With the main cruise season in full swing in Greece, some nefarious taxi drivers are on the hunt for frazzled tourists who they can take advantage of to get a bigger payday.
One recent victim of a taxi scam is now warning other cruise guests to stay vigilant to avoid the same fate.
For those that have never visited the Piraeus Port in Athens, it’s quite common for taxis to line up near the cruise terminals to pick up disembarking passengers.
This is where the recent cruise guest hailed a taxi to take the 15-30 minute ride to Neos Kosmos, which is only about 10.7 kilometers (or 6.65 miles) away from the cruise port.
The cruiser quickly ran into problems from the language barrier, as the driver didn’t speak a word of English, and then was surprised as he seemed to try to tack on fees left and right.
“The driver didn’t speak any English and tried to get me to pay in cash. He gave me a receipt that said $17.10,” they explained.
Currently, the the standard flag-down fee for taxis in Athens is 1.80 euros ($2.10) and the standard metered rate is .90 euros ($1.05) per kilometer during the day.
With the additional 1-2 euros surcharge that can apply to cruise port pickups, this total is not out of the realm of reason for this ride.
But then, the taxi driver also wanted to charge a fee of 11 euros ($12.86) for each suitcase that was loaded into his vehicle, which really racked up the total.
“After 10 minutes of trying to tell me something and pointing to his phone and card reader, he showed me on his phone that it was another 11 euros per bag(3 bags). I kept telling him I had no cash. He finally swiped my card, thanked me and shook my hand,” the cruiser continued.
It’s not abnormal for taxi drivers to charge a fee for handling luggage, but usually that cost is 2 euros or less.
The Hassle Had Just Begun
Assuming the luggage fee wasn’t included in the $17.10 fare, the cruise passenger would have been on the hook for around $55 – which is still quite high.
But when the cruiser checked with their bank later on, they were surprised to find that they had been charged just over $80.
This meant that they had to go through the hassle of reversing the charge, which they thankfully had the receipt to use as evidence.
“I checked my card account later and he had charged $82.14 usd. I’ve already emailed the taxi authority and informed my bank not to pay him,” they said.
Making sure to get a copy of the receipt is a great tip for ensuring everyone is on the same page, especially if there is a language barrier, and can be helpful for resolving potential disputes successfully.
Read Also: 12 Smart Tricks to Stop Wasting Money on Cruises
Of course, this cruiser hoped that by sharing their story, it would save others from getting scammed to begin with. So, what can we learn from their story?
If you’re planning to take a taxi at any cruise port, forcefully insisting on being paid in cash is a red flag.
I often prefer to pay in cash because it protects me from potential credit card theft, but Greek taxis are legally required to accept card payments.
Next, taxi drivers who refuse to use their meter are likely up to no good and this is likely a sign that they will try to overcharge.
“We arrived at the cruise terminal 2 weeks ago and walked up to the taxi line. As he was putting bags in, we asked if he was going to use the meter etc. He threw our bags out and refused to take us,” another cruiser who recently disembarked in Athens shared.
As many in the cruise community agree, I’m also usually inclined to book an Uber or Lyft as a way to protect myself and avoid the taxi line entirely.
Rideshare services allow all payments to be handled through the app and come with customer service teams to protect passengers if anything starts to smell fishy.
