I would have reported this long ago, but just now discovered this site. This situation was never resolved, despite complaints filed to the LADOT and Consumer Protection Agency. Below is the letter I wrote to the Consumer Protection Agency.
On Thursday, 8/12, I called Bell Cab for airport transportation at 8:00am. The driver was parked in front of the wrong house, which caused a delay in departure (8:35am). Several minutes into the route, the driver announced that he was going the wrong way. I told him that he was not going the wrong way, and I wanted him to continue on the current route. He refused my request and drove across three lanes of traffic in order to turn around, causing other drivers to swerve to avoid him and honk their horns in anger. He drove in a full circle, which took me right back to my house, and the meter reflected $7.By this time, I was 20 minutes behind schedule.
When we arrived at LAX, the driver could not find the terminal and had to call to ask for its exact location. When we reached my terminal, he charged me $31.20. I told him that he should reduce the fare by $7 because he got lost, causing the fare to go up. Sorry, no English, he said repeatedly when I tried to explain why I did not owe $31.20. Because I was late, I stopped arguing and wrote down his cab ID # (#5537) so I could call in a complaint. I gave him $35, intending only to pay the $31.20, and expected change. I handed him the money and he set my suitcase down, which fell over. I bent down to pick my suitcase up and turned back around to find he had driven off with my change.
I tried to file a complaint with Bell Cab two times, but my call was never returned. I filed two written complaints to the LADOT (#1303 on 8/12 and #1316 on 8/31) and called two times (on Monday, 8/16, I called and a rep said she would call me back in five minutes' and never did; and on Friday, 8/20, a rep named Jasmine said her manager would call me back that day and never did) but I was ignored there as well.
The LADOT clearly states in its Passenger Bill of Rights that the passenger has the rights to:
To a taxi that arrives at the pickup point within a reasonable amount of time after an order has been placed
A taxi driver that speaks and understands English
A taxi driver that is knowledgeable of major destinations and is able to take you to your destination in the quickest time and by the shortest route
To be charged an accurate fare for the distance and time of your trip, including any approved surcharge based upon the City of Los Angeles' designated taxi rates which appear on the inside of every licensed taxicab
I got none of these things, and to worsen matters, even the governing body does not care. The LADOT also failed to help me, which makes your job even more difficult because this could have easily been resolved at the local level.
0 comments