In message . li, at
13:40:37 on Sat, 20 Feb 2010, Tom Anderson
remarked:
Is there any possible truth to his assertion about insurance, or was
this a barefaced attempt at a scam?

Sounds 99% likely to be a scam. I've never heard of such a thing.

Did get a surprise in the Middle East recently - the client ordered a
"car" from the airport to the hotel, and it turned out to be a minibus.
And the fare they had quoted was therefore per person not per trip.
That's the first time I was caught out like that - although it wouldn't
normally matter, I'd met a colleague on the plane and offered them a
ride to the hotel, which turned out not to be "free" after all!

Out of interest, any idea how much a black cab from Heathrow to
Finsbury Park would cost?

It's about 36km. At that time of night, the first 9.4km will cost £24.20
(including Heathrow supplement) the remaining approx 27km at 20p/100m or
£54 so a total of about £78.

--
Roland Perry