The Irish public asked asked for the regulator to be established and had their say . Now its here and still giving out .

The driver is entitled to charge you pick up fees , your gripe is not with him , but with the company advertising something they can not control.

Oh , and how is the fare structure not fare ????

Sigh nvm

:rolleyes:

shin

sharkman

shinzon wrote:

Sigh nvm

:rolleyes:

shin

How ??

shinzon

sharkman wrote:

How ??

Dont know what bee has gotten into your bonnet sharkman but im not rising to it, youve quoted the rules and regulations as have 3 other people on this thread, seems a lot of posters are overly fond of quoting them

I happen to think there is a case to be made to the asai, because of false advertising by a company who clearly had no right or control over there drivers to say yeah were dropping the callout charge, it is the route ill be going down from tomorrow

This duality of charges will stop one way or another tbh

Shin

AdMMM

The fares that are quoted are "Maximum fares". The taxi drivers don't HAVE to charge them. They can charge less if they want.

Our man in Havana

Would a solution be to use another taxi firm?

Bards

|.Murderer.| wrote:

The fares that are quoted are "Maximum fares". The taxi drivers don't HAVE to charge them. They can charge less if they want.

Exactly!!!

I never understood why the TAXI Drivers were so upset by the taxi regulator stating they will have no option but to increase fares and less people will use taxis

The drivers could have very easily used the old fare structure, but display the maximum fare structure.

I think it is a cartel in my honest opinion

Cabaal

sharkman wrote:

You have the fares in front of you , does anyone force you to get a taxi ..NO , its your choice . Once the appropriate extra's and nothing else is charged , well where is the problem ..

The Irish public asked asked for the regulator to be established and had their say . Now its here and still giving out .

The driver is entitled to charge you pick up fees , your gripe is not with him , but with the company advertising something they can not control.

Oh , and how is the fare structure not fare ????

pick-up fee's are grand and fine in Dublin were you can flag a taxi down, its extrmely hard to do that in pl;aces like Kilkenny or Waterford because they just sit in the middle of town all the time.

shinzon has a fair point as its rare to see alot of taxi's out where he lives most opf the day and as such he wouldn't be able to flag one down in order to avoid the charge.

With regards to the call-out fee, I was in ardkeen awhile back for a op and I had to get a taxi home.

While number of taxi's were outside the main door nobody was in them so my girlfriend phoned to get one, we got a callback and it turned out it was one of the taxi's alreadty outside the main door.....handy enough you might think.

But the fecker started the meter before I even got in the car and it took me a good two to three min to make my way to the car as I could barely walk at the time.

You think this is a fair callout charge?

the boss of me

With regards to the call-out fee, I was in ardkeen awhile back for a op and I had to get a taxi home.

While number of taxi's were outside the main door nobody was in them so my girlfriend phoned to get one, we got a callback and it turned out it was one of the taxi's alreadty outside the main door.....handy enough you might think.

But the fecker started the meter before I even got in the car and it took me a good two to three min to make my way to the car as I could barely walk at the time.

You think this is a fair callout charge?[/QUOTE]
Well you booked the Taxi so yes !! it is fair to be charged the booking fee.... The booking or call out fee is set at €2 max. This is whether the driver has to travel five yards or five miles.. Do you think it's fair that a driver is only allowed charge €2 if he has to travel five miles to pick you up.

shinzon

Well you booked the Taxi so yes !! it is fair to be charged the booking fee.... The booking or call out fee is set at €2 max. This is whether the driver has to travel five yards or five miles.. Do you think it's fair that a driver is only allowed charge €2 if he has to travel five miles to pick you up.

I love this country i really do, the above quote is typical of ireland today, content to let people rip them off left right and centre just cause theres rules and regulations to cover it, especially as self same company bleats on and on about the no callout charge, i think its disgraceful state of affairs and why i started this thread in the first place

Shin

Neil_Sedaka

I think €2 is very reasonable tbh. The driver may have to come from the other side of town to collect you, find your house etc. that all takes time.
In fairness, if you order a take-a-way there will be a delivery charge to bring it to your door.

With regards the false advertising, that needs to be taken up with the cab office owner, not the drivers!

the boss of me

The €2 also goes to pay the wages of the base staff who take your call. It's expensive running a taxi company and I know for a fact drivers have to pay a base fee of €165 pw in Waterford. If drivers refused to pay this fee, there would be no pick up service available and then you would be complaining about that.
You are not being ripped off, you are being charged the rate set in law by the regulater. He decided on these rates after much research and consultation.
The only way you are going to resolve this is by speaking to the manager of the Taxi company in question. If you are not happy with their response you can always take your custom elsewhere.!!!

Cabaal

the boss of me wrote:

Well you booked the Taxi so yes !! it is fair to be charged the booking fee.... The booking or call out fee is set at €2 max. This is whether the driver has to travel five yards or five miles.. Do you think it's fair that a driver is only allowed charge €2 if he has to travel five miles to pick you up.

But whats the point in the taxi drivers being out parking at the hospital if their not going to be in the cars,

its equal to them being at the taxi ranks in town but not sitting in the cars....so the only way you can get one is to call so they know to go back to their cars and then you end up getting charged 2e

yeah thats complete bollox

the boss of me

Cabaal wrote:

But whats the point in the taxi drivers being out parking at the hospital if their not going to be in the cars,

its equal to them being at the taxi ranks in town but not sitting in the cars....so the only way you can get one is to call so they know to go back to their cars and then you end up getting charged 2e

yeah thats complete bollox

Drivers park in or near the hospital anticipating a call.This is to benefit you as they can respond faster to your call. If they are not parked on an official rank there is no need to be in their cars. They could be stretching their legs, playing cards ,going to the toilet or having a teabreak.
Look, this is not rocket science !! you call a taxi , you pay a €2 booking/call out fee. If you don't want to pay it, wait till a taxi is passing or dropping someone off. Its "complete bollox" that you expect to use a booking service and not pay for it..

shinzon

Its "complete bollox" that you expect to use a booking service and not pay for it..

Hmm especially as said taxi service advertises that it doesnt charge the callout charge

yeah now thats bollocks

Shin

Our man in Havana

Do all the other taxi firms in Waterford charge the callout fee?

shinzon

not really sure tbh, only reason i use rapid is because they have 320 taxis on the road and your virtually guranteed a taxi tbh

Wanty

Cabaal

the boss of me wrote:

Drivers park in or near the hospital anticipating a call.This is to benefit you as they can respond faster to your call. If they are not parked on an official rank there is no need to be in their cars. They could be stretching their legs, playing cards ,going to the toilet or having a teabreak.
Look, this is not rocket science !! you call a taxi , you pay a €2 booking/call out fee. If you don't want to pay it, wait till a taxi is passing or dropping someone off. Its "complete bollox" that you expect to use a booking service and not pay for it..

to be honest I'd rather they not take up set down bays that are meant for patient drop-offs, if they are going to screw people over with a e call-out charge despite the fact their only 10 feet away from the door then perhaps they should feck off to a official taxi rank as I'd imagine people would rather wait the 0-5min it'll take a taxi to show up

As for hailing a taxi especially out in ardkeen/powercourts etc, they rarely stop

At the end of the day I know people that are taxi drivers and their far from poor, these people use this "call-out charge" as an excuse to screw over customers and to squeeze even more money out of people. I'm just thankful I don't use taxi's that much as I have free transport to get me around town thats often faster at peak times.

the boss of me

Cabaal wrote:

to be honest I'd rather they not take up set down bays that are meant for patient drop-offs, if they are going to screw people over with a e call-out charge despite the fact their only 10 feet away from the door then perhaps they should feck off to a official taxi rank as I'd imagine people would rather wait the 0-5min it'll take a taxi to show up

As for hailing a taxi especially out in ardkeen/powercourts etc, they rarely stop

At the end of the day I know people that are taxi drivers and their far from poor, these people use this "call-out charge" as an excuse to screw over customers and to squeeze even more money out of people. I'm just thankful I don't use taxi's that much as I have free transport to get me around town thats often faster at peak times.

Personally I find your use of the word "screw" offensive as it has negative connotations. I have already explained that the charge was put in place by the regulater after exhaustive studies and consultation. It is the law !!
Drivers charge €2 pick up in order to recoup some of the €165 per week they have to pay to the despatch center. You use the despatch center you pay the fee,[€2 ffs]
You may have free transport but there are many who don't,who depend on taxis. You are giving the impression that these people are being "screwed" by drivers. This is not the case. Please don't badmouth drivers who are providing a good service and charging prices sanctioned by the Govt.