Lynne Lenhart’s daughter had her $140 iPod taken from her on a recent visit to New York. The thief was a taxi driver who remains at large, with the apparent blessing of the government and the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
This sad — and apparently unsolvable — case raises some important questions about the use of credit cards. I’ll get to those in a moment. But first, let me hand the mic over to Lenhart.
My 20 year-old-daughter recently visited New York City by herself, and had a bad taxi experience that I am still furious about.
After the driver took her to JFK airport to catch her flight home, she tried to pay using her credit card. She had been using her credit card to pay for all her taxi cab rides.
This time the card was not approved. She knew that she had enough money on the card to pay for the ride, so she called up the bank to find out what was wrong. They agreed that she had enough to pay for it but the driver’s machine used for the credit cards was not working. All the numbers were not going over either due to an equipment malfunction or a bad signal near the airport.
The driver got mad and called the Port Authority. When they got involved, they told her that if she couldn’t pay, then they would have to “book” her.
She was humiliated and scared that she was going to be arrested. They told her that she would have to give him something and she was forced to give the driver her $140 iPod to pay for a $50 cab ride. It feels, to me, like she was the victim of a shakedown. She got the taxi driver’s number.
I have shared this experience with friends and family and they are all disgusted and not planning on vacationing in New York any time soon. Is there anyone that I can contact about this situation or is this the way things are done in New York?
I recommended that Lenhart write a brief, polite letter to the Port Authority and the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, requesting the return of her daughter’s iPod. Here’s what happened:
I heard from the Port Authority by phone and e-mail. They apologized and asked for more information. I sent them what my daughter remembered. Since my daughter did not get the names of the officers, they are unable to pursue it further and consider the case closed.
I heard from the Taxi Commission. They brought the driver in to interview and after discussing the case with the driver and their legal department, it was decided that I would have to deal with the driver on my own. They said that since he was forced to accept the iPod as payment, by the Port Authority, they were under no obligation to force him to return it. They gave me his phone number. However, after repeated attempts, I have been unable to contact him.
I called the Taxi Commission a few days ago, to see if they could help me and have received no response. Then I contacted the Port Authority and found out what they had decided. All they could do was give me the name of the taxi cab company.
Is Lenhart out of options? I think small claims court might be her daughter’s next stop, although it might not be worth the effort.
The bigger question here is: What happens when a travel company can’t accept your credit card because of equipment problems? The cab driver in Lenhart’s case should have been able to accept an imprint and a signature. Confiscating her iPod was unnecessary.
The taxi driver should free the iPod and accept her $50 as soon as possible.
Update (Jan. 21, 2009): The NY Post has published a story about this incident.
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Hmmmm…..unlike “Joe” and “Jess” I have the courage of my convictions and post under my real name, not a pseudonym from the confines of their basements in Minot,ND since they haven’t seen a UFO land in the last hours so they can’t be calling in to George Noury.
If we are to presume that these are just 2 bad apples….then, please answer the question I have already posed….How come senior management and their own Police Brotherhood are circling the wagons and not standing up to actively investigate, apologize, make amends, and to show their “true professionalism”??? By standing silent, they are condoning the actions of their rogue colleagues.
It could quite well be that what Sevenseat has stated, about them being security guards from an outside firm hired by the PA to direct traffic, rather than being officers of the force….in which case one would also think that it would be in the interests of the officers own union to bring that important piece of info to the fore.
I definitely would suggest that the aggrieved contact the office of the Mayor, the CVB, and selected local media outlets (print/talk radio/television). And perhaps Chris can get someone in PA Media Affairs — 212-435-7777 — to investigate and comment publicly.
I can’t believe all of the negative comments towards the taxi driver and the police on duty. Taxi drivers have to deal with a lot of jerks who rip them off every day and don’t pay fare. I think they definately thought of a REASONABLE SOLUTION for all parties. The Ipod was intented as collateral, not “taken” goods as the blog master states. All she has to do is quickly run to an ATM, grab the cash, pay for fare, and get the ipod back. Too bad so many of you goobbled up the spin on this non-story.
Are you nuts Pickford? Who says this is not my real name? Geesh – it should be easy enough to find in this googled world . . .
I’m with shaun and have said that 5 times – why didn’t little miss sunshine just run into the terminal, grab $60 off the atm and come back out.
To the cops -= “heres the ipod, have him wait 5 min, I’m going to get cash”
to the cabbie :”hey, wait 5 – I’ll get you cash – its better than an ipod’
THEN if the coppers do not have the cabbie wait, the cops have the problem lettign the guy walk off with her ipod.
I can already hear the moans coming from the Lenhart family and her apologists – but the situation she NOW was dealing with was that a guy had her $140 ipod for a $50 fare. If she wants it back, like we say in my family, you gotta get it out of hock.
People who get into cabs without cash in their pocket are just plain asking for trouble to begin with. Not very smart. And if there were funds on the card, she could have asked the driver to wait while she took a cash advance from an ATM machine.
The whole story is not being told here. I think she’s just plain stupid, and is taking advantage of the fact that the incident wasn’t reported by the cops to exaggerate her story.
@Joe
According to the story, they have offered to cab driver the money for the fare and he refuses to accept it. That prevents me from giving him the benefit of the doubt, i.e. he’s merely holding the IPOD as collateral to secure his fare.
@jason
Why?
Why should someone with adequate credit need cash when a business advertises that they accept credit cards.
Besides, according to the story, the taxi driver refused to allow her to leave to go to the ATM so the entire cash advance (bad idea) is a moot point.
The cab is required by TLC/NYC law to return to the station if their credit card machine does not work. They are not allowed to pick up passengers otherwise. Fry the driver!
I should also note I went to TLC court to fight a cabbie for kicking me out of a cab because I told him in advance I would be paying via CC. It’s against the law! If the CC machine is down, don’t pay!
All of these comments have been very enlightening. One simple question for the native New Yorkers: when I go next to NYC, how likely is it that I will encounter a “broken” credit card machine, be it in a taxi, deli or corner store? I’ve never had that problem before now, but I like to keep abreast of all the current trends. I’m planning on visiting my son (in NJ) in May/June.
(I use the subways or trains to get from the airport to my hotel – I’m cheap.)
BTW, I live in Nebraska, and have generally found the people in NYC to be friendly and helpful. I’m sorry Ms. Lenhart’s final experience was a bad one, and I hope that it can be resolved. I’d hate to write off an entire great city because of that experience, but I can see how traumatic that would be for a novice traveler. I think it would be great if Mayor Bloomberg personally would become involved. If that were the case, I think Ms. Lenhart – and her family – should visit again.
My two cents from a non-lawyer, non-taxi-driver Midwesterner.
From the NY Post:
“Islam said he called 911 after Lenhart swiped her credit card 20 times at Kennedy Airport, and Port Authority officers responded. Both passenger and driver said an officer told Lenhart she “had to give the driver some compensation” if she didn’t have the money for the fare, which the cabby recalls being about $49.”
[Totally the cabbie's fault. Totally. And I wonder why the officers wouldn't let her run into the airport and get cash - maybe it had something to do with her debit card not working. Then again, maybe they were just being unreasonable fascists.]
“Lenhart said she transferred money into her credit account hours before, but her bank didn’t process the transaction immediately. She said she paid for food with the card later that day.”
[Well, gosh. Banks are usually so on top of that sort of thing. And they never proceed with caution in money transfers for 20-year-olds who use credit cards to pay for everything. And 20-year-olds never lie to their parents - that ability disappears at the age of 18, like still being considered a minor.]
“TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said Islam has an excellent record of taking cards and received plastic payment for the fare right before Lenhart’s.”
[You know, I've heard of that crazy new virus that disables all credit card machines only if your balance is zero. Norton should totally get moving on that.]
Straight from the horses’ mouths.
Anyone want to make more wildly extrapolative comments?
@ Joe,
You “have said that 5 times, why didn’t little miss sunshine just run into the terminal, grab $60 off the atm and come back out”
Apparently you’re reading skills aren’t so great, as you seem to keep asking a question that is already answered. She offered to go to the ATM. She wanted to go to the ATM. The cabbie and the cops would not let her. She continues to offer to pay the fare in cash if the driver will return the stolen iPod.
So why do you keep repeating an irrelevant question that has already been answered?
Shaun,
You claim that the iPod was intended as collateral. It might have been nice if that is what happened, but it wasn’t. The police and cabbie would not let her go get cash, even with the iPod in hand. The iPod was demanded as payment and the cabbie drove off. She offered to come back with cash but they refused to allow it. Don’t try to imagine the situation was different than it was.
This version of the story quotes Miss Lenhart’s mother as saying she called the bank, and was told there was enough money on the card to pay the fare. Other versions of the same story quote Miss Lenhart herself as blaming the bank for being slow to transfer money to the credit line. This point is critical to assigning blame – which is it? And why the conflicting accounts from the same side?
She was lucky the driver accepted the I pod. The other option was getting arrested. Her card was no good. I would like to advise all cabbies not to accept any form of payment except cash or “good” cards. If they can’t pay then it is theft of services. Passengers can’t expect to say “your machine is broken so I don’t have to pay” and just walk off. If she couldn’t pay then the cabbie should have let the police arrest her. That is what I have done in the past. It is very simple, pay or go to jail. If there is a bad signal area then the transaction is stored and processed later. The machine stated the card had no money and was not a good card. For the machine to process that info it would have to be in a good signal area. Appears the card was over limit. The driver worked hard to get her to JFK and got no dough. Can’t pay rent with an i pod.
Here’s a thought. Have cash on you. Paying cash in nyc is part of taxi history. Cabbies did not want this gps/credit card crap in their vehicles.
I agree that taking the ipod was wrong but, one should always carry emergency cash for situations like this. Especially in big cities, i.e. NYC!
“My 20 year-old-daughter recently visited New York City by herself, and had a bad taxi experience that I am still furious about.”
So what? How does your daughter feel about it? You daughter got a non-violent lesson about being an adult and being responsible for her actions. Let her grow up.
As far as I know, – incase of signal problems – (for fares up to $25) the information is stored and relayed later and the passenger can walk with their receipts that does not show any approval codes. The credit processing service takes a chance with a couple of transactions that are under $25.
When the signal is good the machine relays those backed up information. At that point, whether or not the card is good – the driver is guaranteed for that fare that was under $25. However, the system can only store a few (3-4) transactions. So if the system is down for a long time then it cannot relay those backed up stored information and as a result any new transactions cannot be stored nor processed and thus they would then be rejected.
However, for fares $25 and up – it is a different story. The system must get an approval codes on spot and the driver is required to get a signature. The credit-processing center does not want to take any chance with bigger transactions. So the system contacts the credit card’s bank instantaneously to get approval codes. With the system down – the card can be rejected.
So, if the signal is bad or the system is down or the passenger’s card’s magnetic stripes are somehow unreadable by the card reader – then you can have such situation where the card is rejected. NOT to mention that the card could be bad as well (meaning over the limits, previous unresolved disputes etc.).
I have heard about situations where a passenger had disputed the fare for an earlier ride that is run by the same cab company or the same credit processing company and then she tried to use the same card in a different cab on a different day and got rejected. But she could use a different card. Maybe that company doesn’t want to go through the same passenger’s practice of disputes all over again so, they blacklisted that particular card!
I am not sure if they are really blacklisting such people or their credit card numbers once they have a problem with them but I think it is possible that they do keep some kind of record for chronic disputers.
As far as this incident is concerned –
1) The cab driver could have arranged to have her ipod shipped back as soon as he got paid.
2) The passenger could have requested to go to a bank and get money there (if her card was really good). There is a citibank inside the JFK airport area. There are atms inside the airport terminals, so the PA police could have escorted her to one of those machines to get cash.
3) There should be a manual way to do the transaction by calling some 800 number. I have seen some small businesses do that (businesses that sell stuff on the carts inside the mall). It that case the driver could have call the credit processing center and get his approval code manually through the phone. I am not sure why they don’t have that available!!!
Bottom line is – don’t jump into a cab without being able to avail a secondary method of payment – incase the credit machine doesn’t work properly.
This is neither the cab driver’s or the passenger’s fault. New York city cab driver’s have been basically extorted by installing this equipment into their cabs by Mayor Bloomberg. It was to make it more convenient for passengers to pay all the while to make taxi profits more visible to the New York city goverment.
The program is full of flaws and due to many talks with quite a few cab drivers, they always wind up getting the short end of the stick. Whether it be from people commiting fraud with stolen credit cards. Or the machine accepting the card and then people disputing charges which requires the cab driver to take time out of his day to get his money from the credit card services which charge an insane amount for doing nothing.
If you walk into the Gap and your credit card gets declined you can not walk out with the purchase. Well the same applies here. If you can not pay for your ride, why should that be the cab driver’s fault to suck up the loss?
“Bottom line is – don’t jump into a cab without being able to avail a secondary method of payment – incase the credit machine doesn’t work properly.”
“If you walk into the Gap and your credit card gets declined you can not walk out with the purchase. Well the same applies here. If you can not pay for your ride, why should that be the cab driver’s fault to suck up the loss?”
I walk into a restaurant, which has “We accept credit cards x,y,z” in the window and on the menus. I order, and eat. No word from the waiter about a “problem” with the credit card machine or whatever. The bill comes. I offer my credit card. Now the credit card machine is broken. Not that my card has been declined, but their machine is not working. What now, call the police if I don’t start coughing up the cash? That’s ridiculous. If you advertise that you take a type of credit card, then claim you cannot (through no fault of the customer) after I’ve consumed the product, that’s bait and switch. Perhaps not intentionally, but that’s what it is. The customer cannot return the meal, or the cab ride, as if it were a piece of merchandise. The resolution of course is to manually process the card, with the old style manual card device which mechanically takes an image of the card’s number and generates receipts for the customer and the merchant / restaurant. Why do cabbies not have these as a backup, especially if these problems with reading cards or communicating for card approval keep coming up? If the customer pays in cash in a case like this, he is doing the vendor / driver / restauranteer a favor – which is not required.
Several people have mentioned that the cabbies don’t want the credit card readers, that this has been imposed on them. Too bad, that’s between them and the city, or whoever is allegedly forcing this on them. It is not the customer’s responsibility. Also mentioned is that the cabby could end up with a card dispute, or stolen card used in the purchase, or some such. Again, this comes with the territory of accepting credit cards. Apparently, NYC cab regulations (per their website) do -not- say that the driver must be paid in cash if the card reader is not working (it’s an option, but not required), but instead suggests that the customer report the cab’s medallion number. That’s what I would do, get on my cell phone and report the cabbie for non-complicance with regulations in this situation. If the police show up and start to wrongly insist that I pay cash or whatever, then I request a supervisor – up the chain of command we go, right up to the police chief if necessary. I will not be taken advantage of in this way, and neither should anyone else. The cabbies just want cash – but I don’t care, and it’s not my problem. Not so long as there’s a Visa/MC sticker in the window.
Step one: Get to Penn Station
Step two: LIRR to Jamaica-frequent service, about 6 bucks
Step three: AirTrain to JFK-also frequent, about 5 bucks
All are pay in advance, so no problems at end of ride. Travel time can be as little as 40 minutes from Penn Station.
Using taxis outside of Manhattan (except to/from LGA) is foolish.
@Nathan and others suggesting manual credit card processing: I ate at a restaurant recently that did just this when their electronic card gadget didn’t work. There were three of us at the table who paid with plastic. The young waitress was so apologetic about the manual processing, and was explaining that her manager assured her (to pass on to us) that our transactions were being handled properly. We had to laugh as we explained that this manual processing used to be the only way to do it, and we were all quite familiar with the receipts with the hand-written amounts.
Almost if not all of the cabs here in Vancouver have credit card readers, but quite often I have to ask, when I get in, if they are functioning – as I have found out the hard way a couple of times. Each time I have told the cab driver that I want to pay with Credit Card and if that won’t work please let me know right now. Sometimes they insist on stopping at an ATM so you can get money – where they WILL leave the meter running – but most of the time they will reluctantly use the manual credit card forms. They can and will do this, so don’t let them tell you they can’t. Not one cab hasn’t been able to take my credit card manually when I insisted nicely.
I think it’s weird that the “port authorities” would have even “suggested” she leave the IPOD instead of going inside and hitting an ATM.
I kinda look at it like she was a young girl with a “new experience” and when a person in a uniform with a badge said “leave your IPod” (even though they are not “cops” they are still persons of authority)…she did. As quickly as everything probably took place…I can’t say I would have been at the top of my game when I was 20…experience has taught me to handle some of these things a lot better. But I would have been shaking in my boots.
I do concur that I would prefer to have cash available for the cab ride but…we really NEVER use cabs (at least not here in Texas). I wouldn’t have a CLUE how much a cab ride to the airport was. Usually when I travel anywhere I have a rental car…never been to New York. I know Washington DC was a completely different animal. My rental stayed parked at the hotel and I ended up using the Metro for everything. But I never got in a Taxi.
Now…a couple of weirds things to me…
#1 The whole bank and transfer the money thing. Credit cards don’t require you to have “X” amount of money in the bank…that’s why they’re CREDIT cards…they give you “credit” for the amount you need and you pay later. DEBIT cards may limit you to the amount you have in the bank.
#2 Leaving an “Chicken” (aka the IPod)to pay for services…as apparently “imposed” by the “port authority” as per the stories of both the girl and the taxi driver…WOW…that just seems to be TOTALLY out of line. I’d say the Port Authority should issue and apology to both the taxi driver and the girl…I’m guessing they just wanted them out of “traffic”. I believe she should have been escorted to the nearest ATM and asked to withdraw the money.
#3 Why was only a SINGLE “credit card” her only means of payment? What would have happened if she “lost” her card? Lesson #1 NEVER travel ANYWHERE with only a “single” credit card and absolutely no emergency funds.
Maybe she didn’t tip him ;~)
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