I committed an assault :-/

LegacyUser

I am going to post this one anonymously back via my Irish IP as I am abroad at the moment and can't post privately. I am based out of Ireland and earlier today I took multiple connecting flights with a total journey time of over 30hrs long and medium haul with a long layover due Europe's closure and no easier transit options available. I'm a boards regular but prefer keep this anon.

I arrived at my final destination with my wife and this is where the trouble starts, Basically I had a taxi driver attempt to scam me and things went south from there.

My plan on arrival was to buy a local simcard and setup the local uber-like app (Actual Uber is banned where I am), its a similar situation to Ireland where Freeway is the dominant ride hailing app. You could only register for this app with a local number from the country I am in, stupid but ok, their rules. I was unable to find a local simcard due to people, fogged glasses with a mask, some airport kiosks were closed due to Covid and my wife complaining how it was a waste of money, I didn't have roaming, its not a EU country.

So we emerged into the arrivals hall with our fully loaded trolly with 7 pieces of checked and carryon luggage, laptops etc. Then I went to withdraw local currency (Non-EU country) all cards blocked, due to the banking app rules from April 1st. I then changed most of my last Euros to local €50 and got back several thousand local money. By now my stress levels are skyrocketing and I am awake 30+ hrs in a sleep deprived state.

We push our cart and are accosted by several touts offering taxi's I say no thanks and try to assess the situation, my wife starts fighting to just get a taxi, one guy approached me and I showed him the address and tried to do a deal asking him how much, his English was good and said "It's no problem I use meter" I figured what the hell ok, maybe he is legit, offering the meter sounds normal and legit.

After a 25min drive of the worst driving imaginable and the driver not wearing a facemask we arrived 150m near to my destination, he was using google maps and got the destination wrong but close enough as I recognized the nearby petrol station as I had previously scoped out this airbnb on streetview to check the local enviorn.

When we pulled up he tried to charge six times the actual fare (meter was rigged) saying the equivalent of €70 when it should have been €15 - €20. I explained to him very calmly and diplomatically that I was offering him €30 in Euro's and that this was even too much and to please take it. Then the arguing started and his English suddenly improved leaps and bounds, my wife was explaining that it is too expensive also and that I was paying him more than enough.

With that I told her to stay quiet and to get out and remove our luggage which she started to do, then the driver jumped out and I immediately snapped his car keys and turned off the engine to prevent him doing a runner with our luggage.

He then started screaming and in my face to return his keys, "my property" "my car" etc. I said I'll give you the keys when you open the boot and remove all my stuff which he did, then I returned the keys and gave him €30 and told him to leave and goodbye. He continued in his persistence for the rest of his money which I refused and told him I was calling the Police.

With that he made a grab for my laptop bag and backpack on the footpath and said "I take you back to airport so if you won't pay me" and with that I hit him a powerful right hook into the throat and a secondary rabbit punch with my left and a brawl ensued and I fended him off and delivered a few slaps to him, he was around 3-4 inches taller than me but early forties wheras I am younger. He retreated into his car sore and left. In the confusion I failed to snap a photo of his registration but did claw back a €10 note so he left with just €20.

I really feel bad I used violence to settle this but honestly I was so angry at this blatant ripoff attempt, it would not have happened to me only for wife nagging me so much in such an impatient state and as a rule I avoid taxi's unless totally unavoidable, with the luggage amount I had no choice and normally I'd use Uber or a similar ride hailing app. I didn't get this angry in 20+ years since secondary school one day when I throttled another lad for cheating in a school yard game of soccer

In my eyes I was right as it was scam attempt and he needed to learn a lesson, yes it was Physically risky for me (especially in a foreign country) but during the journey as I watched the rigged meter spin I started planning to attack him in my mind as a last resort as no way would I be extorted I decided and I was literally fuming as I released this was a scam due to what the price was likely to be but I said maybe the meter is wrong lets wait and see. During the schmozzle I snapped back a €10 note from his hand and he left with €20 only.

Now my wife won't talk to me for 12hrs+ because we had a row as it would never have happened if she shut her mouth and had patience and a let me find a simcard at the airport to get the Uber type car or else we could have queued like the other 100+ people in front of us from the flight. She complaining how I could have been killed if the guy had a gun or knife.

He was a typical scammer, soft weak, overweight and I surprised myself in my own slapdown to him as I never knew I was so strong, I'm not the type to ever do anything like this but it was fight or flight. I am even tempted to go to the airport on Friday when the same flight comes in again and no doubt he will be there preying on new victims and to ID him to Police.

What should I have done and how could I have handled it better?

Rubberchikken

Admit that your behaviour was inexcusable, apologize to your wife, accept responsibility for your actions and consider yourself very lucky you didn't end up in a police cell.

The whole journey sounds stressful and I'll admit the taxi driver was probably chancing his arm, as many do, but personally I can never agree with violence. It's just not worth the grief.

It was not fight or flight because you planned the assault during the journey. Also thinking to go there another day to track him down is badness. These are not impulsive actions - they are uncontrolled protracted anger symptoms.

You have blamed your wife several times for your temper. We are most of us humans grumpy and petty after long travel so you cannot keep saying she was the problem nor can you use travel exhaustion to excuse yourself punching someone into the throat. It could have killed him. For the sake of a few quid. Life offers far more serious hurdles than a scam artist and you should have coped.

You seem to have escaped the consequence of immediate or delayed retaliation or being arrested and charged for your assault. Count that as a very lucky break. And then be remorseful for your excessive temper and actions. Learn from your mistakes. Feel the regret properly and candidly. And perhaps do a deeper dive alone or with help regarding your anger issues. I have a sibling with similar responses to you - it took decades before he realised that other people were not the problem. Save yourself years of causing and experiencing suffering and own your life now.

Jequ0n

I’m pretty sure I’d have punched him too OP. However, your whole post is layer out as a long winded excuse for your behaviour. You are practically blaming everyone and everything but yourself.

That’s where your actual problem is

Oranage2

You seem to blame others but it was your own anger issue not others. I've traveled a lot and it can be stressful especially with Covid. When you first landed you could get a coffee at McDonald's or wherever to get some bearings, tell your wife to relax while you look for a sim. If no sim shops then Google public transport though probably not likely with a tired wife and luggage or ring your hotel and ask them to pick you up and see the price.

Lastly when you got the taxi, get your bags first then make a commotion. Don't arguing, just tell him to call the police, he'll still shout and be aggressive, he'll then try barter, eventually he'll just go away and you've got a free ride.

L'prof

Similar has happened me on several occasions while encumbered with bags and travelling in foreign countries with my now wife. I never had to reset to violence. Not every situation plays out the same I know but to my mind you’re in the wrong here and I can see why this has caused a rift between you and your wife. At the end of the day it’s only money and there’s no telling what that taxi driver would have been prepared to do. In this instance you and your wife have been very fortunate but your actions could have put you both in danger. You seem to be blaming your wife but this is on you

GingerLily

I feel so sorry for your wife, what an ordeal you put her through. You could have caused lasting damage here, your priorities here are all wrong

Apoapsis Rex

Rubberchikken wrote: »

Admit that your behaviour was inexcusable, apologize to your wife, accept responsibility for your actions and consider yourself very lucky you didn't end up in a police cell.

The whole journey sounds stressful and I'll admit the taxi driver was probably chancing his arm, as many do, but personally I can never agree with violence. It's just not worth the grief.

Chancing his arm? Defrauding, jumping out to confront the op wife is threatening in itself, threatening false imprisonment (grabbing their belongings and saying he would bring them back to the airport). That is a bit less innocent than chancing his arm.

I think the OP acted the correct way in that scenario. There were some pre-emptive actions.

It's true that the OP didn't know what the driver was capable of, so that's why he reacted when the driver jumped out at his wife, which I am presuming was in an aggressive manner as it seemed to have kicked things off.

OP managed to reduce the fraud, got to his destination relatively safely with his belongings.

The good news is, the taxi knows exactly where you are staying. So you put your wife in a situation where she will now worry about the police lifting you for assault, or the taxi coming back with a few family members.

Your post reads like you were unprepared, you didn’t know about bank changes, you arrived with no local currency, if a country has an Uber type taxi service, no doubt they have a service that can be pre-booked for airport pick up, and most of all, you don’t understand that tourists getting scammed by taxis at airport isn’t unusual, you should have almost expected it, taxis in Ireland have been accused of same. So you negotiate, but you pay up.

LegacyUser

It would never have happened had your wife "just shut her mouth"?

Lost a lot of sympathy at this point, grow up and own your own behaviour, stop projecting. Your wife is in no way to blame.

And she was right, for all you knew the guy could have been armed and you could have put both your wife and yourself in serious trouble by choosing to turn violent.

I feel sorry for your wife and understand why she isn't talking to you. Blaming her is beyond childish and you owe her a massive apology for your actions, and for not yet having taken full responsibility for your behaviour.

Have you had issues with violence before this? If not your wife might be quite shaken at having seen this whole new side to you.

Jack00f

You need take accountability and stop blaming your wife for your actions, you committed an assault and should be charged for it.

manor

Everyone's else problem but mine, you need to take accountability for one's own actions.

Normal One

What were you supposed to do; stand there with your hands in your pockets while this scammer takes off with your laptop bag? Meh, he got what he deserved. He set out that morning to scam tourists and he got what he deserved.

I'm female and offhand I can think of two situations when taxi drivers attempted to overcharge me, in foreign countries. One basically kidnapped me and forced me to an atm.
I managed to sort out both those situations without violence. I know every situation is different, but you seem to have been ill prepared at the start of your holiday.

I'm sure that after you have some sleep you will feel different about all this. Apologies to your wife, none of this is her fault, then try to move on.

Pawwed Rig

Jack00f wrote: »

You need take accountability and stop blaming your wife for your actions, you committed an assault and should be charged for it.

Bit much isn't it? I have been on the receiving end of these scams and a couple of times it could easily have come to blows. The alternative is to meekly hand over your hard earned cash.

That said OP you need to apologise to your wife. She was most likely terrified and adding that to the stress of the journey I am not surprised she is not talking to you. Take some responsibility for your own actions and put it behind you.

Pawwed Rig

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Bit much isn't it? I have been on the receiving end of these scams and a couple of times it could easily have come to blows. The alternative is to meekly hand over your hard earned cash.

That said OP you need to apologise to your wife. She was most likely terrified and adding that to the stress of the journey I am not surprised she is not talking to you. Take some responsibility for your own actions and put it behind you.

I think we’ve all been there at one time or another during our travels abroad, I got the tourist spin around Barcelona 10 yrs ago when arrived at the airport with my elderly father. I knew I was being scammed, but I didn’t want the hassle in front of Dad and I certainly didn’t want to spend a weekend in a Spanish jail.

Apart from the assault, the important facts are that the op’s wife was there to see this, and that in the op’s eyes, she was somehow part to blame. Maybe his wife is used to seeing him use his fists, so it might not be too much of a surprise.

paw patrol

I'm at a loss to what you did wrong OP.
The guy was trying to scam you and the situation regrettably got ugly.
Who behaves impeccably in these confrontations. Nobody does.

Think it's wrong to blame your wife for being impatient , the taxi man is to blame for being a scam artist.

On another front, I accept all marriages have different makeups but not in a million years would my wife be cross with me for dealing with confrontation with strangers even if violence was the result - the violence doesn't strike me as gratuitous or over the top nor did you go looking for trouble . you just wanted out of the situation without being robbed.

Your wife should be proud that her husband handled himself and protected the her. I know my wife would be of me.

paw patrol

paw patrol wrote: »

I'm at a loss to what you did wrong OP.
The guy was trying to scam you and the situation regrettably got ugly.
Who behaves impeccably in these confrontations. Nobody does.

Think it's wrong to blame your wife for being impatient , the taxi man is too blame for being a scam artist.

On another front, I accept all marriages have different makeups but not in a million years would my wife be cross with me for dealing with confrontation with strangers even if violence was the result - the violence doesn't strike me as gratuitous or over the top nor did you go looking for trouble . you just wanted out of the situation without being robbed.

Your wife should be proud that her husband handled himself and protected the her. I know my wife would be of me.

Depends on how used to violence your wife is I suppose.

Punches to the throat can be very dangerous - they are illegal in MMA.

Reputable Rog

Taken 4- this time he brought the wife.

Pawwed Rig

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Punches to the throat can be very dangerous - they are illegal in MMA.

Lucky he wasn't in an MMA match then.
Any punch can be dangerous

Hannibal_Smith

Mod Note

Reputable Rog welcome to PI/RI. Posters here are asked to offer constructive advice to an OP when replying to their thread. Please take a look at the Charter before posting again.

Also, just to mention, there is no need to quote an entire opening post as the OP is the person you are replying to. It also makes it difficult for touch site users to navigate through the thread if there are large blocks of text.

Thanks

HS

Pawwed Rig

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Lucky he wasn't in an MMA match then.
Any punch can be dangerous

Thus one should not dole them out. Especially if one has been thinking about them in the taxi ride and has had time to give one's head a wobble.

Pawwed Rig

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Thus one should not dole them out. Especially if one has been thinking about them in the taxi ride and has had time to give one's head a wobble.

One should not dole out any punches unless necessary. Where it is necessary then you do what you need to do to eliminate the danger to yourself.

The rules of a random sport are completely irrelevant.

lawred2

That does not read good for you really. Heavy on excuses. How did you even manage to get around the driver to break the car key in the barrel.

Who even thinks to do something like that? Jason Bourne maybe..

That wouldn't enter my head.

Even the way you describe the brawl... Punches to the throat? rabbit punches! Maybe you fancy yourself a bit too much in that way..

Your actions sound a bit thought through to be honest.

Your wife seems to be a target for your ire as well.

All in all. Not great.

Edit... Misread the bit with the car keys I think.. snapped maybe meant "out of the driver's hands"

Jequ0n

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Thus one should not dole them out. Especially if one has been thinking about them in the taxi ride and has had time to give one's head a wobble.

That’s not what happens in your head when you see red because you don’t think clearly any more. The only way to avoid this is to not let a situation escalate until this point.

paw patrol

Dav010 wrote: »

Depends on how used to violence your wife is I suppose.

a really weird comment.

Maybe we've different standards but a man standing up for his wife/kids against people who wish them ill will isn't a bad thing in my book.
I would look down on a man that didn't have that ingrained in him, But as I said people have different standards.

Pawwed Rig

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

One should not dole out any punches unless necessary. Where it is necessary then you do what you need to do to eliminate the danger to yourself.

The rules of a random sport are completely irrelevant.

Corny.

The op stole the guys keys, what reaction would you expect?

Does the op say anything about taxi metering charges in the place? The driver used the meter and google maps according to the op, there is a good chance the driver was honest and took offence when his keys were taken, then the op robbed him of a €10. If the driver was Irish and posted about an American tourist who objected to a fare because it was more expensive than back home, we’d be telling the op to have the tourist arrested for assault.

paw patrol

paw patrol wrote: »

a really weird comment.

Maybe we've different standards but a man standing up for his wife/kids against people who wish them ill will isn't a bad thing in my book.
I would look down on a man that didn't have that ingrained in him, But as I said people have different standards.

The op stole the guys keys, refused to pay, beat him up and then robbed him of €10, would my wife be proud?, no paw patrol, most decent people would be ashamed. But again, it depends on what you are used to.

Hannibal_Smith

What could you have done differently? Its hard to know without being there, but whether your wife had 'shut her mouth' or not, you had already resolved to 'attack' him, as a last resort. So it really is not her fault.

Its that build up of anger that you need to take a look at and see whether its an ongoing trend for you. You say a similar situation happened in secondary school. People will take liberties it happens to us all, but going nuclear isnt an option and one day you'll get it handed right back to you.

Find a way of dealing with the rage before it gets to that. I would be disgusted if I saw my husband taking things to that level. Its not a good start to the holiday!

Uptheduff

The two of you should have had a coffee in the airport and de stressed a bit before tackling the taxi issue. It's clear you were a massive stress ball from the get go. It was a frustrating situation certainly but you lose all credibility when you snap like that. I'd be so ashamed of you if I was your wife.

woodchuck

Your post is disturbing on a few levels:
1. The violence itself. It wasn't in self defense and starting off with a punch to the throat is pretty extreme.
2. The fact that you don't seem to feel any remorse for your actions. Most of your post seems to be written in such a way to justify why you think violence was inevitable and excusable.
3. The statement "it would never have happened if she shut her mouth". Are you actually blaming your wife for the fact that you decided to resort to violence?!

First you need to apologise to your wife.

Then you need to take a good hard look in the mirror. Figure out why you reacted the way you did and how you could have resolved the situation without violence. You don't want this violent behavior to become a pattern when you're faced with a stressful situation.

noodler

You'd want to have a think about the way you talk about your wife.

Stay quiet, ****.her trap etc.

If the post isn't a windup then also ask yourself are you sorry? Quite a bit of self grandiose in there, I didn't know my own strength etc

Akrasia

The OP blaming his wife for everything points a little bit at a lack of empathy, he spends ages setting up the scene of a stressful traveling arrangement but whenever his wife is mentioned it’s in the context of him being tired and stressed while his wife is unreasonable

If it was tiring and stressful for the OP, probably the same for his wife

My advice is to apologize to your wife for your attitude and for all the mistakes that you made on the trip.even if your wife was more calm, Your high levels of stress would have made for a tense traveling experience and anything she said that didn’t match your own plans could have been interpreted as criticism and caused you to react negatively

Apologies, admit that you made mistakes, accept the blame, de-escalate, get a coffee and focus on turning it around for the rest of the trip

Daniel2021

You need to apologise to your wife. You are blaming her for a lot of this which is very unfair. You said if she shut her mouth it wouldnt have happened and if she wasnt nagging you and impatient it wouldnt have happened.
You hit the guy and put both you you in a dangerous situation. She is right about the gun/knife. You had no idea about what type of man this is. He could have had a criminal record for all you know.

Your post comes across quite boastful going on about how you didn't know your own strength and hoping to see him when you return to the airport. I think you enjoyed this and are annoyed your wife isn't happy about it.

Frankly you are lucky that he hasn't called the police. As another poster said he knows were ye are staying.

Movementarian

I can't speak for anyone else here but when I read your whole message it seemed like you are actually proud or bragging about this.

Comes across in the way you are phrasing things and quite honestly it sounds like you are generally an angry person.

Plus as others have pointed out I would be more worried about this anger towards your wife that comes across. 'If she had only shut her mouth'...has no relevance to the story but you put it in there...lovely.

Know lots of people who have been on the receiving end of scams on holidays. Been done on myself and my partner after a similarly long trip. Never heard people acting or talking the way you do.

osarusan

Forget about the taxi driver and hope he forgets about it too rather than taking it further.

The stuff you have said about how it's all really your wife's fault is ridiculous though.

YellowLead

I don’t understand why you were so unprepared for the trip!!! Was it a last second dash or something???

It sounds like you have very little respect for your wife. Shocking language to use about somebody you are supposed to love, but are you generally aggressive and rude towards everybody?

It’s certainly NOT her fault the assault occurred. You were both unprepared and dealt with the stress of that in different ways.

I’m not sure what advice you are looking for here - it kind of sounds like you wanted to brag about it and have everyone say wow look what this guy did, he sure told that taxi driver!

JupiterKid

Three things come to mind here, one of them being the glaring obvious - why did you think taking a very long-haul holiday involving multiple flights and stopovers at a time of a pandemic and people being urged not to fly was OK to do? Sounds utterly selfish, reckless and inconsiderate to me.

Scammers unfortunately are everywhere when you go abroad - but especially so in impoverished, third world countries where people struggle to survive and make a living. It’s par for the course in these places. I’ve been scammed before on two occasions but being in a foreign country and being very mindful of the state of the justice system and prisons in such countries, violence for me would only be an absolute last resort - and in self-defense.

Your comment about your wife “if only she had shut her mouth” is actually very telling. You are, as the others opined, blaming her and everyone else for your inexcusable use of violence. Count yourself lucky you weren’t knifed or ended up in a hellhole prison. Your post reads like a sympathy-seeking justification for your violent actions. Everything you write in your post portrays you as someone with a very short fuse, a pig-headed attitude (flying in a pandemic), an unwillingness to plan ahead and an inability to see your own faults here.

Suck it up OP, own your actions, apologise to your wife and move on. Perhaps look at anger management therapy when you return from your holidays.

Daniel2021

Stu Redman wrote: »

OP: 4/10

Thread reaction bumps it up to a solid 8 though.

A man assaults someone over 70 euro when it is a known scam in most large airports and tourist destinations. He got into that taxi knowing it could happen. Then he gets violent and blames his wife for this even though he is the one that over reacted. I don't think the comments here are an over-reaction. If the poster has said to his wife what he has posted here...that it is her fault and she should have shut her mouth and stopped nagging then I would call this gaslighting.

All over 70 euro! I've been caught out once in a similar situation but you know what I did...I paid the fee and learned my lesson.

Car99

Daniel2021 wrote: »

A man assaults someone over 70 euro when it is a known scam in most large airports and tourist destinations. He got into that taxi knowing it could happen. Then he gets violent and blames his wife for this even though he is the one that over reacted. I don't think the comments here are an over-reaction. If the poster has said to his wife what he has posted here...that it is her fault and she should have shut her mouth and stopped nagging then I would call this gaslighting.

All over 70 euro! I've been caught out once in a similar situation but you know what I did...I paid the fee and learned my lesson.

The thread is a wind up.

Dublin Lad2021

Jequ0n wrote: »

I’m pretty sure I’d have punched him too OP. However, your whole post is layer out as a long winded excuse for your behaviour. You are practically blaming everyone and everything but yourself.

That’s where your actual problem is

In on this!

Hannibal_Smith

Mod Note

Folks, if you think there is something off about a thread, report it and leave it to the Mod Team to look in to. If you've nothing to offer by way of advice, then please move on to another thread.

Thanks

HS

LegacyUser

covid-refugee wrote: »

.

What should I have done and how could I have handled it better?

Unless you've got a time machine OP there's no point asking should you have done. You've done and you need to learn from this and also hope its not going to come back on you. Violence is never justified and really wasn't in this case and you are very lucky OP the driver didn't call the police on you.

Stop blaming your wife for your actions. You said you were already planning to physically attack the driver before the car even got to the destination. You were so angry about being scammed when you clearly state you knew it was a risk. Putting the blame on your wife over the sim card is just childish. I travel a lot and when absolutely stuck I suck it up and turn my phone on and take the hit on the charges. I've literally been to back end of Mongolia and my phone worked so don't claim you couldn't have used your Irish phone, you could have you just didn't want to pay the the roaming charges. If you are someone who gets stressed so easily then you need to take the time to plan better going forward. Get local money before travel, sort phone before going (yes this is possible I've done it loads of times), arrange pick up at the airport etc etc Say sorry to your wife.


I like the comment about him not wearing a mask when you've just traveled for 30 odd hrs.

paw patrol

Dav010 wrote: »

The op stole the guys keys, refused to pay, beat him up and then robbed him of €10, would my wife be proud?, no paw patrol, most decent people would be ashamed. But again, it depends on what you are used to.

You have a weird way of viewing it. . Why should he pay?- he was being ripped off. Ripping somebody off is theft and that started the change of events.

Bizarre how you don't see that.

Larbre34

You sound like a gem.

"My wife should have just shut her mouth"...?
**** you and your jet lag.

If that was my sister you were married to, I'd give you a tutorial in using violence to settle an issue.

paw patrol

paw patrol wrote: »

You have a weird way of viewing it. . Why should he pay?- he was being ripped off. Ripping somebody off is theft and that started the change of events.

Bizarre how you don't see that.

Read the op, it’s all there.

Included: that the taxi used the meter and google maps for the destination. Did the op check to see what the tariff is for taxis in that country before stealing his keys?

Personally, I find metered taxis more expensive than agreeing a fee, particularly in cities.

MissShihTzu

All this over E20??? Seems a bit OTT. Look - I would apologise profusely to your wife, make up with a nice dinner or flowers, and hope to God the police aren't looking for you, given the taxi driver knows where you're staying.

Then put an end to it. No need for all the angst and drama. Deal with the situation at hand, and learn organise yourself properly and to keep a cap on your temper.

mloc123

My takeaway from that whole post was.... All that over 40e.. it isn't worth the hassle.

Tork

Are you a frustrated writer by any chance OP? All that unneeded, unnecessary detail for quite a straightforward incident.

So just to recap:
- You approached this man and agreed to take his taxi because he was using a meter.
- You watched the meter 'spin' while in the car, fully aware of the bill you were racking up.
- You planned your attack on him while he drove you to your destination.
- You did not consider asking him about the fare or getting out of the taxi.
- He dropped you 150m off the mark, and rather than speak to him you got out, announced that the fare was a rip-off and took his keys.
- You then attacked him. You've also confirmed that this injured him.
- Of the money you did think was fair to give him, you forcibly took back a tenner, leaving him with €20 quid for a fair he charged €70.

Long story short you knew he would overcharge and chose to take the taxi anyway. You knew exactly what the deal is with those guys, and then acted entitled and outraged, after you'd gotten what you wanted. And it would be rich if it was just outrage, but to actively assault the taxi driver is just 100% morally wrong.