Taxi firms
 

Really annoyed this morning. Local taxi firm is really taking the pee!
Ordered a taxi to take my kids to secondary school. They usually walk (they are both 14), but due to adverse weather conditions, and because it is a fair distance (approx1.5 miles) I ordered a taxi. this was at 8.20am. School starts at 8.45am.
Plenty of time to get there providing they do as they say and come straight away. 8.30am and no sign of them, so begin to get worried that it won't arrive. I ring up the firm and they say "sorry we have been busy this morning, but a car is on it's way. Regardless of the fact that they knew very well it was a school run, and if there could be a problem they should have told me, so I could book someone else - I think fair enough, they might just still make it. But another 5 minutes and still no sign. Try ringing but no answer.It's now gone 8.35.am and looking like the boys are going to be late, so try other firms but they are now all busy for the next 15mins or so. So I call again to ask them if they are on their way, otherwise I want to cancel. (By now it is 8.45am and the kids are already late)."One moment please" says the operator and begins talking to his drivers in a foreign language. I Keep trying to interupt, trying to say "please can you simply tell me if you are going to be here within 60 seconds, otherwise I'm cancelling and booking someone else". I must be on the phone at least 2 mins and still haven't got an answer.(In the mean time the taxi turns up at the gate and the kids get in it). I Finally get the person on the other end to speak to me, and try to complain about the service - and the guy puts the phone down on me!! Cheek! Certainly won't be using them ever again!

Apparently a lot of people are not happy with this firm. Other problems with their service and issues about unsafe driving have been brought to my attention.

The annoying thing is that due to their position in the directory listings, (fairly high!) they will probably get a lot of their occasional custom due to that fact alone!

Anyone who wants to know who they are so that they can avoid them like the plague, just IM me. Not putting the firm's name on here for obvious reasons.

Re: Taxi firms
 

I know how annoyed you feel - I have had a couple of experiences with a certain (very reputable) firm (don't think it's the same one you are talking about). One Sunday evening ordered a taxi to a friends house and they advised 20 minutes wait. That was fine at least they told me, and in exactly 20 minutes they were there. The same night at around midnight I rang the same firm & this time they didn't say anything about a delay, so I waited outside so I wouldn't miss them. Half an hour later and freezing I called again to find out were they where. And the phone was never answered! I then had to call another cab firm who came straightaway. Luckily I was at a friends house but otherwise they had left a young girl for half an hour, late at night waiting for a taxi on her own. Taxi firms have a certain responsibility - it isn't just poor service to not come to pick someone up, it could be quite dangerous.

Re: Taxi firms
 

Tagged onto this old thread as think its the most suitable one for what I saw & smelt today! Taxi parked opposite the Jobcentre in Accrington, now no surprise that he was smoking as we all know that you shouldn't be smoking in your place of work, but what made this a damn site worse was the fact it wasn't just your normal Benson & Hedges type of ciggy, if you know what I mean. I sat in my car & got another couple of whiffs of this "tobacco" so decided to phone the taxi firm C******l and ask if smoking drugs is allowed in their cars, whereby the operator of course said NO, I explained that that was what was happening right now, gave him the reg & he checked & said the driver was off duty at the moment but when he did start his shift "we will be checking his car". I told him that this wasn't very good advertising for his firm. So if you use C******l taxi's just check the drivers pupils before you embark if the said car is a Blue Vauxhall Vectra reg FM54 XJA.

Re: Taxi firms
 

Don't think you should have phoned the firm, the police would have been better wallop, the driver would no doubt be taking paying customers sometime and quite obviously probably won't have been the first time he's done this, he's a danger to the public

Re: Taxi firms
 

Isn't there a council licensing officer who would deal with this?

Re: Taxi firms
 

I was in 2 minds about phoning the owd bill, but seeing as it takes them a week to turn up if its not a 999 call, I decided to phone the fellas employer. If there's ever a next time I will phone the police.

Re: Taxi firms
 

I think a 999 call would have been acceptable. They would thank you if you were reporting a suspected drunk driver so a Taxi driver under the influence of drugs would be classed in the same way.

Re: Taxi firms
 

Exactly Neil, that guy was a danger to the public, and as Ann said the licencing authority at HBC should also be informed, he's obviously not a fit and proper person to drive a taxi

Re: Taxi firms
 

ill stick to using a taxi firm that is less central and opt to use a firm that isnt central say on the outskirts of town and just hope their drives dont also drive while stoned