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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeCommentaryOpen forumIt’s Not Only Unethical But Illegal

It’s Not Only Unethical But Illegal

Dear Source:
My wife and I come to St. John once every three months from Tampa. I am consistently tired pf being overcharged for a taxi to Red Hook. The trip should cost $11 per person for the taxi ride and $4 for baggage fees for a total of $15. Nine times out of 10 the driver tries to overcharge the ride at $15 then add another $4 for the bag ($2 for small bag).
I always pull up the USVI taxi association fees schedule on my phone to show the drivers their error. Usually because the taxi has many other riders, the driver just accepts my cash in order to bury the conversation as not to raise suspicion from the other riders as to why I’m paying less than them.
I watch them collect $4 more per person than allowed. Sometimes pocketing as much as $40 extra for the ride from the other non-suspecting riders. This is not only unethical but illegal! Someone should expose this scam!!! Stealing from tourists that are overly excited about their vacation and don’t know any better.
I recently, after an argument with a taxi driver, decided to make sure all 11 other riders did not get scammed because the driver wouldn’t let it go when I questioned the rate he was trying to collect. After quite a scene and my threat to call the police, he finally gave up and drove away pissed off. The other riders thanked me.
Brian Granite
 

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