A few weeks ago, I brought a friend 'J' to CP and we spent 2 nights there. He had the time of his life. He tried Sauna, KTV and even BBS. I have warned and prepared him mentally about the safety issues in China. I returned to HKG and we parted ways. He has to remain in SZ and this was what happened to him. And he wrote,,,,,,,,,,,

"QUOTE"

Warning - "Black" taxis in China

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought I'd share my bad experience with everyone to create awareness.

I've always heard of people talking about 'black' taxis and how they cheat you of your RMB$100 bills. Some friends have also taught me what to do before handing over your RMB$100 bill to the taxi driver. The trick is to remember the serial number on the notes. But what if you have >5 notes? Can you remember them all? What if you're in a dangerous situation and you start to panic? Can you still remember them?

This is what happened to me....

I was in Shenzhen at about 7pm and it was already dark. I was rushing for time as I had to meet someone at a hotel in half an hour. My initial idea was to go to the basement and join the taxi queue. When I arrived at the taxi queue, there were heaps of people waiting to take a cab. Then came some random dude who asked me where I was going. I told him the name of the hotel and he quoted me a price. I then bargained with him to cut it down to RMB$30. As I was rushing to get to the place I stupidly agreed to take his transport. We had to walk quite a fair distance and across an underpass before his transport came. The car had very dark tinted windows and was black. He then ushered me to the backseat and he sat at the front. At that point I felt something was fishy but was too late.

During the journey, they tried to make me feel comfortable by chatting with me about everything. Halfway into the journey they stopped along a busy motorway and the driver said his friend had to go off 1st, and asked me for payment early. I then passed him RMB$100. He looked at it and fiddled with it for a while and later on said that it might be a fake note. He told me to give him another note in exchange. That sequence occured until I had no more RMB$100 notes (I had 5 in total) to exchange with him. He then asked if I can pass him 2 notes for comparison. He did this a few times as well. In the midst of all the squabbling I sensed something was definitely fishy but was more concerned about my own safety and my belongings. I then told him to let me off if I can't pay him. They then let me off IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTORWAY. I had to walk a fair distance before I could get to the exit of the motorway to hail a cab. When I got to the airport, they checked the notes and all 5 of them were fake.

In summary, no matter the circumstance, never take these taxis/private cars in china that are not licensed.
I'm glad that I only lost RMB$500 and nothing more. If you can and know how to, always check your money for counterfeit notes. I heard there are fake RMB$20, $100, and even $1 coins running around.

Hope this helps!

"UNQUOTE"

I have been telling friends time and again to be alert all the time. One of my warnings was not to take illegal taxi unless you know the driver. Anyway, I hope this event will be a reminder that you have to be very careful and alert when in China for pleasure or business. Especially during this time of the year as it is 2 weeks away from Chinese (Lunar) New Year.

Sorry I got lost.

Are you saying, he passed a 100 first and switched it. Then 4 other 100 notes, that got switched. Then your friend passed two 100 notes to compare. When did they switch the notes ? It's hard to do it five times.

After the thug said all his money is fake, how did he pay for his ride ?

EDIT for wording and grammer

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 31-1-2010 13:37 ]

yeap, had that happened to me as well!! Similar to your story but I did a totally different thing:
I was in SZ in 2007, my first trip there and so I didn't know any better lot alone how dangerous China was. I got over the border and went down to the basement to queue up for the taxis like you do. Then one dude came over to me, dont remember if the taxi was black or what but it definitely wasn't a licensed taxi. Anyways, asked me where I was going and told him. Got in the cab and started driving. The guy was chit chatting with me, asked me where I was and what i was doing here, blah blah blah. So as we were driving, I notice my hotel. This was only 5 minutes into our drive mind you. The hotel was literally right outside the train station. Anyways, I didn't know the place so I thought he couldnt' have made the right turn to drop me off and so he kept on driving for about 5 more minutes and he went over an overpass. Right after he went over the overpass, he said there was going to be a bridge toll of $100RMB. At that point I was pissed off and knew I had been taken for a ride. I said "you didnt' even  pay anything to cross the overpass", they said it was the rule. So after they finally got to the hotel, I was arguing with them and told them "I'm not paying you the $100 extra but in the end, I ended up paying otherwise they wouldnt let me off" So after I got out the door, a car came screeching up "BAMMM" hits them on the side door right in the middle of the street. That's what you call karma.... I walked right into the hotel and thought to myself "Fucking assholes deserved it"

That's the point, they didn't expect payment, it was a straight up scam.  If they had asked for the 30, that would have been pushing too far? LOL... This is why I never use 100's in China unless I know 100% it's safe to exchange or use, always packed with small bills.  A bit inconvenient? Yes, but much easier to deal with.  I always have 3 stashes of money, one that is for small stuff (cigarettes, drinks, street food), one is for medium (girls, restaurants, shopping) and my large stash is hidden in an inside sewn pocket usually all 100s or 50s that I use to replenish my medium stash.  China is one fucking dangerous place if you don't know what you are doing.  

Here's another one, a guy and girl are walking around with a guitar, singing and playing guitar.  They walk around China, restaurants, outside restaurants etc... and ask for food.  NEVER offer them food because they may say that they are poisoned or that the food made them sick and you have to pay for this and that.  I was in GuangZhou once and it happened to the table next to us, what they didn't know was that the table were all off duty military.  One of their comrades came by and stuck a gun into their faces, the guy literally peed in his pants, we got out of there ASAP.

There are rumors China is coming out with 1000 and 500 RMB note. I think the gov't is worried about inflation when the notes do come out. I wonder what will happen then. I see getting fake 1000/500 notes from ATM is next.


I think most of us have been taken a few times by a cab drivers taking a longer route. I certainly have a few times.

ive been in a similar situation. but the transport was "busted down" and the guy tried to blame this fake mecanic problem to my choice of road (he asked me which road i wanted to stay on till destination)
then i called my friend that was nearby (hes kind of buff) and then talked the the taxi driver for a while.. i didnt even have to pay the fare. LOL
btw we didnt threaten him .. we just told him we can call the cops and the mecanics then he just said nvm
those guys do anything for money

You should always take the rego number of the car u hop into for safety, u can prolly even report this to the police.

my experience in sz was that nothing like this has happened to me with black taxi's. but the ones we took were always just waiting around at the street in front of our flat. we saw them everyday so got to know them and be familiar with them. so, taking these ones were safe. however, when we took our first taxi back from the train station in lo wu, we took a legit cab.

in response to your post, in shanghai we noticed we were taken for a ride a couple times by licensed taxis. they would take us to our hotel, but before getting there they would act lost, drive slower, and do a couple rounds around the side streets before ending up at our hotel. this happened at least 3 times with 3 different cabbies. each time it wasnt much more than if they had just dropped us straight off, maybe like 5-10rmb, but it shows all the stunts they are willing to pull for that extra bit.

wow... your friend should be happy it was just the money he was lost... 500rmb.. its not a huge amount... i would rather lose 500rmb instead of risking my life...

when i was still a kiddo around 21, it was my first time in SZ, i was with some friends, we needed to go to some place in SZ (forgot the name) it was quite a long ride, and the uncle of my friend said to us.. dont let the taxidriver stop anywhere.. dont let him stop, what kind of excuse he has.. he must drive all the way without stopping..  the uncle couldnt drive with us cuz he had something to take care of... he wrote down the licence number  and even got the driver's phonenumber...
5 kiddos around 20ish taking this long taxiride... suddenly we enter this dark (not much light in the streets) neighbourhood with LOTS of garages... driver siad he needed to fill up his wheels with air at the garage.. we were scared as shit.. and we were treating the driver: u dont fucking stop!! we had a deal, no stops!! we had a big guy at shotgun so he could take care of the driver when things were fishyy   and it was starting to get fishy... but luckily we scold the shit out of them and he didnt stop... but it was sure scary!


i never, never take those black taxis, cause they are so sneaky... and its quite dangerous... u might land op on the wrong one and u might be robbed etc etc....  but what i fear most is that they steal my kidney! maybe im overarreacting... but i will always be super carefull when im in china...  just dont trust those dudes! even when im chinese too!

How did the taxi driver swtich the notes?


But let it be warning, never take those private taxi.
Walk away!!! Street smart and common sense.

they got quick-ass hands and fingers. they'll do the switch right in front of your eyes without you even knowing. It's like they know magic!!! serioiusly. They are very sneaky.

Hi Hunter; Bro VG said it, these crooks have very fast hands/fingers. I think they are probably pickpockets before. Similarly, in CP, outside the Miraton Hotel, there is one guy selling fake iPhone for about RMB400.00

He will show you the real thing to bait potential suckers. When the money has changed hands, he will change the real phones with the fake ones. All you get is the exterior of the iPhone, an empty case. I know 2 friends who have bought from and were cheated by him. When I met him, I offered him RMB100.00 to show me the trick but he just smiled and walked away.

Weelock;

Bro Sexpert has said it for me. The crooks do not expect the payment of the agreed sum of RMB30.00 in the first place, all they want is to scam you out of your cash.

You must understand, my friend 'J' was in a very bad and compromising situation. He was in their car, middle of the motorway, it was 2 Bad Guys against him. And knowing him, such a young and small built person (1.52M and 50.00 KGS 27 years old boy) I am sure he panic and feared for his life. What would you do in such circumstances? By the way, this was his first time alone in China.

Furthermore, his belongings are in the car which included a laptop, some valuables and a new suit. One more thing I would like to add, his hands are the most valuable asset to him right then as he is a Dentist.

Let me ask you again, what would you do in such a situation?

Threaten them with a root canal!

Yes, it could have been worst. They could have taken everything from him and left him naked. In my opinion, most thugs in China don't want to kill  anyone. They just want your money.  Most criminal know it's the death penalty to kill a foreigner. Best thing if they are in control do what they ask. Find out what do they want.

I would have try to see if the door was opened and get out. Even in the middle of motorway. It's better than knowing what might happen later. It seems like it wasn't possible.

If I am alone, when I get in a taxi anywhere in the world,  I usually don't socialize and talk with the drive. I say as little as possible. Sometimes they want to see where you are from and see if they can cheat you. Like how familiar you are with the city and are you a tourist.  

In most taxis in China,  passengers can not open any of the doors. All four doors are controlled by the taxi driver. It's for taxi driver's security if there are a few guys trying to rob him and with passengers for non payment.

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 1-2-2010 14:27 ]

I thank you all for the responds. I created this thread to promote awareness of safety issues in China especially pre-CNY. Please remember to take extra precaution and be alert all the time. Once you let your guard down, you will suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, a friend of my has suffered a little lost.

And by the way - the action in China is thinning out real fast.  Went to Manhattan last night and there was only 1 floor flower street of gals - and mostly fuglies.

The BBS's are aslo pretty pitiful - at approx 3:30 - 4:30 pm today, a Sunday when they should be well stocked wating for last-minute screws before going home, the Jun Hui had more mommies than gals, Baby's shop and the upstairs one had less than 10@, the Yalan ones worse, with Rainbow's place only with 2 - TWO... can you believe ANY CP BBS's only having 2 gals ??!!

And a friend of mine came up from Shenzhen complaining that he was practically forced to go up to CP as he couldn't find ANY gals in SZ!!  And of course Zhuhai now is a desert.

So, besides more "danger' towards CNY, there is a lot less "action" up there.

So unless you've got "sure thing regulars" - perhaps NOT worth it to go up just now.

Just IMHO

SEAJ

Reluctantly, REALLY reluctantly, I have to agree with you once again. I have called my regular contacts and mommies. Even May Flower KTV which boost hundreds of WG's are complaining shortage of WG's. The mommies working are not as desperate and tence as usual as they know there are more demands than supplies.

I come to realize that you don't have many friends. You really have to find new friends, not that you will, but you should try. You are a hijacker of threads, always talking and mumbling about different subjects. Can't you find somewhere to talk about things connected to the main subject? Only my POV! I am going to very soon.

I sincerely hope you are able to find someone to argue with.

It happens all over and not just with unlicensed cabs. I had it in Shanghai with a licensed cab (purple taxi's are the worst, followed by the dark blue then green). I had to go back to my office late at night and he took me to a completely different part of Shanghai. I speak Mandarin but was he was having none of it, suddenly said he only spoke Shanghainese and didn't understand me. Luckily we got to a set of lights and stopped so I got out, the fee was about 65rmb now and the total ride should only have been 45 max and I was still nowhere near the office. We had a big stand up row, told him I was reporting him (which I did and fuck all happened) and to stick his meter up his arse and I walked off without paying

damn anything fishy can go on in china -
i remember needle point robberies in the past -

"YO I GOT AIDS - here , i stick this needle and me, and unless u want me stick this needle in you - you pay me all u got ...."