A man from Cheshire says a taxi driver in Hurghada changed an agreed fare at the end of the journey and talked about calling the police. He told the Mirror on 16 October. Wales Online ran the same account later that day.
He is named only as Scott. The driver, the hotel, the nightclub, the date of the holiday and both prices are missing. Nobody has been charged.
What he says
Scott says he had been to Hurghada twice before. On this trip, holiday reps told his group to agree a total fare before getting in. He says they did.
On the way back from a night out, he says the driver stopped and went to buy food. At the hotel, he says the driver wanted the fare paid per person instead of the total they had agreed. The driver then talked about calling the police. The police were not called. Scott says he could not speak Arabic, his friend was anxious, and the group paid more than agreed so the argument would stop.
He says that one journey has put him off going back, and that in future he would use Uber or a local app because the price is shown before the car moves.
What the piece is selling
The Mirror byline describes the writer as a commercial writer. The article ends by pointing readers to a Confused.com taxi guide.
That page says a OnePoll survey in July 2026 asked 2,000 UK adults who have travelled abroad. Confused.com reports that 46% worry about taxi drivers taking advantage, and 37% worry about unlicensed vehicles. On the same page it says Egypt, India and Turkey were most often rated the trickiest places for taxis. That is a ranking of what those travellers said. It is not a count of complaints, and it is not this journey.
The guide does not give a Hurghada fare.
Apps and official advice
Uber's own Hurghada page says a ride can be requested in the city at any time. Uber also says a taxi cannot be requested to or from Hurghada airport on the app. Other ride options can. Scott's journey was from a nightclub to a hotel, not the airport.
The FCDO says about one million British people travel to Egypt each year and most visits are trouble-free. It says scammers and touts sometimes target foreign nationals in tourist areas. It advises against travelling in a taxi alone, and says that if you do, you should share the driver, the trip and your live location with someone you trust. Women are told to be particularly careful alone in a taxi at night.
To report a crime, the FCDO gives the tourist police number 126. It says a crime that is not reported before you leave Egypt will be difficult to prosecute later. Scott has not said he reported this fare.