Taxi scams in Thailand

Almost robbed and kidnapped on the way to Phuket Airport

Almost robbed and kidnapped on the way to Phuket Airport- DO NOT TRAVEL TO THIS COUNTRY

My girlfriend/domestic partner and I travelled to Phuket and Bangkok during the 2019 Lunar New Year. Being from New York, the scams (though quite numerable and tiresome) at first seemed manageable: taxi fare haggling, hotel staff in cahoots with travel and taxi services charging inflated prices, questionable arithmetic on dining and tourist service bills, etc.

However, the taxi ride to Phuket Airport for our flight back to Bangkok almost turned dangerous. We agreed with a Chinese taxi driver located outside the Novotel Phuket in Patong to pick us up for our flight. His van (Thai License plate 30-6063, Taxi Medallion 2565) seemed safe enough. After leaving the hotel, he then started with some BS story about having to stop on the way to airport to pay a taxi medallion tax.

About halfway through the ride, he picked up a Ukrainian woman dressed in running gear and a green-yellow skullcap who was “hitchhiking” for a ride. At first it appeared the driver was going to charge her for her ride as well, which was common, but their conversation was staged and it became clear they were acting together. The driver told the hitchhiker “I no charge you, you have no money. They American, they have lots of money”.

The driver then made a turn into an official looking building to pay his “tax” while we waited. After he exited, he came to our passenger side entrance and gestured for us to get out, meaning he expected us to get out of the van and leave our luggage inside while he took off with the van as part of his sham story. Then all hell broke loose.

The hitchhiker exited and tried to eject us from our seats. Fortunately, it was just her and the driver pitted against us and size-wise they were not physically intimidating, though if other accomplices showed up that would have changed quickly.

We pushed the hitchhiker away from the van, screamed at both of them so passers by could hear, and demanded the driver take us to the airport immediately else we would report him to the police (in hindsight, fat lot of good that would have done).

We closed the passenger door in the hitchhiker’s face while she gave us the finger. The driver, not sure about how to proceed, got back in and started to comply with our demands and drive us to the airport, leaving the accomplice behind.

We then turned on our Google Maps / geolocation services and made it clear to the driver we were tracing his route and if there was any turn or deviation we would call the police immediately. The situation, though fluid, was under control as long as the driver was complying. We were however on his terrain, so I was going through how to stop the van by pulling the emergency brake if the driver tried to make a wrong turn.

About a mile from the airport we arrived at what turned out to be the last main traffic light on the main road. While stopped and waiting for the light to change from red to green, the driver, probably not aware I was watching like a hawk even during the lull in confrontation, locked the passenger doors from inside the van.

By then I’d had enough, opened the door in the middle of the road while the van was stopped, and stood in front to block the driver in case the light turned green while my girlfriend popped the rear hatch and threw out our luggage.

Must have been our lucky day as there was a police kiosk right at the intersection. They had been observing our bizarre escape drama unfold in real-time. The driver pulled over at the command of the police and immediately started into a bullshit story to cover his tracks and avoid getting arrested.

We calmly identified ourselves, stated our story and made it clear we were nearly robbed. The driver then had the audacity to demand payment for the ride during which he tried to rob us.

Do not come to Thailand, ever, unless you have money to launder. Sadly, it’s ultimately honest Thai people who suffer having to deal with corruption, human trafficking, assault, and intimidation/violence.

I’m sure the ones with intelligence and means are doing the same as we are and as countless others in countries that suffer from kleptocracy are: packup, leave, and don’t come back.

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Threaten to call with a complaint

Note the phone number written on the taxi door. And also note the ID number of the taxi (inside, most of the time).

If he refuses to turn on the meter (you can say ‘tick tick tick and point towards the meter), tell him you will call with a complaint, and call.

2 times I tried it, the taxi driver instantly agreed to turn on the meter. Apparently it is illegal for them to refuse in Bangkok.

The airport may be different, especially ‘leaving’ the airport.

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Take the metered taxis from the pools

At the airport there are private car or van services that will over charge. Take the metered taxi’s from the pools. Just be patient they go through the numbers quickly.

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For the first since I’ve been in Phuket I got scammed and harassement

For the first since I’ve been in Phuket I got scammed and harassement. I was using a motorbike to phuket old town from where I stay. And also try to use the same one as I want to go back. I was thinking to use a taxi to go back.

But, when I walk on the side of the road, suddenly one motorbike stop in front of me and ask me where I am going. And I told him the place where I stay. And he ask me how much did I pay before, and I told him It was 50 baht when I came here.

He said ok, and ask me to hop in to the bike. I ask a helmet from him and he say sorry he forgot to bring it, and I ask is it ok to ride without helmet, and he say ok.

He was so bad in driving. I think he was drunk. The way was one way , but he against the direction, he drive so fast and kept moving the bike. Half of the way, he blamed me that I am the one who kept moving. I told him, I AM NOT. I just sit as he was driving. And he was angry and shout at me.

I just silent, then almost near my apartment he did it again, and told another vehicles behind us that I am the one who cause the bike moving like that. He was shout at me and ask me to go down. And I did go down. He shout at me to pay, and I did pay him 50 baht. And he shout at me to say sorry, and I did say sorry because I don’t want to cause any problem.

Then I across the road, and suddenly he took the picture of me. And I realize it since everyone look at me. I run as fast as I can to my apartment and met my landlord of my apartment. I can’t handle myself and traumatized, I have no clues why he did it like that. I should have took his picture and report to the police. Such a big regret.

This is the reason why it’s not easy for tourist to use public transportation in Thailand. Even though not every driver will act like that, but as I did traveling I saw a lot of tourist got scammed as they traveling. I wish this will never happen to anyone else who like to traveling. What a shame.

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Very far from the truth

Reading these stories and other comments gives the impression that everyone in Thailand is trying to rip off the foreigners. This is very far from the truth.

There are specific things to try to avoid or to be wary about. I have been ripped off more in all other Asian countries that I have visited, mainly because a reliance is made upon the completely rediculous price expectations for things that tourists have.

For example, many westerners will think that paying around forty to sixty Euros a night, sounds reasonable for reasonably OK accommodation, outside of a Capital city, of a room with basic amenities and bathroom. Wrong! Correct price should be around 12 Euros.

This scam is FAR, FAR more evident in the Phillipines, Cambodia and Indonesia. The same vous for food. Twenty Euros for a nice meal is NOT reasonable. One Euro is reasonable. Again, Thailand is perhaps the least likely country to scam you on this one.

In all Asian countries you can be scammed at Airports and bus stations by taxi and motorbike taxi people. Other Asian countries are far WORSE than Thailand for this. People think that Thailand is worse because the driver changes the price after starting the journey or some other obvious tactic to increase the price by perhaps around 30 percent.

In many other countries they will charge you three, four or ten times the correct price and be proud of achieving it because you are a foreigner.

Biggest problems in Thsiland are no 1. Local builders 2. Foreign owned and managed legal companies and the like ( resputable Thai run services are more trustworthy ) 3. Girls from bars who agree to certain sexual activities when in the bar, with no intention of doing such things, who when you go back to your hotel room will start to scream at you angrily that they will basically do nothing and that you have to pay them of they will make make trouble for you.

I have travelled quite extensively through Asia and find the challenges far less in Thailand. Vietnam you will get charged orders of magnitude more for standard route bus tickets and bottles of drinking water from a shop.

The Phillipines and Cambodia, accommodation priced at five times a reasonable amount. The Phillipines, Loas, Cambodia motorbike or Tuk Tuk prices up to TEN times the correct fare ( please do not reference Tuk Tuks in Bangkok as a comparison, as these are NOT a form of local transport, just as the Loch Ness Monster is not a genuine form of fish and chips. Only the really nieve get caught with that one!).

As far as ” I thought she loved me ” stories are concerned, if someone is asking for something different than what is being made available, disappointment should be expected. It is as true for ordering roast chicken from an Ice Cream shop as it is for requesting a wife from Phuket.

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Taxis in Bangkok are horrible

Taxis in Bangkok are horrible. It was so hard to find any taxi that had a ‘working’ meter. We had to bargain about the fare just to get anywhere. it was such a relief to go back to Vietnam. If people scam you here, it’s only for small change and most taxis use their meter. Bangkok hadn’t changed for the better in any way since I was last there.

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Taxi-boat pier scam

Writing this from my hotel room in Bangkok.

Variation on the Taxi scam: had our hotel call a taxi for us to the Grand Palace. About 5mins into the trip the driver says bad accident, he heard on the radio, much traffic, take 3 hours to get there. I take you to boat, no traffic. Of course we tried to find alternatives but in the end language was the issue.

He dropped us in a Soi on the river with travel agents booking tours. I clocked it straight away, and took my wife by the hand and walked past a line of others either leaving angrily or being dropped off.(The real pier was 300m away) As we were leaving a young couple told us they were charging 2000 baht for tours.

When we got to the real pier another couple tried to sell tours, then two guys waving red/green flags told us pier is closed and several boats went past. Frustrated we walked the additional 500m to the next pier and paid 16 Baht each for the boat.

We were lucky as we were only scammed out of 20mins of time…That said the other 3 taxi drivers we have had have been friendly and professional. Will I take a taxi tomorrow? Probably.

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Tips on Thailand taxis

1 use the sky train, local bus etc if you can

2 if you use a taxi, agree a price before! They even put your suitcase in the boot, agree if the price includes toll fees or not ( if you ask it never will, so say including toll fees yes?)

3 find out what the average price for the journey is eg bkk airport to nana 350b,

4 When you get to your destination, grab your bags, give then the agreed money (NEVER give them before), if they start to argue, walk away. Make to too much hassel for them to chase you.

5 when you get ripped off, and you will, put it down to experience, taxies cost a third of what they do at home, think about what you didnt follow above and learn from it

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Uncommon

Taximeter from airport Suvarnabhumi are allowed to charge 50 Bath extra by government. So that has nothing to do with a scam.

If you want a taxi from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi, you will pay about 1000 Baht, which is 200 – 300 Baht LESS then on the meter. So sometimes negotiating is interesting.

About all of the mentioned scams can happen all over the world. It is good to be aware of them, stay alert, but don’t expect that everyone will try to scam you.

It may take weeks before you are confronted with one of the mentioned practices. The problem, in my opinion, is that it is so UNcommon, that you might not be that alert after a few weeks without any problem.

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Bangkok taxis refusing to use meters

Taxis refusing to use their meters happens sometimes in Bangkok too. I had one pick me up, and tell me it was 100 baht minimum charge as he drove off. I told him no meter 35 baht minimum. He argued with me for 2 – 3 miles before turning on. So I got the first 2 miles free that day.

Bangkok is a safe place, and I never felt threatened, or in danger, but you do need to be street smart.

Never tell anybody that it is your first time there. Always say you have been there many times, and have many friends that live there when asked.

Happy Travels

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