A taxi driver found himself facing a €300 (around £255) for charging a passenger more than double the standard fare.
Lee Hennessy of Barnewall Avenue, Dublin, was also ordered to pay another €350 in costs and witness expenses, according to (Independent.ie).
The passenger in question, HSE worker Donna Murphy, told Judge she just came back from London and waited outside Dublin Airport Terminal 1. Ten minutes later, a taxi arrived and she asked the driver to take her to Ashtown in Dublin 15.
She had seen her fare reach €27.40 when she was just under 500 yards from home. Yet less than a minute later, the driver turned off the meter without explanation, telling her to pay 44 euros instead.
Murphy did not argue with the driver. Instead, she filed an official complaint. The case was thus taken by the National Transport Authority (NTA) at Dublin District Court.
NTA compliance officer Martin Bates told the court he ran a test journey along the same route. The maximum fare should have been around €20.80, reported the Independent ie.
Hennessy owned the taxi, and no one else was logged on to use the vehicle on that date, the court was told.
Judge Halpin convicted him and fined him €300, which Hennessy must pay within a year. He ordered him to pay the same amount toward prosecution costs and €50 to the complainant.
He tried to scam his passenger out of 20 euros or so, instead he found himself paying a whopping 650 euros in compensation.
