it's not the 25 cents...

Taxis in Rome: not my favorite topic but it’s on my mind right now. Why? Well, I had another run-in with a taxi driver. Here’s the story: I’m running late to meet some friends so I hop in cab. We reach my destination and the meter says 8.75. I’m paying by credit card (I asked before hopping in because not many cabs are equipped with credit card/debit card readers) and as I'm about to sign the receipt, I notice the total says 9.00 Euro. So I ask Mr. Taxi Jerk why the meter says one price and my credit card receipt says another. He brushes it off by saying: “That’s what WE usually do”. We who? All taxi drivers? Romans? Service providers in general? At this point I’m late but annoyed enough that I’m not going to let it go. I let him have it and specify that it’s not about the 25 cents, it’s the principle. He has no right to round up, it’s not acceptable and furthermore it’s illegal. Mr. Taxi Jerk starts to get freaked out because he thought I was just some clueless, gullible foreigner but he now realizes he’s in trouble. He tries to calm me down by saying: “Don’t get mad” (yeah, like that’ll work!) and even offers to give me 25 cents back. Too little too late. At this point I storm out and am already plotting my revenge. I have a credit card receipt that can be traced back to the vehicle and driver, and I intend on using it.
I called the cab company the next day and told them my story. They were very courteous and apologetic. I was asked to fax the receipt so they could find out who the culprit was and take necessary measures. As some of you may know, taxi drivers in Rome constantly rip foreigners off: taking the longest routes, adding mysterious surcharges and whatnot… I say enough is enough, just because I have a slight accent does not mean I’m an idiot. So hopefully justice will prevail and I feel good about that!