Man hit with £250 taxi fare after falling asleep during journey
If you think you're having a bad day, spare a thought for this poor bloke who fell asleep in his taxi home from the airport and was hit with a £250 (468 AU$) fare.
Ryan was commuting from Melbourne Airport to Berwick when he got into an unmarked cab late at night and decided to catch some shut-eye.
The 75km trip would usually cost around £84 ($160) but Ryan awoke to a shocking $468 fare - which rose to $486 after additional charges were added on.
Ryan was understandably startled when he saw the price after stirring awake and confronted his driver.
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According to Ryan, his cabbie said: "I just drive you from the airport. There's tolls on the way, there's a freeway.
"I'm a new taxi driver. I just know what the meter is saying, how are you going to pay buddy?"
When Ryan demanded an explanation for why his cost had risen so rapidly after 30 minutes of sleep, the driver reportedly said: "Buddy stop complaining about me OK. I'm a taxi driver, not a bank manager."
Fortunately for Ryan, he was saved as his bank account had frozen while he was abroad so his card got declined.
He managed to get away with just paying £105 ($200) as that was all the cash he had on him.
He told the Daily Mail Australia: "I offered the driver $200 cash that I had left from my holiday and if he wanted the rest of what I supposedly owed him, he could come to the same address the next day, knock on my door and I'll give it to him.
"However if he did come I told him I'd get the situation looked into.
"(I've) never heard or seen from the driver again. He got his $200 and that's the final part of the story."
Video of the interaction made its way onto TikTok, where many expressed their shock at Ryan's predicament.
One commented: "He saw a vulnerable human and took his chances. I wouldn't be able to control myself in anger!"
Another viewer wrote: "'I would (have) got him to drive me to the police station," while someone esle remarked: "The way the cab driver speaks to you for asking reasonable questions is a disgrace."
That was one expensive nap...
Ben Thompson