Free Now Surge Fees Causing Uprage and Outroar?

[silverbullet]

I was charged 65 Swiss Francs for a 10 minute day time trip to the airport in November 2021, 2 passengers. hailed on street. That walls guy should avoid Switzerland taxis at all costs. I actually thought at the time the driver must have ripped us off but I looked up the fare later and it was the correct fare, its just everything costs a lot over there, except cigarettes, that was the only thing I saw cheaper over there, I think 8 swiss francs for 1 pack.

Interlaken

Nice place?

Loved it. Lake Thun tour one day, then Lake Brienz the next. Up to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and Moriarty were killed off.

[watty]

Loved it. Lake Thun tour one day, then Lake Brienz the next. Up to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and Moriarty were killed off.

Did your wife make it back? 

[Octavia1]

Loved it. Lake Thun tour one day, then Lake Brienz the next. Up to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and Moriarty were killed off.

Did your wife make it back? 

An  Ken sayin I've loads of money an I havnt had a holiday since me honeymoon ... an even that was hard work ....
 

[silverbullet]

Loved it. Lake Thun tour one day, then Lake Brienz the next. Up to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and Moriarty were killed off.

Did your wife make it back? 

A big fan of Sherlock.

[Rat Catcher]

That's a bit of a twist, Ken. Did you contact Free Now directly to find out and, if so, were there no GDPR restrictions on what they could tell you... or, if not, where did you get the alleged solution?

In any event, it seems to somewhat contradict what Free Now told the client i.e. that he was charged for a Premium Service in error.

Did you hire the Swiss taxi from Free Now, T1990, and if so, did the fare include a fee for Premium Services and if so, how much was attributable to said Premium Services? In Steve's case he found that normal fare was c.35 with the additional €40 being attributed by Free Now to Premium Services. Did you consider yourself as lacking class for checking the fare or is it even possible for the working class to lack class?

[taxi1990]

That's a bit of a twist, Ken. Did you contact Free Now directly to find out and, if so, were there no GDPR restrictions on what they could tell you... or, if not, where did you get the alleged solution?

In any event, it seems to somewhat contradict what Free Now told the client i.e. that he was charged for a Premium Service in error.

Did you hire the Swiss taxi from Free Now, T1990, and if so, did the fare include a fee for Premium Services and if so, how much was attributable to said Premium Services? In Steve's case he found that normal fare was c.35 with the additional €40 being attributed by Free Now to Premium Services. Did you consider yourself as lacking class for checking the fare or is it even possible for the working class to lack class?

I have never used a taxi app in my life to be honest. The taxi was parked and we asked him to drop us to the airport. One thing I didnt do was go running to twitter looking for sympathy. Never knew I was working class. 

[Rat Catcher]

Would you have done anything if you discovered you had been charged €75 for a €35 fare?

You drive a cab for a living!

[taxi1990]

Would you have done anything if you discovered you had been charged €75 for a €35 fare?

You drive a cab for a living!

I originally thought he was just surprised by the fare, obviously I would have done something but not go to twitter or social media.

oh well, that is ok, it doesn't bother me. id say im more middle class myself but put me in the working class box if you like.   

[Rat Catcher]

I wouldn't consider driving a cab to be a middle class occupation but I think I recall you suggesting it's just a stop gap for you some time ago. Were you studying with a view to obtaining a middle class professional qualification or did you have some other investment in mind? My memory ain't getting any better!

[taxi1990]

I wouldn't consider driving a cab to be a middle class occupation but I think I recall you suggesting it's just a stop gap for you some time ago. Were you studying with a view to obtaining a middle class professional qualification or did you have some other investment in mind? My memory ain't getting any better!

I don't think your occupation should define your class, if Leo Varadkar suddenly decided to drive a taxi for a living, does he then become working class?

I grew up in a middle class family, I am college educated levels 7,8 and 9 but have no interest in working in the fields I studied. I have investments and the taxi industry has been good to me. I plan to work in other self employed careers. I like this industry but dont want all my eggs in the taxi basket.

[Rat Catcher]

Working class suggests one who works for a living as most of us cab drivers certainly do. I guess there'll always be some who could live off their family estate and just drive the cab for something to do without taxing themselves to any significant degree.

[watty]

The current UK Conservative leader is very wealthy and highly educated but she claims she's working-class because she had a job in McDonalds one summer     

In Ireland, the minimum wage recently rose to €13.50 so how close are we to that number after taking our expenses into account?  The Govt even fell foul of the new minimum wage law because the 'home help's' that come into this country are paid less than that by law.






https://unitetheunionireland.org/2025/01/09/government-decision-leaves-most-migrant-care-assistants-below-minimum-wage/

Unite has slammed a decision which will see most migrant health care assistants (HCAs) on general employment permits fall below the new national minimum wage which came into effect on 1 January. 

Migrant health care assistants on existing contracts will not benefit from the new government-mandated minimum annual remuneration of €30,000, which also took effect on 1 January but will only apply to those on new contracts. Workers on existing contracts will remain on a salary of just €27,000 – which is also below the threshold for family reunification.

The increase in the government-mandated salary was originally due to take effect in January 2024 but was postponed a year following lobbying by employer groups. Even the €30,000 rate for new health care assistant recruits is still below the current non-European employment permit scheme standard minimum salary of €34,000.

[Rat Catcher]

Sir Kier Starmer's daddy was a toolmaker and his mummy was a nurse yet he became middle class, rising to the rank of DPP in his chosen profession before becomming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. If folk can rise through the class system it stands to reason that others will fall through it, I guess.

[watty]

I got it!

You're working class if you shop in Pennys, middle class (trade qual) if you shop in Dunnes and upper middle class (Uni qual) if you shop in M&S?

[Rat Catcher]

I wouldn't consider tradesmen middle class. I suppose it's a socio-economic thing, at least in general terms with the "socio" element being important to exclude tradesmen who might earn 6 figure incomes solely through working from being regarded as middle class, at least by the middle class!

Politicians tend to like expanding the middle class so it may well be appropriate to ignore the socio element of socio-economic and define anyone with an income in excess of twice or three times the average industrial wage as middle class?