Busan Taxi Driver Fined for Overcharging British Tour Group
I had a cab driver do this to me before and I got out and thanked him for the free ride after recording his driver information:
A taxi driver has been fined for overcharging British passengers.
Korea Times
According to police, the driver picked them up at the International Passenger Terminal in Busan Port on Wednesday morning, drove about two kilometers with the meter off and charged 20,000 won ($18), nearly four times the proper fare.
When the passengers told their Korean guide about the incident, the guide reported the driver to the tourist police, a special unit committed to handling complaints from foreign visitors.
Police confirmed the offense after looking at the vehicle’s dash cam and CCTV footage. The driver admitted he had overcharged the passengers.
I wonder how much the fine was? I doubt it was enough to discourage taxi drivers from continuing this activity.
It’s a calculated risk. The crooked cabbies think enough folks will pay and either not complain or not have the right info to make a complaint stick.
Just like all the other “enforcement” periods, it will be forgotten less than a minute after the period ends and things will continue as before. What a joke.
No wonder the taxi drivers don’t want the uber competition.
I think it was during UFG12, we had an augmentee who was snookered out of W35,000 for a taxi ride from the Hamilton Hotel to Gate 3 (MARFOR-K). After some discussion, we determined the meter read 3500 and this guy just didn’t know any better. Handed ajusshi a 50; got a 10 and a 5 back — “We’re good”.
Can only imagine how many times something like that has happened.
Taxi drivers would not run the meter and I would give them the base fare after stopping. I would tell them to turn on the meter, but they refused.
Once I was riding with my small pug dog in a kennel from the front gate at Camp Casey and no taxis would take me to my apartment in Jihaeng- save one. He was smiling,thinking he’d get a big payday. About the time we got to the river bypass, I told him to turn on the meter, but he waved me off. When we got to my apartment, I gave him the base fare and got out. He protested and got out of the taxi, too, but I just walked into the elevator and left him cursing.
Thomas Lee, today you would be charged with theft, put on international hold and paraded in front of the Korean media as the evil foreign GI criminal defying sacred Korean taxi law. Your career and life would be ruined.