economy
Paris taxi scam cost £493 but Monzo won’t help me
We were charged the wrong amount, but because the bank says we have no evidence it won’t do a chargeback
TL;DR
- A tourist was scammed out of €570 by a Paris taxi driver after a short journey.
- The driver altered the amount on the card reader while the passenger was making the payment.
- The traveler's bank, Monzo, refused to issue a chargeback due to a lack of evidence of the original agreed price.
- This scam exploits the fact that prices are not pre-agreed and receipts are not typically provided.
- Mastercard has recently updated its chargeback rules, stating that a bank statement alone can suffice as evidence unless the vendor provides proof of the correct charge.
- Monzo claims the chargeback would not have been successful without supporting evidence and advises customers to double-check amounts.
- The traveler is advised to escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, citing Mastercard's new rules.