They just say the machine's broken!

You might say 'you don't have to pay if it's broken' or 'you can report them' but I don't want to have an argument with an aggressive cab driver! I just want to pay by card in the first place, which Uber lets me do 100% of the time without hassle.

Report them after your transaction is finished and do us all a favour.

I suppose that's what Uber and Lyft fixed. They made "reporting" bad drivers and credit card transactions mandatory so no one has to do anyone favours.

Exactly. What's bettter than a solution is not having a problem.

I guess the problem is that some charge a 10%+ fee for card usage. That shouldn't happen, honestly.

No, they can't do that either.

From the TfL link above

"Since 13 January 2018 it has been an offence for companies, including private hire operators, to charge their customers a surcharge, or extra, because they are paying by credit or debit card."

Or see this news story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40648641

Seems to be quite a new rule. Last time I was in town was in December last year. Good improvement I’d say!

Honestly had no idea this was in place. Black cabs are back on the menu! As with OP I never used them due to the requirement to have cash on hand