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Rickshaw drivers are secretly shifting the decimal point on credit card machines to “swindle” tourists in London out of hundreds of pounds, newly released data show.
A dossier of complaints collected by Transport for London (TfL) reveals how some drivers have even charged £1,300 for trips of just a few hundred yards.
Others have billed customers twice to rip off those touring the capital’s landmarks in their garishly decorated pedicabs.
The complaints log was released following a Freedom of Information request and illustrates the techniques used by some unscrupulous riders who view tourists as easy targets.
One customer claimed she was swindled out of £1,300 for a 500-yard rickshaw ride.
She wrote to TfL: “I was swindled after taking transportation from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.
“We rode a few blocks going towards the Palace and something broke. We exited the rickshaw, and I paid the vendor and asked for a receipt. He said: ‘No.’
“I called my husband immediately to make sure he charged me correctly. My husband called me back and said the vendor charged me £1,278.96.”
Another woman wrote: “I took a rickshaw from Mayfair to High Street Kensington, and I was charged £336 instead of £33.60. I believe that it was intentional.”
She added that she believed she and her friend were targeted because they were women, adding: “He was enjoying it.”
A photograph posted to social media by US actor Henry Winkler to warn others about how he was ripped off by a London rickshaw driver
A couple who flagged down a pedicab to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella at a West End theatre were told they would be charged £9.40.
The theatregoer wrote: “I tapped my card. It wasn’t until the interval when I checked my online banking app and saw that I had been charged £94.40.”
These examples suggest the vendor had added another zero to the bill, shifting the decimal point and hoping the customer would not check properly.
Two complaints stated that the driver insisted the fare was real because he had a “handheld meter”.
A mother contacted TfL with a picture of their crashed rickshaw saying: “Not only is it daylight robbery – he tried to charge me £130 for the journey – but it is also very unsafe.
“He tried to go through the cycle lane tunnel on Bermondsey Road and crashed at the end as there wasn’t enough space. He got very aggressive.”
There were also complaints from people who said that their payments had been pushed through twice – doubling the bill.
One couple was charged £296 for a 13-minute trip to the theatre.
They eventually agreed to pay £110 but reported the scam to their hotel, who encouraged them to make a formal complaint.
‘Pedicab industry should be banned’
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said “rip-off rickshaw riders” give London a bad name and the pedicab industry should be banned.
“TfL now have the powers they need to take action and stop this once and for all, and it’s high time they used them to keep visitors to our great city safe from these scam artists.”
The Conservative government brought in new rules allowing TfL to start regulating drivers who tout for passengers in the city’s tourist hotspots.
A TfL spokesman said it welcomed new “robust and effective” powers it will have under the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024.
“We are engaging with the pedicab industry and other interested parties to help us shape proposals ahead of a public consultation, including carrying out an impact assessment.
“Once these proposals are developed, we will launch a public consultation and we hope to do so in early 2025. Feedback from our consultation will help shape these important new regulations and will enable us to confirm a timetable for their introduction.”
In July, Henry Winkler, the actor who played the Fonz in the American comedy Happy Days, used social media to warn others about how he was ripped off by a rickshaw driver when visiting London with his family.
Winkler, 78, posted a “travel tip” saying: “Do not take one of those bicycle taxis without absolutely negotiating the price first.
“This person in London rode us around in circles then finally to our destination seven blocks away for $170!”
Traffic analysis by the Sunday Telegraph revealed that two rickshaw drivers carrying London visitors had shot red lights weaving between pedestrians on Westminster Bridge Road.
