VietNamNet Bridge - After seeing the Irish tourists to apologize and return the money, a taxi driver of Thanh Nga Taxi had to pay a VND5 million ($250) fine and was fired for the act of overcharging.

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The photo of the number plate of the violated taxi taken by the Irish tourists.

Mr. Tran Duc Tri, deputy director of Thanh Nga Taxi said after being informed of the act of overcharging of driver Pham Van Minh, the firm summoned the driver and met the Irish couple to apologize and return the excess amount.

The driver was reported to collect nearly VND500,000 ($25) of fares for 2km road.

According to Tri, this is the first similar case in the past 11 years of Thanh Nga Taxi. "This action has caused major influence on the reputation and image of the company and Hanoi’s tourism," he said.

After imposing a VND5 million fine and terminating the contract with driver Minh, the company will hold a moral training course for all drivers to avoid a similar incident.

Officials of the Hanoi Department of Transportation said that they would soon work with the taxi firms that have the drivers who overcharged passengers. At present, the department’s inspectors only handle violations related to the use of chips for frauds charges; the act of overcharging is solved by the taxi firms.

On the evening of May 9, James, an Irish tourist and his wife caught a Thanh Nga taxi from Hang Bong Street to Ma May Street. The distance is about 2 km but the driver asked for VND300,000. James gave him VND500,000 but the driver returned only VND20,000.

Ly Nam