A young woman has shared the frustrating moment she realised she had been scammed by a taxi driver travelling from one of the country’s biggest airports.
Brooke Marsh is warning others to stay vigilant after she said she was ushered into an unmarked vehicle after landing at Melbourne‘s Tullamarine Airport from the Sunshine Coast on May 29.
The 22-year-old, admittedly sleep deprived, said she was coming down the escalators when she was called over by a ‘nice looking man’.
Brooke Marsh, 22, claims she was ushered into an unmarked vehicle after landing at Melbourne ‘s Tullamarine Airport from the Sunshine Coast on May 29
‘I was coming down the escalator and was sort of just looking around, I probably would have looked a bit lost. And then this nice man approached me saying, ‘Oh, do you need a taxi?” she recalled.
Approaching the Mercedes, which was not parked at the taxi rank, Ms Marsh noted the passenger side door and boot were already open – a detail she later suspected was perhaps an intentional move to prevent her from seeing the number plate.
‘As soon as I got to his car I asked the fare costing [and] he explained it would be $2.80p/km – completely fine I was only going 21km,’ she wrote on Reddit.
That rate would see the fare come in around $60.
‘He mentioned he owned the company and had a private fleet of 10 cars.’
Intending to travel only 21 kilometres at a rate of $2.80p/km, Ms Marsh was happy her fare would be under $60. But on arrival at her destination, the man held up a terminal flashing $108
Ms Marsh admitted she was worried something sinister would happen if she refused the ‘overcharged’ payment
‘On the way to the destination he asked if needed a lift back when my trip ended so I agreed and he texted me a confirmation which is how I got his number,’ she added.
At the destination, the driver – who had introduced himself as ‘Eddie’ – pulled out the payment terminal with $108 flashing on the screen.
‘I didn’t want to say anything because it was just me in the car… I was annoyed at myself, we learn growing up don’t get into a car with a stranger,’ she told Yahoo News.
‘But in that moment I just wanted to get out of the situation.’
She paid and took the receipt, which had ‘GM Taxipay’ at the top of it – a mobile payment terminal designed specifically for taxi drivers – and jumped out of the car.
Ms Marsh admitted she was worried something sinister would happen if she refused payment.
The traveller later messaged ‘Eddie’ to query the cost of the ride, who justified the fare by claiming he worked for Silver Services – a premium taxi service offered by 13Cabs.
Ms Marsh was told the driver identification number of the man did not exist after contacting 13Cabs for help
This contradicts earlier claims he owned his own taxi service business.
According to 13Cabs, Silver Service fares are exactly the same as regular services with a variation in booking fees per state.
After contacting 13Cabs for help, Ms Marsh was told the driver identification number of the man did not exist.
She believes he works for GM Cabs, which charges $2.19 per kilometre, and ‘severely overcharged’ her.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted GM Cabs for comment.
The traveller later messaged ‘Eddie’ to query the cost of the ride, who justified the high cost by claiming he worked for Silver Services – a premium taxi service offered by 13Cabs
The man declined to disclose the name of the company he works for and said he has no recollection of the interaction with Ms Marsh
Yahoo spoke to the man who claims GM Cabs is not the name of his business but the name of the pay terminal in his vehicle.
He declined to disclose the name of the company he works for and told Yahoo he has no recollection of the interaction with Ms Marsh.
The driver’s ABN number was also invalid.
Ms Marsh has since contacted Safe Transport Victoria.