[Anuj 6227]

What a shame, I reckon that India is pretty much the same from North to South & East to West, this is where we need to improve, just having big malls & MNC's won't get us parallel to the developed world.

[luvDriving]

Originally Posted by Zinda

Wish you come out of this soon! I am of a firm opinion that 3 wheelers must be COMPLETELY banned for 2 reasons -

Although it is not possible due to the nexus between various unions and politicians, I agree to the ban. I must confess that I am a long time and major anti-rickshaw person due to their driving habits, bullying tactics, refusing to ply based on their whim, asking for luggage charges / return charges / extra for drop inside lane or colony and all such demands plus there is no effect of any complaint against them and they are very well aware of it.

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Easier said than done. In a democracy such as India where these auto/rickshaw drivers are a big vote bank it would not be easy to ban them all together.

You sir have hit the nail on the head. This is exactly why many autos are actually owned by local police and politicos and hence protected by their might. Many rickshaw drivers actually have other sources of business and are driving rickshaws as a secondary income source.

To balance the view I must also state that I personally know some rickshaw drivers who are honest and straight. But these are far and few in between large hoards of rogues.

[megazoid]

Sorry to hear your ordeal. One of the things that should get one alerted is ithe presence of someone else in the auto. Usually, they have no business being there and that one thing should make you extra cautious, whatever be the reasons given for their presence. Refuse the ride or get down immediately if the person boards mid journey.

[gururajrv]

You’ve taken a sensible decision for your age. Very matured. Like most of them have already said it, money can be earned but life? You did the right thing and consider it a premium for escaping from a situation that could’ve turned ugly, my friend.

Now that you’ve the evidence;

1) You can file a complaint / report it to police.

2) Reconsidering the first option and letting it go because it ain’t worth the time / the effort because you might have to come down to Bangalore again to validate the details shared if it goes on file.

As for now, it’s good you’ve put this on the wider forum and this will be taken as a learning instead. This type of scam exists through the length & breadth of the country.

But, we do have sincere guys out there in auto fleet. They are unsung heroes and will not be much spoken about. I’ve come across a bunch like them. Don’t lose faith but keep yourself appraised of such people wherever you go.

Regards

RV

[khanmaj]

Hi sibi6613, sorry to hear this unfortunate incident. I appreciate that you did not get involve into any argument with those thugs. You should have twitted/reported this incident to the Bangalore police, not reporting their scam may encourage them indirectly. I avoid taking Auto rickshaw in Delhi as long as I can. Most of them will refuse to give you a ride and if any ‘autowala’ agrees to take you by chance, he will quote a fare which you would refuse. Be careful next time and try to keep change for Auto rickshaw fair.

[rahulcmoulee]

These days if I don't get an auto or a cab through Ola or Uber, I just take a BMTC bus to a place close to my destination from where I can walk. They are reliable and won't cheat you. With the new MyBMTC app, you can even track when the next bus will come to your stop. They run pretty late in the night too.

[GladRagu]

Originally Posted by sibi6613

Thank you all for your inputs.

I am going to report it via twitter and see what happens.

Out of the hundred or so complaints on Twitter per day, they'll take action only for a couple or so and I hope your compliant gets the attention of some IPS so that action is imminent.
Bangalore traffic police dept- Short staffed and poor management.

[Tucker48]

Forgive my ignorance but why did you give rs500 when you had 2 rs100 notes.
Alright, the first time you gave him rs500 and he said it's rs100 and second time you gave him another rs500 and again he said it's rs100, then why did you give him another 2 rs100 notes as they already got rs200 by their own admission.

[dragracer567]

Sorry to hear about your terrible experience. But you acted maturely and gave high regard to your safety which is the most important thing. Experiences like this makes us more shrewd and this is how we learn how the world works.

I still remember how I was scammed by a radio taxi driver back in 2014 when took one from Noida sector 44 to the Airport (T3). The driver stopped the meter on the way at around 750 rs saying that the meter doesn't work after 750 rs and gullible me believed him (I was just 18 then), he said he will calculate the remaining fare based on the distance traveled as indicated by the car's odometer and I agreed to that as well. By the time we reached the airport I was already quite late for an international flight and the driver calculated the amount to be 2100 rs while normally it costs around 950 rs to 1100 rs at that time. He also took another 200 rs for 'khana'. I had no time to argue as I had the risk of losing my flight, so paid him a total of 2300 rs. I offcourse complained to the cab company from the departure gate when I had some time and thankfully, I had the driver's name and the number plate of the cab since these were sent to me as a text message. The cab company immediately apologized and initially said that the driver will come to me personally to refund the money. Since I was quite scared to meet the driver again, I refused and the cab company issued me a cheque instead for 1100 rs to cover the extra cost that the driver fleeced from me.

Another time was with a Uber driver in 2015 (when I first used Uber), we had used the DND flyway and the driver claimed the toll has to be paid separately but when I checked the bill later it was already included. Again I immediately complained to Uber and it was refunded to me (this was a very small amount, around 50 rs).

Please note that in both these cases, I was scammed by drivers of established companies. So, it's important that you don't let your guard down even if you use Uber/Ola.

[centaur]

I have heard similar cases from others and invariably the one common thing I have always noticed is that, there is always another accomplice with the driver in such con cases. Its a case of one against 2 and the 2 will always have an upper hand in terms of mounting pressure on a single guy. So never enter cabs/autos if there is anyone else apart from the driver in it. I always make sure to do so and request friends and family also to follow this.

Yes another member might get into the vehicle later after you have been picked up but then too you can ask to get down immediately if that guy would continue to ride in your vehicle.

Originally Posted by vharihar

Mumbai/Thane autorickshaws are the best (and I think Pune too). Their fares are extremely reasonable/low They never cheat in the routing, and return change to the last penny.

Mumbai/Thane - yes, Pune - no.
In Pune there are similar tricks followed. Fare quoted even in the broad daylight, is way higher than actual. Change is almost never returned. Infact they pocket anything upto 5-7 bucks at times citing a lack of change. You literally need to argue with them for the balance. Having said that, there are few good people in Pune as well who actually return the change, have correct meters and charge by the meter too but compared to Mumbai/Thane, the other lot is more

[AJITHAAA]

The only solution in India unfortunately is to learn the local language, might not be practical to learn the thousands we have but at least the ones spoken in the major cities. Not knowing the language plays a major role and is an advantage for these rogues. Its the same with driving with out of state number plates, you are a target easily even if it is not your fault.

[sibi6613]

Hi all!

I honestly didn't expect the thread to go for more than a page. Huge thanks to all the love and support. If not for you guys, I wouldn't even have thought about posting the situation on twitter.

I have to say, I felt kind of relieved after going through all these incidents shared by fellow BHPians. I felt so stupid and was really hard on myself after the incident happened. Reading other similar stories made me feel better and that I wasn't alone.

A quick update on the situation: Bengaluru police replied to my tweet and had asked me to contact a couple of numbers to register a complaint using IVRS. I tried contacting both the numbers provided and no one picked up. I'm not sure if it has to be picked up if the complaint process is through IVRS. Either way, the call got disconnected automatically. On updating this to the police's tweet, got back nothing.

Originally Posted by G-One

Multiple mediums for making complaints

The Bangalore Traffic Police has instituted a number of methods in which complaints can be made against errant auto drivers who overcharge or refuse hire.

I am going to try registering complaints using the other channels as suggested by G-One.

[lazybrain]

Sorry to know your ordeal. But i am not surprised knowing the behavior of auto guys in Bangalore. Have burned fingers many times in the past. So now i either take Ola/Uber auto or when i take a local auto when ola/uber is not available, i do not get in to meter business. I bargain a fixed rate and if its acceptable to me i take the ride.