Nguyen Truong Giang, a driver from the Da Nang-based Hai Van Taxi Company has been ordered to repay a female South Korean passenger the money he overcharged her last Friday.

The meeting on the overcharging in progress

At around 10.00pm on that day, the foreigner took Giang’s taxi from the Da Nang International Airport to An Thuong No 26 Street in Son Tra District’s My An Ward, a distance of only 6 kilometers.  However, the South Korean passenger was asked to pay 700,000 VND for the ride, although she argued that the taxi-meter was not operating correctly. 

Having received a report on the overcharging, representatives from the municipal Department of Transport and other relevant local agencies jointly held a meeting to conduct an investigation into the case.

The investigation showed that, based on the taxi-meter, the actual fare for the ride was only over 50,000 VND, plus 10,000 VND as a compulsory fee when getting a ride to/from the airport.

Yesterday, the leaders of the Hai Van Taxi Company directly met with the foreign passenger and apologised to her for the overcharging, as well as returned the overcharged amount to her.  In addition, this transport company pledged to assign a taxi driver who can speak the South Korean language fluently to serve this foreigner during her next rides.  Also, all the fares for her rides during the rest of her stay in the city will be covered by the company.  In reply, the foreigner felt comfortable accepting the apology and offerings from the company. 

For his offense, Giang has been sacked by the company, and he has been also given a fine of 2 million VND in accordance with the national laws.  He admitted his guilt, and said that he would meet the passenger to apologise to her.