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Traveling in Ho Chi Minh City: Beware of Taxi Scams in Vietnam
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Beware of Taxi Scams in Vietnam http://www.hotsia.com > Traveling in Ho Chi Minh City > Beware of Taxi Scams in Vietnam Information about traveling in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Travel info from Phnom Penh to Saigon Recommended delicious restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City Photos of Ho Chi Minh City I recommend good and affordable hotels in Ho Chi Minh City Northern Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City Booking tours in Ho Chi Minh City Information about Tay Ninh Province Ba Vet Border Checkpoint Moc Bai Taxi scams in Vietnam Transport from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh
Flying Jetstar to Hanoi Local Vietnamese food Locos Airlines in Vietnam Beware of Taxi Scams in Vietnam Vietnam is notorious for taxi scams. Common scams include taking detours and driving in circles. For tourists, it is frustrating to be cheated, losing money and time. Even today, taxi scams still occur in Vietnam. I recently encountered one in November 2013 involving meter tampering, where the distance was set higher than it should be.
There was a sticker covering the meter so passengers couldn’t see. I took a taxi with a seemingly honest driver who spoke good English from the pier coming from Vung Tau to Ho Chi Minh train station. He avoided main routes and the fare quickly rose to about 600 baht for a distance of just over ten kilometers, which is impossible. Unsure, I paid first but took photos of the car, driver, and license plate. Then I asked other taxi drivers at the train station who unanimously said the fare should be less than 200 baht.
In summary, I was scammed by a Vietnamese taxi at the pier going to Vung Tau!!!! Fortunately, my trip was long enough to handle this. I stayed at Ho Chi Minh train station, drank coffee, used the internet to research, and contacted Marpin, a travel expert, who helped prepare information. I called the call center but was dismissed, so I went to the taxi company’s headquarters near the pier. I took a taxi there for 200 baht.
It was only about that price, not as expensive as the trip coming in. At the company headquarters, the staff connected me to the general manager who spoke excellent English and Vietnamese. I provided all information and they verified it. I was refunded the full taxi fare including the taxi I complained about (I took photos to show). I sincerely hope this driver will no longer be allowed to drive or stop scamming. This behavior ruins the tourism atmosphere. If they continue, people won’t want to visit Vietnam.
I made sure the driver wouldn’t drive in circles, but eventually he cheated using another method. For general tourists, I recommend always using GPS maps to avoid detours, which is a traditional scam method and can be prevented. If you see a sticker covering the meter, change taxis immediately. If there’s a problem, call the police. Let’s help make tourism in Vietnam more enjoyable. mr.hotsia December 3, 2013 This clip shows a scam at the checkpoint from Sam Neua to Hanoi.
The taxi scam clip above is at 10°46'22.991"N, 106°42'30.749"E GPS coordinates (POI). This pier has taxis that scam fares. I was cheated by a taxi waiting there. I recommend walking outside. The sticker covers the meter so you can’t see the distance. From the pier to Saigon train station, this is the map from my phone. The parent company is SaigonTourist Transportation (not Saigon Tourists). I provided this scam information to the company.
I received a refund along with the taxi fare when I complained. The taxi that scammed me was parked here on the way to the train station at 10°46'24.347"N, 106°42'19.175"E. I tracked it with GPS. The distance was tampered with and covered by a sticker at 10°46'56.129"N, 106°40'39.162"E. Distance and fare were measured by my phone. This problematic taxi belongs to SaigonTourist Transportation. Fare information provided.
