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About 30 minutes later,Ìýthey got to the front of the line and piled into a warm cab to defrost.Ìý

“As the driverÌýpulled out,” Muto says, “he advised us that due to the weather conditions, the regular $86 fare to Georgetown was now $163.”

Cold and tired, the Mutos didn’t argue.

When they finally got home about 40 minutes later, Peter tipped the driver, tore off a copy of the printed receipt and tucked it into his pocket.

The Problem: Can airport taxi drivers charge double the flat rate?

The next morning, the charge nagged at him. He had paid $188.25, which included the $163 fare, $25 tip and a 25 cent “Interac surcharge.”

MutoÌýwas almost certain that taxisÌýlining up at the airport’s arrivals queue were supposed to charge a standard flat rate.Ìý

He says he called the number on the receipt but no one answered. The website address on the bill —  — came up as a blank page.

Muto emailed the Greater º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøAirports Authority (GTAA), which operates º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøPearson.

A commercial vehicle co-ordinator confirmed cabs that line up for passengers at the arrivals terminal must charge a flat, fixed fare regardless of weather conditions. The GTAA also told Muto, via email, “the driver cannot be tracked as he used a fake receipt”Ìýand he would need a plate number to investigate, which Muto didn’t have.Ìý

“I didn’t think of taking pictures of the taxi in a blizzard,” he said.

Muto wanted to warn others so he reached out to me.Ìý

“I wonder how many people have been taken advantage of?” he asked.

Star Helps: º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøTaxi makes it better …Ìýsort of

I called º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøTaxi, the name at the top of Muto’s receipt.Ìý

Darren Brace answered. He’s a manager in charge of customer service.

º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøTaxi, he told me, is not a dispatch company but leases “point of sale terminals” (payment machines) to more than 100 independent drivers, who own their own cars.Ìý

While these cab drivers “are not employees of º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøTaxi,” Brace says, the company does get a “nominal fee” from every fare in which a driver uses the company’s equipment to process payment.

Brace had already been briefed on Muto’s situation by “somebody at the GTAA,” he says.Ìý

If you’re a bit confused by this point, that’s OK, so was I.Ìý

To recap: º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøTaxi is a real company but doesn’t own or operate taxis; it doesn’t dispatch drivers, either, just equipment to process card payments; Muto’s receipt was not a fake, but the website does lead to nowhere because the company doesn’t have a website.

“Our policy is we always take the customer’s side first,” Brace says on our call. “I’d be more than happy to issue a full refund and then dispute it with the driver.” Brace says he would have made this same offer directly to Muto.Ìý

“If a voicemail had been received,” he says, “it would have been addressed promptly.”

Muto agreed to let me connect him by email with Brace about the full refund.

That’s when things got a bit uncomfortable.

After e-transferring the refund, Brace questioned Muto’s motives in a long message, copying him.Ìý

“From our research,” Brace wrote, “Mr. Muto appears to be an established realtor …Ìýwe would expect that he would be accustomed to evaluating services, asking the right questions, and choosing the best option for his needs. If he had concerns about the price at the time, it would have been appropriate to address them with the driver before proceeding with the ride.”

He went on to suggest Muto “may be leveraging this situation for additional publicity rather than genuinely seeking a resolution. While we are happy to address legitimate concerns, we also believe it’s important to differentiate between genuine consumer issues and opportunistic exposure.”

Muto was taken aback. Me, too.Ìý

“I still have a licence but I’m pretty much retired,” he said. “I don’t need the money or exposure. I wanted to make sure this didn’t happen to someone else.”

The Resolution: A full refund, $100 taxi voucher and a promise to discipline the driver

Consumers can search the for posted rates that apply to licensed cabs that line up at the arrivals terminal. The rates are calculated by distance and can vary by geographical zone.

“There is no surge pricing,” a º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøPearson spokesperson wrote in an email to the Star. “All drivers are expected to adhere to the set terms and conditions.”

The map confirms Muto should have been charged $86 for the 40-kilometre trip.

Two weeks ago, nearly a month after Muto first reached out to the GTAA, a staffer emailed him to say they tracked down the taxi driver through video camera footage and “are disciplining him for overcharging the fare.”Ìý

The airport authority offered Muto a $100Ìýtaxi/limo voucher that can be used for a future ride from º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøPearson. He’s not received anything yet.

I followed up with the GTAA to ask what kind of penalty it imposed. A spokesperson replied by email.

“We are unable to disclose further information.”

If you’ve caught a taxi or limo at Pearson’s arrivals stand and would like to file a complaint about the service or an overcharge, contact theÌýtaxiÌýor limousine company, as well as GTAA Customer Service atÌýcustomer_service@gtaa.com.