A Paris taxi driver was filmed scamming a Thai couple, charging €247 for a €50 journey.
As reported by The Mirror, two Thai tourists were scammed by a Paris taxi driver who charged them €247 for what should have been a €50 journey.
Thai national Chakrid Thanhachartyothin and his wife needed to take taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to the city centre. After looking online, the couple learned that the trip should cost around €50 to €70.
The couple were therefore shocked when their taxi driver demanded €247 from them during their journey.
Posting the video to YouTube, Thanhachartyothin said, “when the taxi arrived at our hotel, the driver picked up a meter and it showed a total of €240 (£209). We were shocked, because when we checked online, taxis the city were between 50 and 70 euros maximum.”
In the clip, the driver is heard telling the couple that the price is determined “by the metre” and that the car is the “company’s”.
The driver shows the couple an app that calculates the cost, which appears to show €247.
After the couple refused to pay the extortionate fee, the driver refuses to let the couple out and says, “you don’t pay me, no problem. F*** you”.
Thanhachartyothin is heard telling the driver to take them to the police station.
“We said we would pay, and then go to the police station, but the driver stayed on the phone,” Thanhachartyothin said according to The Mirror. “He was speaking to his gang, and there was a real threat.”
The Thai couple reported the incident to the Paris police who are investigating “illegal taxiing”. Local taxi firms reportedly cannot identify the driver.
