This is, of course, not a rule, as there are honest and dishonest taxi drivers everywhere, etc.
Why, if I take a taxi in Berlin or Manchester, I can relax, but not in those cities? It's not the same with other services.
What's failing in those markets, which could be fixed?
In countries I've been to where regulation is more lax, or where bribes are common to circumvent regulation (e.g. Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand), drivers were more likely to try to rip you off, like trying to charge you a flat rate that is double or triple what the meter would have been. In places I've been where regulation is more strict (US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan), taxi drivers have been more honest (e.g. insisting on using the meter, not trying to charge extra fees).
It tends to be the wealthier countries I've been to that are stricter with regulations.
Furthermore, at least in Spain, being "a taxi driver" is a form of cultural identity. Typically, regulations specify that either the licence holder ora first-degree relative should drive the car.
No rip-off, though, just very poor customer service that time. Again, not all were like that, but it's harder to come across a driver like that in Germany or Britain. Perhaps it's just some superficial pattern of behaviour.