American United Taxi Company

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.First, we had been drinking and that is why we took the cab They stated that the cab driver has been with them a long time and thus should have experience driving passengers that have been drinking The first thing I did when we got in the cab was tell him the address It makes no sense that we would tell him to take 94W when you take side streets from The Rave to our house Also, what kind of cab driver just starts driving without knowing the address he is going to I would think right there that was a huge mistake on the cab drivers part and should be grounds for a settlement and partial refund Why would you start driving without an address? An experienced cab driver would say I am sorry I can't start driving until you give me the address of your destination unless he was trying to take advantage of passengers that were drinking It was the cab driver that started talking to us and I wonder if it was to distract us I tried calling the cab company several times and left messages I got a call back saying he wanted to resolve the issue I called back to resolve it several times and left messages but have not heard back The cost of the cab ride should have been no more than $We were charged $I am willing to settle with a $refund to us [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] Regards, [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response If you wish, you may update it before sending it.] Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Regards, [redacted] [redacted]

I have had the opportunity to look into this claim and this is what I found.The driver states that because Ms *** was having difficulty moving around, he did ask her if she would like him to wait and take her back home so she did not have to call to place another order and then wait for another
cabHis only concern was in giving good customer serviceUnfortunately, he was under the impression that Ms *** was familiar with how taxicabs operateMainly, if a customer asks a taxi to wait, the meter stays running in accordance with City laws governing taxicabsIt appears we have an issue of bad communication hereThe drier did not inform Ms*** the meter would remain running while he was waiting and Ms*** did not ask. All of our taxicabs have backseat credit card machines operated solely by the passengerI am unsure how the error happened, but somehow Ms *** approved a total charge of $A few weeks after the ride was taken Ms*** called our office and asked for a $refund which was given to her on 1/13/I have no records indicating she requested anything other than the $dollar refund. The proper amount of the fare should be $5.75-$each way, or a total of $11.50-$without the extra waiting timeThis seems consistent with Ms ***'s statement. Because of the bad communication between the driver and Ms***, we will refund her another $in American United gift certificates to be used on a future cab rideI do want to remind Ms *** that he driver's actions were all within the law, taxicabs are permitted to charge for waiting timeThis policy is posted in the back of every taxicab along with the rates of fareIn the future, if Ms *** should not tell the taxicab to wait if she does not want to be charged for waiting time

Upon receiving this complaint from the Revdex.com I looked into the matter and this is what I found.Two different AUT staff investigated this complaint including interviewing the driverThe driver states that he picked up the passengers at the RaveBoth passengers were extremely intoxicated and when he
asked them where they were going they told him just get on I-west and they would tell him where to exitDuring the ride, the driver states that he and the male passenger were conversing at length about footballAfter some time on the road, the passenger realized they had gone to far and told the driver to take the next exitAt this time the drive asked once again for the street address of the destination and at this point the passenger gave him the addressThe customers paid the fare by swiping their credit card in the rear seat device without questioning the amount with the driver. Based on each individuals investigation, both our staff felt that no refund was due based on the following:1) It is not uncommon for passengers to give a driver directions to their destination rather than an exact street addressSometimes the passenger may not know the exact street number, or sometimes they want to have the driver take a specific routeIt is conceivable the passengers did not give an exact destination address as the driver stated. 2) Mr *** has been a regular weekend driver for several years and does not have a history of receiving complaints. 3) The passengers contracted directly with the driver by hailing him down on the street as opposed to calling the company for a rideHad they have called the order in, our call center staff would have insisted on both a pickup and destination addressWe also would have a recording of the phone call for verification purposes. 4) The driver states and the passengers verified they were intoxicated, so it is quite possible they do not correctly recollect events as they occurred. 5) The passengers agreed to pay the fare when they swiped their credit card themselves and pushed the "approve" button. American United requires a driver to issue a refund under the following circumstances:1) When an investigation of a complaint results in clear evidence that a driver has done something wrong.2) In instances when evidence of wrong doing may not be indisputable but the driver has a history of receiving complaints. 3) In instances when the passenger is a regular rider and does not have a history of filing complaints, verified or not.While this is an unfortunate incident, this complaint did not meet any of these criteria to trigger a refund. Taxicab drivers are independent contractors, they do not work for the companyAmerican United collects a small fee for drivers to affiliate with the companyIn the case of a $fare, American United collects $3, the bank collects $for processing the credit card and the driver gets $54, the bulk of the fareUnder City of Milwaukee ordinances, the passenger is allowed to file a complaint against the driver directly with the City Clerk's officeThis would be done by calling the License Division at 414-286-

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.First, we had been drinking and that is why we took the cab.  They stated that the cab driver has been with them a long time and thus should have experience driving passengers that have been drinking.  The first thing I did when we got in the cab was tell him the address.  It makes no sense that we would tell him to take 94W when you take side streets from The Rave to our house.  Also, what kind of cab driver just starts driving without knowing the address he is going to.  I would think right there that was a huge mistake on the cab drivers part and should be grounds for a settlement and partial refund.  Why would you start driving without an address?  An experienced cab driver would say I am sorry I can't start driving until you give me the address of your destination unless he was trying to take advantage of passengers that were drinking.   It was the cab driver that started talking to us and I wonder if it was to distract us.  I tried calling the cab company several times and left messages.  I got a call back saying he wanted to resolve the issue.  I called back to resolve it several times and left messages but have not heard back.  The cost of the cab ride should have been no more than $15. We were charged $60. I am willing to settle with a $30 refund to us.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
 
[redacted]

Review: We hailed a taxi from 2401 W Wisconsin Ave in Milwaukee, WI because we were drinking. We asked the taxi cab driver to take us to [redacted]. He got on 94 West and took us 18 miles out of the way. Our cab bill was $60.00 when it should have been no more than $15.00. We paid the bill and thought we would file a complaint with the Cab Company. When we called the Cab Company on Sunday and Monday they said they could do nothing because it was our word against the Cab Driver's. The Cab driver told the Cab Company that we told him to get on 94W. You can take that way to my parent's house but it would still only be 6 miles not the 22.3 miles he charged us because he stayed on 94 W and then got off and went back to 73rd. (taking city streets would be 4 miles). People rely on Cabs so that they don't ever drink and drive. We gave the cab driver the address when we got in the cab, but he says we did not. We did give the address but if we had not, what cab driver wouldn't make sure he had an address from people that had been drinking. Who would just continue driving 94W without a destination? He just drove to add on charges and take advantage of passengers. Funny he never had to ask us the address later he just took a long route and then dropped us off. I will tell the same story in court. The $60 is one thing, but the scam he might be pulling on other people that don't know the area is shameful.Desired Settlement: The cab ride should have been no more than $15 (it should have been 4 miles and we were charged for 22.30 for a total of $60. We believe we are owed a $40 to $45 refund. the date was 12/13/2014 driver name was [redacted] driver ID was [redacted] and trip # was 4826. We talked to [redacted] from American United and he said the driver does not work for him so there is nothing they can do. The drivers just pay to use the American United Cab name?

Business

Response:

Upon receiving this complaint from the Revdex.com I looked into the matter and this is what I found.

Review: I was assigned a deceitful taxi driver on 12/21/2014. I have become handicapped and had to use a taxi to go to a store just a few blocks from my home. The driver asked me if he should wait. Since I have a problem standing I told him to wait. However he did not inform me the meter would be running while I was shopping otherwise I would have told him no. When I arrived at the store my bill was $5.75.When I return to the cab it was $22.00. I informed the driver I didn't know the meter would be running all the time I was shopping. He told me he had called the cab company and they told him to keep it running. He was aware I didn't know this and told me he would deduct two dollars. He was also aware I was going to use my credit card and decided to take advantage of me. However when I arrived home He deceived me into giving him a $20 dollar tip. I informed him I didn't want to give a tip and he pushed a couple of buttons on the credit card device and told me to put in $20 making me think he had deducted two dollars when actually he deceived me into giving him a $20 tip, Even though I was reimbursed for it I feel this trip shouldn't have been no more than $10.00. I was charged $22.00 just to go a few block and this is so unfair. The taxi company know it's unfair also. The reason I'm complaining now is because I just saw the amount on my bank statement. This is no way to treat a handicap senior citizen.Desired Settlement: This trip shouldn't have cost no more than $10.00 and that is what I would like to be reimbursed.

Business

Response:

I have had the opportunity to look into this claim and this is what I found.

Review: I called for a taxi over two hours ago and representative told me that a taxi would be coming in at least 15 to 20mins and no one has showed up. And then I kept calling and the rep hung up on me. I feel like the service from the rep was unacceptable.

Business

Response:

Sorry for the delayed response. Please provide the following information so that we may review the telephone recordings: