The foreigner got in the cab on 15th July 2017 at the Old Town Square and she wanted to go to a hotel in Prague 4 district. When they arrived at the place, she was shocked when the driver asked for 480 euro (approximately 12,500 CZK). She didn’t have such a big sum of money with her and she showed the cab driver she had only 50 euro (roughly 1300 CZK). The cab driver suggested he would take her to the ATM.
“The tourist withdrew 3000 CZK from the ATM, but the driver still wasn’t satisfied with the amount. He said that he would be content with 5000 CZK and the already mentioned 50 euro. The woman asked for a receipt and she received a handwritten document,” Irena Seifertova, the spokeswoman for the police in Prague, explained.
After that, the driver took the tourist to the hotel, where the woman called the police from the hotel reception. She went to the office with them in order to file criminal charges. Another watch meanwhile started the search for the cab driver who, of course, drove away.
He says he got only 407 CZK
The driver was discovered in Paris Street three hours later. “The police recorded a video and the tourist identified him immediately after watching it.
“The 35-year-old man has provided two records of the drive. One of them corresponded with the ride to the hotel. The driver confirmed he got only 407 CZK for it,” Ms Seifert said.
From the receipt, it could be seen that he drove for only 14 kilometres. He told the policemen several reasons for multiplying the price, but the police didn’t announce them publically. However, they added that the man is not unknown to them and that they have already dealt with his illegal behaviour several times before. This current case is now being dealt with by the state police.
Overcharging is a frequent problem in Prague, and the city has been fighting it for a long time. Even though the municipal authorities are trying to eliminate this problem with the help of a special police team called TAXI, these issues still persist.
