CREDIT CARD FIASCO

NO ROOM FOR LUDDITES

Credit cards are good for business - how could they not be?

The public like to use credit cards. And the banks love the public using credit cards.

So it would be silly to turn away business just because it is slightly more awkward than cash.

The public have been 'educated' into believing that a cashless society is the future.

The future for whom?

If we had a cashless society, there would be a charge on every single transaction. Meaning that the banks receive a percentage of everything you buy or sell, every time.

So who has been educating the public about this?

The banks of course.

And who would profit the most from a cashless society?

The banks would.

And who pays for the extra cost to goods?

The public will.

So far I have not made one transaction with a credit card, either as a consumer or retailer, which has been more efficient than cash.

I did have a fitted console in the back - and sometimes it could be a right pain, for both my passenger and me.

I now use a free handheld iZettle machine without a printer.

And to date, I have never been asked for a printed receipt.
Some of the finest restaurants in London use a handheld device.

I agree that all Taxi drivers should have a credit card facility.
This way, the travelling public will gain confidence in our service.
A TfL Compliance Officer can easily check if a driver has a card machine, in the very same way he checks if the driver is wearing his badge. He can ask to see it.

I object to paying for the privilege of giving someone credit.

If someone wishes to use a card, the financial onus should be upon them, surely?
I do not mind taking old fashioned cash or stopping at an ATM.

Another fascinating decision by TfL, was to refuse to cap the handling charge - leaving no protection for drivers, against unscrupulous bankers.

As a self employed, small businessman, I object to being told I have no choice in choosing who I may or may not afford credit.

Being self employed means I run my business my way. I work when I wish and accept credit cards when I wish.

I am regulated by Transport for London, not employed by them.

I object to being forced, under the threat of my Cab License being revoked or refused for renewal, to have a credit card machine fitted in the back of my cab.

A machine in the back of a cab leaves the driver open to physical and sexual abuse, or the accusation of either.

Do TfL not take the health and safety of Taxi drivers seriously?

A driver should not be put in the position of having to get into the back of a cab with the passenger, because the machine is faulty or the passenger is having trouble with it.

And what about the predator? The person who pretends they are experiencing difficulty with the machine, to lure a driver into the back of the cab.

When I earned my Green Badge, thirty years ago, I was told emphatically, under no circumstances must I get into the back of my cab with my passenger.

The nearest I could come into contact with the passenger was to aid them physically with cases, prams or wheelchairs; but not to get into the back with them.

I would be leaving myself open to all sorts of accusations.

Getting out of the driver's cab and into the back with a passenger, could lead to a driver having their money, keys, phone, cab, and even their life taken from them.

Transport for London obviously did not take the driver into account when drawing up their faulty mandate.

It seems that TfL never take the driver into account.

TfL's personal mandate is about money.

They have aided and abetted London into a choking standstill with their ill thought out schemes and their greedy profit-is-king attitude.

Do not believe for one second, that the credit card companies and credit card machine companies are not whispering in TfL's ear. They all have a vested interest in taking away our basic freedom of choice.

What does Helen Chapman know about driving a cab?

What experience has she with inebriated and irritated passengers in close proximity?

When was the last time Bob Oddy or Steve McNamara took a credit card job to Peckham or Harlesden?

All three have cocked up on this subject, through apathy and incompetence.

While they are sleeping cosy in their beds, Taxi drivers are working the mean streets of London.

Working Taxi drivers deserve to have their voice heard on all Taxi matters.

Chapman, Oddy and McNamara should hold their heads in shame, for signing off on a mandate which puts decent, hard working men and women in danger.

You should all resign, in disgrace.