Officials at Norway’s gateway airport at Gardermoen (OSL) have been posting warnings in baggage claim areas about taxi swindle. That didn’t help a woman who landed at OSL this summer, and ended up paying NOK 22,000 (USD 2,200) for a ride into downtown.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported her case last week, as an extreme example of how rogue taxi drivers can be ripping off unsuspecting passengers. In this case, a taxi driver approached the woman inside the arrivals hall and while she was standing at the automated kiosks where passengers can review taxi options and select an offer.
She allegedly agreed to his offer, but when the taxi arrived at her destination, her credit card was charged NOK 22,000 and she apparently approved the charge before making her own currency exchange calculations. It was unclear to which taxi central the driver was attached or whether her credit card company would nullify the charge because of any typing error on the driver’s part. She reported the incident to police but they lacked capacity to pursue the case.
Airport officials claim they are working hard to make sure passengers are offered a reasonable and safe taxi ride into town. Several taxi drivers are also upset over what the woman from abroad was subjected to, and fear it was not an error on her driver’s part but rather a swindle. “We unfortunately have seen a need to warn against such activity,” an airport official told DN.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
