TOURISTS’ TAXI RIDE ‘TERROR’
»»Women ‘charged too much & shown pic of crash victim’ »»Driver told them he was ‘brought up to hate the English’
TWO tourists have made an official complaint after claiming they were shown graphic pictures of last month’s fatal M50 crash by a “taxi driver from hell”.
Rachel Sutherland and Anna Whittaker said they were on their way to Dublin Airport when the man took out his phone while also breaking the speed limit.
Rachel alleged he showed them horrific pictures of the January 24 smash that left a female dead.
The Derby woman claimed: “He got out his phone and started scrolling through his pictures, whilst driving.
“He was trying to find a photo of a decapitated head.
“He had even drawn a circle around the poor woman’s head lying in the road.
“It was distressing and we never asked to see it.”
The pair, both 22, said the driver told them he was “brought up to hate the English”.
The incident was reported after the man allegedly demanded double the amount quoted for the journey.
The women have now lodged official complaints with the National Transport Authority and the Lynk taxi booking service.
Rachel added: “Upon arrival at the airport he demanded €51 despite [us] being quoted €25 twice over the phone. “I insisted we would not pay double the price and rang Lynk.
“They said, ‘We would’ve never quoted you €25. Also, if you took the M50 route then of course it would cost more’. I didn’t realise we had to ask the driver which route would be taking.
“We only had €40 but the driver would not accept this and started to raise his voice.”
Rachel then went into the airport to take out the extra cash – but the driver got impatient and decided to take Anna to a petrol station.
She said: “He was annoyed that Rachel was taking ‘too long’ so sped off with just me in the car so I could get the cash instead. It was a terrifying experience. he He had told us earlier, ‘My dad would kill me if he knew I had two English girls in my cab, I was brought up to hate the English’.
“I rang Rachel and told her [in Spanish so he hopefully wouldn’t understand] I was worried where he was taking me.
“Eventually, after I got cash out, he took me back to the airport. I gave him the cash and went to meet my friend. “We were both furious at the situation and felt he would’ve treated us with more respect if we weren’t two female travellers.”
Lynk confirmed the complaint. A spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: “The issues outlined were addressed and necessary action was taken.”
The firm refunded the women €17, while the NTA also received a complaint and passed the information to gardai who are reviewing the details. Despite the experience, Anna added they “absolutely fell in love” with Dublin and everyone else they encountered during their trip was “so friendly”.
ON HER TAXI JOURNEY
What pair were charged for journey after being allegedly quoted €25
It was a terrifying experience. We were both furious at situation ANNA WHITTAKER