By : Nicholas Robus
The names have been changed to protect the shameless guilty conniving so and so that tried to rip me off last week. But it's a great story so I have decided to share.
For those of you that do not know me I own and operate a taxi company in a small town called Rye on the East Sussex Kent border.
On Monday last week I received a call from me father who was manning the taxi phone saying he had received a call from a Chief Inspector "Wexford" stating that he wanted to speak to the owner of the business and would not be able to speak to anybody else regarding the matter, my father had taken his phone number and asked me to call him back as a matter of urgency.
I was quiet taken back by this and thought it all sounded a bit serious, but I'm an honest chap and didn't thinks it would be anything to worry about.
I took down the number and proceeded to call the Chief Inspector. A mildly Scottish voice answered the phone with a "Helloo"
"Chief Ispector "Wexford"?" I asked.......
"Yes Speaking." was the reply.
"Hello." I said. " Nicholas Robus here from Taxi - Time Ltd, Rye, East Sussex. I believe you were trying to contact me as a matter of urgency, How can I help you."
"Yes I was." slightly more abrupt then before came the reply.
"On Saturday night I took a cab ride with one of your guys from Icklesham to Fairlight Lodge Hotel, it took over half an hour, the driver went all around the houses and charged me £27.50 then short changed me by £2.00. The driver in question is a crook and a thief and should by charged under the full extent of the law. I would like a refund for the full amount.
Now bearing in mind who I work for.......... If I don't receive a cheque from you for the full £27.50 I will be having a word with my colleagues in your area and making it very difficult for you to go on operating as a Taxi Company.
Do I make myself clear."
Now I am not easily shaken, but the tone and confidence of this guy made me believe he was deadly serious. And under normal circumstances I would have been annoyed by a call like this and immediately trying to find out which driver had done the job so I could give them a rollicking.
But, in this instance I could not do that as I had done the job myself.
I remembered the man in question, and also remembered that I had actually undercharged him by a couple of quid because I forgot to start the meter and only remembered a mile or two down the road. and as for short changing him this was just a blatant lie. The tight old bugger made sure he got his £2.50 change. I don't like to stereo type but there are clues if you read between the previous few lines.
My company does a great deal of work with the local council and we are also bound by a strict code of conduct set out in the Rother District Council Miscellaneous Provisions act for Hackney carriage and Private Hire operators. Any form of legal proceedings against myself or my business could have far reaching effects, and I was a little unsettled by the claims being made by the Chief Inspector.
However I was in the position to make counter claims as I had provided the service personally.
I informed the "Chief" that I had been his driver and justified the fare to him and also informed him that his claim of being short changed was not true. I also offered to send him his refund as a gesture of good will along with a photo copy of our fare card and some google maps with the route, mileage and fare calculations so he could see for himself that he had not been ripped of as he claimed.
I also stated that if after looking at the evidence he was still not happy he was free to cash the cheque for the refund.
To which he replied. "Oh I will be cashing the cheque, and if I'm not happy with what I see I will still be having a word with my colleagues about you."
I took his home address and thanked him for his time, reasuring him that everything would be in the post in the next couple of days.
After hanging up I replayed the conversation in my head and a few things didn't quit stack up, like the fact that he could not add up, he was only asking for a refund for the fare and not the £2 he claimed to have been short changed. By now I was now a little riled and felt like having a bit of a dig back, so I phoned him back and asked if I could check his credentials.
"Why would you want to do that" he exclaimed.
I explained to him that as a taxi driver I carry a badge and my identity can be clearly seen by my customers and also that we often have leaflets pushed through the door by our local force telling us to check peoples identity before allowing them in our home or handing over any money.
I was just doing my due diligence as he could have been just trying to get some money out of me.
"I work for Scotland Yard, SO13, I cant give you information like that due to the nature of the work we do, but believe me I am genuine, I am a very high ranking officer, you could walk into any police station in the country and find out I am who I say I am. If you really want to go down this road my colleagues are only a phone call away, remember who I work for"
I thanked him again for his time and reassured him once more that the cheque would be in the post.
Then I thought. Walk into any Police station in the country. Not a bad idea that.
So on my way home I popped into Rye police station and asked for their advice.
Once I had recounted the telephone conversations the officers at the station stood with a look of stunned confusion on their faces.
"Oh Dear" they said.
"We not sure quite how to deal with this." "I think we better take a statement"
It turned out that if this guy was not who he said he was he was in trouble. The police take a very dim view of people impersonating police officers, especially if it is for personal gain.
But if he was who he said he was he was also in serious trouble for using his power and position to sort out what was a personal dispute.
I made a statement and left it in the hands of the police to deal with and was given the advice under no circumstances was I to have any more dealings with him and not to send anything in the post.
24 hours later I was informed by Rye police that he was not who he claimed to be and was thanked for bringing this to their attention, it was being dealt with and he could expect a knock on the door from a member of the police in his area very soon.
Now I don't know about you, but I would love to be a fly on the wall when that happens.
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The names have been changed to protect the shameless guilty conniving so and so that tried to rip me off last week. But it's a great story so I have decided to share.
For those of you that do not know me I own and operate a taxi company in a small town called Rye on the East Sussex Kent border.
On Monday last week I received a call from me father who was manning the taxi phone saying he had received a call from a Chief Inspector "Wexford" stating that he wanted to speak to the owner of the business and would not be able to speak to anybody else regarding the matter, my father had taken his phone number and asked me to call him back as a matter of urgency.
I was quiet taken back by this and thought it all sounded a bit serious, but I'm an honest chap and didn't thinks it would be anything to worry about.
I took down the number and proceeded to call the Chief Inspector. A mildly Scottish voice answered the phone with a "Helloo"
"Chief Ispector "Wexford"?" I asked.......
"Yes Speaking." was the reply.
"Hello." I said. " Nicholas Robus here from Taxi - Time Ltd, Rye, East Sussex. I believe you were trying to contact me as a matter of urgency, How can I help you."
"Yes I was." slightly more abrupt then before came the reply.
"On Saturday night I took a cab ride with one of your guys from Icklesham to Fairlight Lodge Hotel, it took over half an hour, the driver went all around the houses and charged me £27.50 then short changed me by £2.00. The driver in question is a crook and a thief and should by charged under the full extent of the law. I would like a refund for the full amount.
Now bearing in mind who I work for.......... If I don't receive a cheque from you for the full £27.50 I will be having a word with my colleagues in your area and making it very difficult for you to go on operating as a Taxi Company.
Do I make myself clear."
Now I am not easily shaken, but the tone and confidence of this guy made me believe he was deadly serious. And under normal circumstances I would have been annoyed by a call like this and immediately trying to find out which driver had done the job so I could give them a rollicking.
But, in this instance I could not do that as I had done the job myself.
I remembered the man in question, and also remembered that I had actually undercharged him by a couple of quid because I forgot to start the meter and only remembered a mile or two down the road. and as for short changing him this was just a blatant lie. The tight old bugger made sure he got his £2.50 change. I don't like to stereo type but there are clues if you read between the previous few lines.
My company does a great deal of work with the local council and we are also bound by a strict code of conduct set out in the Rother District Council Miscellaneous Provisions act for Hackney carriage and Private Hire operators. Any form of legal proceedings against myself or my business could have far reaching effects, and I was a little unsettled by the claims being made by the Chief Inspector.
However I was in the position to make counter claims as I had provided the service personally.
I informed the "Chief" that I had been his driver and justified the fare to him and also informed him that his claim of being short changed was not true. I also offered to send him his refund as a gesture of good will along with a photo copy of our fare card and some google maps with the route, mileage and fare calculations so he could see for himself that he had not been ripped of as he claimed.
I also stated that if after looking at the evidence he was still not happy he was free to cash the cheque for the refund.
To which he replied. "Oh I will be cashing the cheque, and if I'm not happy with what I see I will still be having a word with my colleagues about you."
I took his home address and thanked him for his time, reasuring him that everything would be in the post in the next couple of days.
After hanging up I replayed the conversation in my head and a few things didn't quit stack up, like the fact that he could not add up, he was only asking for a refund for the fare and not the £2 he claimed to have been short changed. By now I was now a little riled and felt like having a bit of a dig back, so I phoned him back and asked if I could check his credentials.
"Why would you want to do that" he exclaimed.
I explained to him that as a taxi driver I carry a badge and my identity can be clearly seen by my customers and also that we often have leaflets pushed through the door by our local force telling us to check peoples identity before allowing them in our home or handing over any money.
I was just doing my due diligence as he could have been just trying to get some money out of me.
"I work for Scotland Yard, SO13, I cant give you information like that due to the nature of the work we do, but believe me I am genuine, I am a very high ranking officer, you could walk into any police station in the country and find out I am who I say I am. If you really want to go down this road my colleagues are only a phone call away, remember who I work for"
I thanked him again for his time and reassured him once more that the cheque would be in the post.
Then I thought. Walk into any Police station in the country. Not a bad idea that.
So on my way home I popped into Rye police station and asked for their advice.
Once I had recounted the telephone conversations the officers at the station stood with a look of stunned confusion on their faces.
"Oh Dear" they said.
"We not sure quite how to deal with this." "I think we better take a statement"
It turned out that if this guy was not who he said he was he was in trouble. The police take a very dim view of people impersonating police officers, especially if it is for personal gain.
But if he was who he said he was he was also in serious trouble for using his power and position to sort out what was a personal dispute.
I made a statement and left it in the hands of the police to deal with and was given the advice under no circumstances was I to have any more dealings with him and not to send anything in the post.
24 hours later I was informed by Rye police that he was not who he claimed to be and was thanked for bringing this to their attention, it was being dealt with and he could expect a knock on the door from a member of the police in his area very soon.
Now I don't know about you, but I would love to be a fly on the wall when that happens.
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