Taxi driver & Cabcharge collude to defraud passengers. Do not ride in TCS taxi 7649 or 2649.
On the morning of 28 Oct 2004 approximately at 9 to 9.30 am I journeyed by Taxi from Potts Point to North Sydney. I paid by credit card (VISA) using the form supplied by cabcharge that drivers carry. When I saw my statement the next month the amount was for $77. I disputed the transaction with my bank. The bank determined that my 'A receipt bearing an imprint from your credit card with your signature' was enough to refuse the disputation. However the attached receipt clearly shows the destination altered from 'N. Sydney' to 'W. Sydney Airp(obscured)' a desination that does not exist. The amount is clearly altered from 'Sixteen' to 'Sixteenine' dollars, the added numbers not being my handwirting, the numeral '1' changed to a dollar sign and a '9' added to the amount, to change the amount from $16.85 to $69.85.
Clearly this is fraud on the part of the driver, and colluded to by both Cabcharge, and my bank as they did not check the receipt for such obvious forgery. I have the car number and the driver's last name and ABN on the copy of the receipt given to me by the bank. the last name written is Chang or Chong or similar starting with Ch and the ABN is 12731485642, taxi number 7649 or 2649. The co-operative written is 'TCS' - Taxi Combined Services.
Re: This ABN 12731485642. A search on the ABR database shows this ABN to be invalid. Therefore Cabcharge is colluding in Taxation Fraud as this check is easily performed before making any payment, as well as general fraud against the taxi using public. This information highlights a major business colluding with fraudulent taxi drivers on many different levels in complete breach of their legal and moral obligations.
Cabcharge should be investigated by the ATO for collusion in serious tax fraud as they must process these receipts knowing the payee is not in possession of a valid ABN. Furthermore the minister should rule illegal the use of such paper receipts as they allow this type of fraud to occur more easily.