WERE YOU SCAMMED BY A NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB DRIVER?
First and foremost, you need to know that New York Pedicab Services is not affiliated with the pedicab driver who scammed you.
New York Pedicab Services only works with prepaid bookings, does not charge per minute per ride (all fares are quoted in full) and never surprised its clients (please read our reviews on Trip Advisor and Google).
There are around 1,000 licensed and unlicensed pedicab drivers in New York City. All of these 1,000 pedicab drivers work as independent businesses, they do not work for a company and they work for themselves, they have no online business presence.
So, you hired a random pedicab driver not affiliated with New York Pedicab Services on the streets of New York City and he scammed you.
Please, read this whole page if you would like to be guided on what you need to do if you were scammed by a New York City pedicab driver.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU WERE SCAMMED BY A NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB DRIVER
If you paid in cash and you do not have a face picture of the pedicab scammer or his license information, it is not possible to do anything.
If you paid with a credit card or debit card, please, finish reading this whole page before starting your disputes with the bank and filing your complaints with the government officials to familiarize yourself with the pedicab laws and rules and please, please, please, understand that your first task is to fully identify the pedicab scammer with his full name, his address and his phone number.
1. Start a dispute with your bank by indicating to your bank that the pedicab driver did not follow the laws (indicated below) before he charged you. Please, do not file your dispute before you read this whole page because these scammers are slick and they will use fraudulent tactics to make sure that you lose your dispute with the bank.
2. Obtain your full receipt from Square (Most New York City pedicab scammers use Square Payment Processing Systems) at the link below. If you can not obtain your full receipt at the link below, please, contact Square Customer Service by calling +1 866-200-8599. It is very crucial for you to obtain the full receipt from whichever payment platform the pedicab scammer is using.
Square Look Up Your Receipt Page
3. File a complaint with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (The New York City Government Agency in charge of licensing and regulating the pedicabs in New York City) at the link below:
New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Pedicab Complaint Page
4. File a complaint with the New York State Attorney General's Office Consumer Frauds Bureau at the link below:
New York State Attorney General Consumer Frauds Complaint Page
5. File a complaint with the New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher at the link below:
New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher Official Government Page
6. Press criminal charges. File a police report with the New York Police Department if the pedicab driver charged your card any fees or tips without your signature.
New York Police Department Online File A Report Page
HOW TO START A BANK DISPUTE WITH A NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB SCAMMER?
1. Please, do not start a dispute with your bank without first fully identifying the pedicab scammer. You need to state to the bank that the pedicab driver needs to demonstrate that he is a licensed pedicab driver. There are hundreds of unlicensed pedicab drivers. A lot of these pedicab scammers hide their full names with fictitious business names in Square. The pedicab scammer needs to demonstrate that he has a valid (unexpired) NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issued pedicab driver license. If the pedicab scammer does not have a valid pedicab driver license, that means he was commiting a criminal misdemanor (in violation of NYC Administrative Code Section 20-257) with criminal unlicensed activity. The bank has to issue a full refund if the pedicab scammer did not have a valid pedicab driver license because he was legally not allowed to work on a pedicab. The pedicab scammer needs to provide 1) his full name, 2) his business address registered with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and 3) his phone number registered with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The bank then needs to check the license status of the pedicab scammer by filing a Freedom of Information Law request with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker protection at the link below:
File a NYC Freedom of Information Request Page
2. Please, print this page and submit this page to the bank.
3. Please, provide the exact addresses for your pick up and drop off to the bank and then screenshot from Google Maps how long it takes between the two addresses on a bicycle in Google Maps. A lot of these pedicab scammers do not have visible sealed and licensed timers located in front of the seated passengers as required by the law. They make up their own times in the receipts. For example, they fraudulently indicate in the receipt that the ride took 40 minutes when in fact it can be seen on Google Maps that the ride would only take 10 minutes. New York City Administrative Code Section 20-249 defines pedicab as a bicycle. The bank needs to confirm the exact duration of the ride by checking Gooogle Maps bicycle routes.
NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB SCAM CULTURE
If you are looking to get a point A to point B pedicab ride in New York City from a random pedicab driver not affiliated with New York Pedicab Services, New York Pedicab Services recommends that you proceed with caution as there are hundreds of pedicab scammers out there as the City of New York government has not cared about the issue of pedicab scams for years:
August 6, 2012 - Pedicab Driver Tricks Tourists for $442 ( NY Post )
January 19, 2018 - Pedicab Riders Shocked By Bills Topping $200, $400, Even $600 ( ABC News )
New York Pedicab Services recommends that you ask for a FULL PRICE UPFRONT for the ride before the ride starts as the City of New York government allows pedicab drivers to charge whatever they want as long as it is per minute per ride (the drivers are legally not allowed to charge per person).
Always negotiate a FULL PRICE UPFRONT. Do not be tricked or fooled by a pedicab scammer indicating that it would be $9 or $10 or $11 because he would actually not be telling you that the $9 or $10 or $11 is the per minute rate that he charges.
HOW MUCH IS A PEDICAB RIDE IN NEW YORK CITY?
A pedicab ride in New York City should never exceed $30 for a 1 mile ride even in heavy traffic. If you are looking to go from Apple Store on 5th Avenue to Empire State Building, the fare should not exceed $36 as the distance from the Apple Store on 5th Avenue to Empire State Building is 1.2 miles.
HOW MUCH IS A PEDICAB RIDE IN CENTRAL PARK?
A pedicab ride in Central Park should never exceed $1.25 per minute per ride. So, if you are taking a 1 hour tour in Central Park, the fare should not exceed $75.
LEGALLY REQUIRED EQUIPMENT ON A NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB:
SIDE PANEL RATE CARDS: in clear view of passengers with 2 inch tall numbers and letters on both left and right panels of the pedicab pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (14)
DRIVER SEAT RATE CARD: in clear view of seated passengers with 2 inch tall numbers and letters behind the driver seat of the pedicab pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (15)
BUSINESS SIGN: in clear view of passengers pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (13)
PEDICAB INFORMATION CARD: to be provided by the pedicab driver to all passengers before the ride starts and after the ride ends pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (c)
COPY OF PEDICAB DRIVER LICENSE: in clear view of passengers pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-258 (b)
TIMER: sealed and licensed and in clear view of seated passengers pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (12)
HOW NOT TO GET SCAMMED BY A PEDICAB DRIVER IN NEW YORK CITY
1. MAKE SURE THE PEDICAB HAS THE FOLLOWING LEGALLY REQUIRED EQUIPMENT:
- Timer: a timer in clear view of passengers pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (12)
- Business Sign: a sign in clear view of passengers indicating the name and telephone number of the pedicab business, the pedicab's registration number and a telephone number pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (13)
- Side Panel Rate Cards: a sign conspicuously posted on both sides of the exterior of the pedicab indicating in letters and numbers at least two inches high the dollar amount to be charged per minute per ride, and in letters and numbers at least one half of an inch high that: (i) no additional fees may be charged and (ii) drivers must give passengers a pedicab information card pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (14)
- Driver Seat Rate Card: a sign affixed to the rear of the bicycle seat of the pedicab indicating in letters and numbers at least two inches high the dollar amount to be charged per minute per ride pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-254 (15)
- Pedicab Driver License: the pedicab driver shall wear such photo identification card so that it is visible to passengers and enforcement officers when such pedicab driver is operating a pedicab. A copy of such photo identification card shall also be displayed inside any pedicab under the control of such driver in a manner clearly visible to the passengers of such pedicab pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-258 (b)
2. KNOW HOW THE PEDICABS ARE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO CHARGE:
Pedicabs are allowed to charge how much ever they want as long as it is per minute per pedicab.
- Rates for pedicab rides are based on time calculated per minute per pedicab pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (a)
- It is illegal for a pedicab driver to charge per passenger or any additional fees pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (a) (1)
- It is illegal for a pedicab driver to charge any taxes pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (c) (ii)
3. PEDICAB DRIVER IS LEGALLY REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE PASSENGERS PEDICAB INFORMATION CARD (LIKE A RECEIPT) BEFORE THE RIDE STARTS AND AFTER THE RIDE ENDS:
- The Pedicab Information Card that is provided before the ride starts is legally required to have 1) the pedicab driver's full name, 2) the pedicab driver's pedicab driver license number issued by New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, 3) the pedicab owner's business name, 4) the pedicab owner's business address, 5) the pedicab owner's business phone number, 6) the pedicab owner's pedicab business license number issued by New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Proection and the 7) the rate per minute per ride pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (c) (1)
- The Pedicab Information Card that is provided after the ride ends is legally required to have 8) the date, 9) the total number of minutes and 10) the total charge pursuant to New York City Administrative Code Section 20-260 (c) (1)
NEW YORK PEDICAB SERVICES DID NOT SCAM YOU
After getting scammed, the frustrated and angry pedicab scam victims go online and search for pedicabs in New York City and then write negative reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp business pages of New York Pedicab Services.
New York Pedicab Services did not scam you. New York Pedicab Services only works with prepaid bookings and you were scammed by a random shadow pedicab driver with no online presence.
Below are some of the examples of pedicab victims trashing New York Pedicab Services online despite the fact that they never booked any rides or tours with New York Pedicab Services:
MORE ON NEW YORK CITY PEDICAB SCAM CULTURE
Pedicabs started operating in New York City around 1995. Pedicabs have always been allowed to charge how much ever they want but the pedicab scam culture started in 2009 when New York City Council legalized passed "charge whatever you want" laws and the City of New York government has not cared about this scam culture since 2009 even though some new laws were passed in 2012 to address the issue.
An estimated 95% of the pedicab scams happen in Midtown Manhattan, between 57th Street and 34th Street, between 5:00 PM and 11:00 PM. An estimated 300 pedicab drivers work in these hours in Midtown Manhattan between April 1 and December 31. An estimated 250 of these pedicab drivers rely on scamming clueless tourists and locals.
An estimated 60% of the pedicab scams happen in the theater district in Midtown Manhattan between 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM.
New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), the agency in charge of licensing and regulating the pedicabs in New York City, never enforces the pedicab laws in Midtown Manhattan (between 57th Street and 34th Street) after 5:00 PM despite the fact that they were informed about the issue of pedicab scams for many years.
New York Police City Department does not understand the pedicab laws that are supposed to protect the public from the pedicab scams because New York City Council passed complicated and hard to understand and enforce laws for pedicabs. Even, the former police commissioner Bill Bratton openly stated that he could not understand the pedicab laws.
