STOMPer Goh said that a taxi driver had
refused to return her phone after she left it on his cab. He then
offered to send her to her destination and give her phone back in
return for $50.
In her email, Goh wrote:
"I wish to write in to complain about an incident on Friday night
which really shocked me.
"Me and my colleagues boarded a London cab, SHF425G from
SMRT on Sep 13 at 6.13pm, which we called from our
office at German Centre at International Business Park to the Swiss
Club.
"About 15 minutes after we alighted at the Swiss Club, I noticed I
had left my mobile phone in the cab. I contacted the driver
immediately and he confirmed that my mobile phone was in his
cab.
"I requested for him to send my mobile phone back to me and offered
to pay for his trip back. But the driver claimed that he already
had another customer on board, so I said he could come back after
dropping off the customer.
"He refused and told me to go to the SMRT office to collect my
phone on either Monday or Tuesday. He then told me he did not want
to talk to me and cut off my call.
"As I was travelling the next day, I needed my phone. So I sent him
an SMS to plead with him to send back my phone to me when he
dropped his customer off, to which he replied, "I will only see
how, depends on my location."
"About half an hour later, he called back and made an offer, asking
if I needed a cab back.
"When I told him yes, he offered to come back to return me my phone
and at the same time pick me from the airport at a transfer
rate of S$50 to one location. He asked me where I stayed and I told
him I was either going to City Square Residence or "Pasir Ris to
which he said he would only send me to one location.
"At 10pm, the agreed time of pick-up, I was not ready to go back.
My colleague was going back so I offered my colleague to take the
cab back since I was already paying him the S$50 transfer fee.
"We waited about 20 to 30 minutes before the driver showed up. When
my colleague boarded his taxi, he was surprised. I told him to
return me my phone and fetch my colleague to Choa Chu Kang.
"He then refused as he claimed he would only drop me off at City
Square Residence or Pasir Ris. I argued that his offer was to one
location and not to these locations specifically.
"He then refused to return my phone back to me and said, "In that
case you go back to my office to collect your phone."
"I argued with him that he was unreasonable, as he came all the way
and refused to return me my phone. I had already passed S$50 to him
before he returned me my phone. I also said that I have never seen
a driver like him and that I was going to make a complain.
"He literally threw the money back to me and said I was the
unreasonable one, and that I had tricked him into coming all the
way here (I presume he also saw a long queue for taxis).
"About 10 minutes later, the driver called back and demanded S$30.
He said he was coming back to collect S$30 from me, because I had
tricked him into come all the way back.
"Of course I refused, since he was the one who threw the S$50 back
before. I told him that I had initially given him the S$50 but he
gave it back to me. So if he wanted the S$30, he should ask his
company to call me.
"He started to scold me and called me a 'bitch' and 'fat' numerous
times! (I might not be slim, but clearly I do not appreciate the
verbal abuse which I was subjected to from the cab
driver!!!). I then cut off his call but he kept calling us
back, harassing from 10.43PM till 12.40AM.
"I am really very shocked to experience a premier cab driver
reacting this way: Blackmailing, verbally abusing and harassing a
customer. I hope SMRT and LTA would take serious action on
such drivers and ensure that other taxi commuters will not be in my
situation."
