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3 On Your Side: Taken For A Ride

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- They took a taxi ride home after an evening on the town.  But the cab fare they faced was anything but fair!  Consumer reporter Jim Donovan introduces us to a couple taken for a ride. They were hit with an outrageous charge, until 3 On Your Side got involved.

When it comes to making a short trip in center city, many hop in a cab no questions asked. It's quick, convenient, and normally doesn't break the bank.

But there was one taxi ride this summer that Ben and Jenna Bruening won't soon forget.  A three mile ride in a Rosemont cab.

They say the meter read almost $18 but they were charged $1,800 bucks!

"We thought that he could have made a mistake," said Jenna.

Unlike most cabs that have a credit card machine mounted on the safety shield, the cab driver swiped Ben's card using a Square device that attaches to a phone.

"He just swipes it on his phone and is tapping away, never hands me anything but the card.  So I never signed anything," said Ben.

The payment went into the driver's personal account.

"It was strange because it just said his name. it wasn't a cab company but it was tagged, taxi cab limousine," said Ben.

"The couple was stolen from, there is no other way to describe it.  It was an outright intended, premeditated theft," said Vince Fenerty, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority

The PPA has regulatory oversight over taxis in the city.

"You never have to hand any cab driver your credit card.  So that should be a red flag.

All cabs in Philadelphia have to have a credit card machine.  It's mounted on the back of the shield that separates the front and the back of the cab," said Fenerty.

When Ben filed a dispute through his Barclays credit card, the company said it couldn't credit back the transaction because, the services for which they were billed, were rendered.

"They said that somebody had signed for it and as far as they were concerned that was good enough. I said it's not my signature," said Ben.

"We felt like we were at our wit's end with it," said Jenna.

When 3 On Your Side contacted Barclays, they eventually backed down.

"They knew a story was being done and they said since we were a good customer they would go ahead and do us a courtesy and wave the charge," said Ben.

Rosemont says the driver took a company taxi without permission and was fired.   They say they couldn't refund the couple since they never got the money, the driver did.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority says that Rosemont Cabs shouldn't be picking up passengers within the Philadelphia city limits and police have an open investigation regarding this case.

 

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