By Bryna Sim

FIRST, he had a problem when he wanted to upsize the compressed natural gas tank of his taxi.

Then, he had a run-in with the cab company over the National Day celebratory stickers he put on his vehicle.

Now, Mr Henry Ho, 53, is embroiled in yet another scrape with the Prime Car Rental and Taxi Services.

Along with 14 other cabbies, he has sought legal help over a dispute with Prime Taxi over 'bonuses' they believed the two-year-old taxi company had promised them if they stayed with it for five years.

The cabbies claimed they were persuaded to sign on with Prime Taxi because of a '$11,000 bonus' they would supposedly receive at the end of their full contract period.

This was indicated in the company's flyers.

'We understood this amount to be a sum of money given to us as a reward, in addition to regular payments,' said Mr Ho.

But the cabbies said they later realised that this amount would come from the 'daily recurring security deposit' of $6.03 they had to pay.

This would amount to $11,004.75 over five years - the length of their contract.

Effectively, this meant the cabbies would simply be given back what they had been paying for five years.

'There is no real bonus at all,' said one of the taxi drivers in the group, Mr Adrian Chew, 52.

Frustrated by what they thought was a false promise, the 15 cabbies sought legal help in June.

They gathered at Emily Hill yesterday to air their grievances, accompanied by their lawyers from the Samuel Seow Law Corporation.

The cabbies stated what they wanted: Either a full refund of whatever amount they have paid so far, or a bonus that was not from their own pockets.

Lawyers Kelvin Lee and Samuel Seow said they had not been able to reach an agreement with Prime Taxi yet.

Mr Ho added: 'The company keeps telling us that since we have signed the contract, we should honour it.'

Prime Taxi's general manager, Mr Tan Soon Chye, told The New Paper that the daily recurring security deposit of $6.03 was clearly stated in the contract, and all other terms and conditions were 'carefully explained' to potential cabbies.

'These cabbies knew very well what they were getting themselves into before they signed the contract,' he claimed.

'Anyway, by collecting the $6.03 daily, we are actually helping the cabbies to save,' he added.

Rushed in signing

The cabbies, however, disagreed with Mr Tan's explanation.

'We were rushed into signing, and we did not even receive a copy of the contract upon signing it,' claimed Mr Chew.

Said Mr Seow: 'Most taxi-drivers are not very well-educated. Many of them cannot understand the contract's specific terms and conditions.'

But Mr Tan insisted that the cabbies have not been unfairly treated.

'We are not pocketing the money, because we will eventually return the money to them,' he said.

Asked why the company used the word 'bonus' if the money was a deposit being returned, he said: 'This is the way we have chosen to call it. This is how we market our products.'

Two other local taxi companies The New Paper spoke to do not have clauses like Prime Taxi's daily recurring security deposit, and they also used the term 'bonus' according to its more commonly understood definition.

TransCab Services' general manager Jasmine Tan said 'bonuses' in the form of monthly and yearly incentives are given to cabbies who perform well, and who pay their rental on time.

'We also give them cash rebates and free rentals,' she said.

A ComfortDelGro spokesman said the company's idea of a 'bonus' comes in the form of an enhanced benefits package, which includes no claim bonus, loyalty incentive, rental free days and performance incentive.

These benefits all come in the form of monetary rewards, and those who are constantly among the top performers for five consecutive years will earn for themselves a complimentary overseas trip.

This article was first published in The New Paper.