A Stoke Mandeville pensioner has accused Aylesbury taxi firm Cabs4U of leaving her and a friend stranded in the early hours, minutes before they were due to join a coach holiday to Italy.
The woman, who asked not to be named, told the Bucks Free Press she had booked a cab to collect them from Hampden Close shortly after 3am on 17 September. They needed to reach a coach pick-up near Tesco on Tring Road. She described the episode as "inhumane".
Cabs4U declined to comment on the record. Buckinghamshire Council said it had not received a complaint about the alleged incident.
What she alleges
She said she had warned the company that reversing into the cul-de-sac would be easier because of its layout, and was waiting outside in the dark.
When the taxi arrived, she claimed it stopped some distance from her home. Using her phone torch, she tried to guide the driver closer. After she approached the vehicle, she alleges the driver accused her of hitting the taxi and refused to take them.
"I said, 'No, no, it's [her home] a bit further down,'" she told the paper. "He said, 'I'm not taking you. You've hit my taxi.' I said, 'What do you mean I've hit your taxi?'"
She uses a mobility walker. With luggage, she said she and her friend could not easily walk to where the cab had stopped. She claims the driver then left.
Neighbour steps in
Fearing they would miss the coach, she woke a neighbour. Still in a dressing gown, the neighbour drove them to the Tring Road pick-up in time to board.
"I said we've got to catch a coach. They knew that I had to catch a coach," the pensioner said. "I wasn't going Tesco shopping at three o'clock in the morning."
They made the holiday, but she remained angry. "We could have lost our holiday." After returning home, she said she contacted the firm to complain.
Council and complaints
A Buckinghamshire Council spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Buckinghamshire Council has not, at this time, received any complaints relating to the alleged incident. All complaints received by the Council's Taxi Licensing Service are investigated."
Anyone with concerns can use the council's taxi and private hire complaints form. Useful details include plate or badge numbers, plus date, time and location.
TaxiFeed could not find a second news outlet independently reporting the same pickup. The account above rests on the passenger's interview with Bucks Free Press; the driver's and operator's version have not been put on the record.