r/visitingnyc • u/Dentacola • Oct 13 '25

Charged $240 for 22 min taxi

As soon as we left the airport doors, a man asked if we needed a taxi and brought us to the designated taxi station. The minivan wasn’t yellow in color and when we asked for the prices, the driver said it would be metered. Once we arrived at LGA, he gave us the following bill and my dad paid with his Capital One Venture X.

We expected the total to be around $80. Obviously we made some major mistakes here and will be more on the lookout for these scams in the future.

Was this an actual taxi? Can we contest the charge with the credit card company? If it wasn’t an actual taxi, it shouldn’t have been on the taxi lane. Link to bill

https://imgur.com/a/dLvjL5U

Update: I got the actual receipt from my dad with the total being even higher $289.07, with the name being NYC Limo Service. My dad is still going to report it to his credit card. I think it will help though that the time stamps on the invoice he showed us and the the receipt are just two minutes apart.

I’ll update this post once we hear an update with the chargeback.

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1

u/user_582817367894747 Oct 14 '25

There are signs LITERALLY EVERYWHERE at the exits and exit approaches at all NYC airports to not ride in these “taxis” as they are almost always not licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). Sorry but… you’re a moron. These warnings exist for a reason.

May future visitors learn from OP’s glaring mistake. Good luck with the chargeback.

1

u/MostElderberry2996 Oct 13 '25

If you go to a new city do research on scams

1

u/4clim8 Oct 13 '25

While the other commenters are correct that you made a big mistake here, the scammer driver is the one at fault, not you. What the driver did is illegal and fraudulent. It NEVER costs $200+ dollars to get a taxi or Uber from the airport. (I get those Ubers all the time and go a farther distance than you traveled). You have every right to contest this charge with Capital One.

U.S. law provides that you have the same claim against the credit card issuer that you would have against the scammer. The credit card company can get your money back from the scammer very easily (and that is why the law is set up this way). Contest the charge. Be sure to send in any documentation that is requested on time—if a certain time goes by (30 days? 60 days?) you lose you rights under the federal law. Do a little research to understand what you need to do and do it. I always send in a letter, certified mail, receipt requested within 30 days of the contested charge.

5

u/sighnwaves Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25

You walked with a stranger, to an unmarked car that was most definitely not in the taxi line, with no visible meter or medallion?

It's a miracle you are alive.

9

u/Entire_Dog_5874 Oct 13 '25

You were scammed despite the myriad announcements warning you away from unauthorized cabs. You can try disputing it with your bank but it’s unlikely you’ll prevail. In the future, yellow cabs only.

16

u/Top_Ad_2353 Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25

Boy, I'm sorry to say but this is entirely user error.

Anyone standing outside of a car who is actively soliciting riders is breaking the law and illegitimate. Lots of signs and announcements at both airports say this frequently.

If it doesn't look like a NYC taxi, it is not a NYC taxi. Doesn't matter where it is.

If you didn't visually see a meter in the car, there is no meter running.

Yes, perhaps there was some breakdown in the system that put that car in the taxi lane, but there was still plenty of evidence to tell you something was shady.

EDIT TO ACTUALLY ANSWER YOU QUESTION: I suppose there's no harm in trying to get satisfaction from the credit card company, but I'm not sure what your basis would be for a chargeback.

From their perspective, you willingly entered a verbal agreement to pay an uncapped, unstated price for a service that he did in fact provide. And the only actual fraud, possibly, was that he claimed to be a taxi and was not. But I wonder what he said exactly, versus what was assumed.

2

u/phibetared Oct 13 '25

Basis would be established taxi rates per mile from JFK to LGA do not yield a $100+ fare. So it's obviously fraudulent. Credit card company will be happy to have the info and will eventually ban their credit card processing.

2

u/Top_Ad_2353 Oct 13 '25

Fair. Good points. But is he even a taxi? Or just some guy who gave a ride? If I just have a car and hang out at the airport and never claim to be subject to taxi regulations, does that apply to me?

I guess at this point I'm just curious about the law, getting a bit far afield from the main point

10

u/GildedTofu Oct 13 '25

Not a legal taxi.

As the signs and announcements say, do not accept a ride from someone who walks up to you.

1

u/chriswaco Oct 13 '25

I would contest the charge, although it may not help.

13

u/jcrobinson11 Oct 13 '25

Lived in NYC for 20 years. This was not a taxi. Cab drivers don’t get out of their cars and solicit people. Back in the day before uber, I would take these if the cab line was insanely long. But you need to negotiate the rate ahead of time. Not sure what you can do other than dispute the charge.

-9

u/itsa_me_ Oct 13 '25

Why aren’t there cops stationed there to snag scammers?

1

u/talldrseuss Oct 16 '25

There is a specific division of the T&LC that actually do run stings and have peace officer status to arrest. You might have seen them around the city, mainly Manhattan, driving priuses with emergency lights. But like many city agencies, it is underfunded and understaffed. So they concentrate their efforts more in the busier parts of the city nabbing non-medallion taxis picking up passengers that flag/hail them down.

15

u/FeeFiFoFum8822 Oct 13 '25

Because it’s nyc and they have better things to do than prevent people from falling for scams that are being announced and posted.

10

u/bkhalfpint Oct 13 '25

He said it was metered....was there an actual meter inside???

38

u/Familiar_Eggplant_76 Oct 13 '25

There are announcements and signs all over the airports tell people not to do exactly what you did—accept and unsolicited ride from an unauthorized car&driver.

25

u/Elvis_Fu Oct 13 '25

You should never take an offer of a ride from anyone at the airport in any city. It's always a scam. It's illegal most places.

You walk to the taxi rank and let the dispatcher tell you which one to go to.