Rickshaw drivers secretly shift the decimal point in credit card machines to “swindle” tourists in London from hundreds of pounds, newly released data shows.
A dossier of complaints collected by Transport for London (TfL) reveals how some drivers even charge £1,300 for a journey of just a few hundred yards.
Others have paid customers twice as much to rip off people visiting the capital’s landmarks in elaborately decorated rickshaws.
The complaint log was released following a Freedom of Information request and illustrates the techniques used by some unscrupulous riders who see tourists as easy targets.
One customer claimed he was conned out of £1,300 for a 500 meter rickshaw ride.
He wrote to TfL: “I was scammed after taking transport from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.
“We rode a few blocks to the Palace and something broke. We got out of the pedicab, and I paid the seller and asked for a receipt. He said: ‘No.’
“I called my wife straight away to make sure they charged me correctly. My husband called me and said the vendor had 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 it was on purpose.”
He added that he believed he and his friend were targeted because they were women, adding: “They were happy.”
A couple who flagged down a rickshaw to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella at a West End theater were told they would be charged £9.40.
A theatergoer wrote: “I tapped my card. It wasn’t until the interval when I checked my online banking app and saw I’d been charged £94.40.
The example shows that the vendor has added another zero to the bill, changed the decimal point and hoped the customer didn’t check properly.
Two complaints allege that the driver insisted the fare was real because he had a “handheld meter”.
A mother contacted TfL with pictures of the crashed rickshaw, saying: “Not only is it a daylight robbery – they’re trying to charge £130 for the journey – it’s also unsafe.
“He tried to go through the cycle lane tunnel on Bermondsey Road and crashed into the back because there wasn’t enough space. He was very aggressive.”
There are also complaints from people who say that the payment has been pushed twice – twice.
One couple was charged £296 for a 13-minute journey to the theatre.
She eventually agreed to pay £110 but reported the fraud to the hotel, which encouraged her to make a formal complaint.
‘The rickshaw industry should be banned’
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said “rickshaw riders” were giving London a bad name and the rickshaw industry should be banned.
“TfL now have the powers they need to take action and stop this once and for all, and have been using it for a long time to keep visitors to our great city safe from these scam artists.”
The Conservative government is bringing in new rules that will allow TfL to start regulating drivers who treat passengers in the city’s tourist attractions.
A TfL spokesman said it welcomed the “robust and effective” new powers it will have under the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024.
“We are engaging the rickshaw industry and other interested parties to help make proposals before the public consultation, including conducting an impact assessment.
“Once these proposals have been developed, we will start a public consultation and hope to have them in place in early 2025. Feedback from the consultation will help shape this important new regulation and will allow us to confirm the timetable for its 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 abducted by a rickshaw driver while visiting London with his family.
Winkler, 78, published a “travel tip” saying: “Don’t take that bike taxi without negotiating the price first.
“This guy in London drove us around in circles and then ended up going to a destination seven blocks away for $170!”
A traffic analysis by the Sunday Telegraph revealed that two rickshaw drivers carrying London visitors had run a red light between pedestrians on Westminster Bridge Road.