Taxi scam in Dublin

GinAndBitter · 07-03-2019 12:52AM #1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/major-taxi-scam-uncovered-as-180-noneu-nationals-obtain-licences-despite-having-no-legal-status-in-ireland-37882999.html

Paul Williams who broke the story reckons this is only the tip of the iceberg and says there will be 100s more caught. Williams said he wanted to be careful with his words to avoid offending people, he also says there is a problem identifying some drivers as they look alike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veqp3BtRSJ4

This is quite the cluster ****, who knows how widespread this is an not just in Dublin. How are people supposed to feel safe in taxi with all this going on? We have no idea who these people are or what their background is. It's also unfair to genuine taxi drivers who do things the correct and legal way.

Big Words · 07-03-2019 12:55AM

Well holy god

janfebmar · 07-03-2019 12:58AM

It took 4 years to discover that?

07-03-2019 01:00AM

images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcRjQcwW96b_w5HRF4W2YPf9UZawl36Nz3VlaZZNcQPA87wNGyOT

:pac:

amcalester · 07-03-2019 01:02AM

Might explain why a lot of taxi drivers drive like they’ve never been in a car before.

GinAndBitter · 07-03-2019 01:04AM

amcalester wrote: »

Might explain why a lot of taxi drivers drive like they’ve never been in a car before.

I was thinking the same, it's entirely possible some of them have never held a legit driving licence even back wherever they originated.

padd b1975 · 07-03-2019 01:27AM

"Williams said he wanted to be careful with his words to avoid offending people, he also says there is a problem identifying some drivers as they look alike"

Good man Paul!!

GinAndBitter · 07-03-2019 01:28AM

padd b1975 wrote: »

"Williams said he wanted to be careful with his words to avoid offending people, he also says there is a problem identifying some drivers as they look alike"

Good man Paul!!

That will be unpopular, but its true. A lot do look alike most have the same colour hair and eyes, it's far from racist to acknowledge that.

punisher5112 · 07-03-2019 02:08AM

padd b1975 wrote: »

"Williams said he wanted to be careful with his words to avoid offending people, he also says there is a problem identifying some drivers as they look alike"

Good man Paul!!

There all bald the racist fcuk.

Ashleigh1986 · 07-03-2019 05:44AM

As a TAXIDRIVER of 20 years this doesn't surprise me .
A lot of good hard working drivers have left the business .
Fed up with all the regulation / red tape.
I've invested in very good quality cars but it's heartbreaking to see what passes as taxis these days .
In the industry it seemed like just a urban myth that there was cars been operated on false documents .
We were promised by the NTA that standards of both drivers and cars would improve .
Yet again the Irish public have been let down by a group (NTA ) that have been asleep and not doing their job that we the taxpayer are paying for them to do .

corks finest · 07-03-2019 06:05AM

This is quite the cluster ****, who knows how widespread this is an not just in Dublin. How are people supposed to feel safe in taxi with all this going on? We have no idea who these people are or what their background is. It's also unfair to genuine taxi drivers who do things the correct and legal way.[/quote]
Watching Karl Pilkington"the moaning of life" the other night ( repeat) on the back of a few tuk tuks advertising reads" learn English in Ireland etc etc, contact so and so ( that's one of the way s these scammers end up here,so called language schools

bigpink · 07-03-2019 06:38AM

Wait till they start on the kebab/pizza places

malinheader · 07-03-2019 07:29AM

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

As a TAXIDRIVER of 20 years this doesn't surprise me .
A lot of good hard working drivers have left the business .
Fed up with all the regulation / red tape.
I've invested in very good quality cars but it's heartbreaking to see what passes as taxis these days .
In the industry it seemed like just a urban myth that there was cars been operated on false documents .
We were promised by the NTA that standards of both drivers and cars would improve .
Yet again the Irish public have been let down by a group (NTA ) that have been asleep and not doing their job that we the taxpayer are paying for them to do .

I was looking into getting a taxi licence or even a hackney licence as there is none in my area I live in a very rural area.
In the end I gave up the idea because of the amount of time,studying, regulations, paperwork and money it was going to take. Seriously it was a joke for a taxi on a small rural area.
My conclusion on this is someone turned a blind eye or the regulator must of known for a while about this sham. There will have to be a major investigation into how people were put in danger
by unlicensed, Inexperienced and unvetted drivers who could not of even had a background check,my only fear in this is what usually happens in this country is more rules and regulations are piled onto our legitimate taxi drivers and make there jobs harder all because of the influx of illegal migrants to our country.Anyway it's only the tip that the iceberg.

malinheader · 07-03-2019 07:39AM

bigpink wrote: »

Wait till they start on the kebab/pizza places

Sooner the better, but it's a losing battle I fear. Be very surprised if we had the resources or man power in place to really deal with these issues. Been turned a blind eye to for to long as to not upset people and seem. You know the word.

Outkast_IRE · 07-03-2019 08:12AM

This would not surprise me in Cork either ,

what's the hardest night to get a taxi in Cork ?

Any night the taxi regulator and gardai are doing a checkpoint . Alot of the drivers whom I would be slightly suspect of have WhatsApp groups and will warn all the rest once a checkpoint is setup. You will see the taxi ranks are cleared out and cars/drivers that have been working constant for months go missing that night .

The same as everything else on Ireland no enforcement of the rules and regulations .

Atlantic Dawn · 07-03-2019 08:30AM

Surely something as important as a PSV licence would use the same photo requirements that the Public Services Card uses to root out identity fraud...Or would that be too simple of a solution?

Atoms for Peace · 07-03-2019 08:41AM

If there's a problem in this country the solution is always more legislation rather than more inforcement. This dosent work, it makes doing business an onourous task for honest individuals while the scammers continue as before.

Your Face · 07-03-2019 08:47AM

It highlights the weaknesses of our border and immigration control.

Keep in mind this is only one business sector.

mad muffin · 07-03-2019 08:49AM

Why are these on going investigations being reported? All it does is give a heads up to people yet to be caught.

Fr_Dougal · 07-03-2019 09:15AM

mad muffin wrote: »

Why are these on going investigations being reported? All it does is give a heads up to people yet to be caught.

To act as a deterrent.

malinheader · 07-03-2019 09:24AM

Anyone who is employing or giving these people work should also be deported or if an Irish business, accounts seized and money put towards enforcement. Serious serious issue.

07-03-2019 09:31AM

No no, we have robust systems in place for immigration and enforcement. You're all narrow-minded and bigoted. Don't believe your eyes.

Bigus · 07-03-2019 09:36AM

Twice I complained to the taxi regulator, about driver issues, one being wrong driver for taxi ID displayed and second for same but this fella literally could not drive , and I mean not drive at all , he must never have driven a manual before that night.

On both occasions the regulator tried to deflect my complaints at every point of communication, including a gruff phone call , insisting I might end up in court as a witness and would I really really go ahead with the hassle of this.
it was only at my insistence that he "says " he went ahead with a fine , which I as the instigator got no confirmation of subsequently .
Now that I think about there's a good chance these complaints were still buried.
All went to hell when the Garda carriage office was disbanded as the regulator.

malinheader · 07-03-2019 09:42AM

Genuine taxi men must feel sick reading this after all the regulations and hurdles they have had thrown at them in the last number of years.

Yamanoto · 07-03-2019 09:51AM

mad muffin wrote: »

Why are these on going investigations being reported? All it does is give a heads up to people yet to be caught.

There was a major GNIB operation in Dublin on the night of the Ed Sheeran concert, with a quarter of all Taxi drivers pulled on the night found to have serious irregularities in their immigration status. Garda Press Office have to liaise with the media, as you're simply not going to be able to keep that quiet.

We were told passenger safety was one of the primary reasons to deny Uber a licence to operate in ROI, but the PSV application process has long been known to be gamed by immigrant drivers. The reticence to address the issues up until recently due to ethnic / racial sensitivities has echoes of the blanket derogation of duty that transpired in Rotherham and I hope both the Gardai and Tusla tackle crime and abuse without fear of approbrium from the likes of the Irish Times or Immigrant Council of Ireland.

Yurt2 · 07-03-2019 09:52AM

This was a very evident problem, particularly over the past two years. I had one fella who asked me where O'Connell Street was and could I direct him there (no joke). The way he was driving, his skills were likely gleaned from piloting a motorized goat around the streets of Chittagong.

razorblunt · 07-03-2019 09:54AM

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

This would not surprise me in Cork either ,

what's the hardest night to get a taxi in Cork ?

Any night the taxi regulator and gardai are doing a checkpoint . Alot of the drivers whom I would be slightly suspect of have WhatsApp groups and will warn all the rest once a checkpoint is setup. You will see the taxi ranks are cleared out and cars/drivers that have been working constant for months go missing that night .

The same as everything else on Ireland no enforcement of the rules and regulations .

Are those cars that go missing reported to the Regulator and/or Gardaí? Or do other drivers wait until customers get in there cars to start ranting about them?

Zorya · 07-03-2019 09:54AM

Well, this wouldn't make one feel too confident getting in to a taxi henceforth, even on the very simple basis that the driver might not actually be qualified even to drive! For my sins I caught the beginning of Matt Cooper's show yesterday and there was a taxi driver explaining it, and given the amount of hoops one is supposed to go through this seems an impossible scam to pull off without insider help. PPSNs, certificate, driving license, and then actual garda clearance - it's a big process.

TCM · 07-03-2019 10:00AM

Your Face wrote:

It highlights the weaknesses of our border and immigration control.

Your Face wrote:

Keep in mind this is only one business sector.

Gosh, you can say such a sensible thing, you'll be acussed of being racist.

07-03-2019 10:01AM

mad muffin wrote: »

Why are these on going investigations being reported?

Pressure on the cops will make them end their fairly obviously racist investigation. :pac:

Outkast_IRE · 07-03-2019 10:49AM

razorblunt wrote: »

Are those cars that go missing reported to the Regulator and/or Gardaí? Or do other drivers wait until customers get in there cars to start ranting about them?

How would you report so many unless you are jotting all their details down on a notepad , it's not for Joe public or other taxi drivers to enforce the regulations , all it takes is some regular random checks . Currently the checks seem to happen only once or twice a year.

I have observed it myself , there was a taxi checkpoint on Washington Street and the ranks on Patrick Street and grand parade were virtually empty at a time they would normally be overflowing with taxis .

Taxi scam in Dublin

Comments