Sam’s Cars

Oh God — ENOUGH! Amateur hour, every hour with these clowns… I don’t know why I have used these people for more than one single airport pick up. Each time I’ve landed, there’s no driver. And if there is a driver, he’s not at arrivals with my name on a board, he’s in a car park somewhere, assuming my UK mobile phone is charged and working so he can call me to give me annoying instructions to where he is. JUST BE AT ARRIVALS WITH MY NAME ON A BOARD!!! Today was the last straw — no driver again, half an hour late, lies from the HQ when I called («he’s in Café Nero, head there… no, now he is walking towards you… stand outside Café Nero…» — and when I called the driver he hadn’t even parked!). They schedule cars to arrive 20 minute after a flight lands, apparently. Which is RIDICULOUS. I then told the driver when he finally arrived: «do NOT go through town, I have checked the traffic on my phone and it’s awful, take the North Circular». So he goes through town. And we have to beg him to try and turn the sound off his sat nav… there is constant beeping as if the car is going to explode («it’s an alert for speed cameras, I can’t disable it»). I get out, and my colleague takes the car on to his final destination, and the driver then kicks off that the fair isn’t the £52 I was quoted for both drop offs. Even though he is SHOWN THE EMAIL CONFIRMATION. So, even though my colleague is already late because the driver was late, the driver won’t let him go until my colleague calls me and I call Sam’s and shout at them for sixth time… Über all the way from now on. Goodbye Sam’s. It wasn’t nice knowing you.

This company are dreadful. Avoid at all costs. I pre-​booked a car several hours in advance, warning them I would have a distressed animal in a carrier. The car was half an hour late, in that time they lied to me 3 times about it’s eta and sent me text messages saying it was outside when it clearly wasn’t. They were also rude on the phone. This all caused my poor cat lots of stress.

Sorry to join the chorus of complaints here, but hopefully the next Unilocaler can avoid this business like the plague.
Had a horrendous experience with Sam’s Cars, resulting in the first missed flight of my life; they were not able to show up on time, call the correct phone number upon arrival, choose a smart route to the airport nor apologize for any of the above — but did manage to charge my card for the full price, somehow.
Never. Again.

Don’t make the mistake of making a credit card booking through the app. I made one which I cancelled immediately. They take payment straight away but aren’t so quick with the refunds. I phoned them immediately after I cancelled to organise the refund (as the pop up message on the app advises) but almost 2 weeks later am still waiting. I followed up by phone today and it’s clear nothing has been done to process it yet. I won’t be using Sam’s again.

Don’t make the mistake of ordering on their online system, or by email (Both of which are given as options on their website). I was stranded late at night at the airport because they’d ignored requests by both these methods — made a day earlier. My suggestion to Sam’s Cars is don’t offer online methods of booking until you’re equipped to deal with them.

With your life in your hands and your ears plugged (why do we always get that crazy driver who does nothing but tell you off for the world’s failings in minicab etiquette) you clamber into the back of a Sam’s cab. Sam’s really has become a last resort. Get in any cab from any other firm, discover the driver is off-​the-​wall and drives like a maniac and we’ll all undoubtedly say they should be driving for Sam’s. It has been known for us to opt to walk the slow walk of shame home rather than resort to Sam’s. And their curse seems to have spread next door to GS but that’s a tale for another day. But hold your horses there be one saving grace, one thing that may mean they live to drive us another day.
We were moving,. with all belongings piled up on the street and having been rebuffed by GS (like I said, another story), exhausted we squeezed into a Sam’s Cab and waved goodbye to our friend realising a little too late that we’d left the ironing board on the street. But phew, conveniently based across the road from the old flat, Sam’s took the board in until we had time to retrieve it. Sam’s: I’m not sure we expressed our true gratitude at the time, but thank you, thank you thank you.