scam taxi drivers

 John Wyman did not go through a whole month in the first quarter of this year without being cheated by a taxi driver in Ho Chi Minh City.

The American man, who in some cases managed to settle the score with fraudulent cabbies, shared his stories with Tuoi Tre News, plus some recommendations on how to effectively avoid or confront scam taxi drivers.

First time cheated – January 2015

I took a taxi from Ben Thanh Market to the Cho Lon area in District 5, and asked the approximate fare (which should be around VND70,000) when the cab came.

The driver kept up a steady patter in broken English, while I paid attention to the meter.

As we arrived at the Cho Lon Bus Station, the meter read VND77,000.

The driver pulled over and I handed him VND100,000 for the fare, but he said that it was not enough as the meter now read VND770,000, which I refused to pay.

He then locked the car doors, forgetting that I could just as easily unlock them.

He became extremely agitated, but I said calmly that I would have the policeman standing near the bus station come over and straighten this out.

At this point he unlocked the door (which I had already opened), grabbed the VND100,000 note and told me to get out.

Then I demanded my change. He argued but I refused to leave the cab till I got my money. He relented.

Second case – February 2015

I took a Vinasun taxi from District 10 to the InterContinental Hotel which we had done numerous times and the fare never exceeded VND100,000.

This time, the meter was partially covered and we did expect there would be a problem when we arrived at the hotel.

Sure enough, upon arrival, the driver uncovered the meter and it read VND250,000.

Again, I refused to pay, instead going into the hotel and explained the problem.

A hotel staff member came out and spoke to a couple of other cab drivers about the correct fare. They all agreed that the maximum fare would have been VND90,000-100,000 depending on traffic.

The hotel paid the driver (I reimbursed them later) and the Vinasun cabby took off.

I attempted to report it to the company, but they denied that they had any cab of that number or a driver of that name.

People board taxis at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Latest case – March 30, 2015

I took a Mai Linh cab, dispatched from their office to our house to take us to Tan Son Nhat airport.

Since there were three of us, we had quite a lot of luggage.

When we arrived at the airport, the driver told me to go get a cart and he would help unload.

I left my computer bag on the front seat since I did not want to have to watch it and load the cart.

As soon as I returned to the spot, the driver had dumped our luggage at the curb and drove off with my computer.

I immediately contacted both the Mai Linh dispatcher at the airport who basically stalled for 15 minutes asking nonsensical questions, and could eventually find his cellphone number.

While this was going on my wife directly called the Mai Linh Office, which wanted to know the cab number, which we did not have. They knew who picked us up, but refused to contact the cabby.

When we had our Vietnamese friend contact the cab company they wanted the serial number of the computer, which we provided.

We never heard another thing from them and since we were departing on an international flight, we could do nothing.

How to avoid scam drivers, and to confront them?

Since I am a very large American, standing 193cm and weighing 110kg, I am not easily intimidated and usually overcome these difficulties.

Unfortunately, many other tourists are easily intimidated and hesitant to report incidents to the police, since they either won’t/can’t speak English or just ignore you.

So here are some advice and recommendations.

1. Stick to the major cab companies, Mai Linh and Vinasun

2. If possible, call the cab company for pickup, which is less likely to deliver a counterfeit taxi. You can also use GrabTaxi or Uber since it is pre-paid.

3. Always get/take quick photos of the taxi number, plate number and driver information.

4. When confronted by a cab driver, never take your money out in front of him. If he refuses your payment, walk away. Let him call the police. If he argues about not having the correct change, pay him what you have, not more than the meter. It is his problem if he does not have change. (I do not mean asking for change from VND500,000 for VND30,000 fare).

5. If you must take an unfamiliar cab, be sure to check that the meter is reset and that it appears reasonable. No matter where in the world I travel, I make sure I know the approximate fare to where I am going, and have that amount available so I do not need to dig through unfamiliar currency.

6. If arriving at an airport (better book in advance if staying at a hotel), do not take any available cab there. Ask for Mai Linh or Vinasun – you might wait a couple of minutes, but it is much less likely to be ripped off. Again a little checking on the Internet will let you know the expected fare from the airport to your destination.

7. When unloading your luggage, stay with the car until everything is unloaded, and double check, because once it pulls away anything left is gone.

8. Be very careful around tourist sites, the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, Saigon Central Post Office, Zoo, etc. Many of these cabs will rip you off. Better to walk a 100m distance to a business or hotel and catch a cab.