The shady tricks used by London rickshaw drivers to 'swindle' tourists

Rickshaw drivers are using shady tricks to 'swindle' tourists in London out of thousands of pounds - including one woman who was charged £1,300 to travel 500 yards.

Devious drivers are said to be scamming innocent tourists by shifting the decimal point on credit card machines, or charging them for the short journeys in their garishly decorated pedicabs twice.

A Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph shows how Transport for London (TfL) has been inundated with complaints frrom unwitting tourists whose plans to tour the capital's landmarks have ended in disaster. 

The complaints lay bare how unscrupulous drivers are preying on vulnerable tourists, with one claiming she was swindled out of an astonishing £1,300.

She fumed to TfL: 'I was swindled after taking transportation from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.

'We rode a few blocks going towards the Palace and something broke. We exited the rickshaw, and I paid the vendor and asked for a receipt. He said: 'No.'

'I called my husband immediately to make sure he charged me correctly. My husband called me back and said the vendor charged me £1,278.96.'

Another victim who fell victim to a scam wrote: 'I took a rickshaw from Mayfair to High Street Kensington, and I was charged £336 instead of £33.60. I believe that it was intentional.'

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She said she believed her and her friend were targeted because they were women, adding: 'He was enjoying it.'

One couple who flagged down a rickshaw driver to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in the West End were quoted £9.40 for a ride. But the theatregoer revealed: 'I tapped my card. It wasn't until the interval when I checked my online banking app and saw that I had been charged £94.40.'

It suggests that vendors are adding another zero to the bill, which shifts the decimal point.

Another scam victim claimed that their rickshaw even crashed during the expensive trip.

The mother complained to TfL: 'Not only is it daylight robbery – he tried to charge me £130 for the journey – but it is also very unsafe.

'He tried to go through the cycle lane tunnel on Bermondsey Road and crashed at the end as there wasn't enough space. He got very aggressive.'

Others lodged complaints to say they had been charged twice, while one couple were billed £296 for a 13-minute trip to the theatre.

In July, Happy Days legend Henry Winkler was left stunned after he was ripped off by a rickshaw driver when visiting London with his family.

The 78-year-old, who played the Fonz in the American comedy, posted: 'Do not take one of those bicycle taxis without absolutely negotiating the price first.

'This person in London rode us around in circles then finally to our destination seven blocks away for $170!'

The Conservatives brought in new rules allowing TfL to start regulating drivers who take advantage of passengers in London. 

TfL said it welcomed new 'robust and effective' powers it will have under the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024.

'We are engaging with the pedicab industry and other interested parties to help us shape proposals ahead of a public consultation, including carrying out an impact assessment,' a spokesman said.

'Once these proposals are developed, we will launch a public consultation and we hope to do so in early 2025. Feedback from our consultation will help shape these important new regulations and will enable us to confirm a timetable for their introduction.'