I have booked a taxi from bangkok to pattaya with taxi co called thaicalltaxi.can anybody please tell me if this is a safe company to travel with?

rick have not heard of them but this means nothing in itself - but wht not wait till you are in BKK and negotiate a fare with one of the drivers - it will be cheaper I can assure you

thanks for the reply phil,there web site advertises the fare for B1000 including all tolls this sounds like a very good price just hope they are honest,

its not bad at all - but I hired a driver from pattaya from 8.30 am till 12pm at night - round trip to BKK for football 1500bt -

thanks phil just about to leave sydney will let you know how it goes;

I had a very bad experience with a taxi driver in Bangkok. We came from Siam Paragon and was having a hard time finding a taxi that would use the meter, so we agreed to the flat rate of 150 baht that the driver charged us with.

The taxi driver was irritable from the heavy traffic, and was driving very fast when he got the chance. Upon arriving at our hotel, he did not see the first door (probably because of his speed) where the hotel lobby was. Instead, he went straight ahead to the next wing where there was no bridge to the main lobby. My brother who was sitting beside him called his attention (nicely) and told him that we were supposed to get off at the first door. It was roughly only 20 to 30 steps away from where he stopped, and he was also going to pass it on his way out of the hotel premises. It was raining so we thought we would just get off at the lobby for us not to get wet. He angrily shouted "200 baht! 200 baht!" and stepped on the gas so hard to make a U turn. Startled with his outburst, I sternly told the driver that we would just get off right there, and that he should not treat tourists so rudely. My brother, after being shouted at, slammed the car door as he got off. The taxi driver did not stop there. He too, got off the car, and opened the trunk. He took his tire wrench and was supposed to attack my brother with it! The hotel guards stopped him just in time and asked him to leave. While driving out the hotel premises, he left a threat to us that he will be watching us and waiting for us outside. I was able to get the taxi's plate number from the guard. It is a hot pink taxi and the plate numbers looks something like "NS4521" (the NS was written with curves? I attached it a copy of the paper that the guard gave me with this email).

During our stay in Bangkok, and we rode taxis around four times. The first time was from the airport where we were charged 500 bhat. We had no problem with that since the driver just went about his business and was professional. It was a blue taxi. The second, third, and fourth time were all pink taxis, wherein not once had it been a good experience for us. For the second taxi that we rode, the driver told us that the mall we wanted to go to had closed early, and that it would be better to just have dinner somewhere near the night markets. He then suggested a "cheap and good" seafood restaurant, so we agreed. When we arrived, we noticed that the prices were ridiculously high, and later on, upon reading the same stories on the web, realized that we were scammed.

The same thing was offered to us by the next taxi driver (also of a pink taxi). Since we already knew better, we declined his offer and just made up an excuse.
Now, the last taxi that we rode had the rudest and meanest taxi driver that I had ever encountered in my entire life! These 3 encounters all from pink taxis had made me wonder if this is a common practice among them.

I really lost all the excitement I had for Thailand after the incident. Shouldn't they be doing something about these taxi drivers if they really want to promote tourism in their country?

I believe my Bangkok stay has by far been the worst vacation I have ever had. I have never been scammed and treated so rudely so many times in a row! My vacation has turned out to be very frustrating, disappointing, and infuriating.

If you have friends or relatives who are going to Bangkok, please warn them about this particular taxi driver. Also, please ask them to read about the different scams that some locals trick the clueless tourists into. Please pass this email to your friends and family. It is best to be prepared and aware, so as to avoid these kinds of experiences. Thailand sure has plenty of things to offer, but if this comes with visiting their country, I think I would rather not return unless needed, and would not recommend friends and family to visit too.

Too late now probably. There are also shared van rides to Pattaya from Bangkok. These are roughly 9 passenger vans where you sit and wait until the van finishes picking up other passengers at hotels and then the van takes you to Pattaya. Average cost is around 400 baht. Some hotels can make these arrangements and you can get these rides from travel agencies.

Here is one company that has been around a long time - Bell Travel. Bell Travel also delivers passengers to the airport from Pattaya for 200 baht. I have used Bell Travel several times without any problems.
BellTravelService.com

Also, just to keep you informed or anyone else, a bus from the Ekamai bus terminal, off of a Sukhumvit Road Skytrain stop, will cost around 120 baht or less for the 2 hour ride. Bus drops you off at the Pattaya bus terminal where for 20 baht you can get a ride to the Pattaya Beach area. Other transportation in Pattaya is 10 baht.
Pattaya Bus

From the airport you have Bell Travel plus you also have another regularly scheduled bus from both the terminal and the airport bus station. This is bus 389. This bus drops off at on Sukhumvit Road (Pattaya) and continues on to Jomtien.
Pattaya-Airport

The only problem with Bell Travel and "389" from the airport is that both do not run late at night. Last pickup is by 389 at 2100 hrs.

Happy traveling.

That's about like saying I had coffee for breakfast.

Why are people using the forums to simply vent? Is there any useful information that we can use from this rant?

I don't get ripped off in Bangkok and neither do most of the others on these boards. Why? Because we don't play their silly games.

Granted, you're new in town, but step up!

"I had a very bad experience with a taxi driver in Bangkok."

This can happen in any country, one good thing about Thailand is that when you get screwed on a taxi price it is not as much as New York, London or Tokyo!

"During our stay in Bangkok, and we rode taxis around four times. The first time was from the airport where we were charged 500 bhat."

When you visit a country without doing a little research ahead of time you can run into problems with local transportation that with experience or even some research you would not have had. At the airport you have a meter taxi sign up area (Public Taxi) located on the first floor at the curb area. Taxis picking up there are registered. They have to be newer plus they also agree to use the meter when taking passengers into the city. Meter starts at 35 baht. The taxi desk person is supposed to inspect the taxi, check the meter and in Thai he tells the driver where you want to go to. You get a receipt that identifies the taxi - keep that. If you have a problem with a driver you can use that information to report him. You are responsible for any toll charges (probably 2 coming to 70 baht) during the ride. You pay the METER FARE at the hotel plus a 50 baht surcharge. The surcharge compensates the driver for waiting at the airport. Not necessary to tip the driver, just round off the fare and get rid of some small coins. Average price from airport to most hotels in the city comes to around 350 baht. Going to the airport there is no surcharge. Also, sometimes early in the morning you can avoid the toll road and just take the free highway to the airport. In that case just pay the meter fare and maybe get rid of some coins.
Bangkok Airport Public Taxi Service | Suvarnabhumi Airport | New Bangkok Airport Guide

Always have small bills and change when using taxis in Bangkok.

If you arrive during the day or before midnight there is even an Airport Express Bus for 150 baht. Many experienced tourists choose hotels that can be reached by this bus if they arrive when it is running.
Airport Express to Bangkok Hotels | Suvarnabhumi Airport | New Bangkok Airport Guide

"I really lost all the excitement I had for Thailand after the incident. Shouldn't they be doing something about these taxi drivers if they really want to promote tourism in their country?"

There are thousands of links on the internet on taxi scams and scams in general for Thailand, you have to read them first before you travel. In the city if you have a hotel not far from the Skytrain you can use the Skytrain (or even the subway) to take you around the city quick and easy. One thing you can do for Bangkok next time is to avoid any parked taxi cabs, especially if you are staying in an expensive hotel, and just wave a moving taxi over for your ride. Tell the driver to use the meter if he refuses (most won't when hailed from the road) get another one of the hundreds of moving taxis passing by. Parked taxi cabs more often want to bargain the fare, when you bargain the fare you pay more!

There is always next year! By the way, by next year the Airport Rail Link should be up and running. If you have a hotel near the Phaya Thai Skytrain area or Makkasan Rail Link station (Pratunam area) you can just walk to your hotel from the train. No taxis to bother with!
Airport Rail Link

Next time will be a lot easier.

thanks everyone for your replys. sorry i took so long to get back,when i arrived in bangkok,the driver was waiting for me with my name on sign he was very friendly. near new car the service was very good. i would have no hesitation in recommending thaicalltaxi service to anyone who was in need of ataxi from the airport.