Proponents of the old-school taxi business insist that the Uber ride-sharing service can’t be trusted.

But trust issues also extend to taxi drivers, if a shakedown that happened to two women who tried to use a Beck Taxi chit to get from downtown Toronto to Brampton is any indication.

The driver told the women he’d accept the chit, but when they arrived at the Brampton GO station, he demanded cash for the $110 ride.

When their boss, who gave them the chit, complained to Beck, he was told it wasn’t their problem because the driver was no longer associated with the company.

Beck advised him to tell it to Municipal Licensing and Standards, which regulates taxis. It investigated and closed the file, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to take action against the driver.

Mike McCaw, who manages a large company for which the women work, sent us a series of emails outlining the incident. He also sent us responses he got from Beck, which he found disappointing.

McCaw’s firm hosted a large party in March for employees and guests at a downtown brewery. The company arranged for Beck to provide them with rides home, and had chits printed up to give to the drivers.

It was a nice bit of business for Beck. McCaw figures that about 150 cab chits were handed out that night.

When the women left, they approached a line of taxis painted with Beck’s familiar orange-and-green colours and “ask(ed) the cab driver if he is Beck and will accept a Beck taxi chit,” said McCaw in his note to us.

“The driver confirms he is Beck and will accept the chit,” he said, but when they got to Brampton, “the driver advises he will not accept the chit.”

They tried to pay by credit card, but the driver told them his card processing device was broken, he said. When it became clear they didn’t have enough cash, his device miraculously started working, said McCaw.

McCaw later traded emails about it with Sarah Hussaini, a Beck customer service representative, asking to be reimbursed the $110.

“Unfortunately, your client did not hail a Beck Taxi,” said Hussaini. “The car number that was provided does not belong to the Beck Fleet. We have no contact or affiliation with this driver or car and cannot get in touch with him.

“If you would like to pursue with a complaint, it is best to contact municipal licensing and standards. I am sorry I could not be more of an assistance.”

Beck spokesperson Gail Souter told us the driver was affiliated with Beck until December, when he severed the relationship. But he continued to drive a taxi painted orange, similar to Beck’s colours.

When we talked to her, she was dismissive of McCaw’s complaint, saying it is not responsible for drivers operating taxis that look like Beck’s but not associated with the company.

But something changed. McCaw sent us a copy of a groveling email he got from Souter the week after we talked to her, saying his complaint had landed on the wrong desk.

She wrote that two staffers who had first dealt with his complaint “failed to communicate that this was the course of action being taken with you,” and that she took care of it once it came to her attention.

“I can only imagine the distaste this has left you, along with an unsavoury perception of our commitment to you as a valued customer,” said Souter, adding, “I was very saddened to hear that your clients were inconvenienced.”

Souter stressed that the $110 would indeed be reimbursed, and that “to say that I value your loyalty is an understatement.”

McCaw told us he believes Beck decided to reimburse him only after we talked to Souter, adding, “that was not an oversight by any means,” and that he will never again do business with Beck.

When we explained the situation to John DeCourcey, who’s in charge of Municipal Licensing and Standards, he said an investigation would be started right away.

We got a note from MLS several weeks later, saying, “Bylaw Enforcement created an Investigation Request (IR). As a result of this investigation, the reluctance of the complainant to pursue any further action, and the quality of evidence collected, the investigation has been completed with no charges pending.”

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Even though MLS knows the name and cab number of the driver, it decided not to do anything about it.

So, who do you trust? Beck, Uber or MLS?

What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823 email jlakey@thestar.ca . To read our blog, go to thestar.com/news/the_fixer . Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.

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