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Auckland taxi company “Northland Cabs Papakura” is accused of overcharging customers after a Coldplay concert.
Christchurch mother Lydia was charged $270.82 for a 3km ride, including a $195.80 “card activation fee”.
Northland Taxi Shuttles & Tours say they receive “weekly” calls from confused customers mistaking it for the rogue company.
Another rogue Auckland taxi company is under fire for allegedly fleecing at least two customers after a sold-out Coldplay concert – in one instance charging a tourist twice for a 3km trip, including a “card activation fee” of almost $200.
And a Northland taxicompany has said they receive calls from disgruntled customers on a “weekly basis” who mistake their services with that of the dubious Auckland firm.
A single Christchurch mother-of-three Lydia told the Herald she felt “very vulnerable” after checking her bank account the following morning to see she had been charged twice, paying a total of $270.82 to taxi company “Northland Cabs Papakura”.
But after over a week of searching, no record of the company could be found online – and the company’s supposed GST number on a receipt she received is not registered to any business.
Lydia travelled to Auckland with her daughter for the second Coldplay concert at Eden Park on Friday, November 15. After the concert, the pair walked to New North Rd in Kingsland hoping to catch a bus, but they had finished for the night.
As a “last resort”, Lydia and her daughter got in a taxi after their phones wouldn’t connect to the Uber app. They were only travelling 3km up the road to the Mt Albert Motor Lodge where they were staying for the night.
“Before we took off he said that he just needed to verify my card was working [with a fee] and I was thinking it would only be $1 or something,” she said.
After the short journey Lydia was again asked to present her card and pay for the ride.
“I didn’t think anything of it. I asked for a receipt because I always get one, especially when I’m away,” she said.
“When we got into our motel I looked at the receipt and saw $75. I just thought what an asshole ... even that is daylight robbery.”
Lydia said she only received one receipt for the taxi ride - and that the charge of $75 for a 3km journey was 'daylight robbery' in itself.
After checking her bank account the next morning, she saw Northland Cabs Papakura had charged her a further $195.80, which she believes was a 'card activation fee'.
But it wasn’t until the following morning that she realised she had “no money left” in her account and saw an additional charge of $195.80 to Northland Cabs Papakura – which she believes was the “card activation fee” that the driver charged before the trip.
“The fact that he took out money before we even got going was insane,” she said.
Activation fee included, the taxi charged the pair over $90 per km.
Lydia’s bank allegedly advised her the taxi driver could be convicted of fraud and recommended she report the incident to police. But police told her they were unable to lay charges and would not open a case without more evidence.
She described the driver as “so lovely” when she and her daughter were in the taxi.
“He was super chatty, my daughter was talking to him, he was asking where we were from and what we were doing and he was telling us about his wife and stuff.
“He just seemed like a really genuine person and just to have that happen, it just f*****g sucks.”
Lydia said she felt like she had “fully let my daughter down” with their trip to Auckland.
“I already suffer from severe anxiety so it just really sucks. I just hope that everybody can get their money back and this guy can be brought to some sort of justice.”
Asked if Lydia would ever catch a taxi again, she said she would “rather hike in the rain”.
“It just puts a really bad name on taxis.”
‘I want my money back’: Driver agrees to $16 cash fare, charges $176 on eftpos
Just hours after Lydia was fleeced, a woman from the top of the South Island says she was “ripped off” by the same company, and potentially the same driver.
The woman, who didn’t wish to be named, told the Herald she and her husband had been at a bar in Kingsland in the early hours of the morning after the Coldplay concert and were about to call an Uber on New North Rd back to their hotel in Newmarket.
An unmarked taxi pulled up next to them, and allegedly called out “I’ll take you, I’ll take you”. The couple initially declined because taxi prices were “too expensive” before saying they would only pay $16 cash for the approximate 3km ride, which the driver allegedly agreed to.
“We had the best yarns with this guy, he was really super nice,” the woman said.
But when they arrived at their destination in Newmarket, the couple realised they didn’t have any cash. “The guy said, ‘That’s okay, we’ve got eftpos’, so my husband just got out his card, payWaved it, all good”.
The next morning the couple checked their bank account to see a charge of $176, paid to Northland Cabs Papakura – $160 more than the agreed-upon fare.
Another South Island couple were charged $176 by Northland Cabs Papakura after the taxi driver allegedly agreed to a fare of $16 cash.
“Being nice people, we thought this guy had made a mistake and obviously pushed the wrong button somewhere along the way, so we decided we’d just give him a call and straighten this out,” the woman said.
The couple began Googling Northland Cabs Papakura, but the company didn’t come up. They instead called a Northland taxi company who said they “probably get one call a week about the same problem”.
“So we were like, ‘Oh s**t, it’s not just a mistake from the company, we’ve actually been ripped off’,” the woman said.
“It was a big mission for us to get to Auckland for a concert and then we wake up to a s**t thing like that happening ... I want my money back.
“I have a positive outlook, I like to think the best of people. I’m just gutted.”
The woman said she contacted her bank who said they were unable to help because she didn’t have a receipt.
‘Frustrating’: Northland taxi company receives calls on ‘weekly basis’ from customers confusing name
The first search result on Google when the term “Northland Cabs Papakura” is searched is a Northland-based company named Northland Taxi Shuttles & Tours.
A Northland Taxi Shuttles & Tours spokesperson told the Herald they received calls about the dodgy Auckland taxi company on a “weekly basis”.
“It’s people confusing our name with Northland Cabs Papakura. It’s quite frustrating, but most people are pretty understanding when they know it isn’t us.”
Asked when calls generally came through, the spokesman said “it’s more of a weekend event”.
“They seem to target large events in my opinion.”
A Commerce Commission spokesperson said they had not received any inquiries about Northland Cabs Papakura – but noted that the company may trade under multiple names.
A New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) spokesperson said it had received 27 complaints or notifications in relation to fares of small passenger services to November 19 this year – 12 of which were in the Upper North Island region.
The spokesperson said this number did not include any complaints that would have come through directly to its contact centre.
“If small passenger customers think the fare their driver charged was too high, even if it was a fare on the basis agreed, you can make a claim to the Disputes Tribunal.”
