I ***ped into a Black Cab..
Posted by: Tarquin Maynard - Portly on 23 December 2004
At about three mph; rear bumper impact: no damage to my Laguna, but the cab appeared rapidly to leak clear water. I could see nothing that was obviously broken, his bumper was ( very slightly ) dented - one of three dents visible.
Now far be it from me to appear cynical, but could these be a bit of a scam or trick by the cabbie to make it look as if there was more damage than there actually is?
Regards
Mike
Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Now far be it from me to appear cynical, but could these be a bit of a scam or trick by the cabbie to make it look as if there was more damage than there actually is?
Regards
Mike
Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
quote:
Steven
If it was a "normal" motorist I would have some sympathy.
But taxi drivers are hardly worth feeling sorry for.
They take "slightly longer" routes to get a higher fare.
They do not declare all of their earnings, so I subsidise them in my tax bill.
They often do not have any change, so the tip goes up.
Basically they are on the fiddle from the moment they turn the ignition key on.
I have no sympathy for this cab driver whatsoever.
Regards
Mick
Blah Blah - and if you have run a buisness you have never fiddled the tax office either have you?
By the way, mick, good post for winding some folk up...
The rest of you - "them who have never made a mistake have never done anything!"
at least the initiator of this thread was honest...
andy c!
quote:
Steven
If it was a "normal" motorist I would have some sympathy.
But taxi drivers are hardly worth feeling sorry for.
They take "slightly longer" routes to get a higher fare.
They do not declare all of their earnings, so I subsidise them in my tax bill.
They often do not have any change, so the tip goes up.
Basically they are on the fiddle from the moment they turn the ignition key on.
I have no sympathy for this cab driver whatsoever.
By the above post Mick you've proved yourself to be the biggest twat of ultimate orders.
I regularly meet other road users who deliberately slow down to well below the speed limit in front of me once they see "IXAT" in their rear-view mirrors, but never mind that...
To take your points in turn that seem only to condemn every member of a given profession (mine) to being criminals, I'll bother to take each and every point you've made in turn, and I'm not doing so exclusively for your benefit:
They take "slightly longer" routes to get a higher fare.
Such practice is illegal and can result in revokation of licence, certainly if proven to be deliberate. I take the shortest route known to me, and if in doubt (especially on an out-of-district run where I don't necessarily know the shortest way) I actively solicit directions from my passenger(s) in accordance with the law.
Also, as I'm usually rather busy, my financial interests actually lie with taking the shortest route possible in order to be onto my next fare asap with the minimum fare of £1.85 being displayed upon hitting the flag key...
Otherwise mistakes can be made and only last week I dropped off a refund of 30p at my own expense (in an envelope with a succinct explanation) to a passenger's house, when I later realised (having returned to town via the opposite route) that had I taken the left turn from the point of pick-up rather than the right, to go a few hundred yards round the corner to the young lady's home address late at night, the route would have been shorter to the tune of, er, 30p.
She later thanked one of the company's partners when he picked her up a few days later, and said that she's told all her mates what a fine and decent chap I was!
They do not declare all of their earnings, so I subsidise them in my tax bill.
I've got a big payment on account due by Jan 31 of next year (on top of the tax due for my projected earnings for 2004/2005) for the accounting year 2003/2004 because my earnings in 2002/2003 were bigger than estimated by the Inland Revenue last year. Had I fiddled - and kept to their estimates, my payment-on-account would be either much smaller or non-existant.
They often do not have any change, so the tip goes up.
Whilst I'm legally entitled to keep the change I never do. I carry a bus-driver-style "clip" that is always loaded with change in each of its tubes. If I don't have enough change and the drop-off point is outside a pub, shop, or even a house, I wait outside (with the meter stopped) until the customer is able to tender the exact change (or as closest to it) as I can manage. If not, I simply ask them to pay me next time I pick them up.
If some twat comes out of, say, a pub (from where he could have got the correct change) with a twenty-pound note, I tender the correct change for the £2.55 fare and grit my teeth...
If, say, a young lass is a quid or two short of the required money for the fare home at night (and she tells me in advance that she's only got x amount on her) I still drop her off at her door and ask her to tip me next time...
...Usually she "finds" an extra two or three quid at the end in her purse and tells me to "keep it!"
I know a majority of my customers by their home address if not their names, so my reputation for trustworthiness and total honesty keeps me in my job, as well as maintaining my standing in the local community.
I have no sympathy for this cab driver whatsoever.
You are presuming him to be a dishonest gentleman even though he almost certainly isn't. He's regulated by the Met and passed a knowledge test having probably trained for two yars with a clip board on a moped. He's also passed a medical exam that tests for things like peripheral vision, and he's spent good money with the Criminal Record Bureau for a certificate to ensure he's sqeaky-clean.
Given your attitude to taxi drivers, if you ever made a call to my firm under the name of "Mick Parry" I'd pull up, and just before you opened the door to get in, I'd drive off to let you walk home.
In the past when I've come across arseholes like you I've given them their taxi ride for free but have also said to them that I'd never pick them up again!
Where I live I'm not exceptional btw.
If Swindon taxi drivers are such sharks, you need to take their badge/plate numbers and report them to the Council. Ask for a receipt that details pick-up and drop-off point, fare demanded/paid, and driver badge number - you've a legal right to demand one!
Your above (possibly) malt-fuelled comments are libellous and I respectfully invite you to delete the post at the earliest opportunity.
When so done, I'll delete this post.
I don't intend to get a criminal record, but if ever I did it would probably be due to somebody questioning my integrity... (no worries Mick
)(I've also enjoyed a couple of drams of Talisker ths evening so please excuse my candid outburst.)
Regards,
Steve.
[This message was edited by Steve Toy on Wed 29 December 2004 at 5:09.]
Martin D,
I used to like you...
Regards,
Steve.
I used to like you...
Regards,
Steve.
My, the Christmas spirit is flowing copiously now isn't it?
Mike is in denial over his attempts to roger a cabbie from behind. "It must have been the flames, Your Honour!"
While Mick has turned into a snappy poodle who is out to prove that hates the entire world and has the teeth to back it up.
There must be some compensations to being a cabbie. I knew one who was Head of Year and Head of the English department in a large English school. He got fed up doing paperwork instead of sharing his love for the language.
So just watch your pronunciation and grammar next time you're in a taxi. Or you might get extra homework!
Nime
Mike is in denial over his attempts to roger a cabbie from behind. "It must have been the flames, Your Honour!"
While Mick has turned into a snappy poodle who is out to prove that hates the entire world and has the teeth to back it up.
There must be some compensations to being a cabbie. I knew one who was Head of Year and Head of the English department in a large English school. He got fed up doing paperwork instead of sharing his love for the language.
So just watch your pronunciation and grammar next time you're in a taxi. Or you might get extra homework!
Nime
Swindon will do that to you!
"The Land That Time Forgot" was based on a day trip to Swindon, or so I believe.
Nime
"The Land That Time Forgot" was based on a day trip to Swindon, or so I believe.
Nime
quote:
Originally posted by HTK:
ROTF!
This is great.
Why don't you get together and have a good old punch up! I'll hold the coats.
Now look what you've gone and done Mike....
Harry
Au contraire, mon ami, au contraire...
Isn't Monsieur Parry just trying to raise the standard of debate?
LOL !!
JR