Police Make You Give Your iPod To A Cab Driver As Payment
We're not like, positive or anything, but we doubt there's a law that says you have to give your iPod to a cab driver if your credit card is declined. The New York Post says that a woman was forced, by JFK Airport Police, to hand over her iPod or be "taken downtown."
Natalie Lenhart, of Sacramento, Calif., said the $140 music player, full of "oldies" by The Beatles and James Taylor, was valued at more than $90 more than the final cab fare, with tip, that she racked up last month.
The driver, Mohammed Islam, said he still has the iPod and wants to give it back in the presence of a Taxi and Limousine Commission official.
"What am I going to do with the iPod? There's no ear phones!" said Islam, who has been driving for three years.
Um, ok. Anyway, the police say there's no evidence of any wrong doing on the part of anyone, but they will investigate the incident. The taxi driver says he doesn't want an iPod, he just wants his fare.
How weird.
MUSIC 'FARE' WAS UNFAIR FOR RIDER [NYP]
(Photo:afagen)
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Comments:
earphones....1.00 at the dollar store. Sheesh.
This is just so weird, I can't believe it. But I love that the driver didn't think to ask the passenger for her headphones. Who carries an iPod without headphones? She had to have had them.
But in defense of the driver, he doesn't come off as a jerk (much). But I like that his chief complaint (despite saying he doesn't want an iPod) is that he can't use the iPod because he doesn't have headphones.
Look at it this way, the police's duty was to arrest her for theft of payment. They gave her the option to offer the cab driver something else of value in exchange. She could still decline and accept the consequences of non payment.
The RIAA should sue him for illegally listening to those songs.
James Taylor sounds better without headphones.
If driver wants to give it back, and woman has the money for the fare now, soemthing should be able to be worked out.
Losing the iPod beats missing a flight.
@pecan pi:
You want someone else's used earbuds? I wouldn't, no matter how trendy, white and ipod-ey they are.
This is a silly story.
I just purchased an 8 pack of Duracells yesterday. Free in the blister pack? One pair of ear buds. I'm sure they're crap, but come on man.
Sounds like the iPod was just collateral. She can get it back when she pays her fare. Simple enough.
And she hasn't yet sent him a check for the amount due...why?
Why didn't she just pay cash? How does one leave the house to take a flight and not have $50? If she is so card-centric why didn't she call the 800 number on the back of the card and see if she could get a charge approved by the agent on the phone? I don't like the way she was treated by the police but COME ON!
This is a bit different than the original story. Allegedly, the card wasn't declined. The cabs card machine broke. Also, the original story indicated the cabbie demanded the iPod, not a police officer. I'm curious as to the actual events that took place.
@prag:
And even if she didn't have cash on her, was there not an ATM somewhere at the airport where she could have run in and gotten the cash, and then gotten her iPod back?
@edebaby: most likely because the police made her give him the ipod instead of going with the rational solution of having him copy down her address and information so he could SEND her a bill.
@JGKojak: He didn't listen to them- he had no earphones. The RIAA should sue Natalie, the girl, for illegally distributing the music.
I heard a report on the radio (WWJ-Detroit) a little while ago that said James Taylor is going to give her another iPod full of his music.
I'm a little concerned about the precedent. If someone can't pay, it's now ok to take something from them? What happened to checking ability to pay before the services?
Does this mean that if I can't pay comcast, a big guy is going to show up at my door, and take my stereo?
@plyhard13: I thought I'd read that the woman had called her credit card company and they said it was all ok- but that the cabbie's credit card machine was "down" and he refused to call to have the credit card approved.
IMO, if his card machine was down- he'd have to know this. He shouldn't be picking up fares without letting them know he can only take cash (which I believe is not legal in NYC anyway, cabs have to take cc & cash).
Yeah, but from what I've read, the original story is inaccurate (it's her version), and this version is straightening out the inaccuracies (machine was fine, but card didn't work , police demanded iPod not cabbie, etc).
@ThinkerTDM: This isn't completely unprecedented. In many states there's a provision of landlord-tenant law which says that if the tenant is a certain number of days overdue on a rent payment, the landlord may enter the apartment and take items belonging to the tenant in order to sell them for the rent payment.
Granted, this is a very different situation from a landlord-tenant relationship, but taking someone's stuff when they can't pay you a debt isn't so outrageous as you might think.
"Lady, where'd you catch this cab, Yokohama?"
I know first hand cabbies are dicks when the credit card machine is down. I didn't have cash, so I used my card..system was down. I told him I would go get cash out of an ATM, but he was like "No, no, just pay"...I was like "What??? I'm trying to pay. I just need to goto the ATM." "No, you just pay". Luckily I was with a friend who had cash, just barely enough, with no tip. The cabbie took that and left.
I have the same reaction here. Not just at the fact that the police did this (which nothing a police officer does shocks me anymore)...but that the cab driver didn't even WANT the iPod!
So the police screwd the customer, as well as screwed the driver out of his fare by giving something that he has no use for.
I am wondering if hookers will now accept Ipods instead of cash.
@JGKojak: Actually, the cab driver SHOULD be arrested for theft. The police forced her to hand over the physical iPod. But, in doing so, he also stole (what I assume are) legitimate song purchases.
What would be better is if the cab Credit card machines could do a pre-auth before even starting out, if the passenger's card won't pre-auth then the driver can go find another fare or the passenger can offer cash. It could avoid alot of problems.
So what is the normal procedure if someone cannot pay? Can a person actually be arrested? Or does the cabbie have to bill them?
Plus I hope she doesn't tip the guy.
The cabbie should lose the $50. How many "scenic tours" has he given to tourists who didn't know the area? I'm sure he made more than $50 in the past ripping off tourists.
I had a cabbie try to scam me the other day. I was on my way home and I missed the last bus to my development. I only had a credit card on me and the cabbie said he would give me a ride for $10. When I paid him at the end, he swiped my card onto a carbon paper slip, but refused to write the $10 amount on the slip before I signed. He was getting really mad and I have no doubts that he wanted me to sign first so he can write something like $25. So, I wrote $1.00 in the box with no amount and signed it. Surprisingly, my credit card bill came with a $1.00 charge two weeks later.
@pecan pi:
Who carries an iPod without headphones?I carry my iPod Touch around everywhere I go, and rarely have earphones. I use it mostly as a PDA with WiFi.
This is such a non-story.
The fault was with the credit card and she had no other way to pay. She had no back-up plan and the police confirmed that it was her card at fault, not the driver's machine. The driver is happy to get his fare in exchange for giving the iPod back.
This isn't a precedence, he took it as collateral. Considering that the fare represents a good chunk of the cabbie's daily take, I would have done the same thing. I ride in NYC taxis regularly and find most of the drivers friendly and honest, individuals.
So what's the problem?
@Pink Puppet: The cop saved the woman a trip to jail (defrauding an innkeeper), a missed flight, court appearances and legal fees. The taxi driver will likely end up getting his fare one way (she returns) or another (pawn ticket).
The cop is empowered to keep the peace. He did his job with minimal damage. Now the woman just needs to pay her fare and a tip to get her iPod back.
So, what are you saying? The woman should go to jail? The cab driver should accept her iou on faith?
@thrid001: I only read what was on the consumerist but it says her credit card was declined. That means she attempted to pay for it and presumably believed she in fact DID have the money to pay for it. There are reasonable ways to deal with this type of situation that dont involve forced bartering.
@JumpingJehosaphat: Someone claiming to be her in the comments of the story is insisting it was the reader because she was able to use the card after leaving the cab.
I don't know. Either way it seems weird that the cop wouldn't just make/let her do a cash advance with the credit card.
the police confirmed that it was her card at fault, not the driver's machine
@meechybee: How? Did the cop try using his own credit card or did they let her try her card at an ATM?
Anyone else think this is satire that has become twisted. I mean come on, the cabbie's name is "Mohammed Islam" and I don't think not having headphones is a valid excuse to not want and ipod. I call shenanigans!
@Rectilinear Propagation: Honest question, not snark, BTW. Someone claiming to be her in the comments is still insisting it was the card reader.
@JGKojak: He didn't listen. However, I think the RIAA wants to get him because the songs were "made available" for listening.
@ForrestWhitakersLazyEye: I've had way too many experiences with a cabs credit card machine being "down" and not having any cash on me or not wanting to use cash for my fare while living in Chicago. If their machines don't work, they can call their dispatch center to run the card for them. If THEIR system is down as well, then you ride for free since they can't accept a required method of payment and the service has already been rendered. If they give you a hard time and insist that they take you to an ATM for cash, tell them to fuck off, call 311 with their ID number, and filing a formal complaint will generally get them to back off. It also has the magical ability to suddenly make their credit card system start working again. Imagine that!
A tip for travelers - don't put your luggage in the trunk if possible. You're at the mercy of the driver if you need to get out of the cab quickly and still have your luggage.
...what?
No, really, I want to add something constructive to this. But. What?