Double the price
I would like to express my displeasure at the decision to increase the minimum taxi fares in Sharjah to Dh10 (“Passengers unhappy over Sharjah taxi rates hike plan”, Gulf News, August 16). It makes no sense to increase the fare so much. Now when I use a taxi for a short distance I pay Dh5. Why should I pay 50 per cent extra? This is too much of a burden on people who do not have conveyance of their own. To add to the misery, the public transport in Sharjah is not up to the mark. Buses do not cover major areas. There are no shaded bus stops – how can you stand in the heat to wait for a bus? Many people in Sharjah are dependent on taxis for transport and any increase in the taxi fare is unwelcome. This will encourage people to use cars and add to the already crowded roads in the emirate. I appeal to the authorities to look at the interest of the public and not burden them. Please let the taxis be affordable.
From Mr Syed Anwar
Dubai
Environment or money?
I am glad that I drive a car. But, many people these days are using taxis as an alternative to their cars. I live in Ajman and work in Dubai. Recently, I started using public transport instead of my car as I saw the ads regarding one’s carbon footprint. But by making public transport so expensive, why would a person use it? If I calculate my total cost of travelling for a month in my own car and then compare it to the taxi fare that I pay these days, the latter is much higher than the amount that I spend on fuel. Sometimes I get quite worried – do I really have to think of the environment for tomorrow when I am losing money today? This is a big question, which is making me think a lot. I am not sure how many months I will be able to use public transport when I have a cheaper option.
From A Reader
Ajman
Website comment
Improve the standards
Since the prices of fuel increased, it is fair for taxi companies to raise fares, but this should be under the condition that all taxi companies in Sharjah improve their standards. Most taxis are not clean and the drivers do not wear clean uniforms. Many drivers speed unnecessarily. Taxi companies in Sharjah do not have a 24 hour service. I would suggest that all taxis get a navigation system and the taxi drivers should not use their cell phones when driving. To improve the standards, they need quality control agents who work around the clock.
From Mr Mahmoud Qazi
UAE
Service is important
When the petrol prices were raised, many people complained that they were very high and unaffordable. Now, when the authorities have increased the taxi fare for the very same reason, people are complaining again. I understand that the fare might be quite high compared to the previous one, but the justification has been provided. We should wait to see if the quality of service is improved, as promised by the authorities. If so, then I would be willing to pay the rise in fare. Service is most important.
From Ms Tina R.
Sharjah
Cannot walk
The increase in minimum taxi fare in Sharjah is not justified. The authorities should have tried to help the drivers with the terms and conditions [of their employment], instead of taxing the public. I have to walk a kilometre from my office to my house. As there is no bus service I have to use the taxi itself. Due to the hot climate I cannot walk every day. If I have to pay Dh20 daily, then for a month I have to pay Dh600 on taxis only. So I request the officials to reduce the minimum charges.
From Mr Pramod Prasad
Sharjah
Too hot to walk
The rise in fare is not fair on passengers. People can’t just walk outside these days because of the heat and will be forced to take taxis even when their destination is just a few kilometres away. So, I request the authorities to be considerate.
From Ms Aayah al Shamsi
Umm Al Quwain
Website comment
Satisfying reasons
Many taxi drivers [in Sharjah] cannot speak English and cannot follow simple directions. Not to mention the lack of hygiene and manners, especially towards women. Sometimes they don’t give you exact change and when an argument starts, you’ll start seeing rude manners like talking loudly. To add to it, most of the drivers are reckless ones — from deathly overtakes on the road to speeding. There are lots of taxi drivers who refuse to take passengers to their destination. The authorities should give us satisfying reasons why we should consider and be content with the increase in the transportation cost.
From Mr Lyle
Sharjah
Website comment
Any alternatives?
I pay around Dh12 for a round trip, but now I have to pay Dh20. This is not fair. Why should I pay for the distance that I didn’t cover? At least some alternative should be considered for the public by the authorities before taking such a step.
From Mr Haris
Sharjah
Website comment
Quality first
Increase the rates? Most of the drivers haven’t even improved their quality of service. Most of them don’t have proper courtesy, refuse passengers, disrespect women and do not give exact change. I’d rather see the increase of quality in service first.
From Mr Zayed
Sharjah
Website comment
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Readers’ issues raised with organisations
Request for vegetarian meals
I flew Emirates to Kuwait, recently. Being a vegetarian, I wanted to book my meal in advance, which their system was not accepting. I was informed that short haul meals are not prebooked and a request can be made onboard. But, the cabin crew refused me a vegetarian meal citing a lack of request. I was surprised by the conflicting information on a basic service. An airline that is lauded for its superior service set an expectation and fell back. An offer for an extra salad could have patched up the gap a little bit. Incidentally, I also had a series of bad experiences at the Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3, recently. I was seeing off a friend who was travelling with his pregnant wife. The check-in area was disorganised, the agents were interrogative on most details given on the ticket and passport and identified his six-year-old daughter as a son.
Emirates have lost a customer forever, possibly inconsequential for them.
From Mr Girish Narayanan
Dubai
An Emirates spokesperson responds:
Emirates regrets the inconvenience experienced by Mr Girish Narayanan when travelling from Dubai to Kuwait last month. Unfortunately, due to operational reasons, we are unable to provide certain special meals in Economy class on short haul flights between Dubai and Bahrain, Dammam, Kuwait, Muscat and Riyadh.
Whilst we do our utmost to ensure our passengers dietary requirements are met, there are certain circumstances, such as short haul sectors that preclude this from being possible.
On other flights of longer duration Emirates does have a wide selection of special meals available for passengers with specific dietary or religious requirements. These special meals can be requested as least 24 hours in advance of the passengers travel dates with a local travel agent, or an Emirates booking office. Details of the special meals served on board Emirates can also be found on our website www.emirates.com.
It is never our intention to leave our customers unhappy with the services provided. Our customer affairs team thanks Mr Narayanan for his understanding and for allowing us to respond.
Mr Narayanan responds:
Emirates’ response seems to a standard one sent without reading through the specifics of the complaint.
I had specified that the cabin crew checked a list of meal requests and then mentioned my name is not on it. If the airline knew that a vegetarian meal is not served in short haul flights, why was a customer expectation set in the first place on the possibility to obtain one onboard? Why did the cabin crew check the list if the response to my complaint says otherwise. I had expectations that the specifics of the complaint would be looked into rather than a standard reply sent with web links.
Editor’s note: The follow up letter was forwarded to Emirates for further comments. However, its management said that they had nothing further to add.
Transfer charges
I would need help from Gulf News to resolve an issue I have faced with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). I have been banking with SCB for quite some time now. I have been getting calls from their call centre with a variety of offers. The recent offer was to activate online banking and transfer funds to India through the web — I was told there won’t be any charges for one year for the transfer if I did three transactions immediately. This was in April.
As usual with continuous follow up calls with the call centre, I did three transfers for a minimal amount of Dh30 each. There were no charges at the time of transfer and the agent confirmed that there won’t be any charges [for a year].
After three days I was shocked to see an amount of Dh48.34 was debited from my account as transfer charges. I called up the bank and they informed me that this was charged by my bank in India to receive the funds.
I spoke to the bank in India and they confirmed that they don’t charge anything for the incoming funds and the amount transferred has not been received by them.
Next thing I could do is to lodge a written complaint with the bank and I did the same on May 3. After a couple of days somebody called me and repeated the same that these charges were by the receiving bank.
I sent the same complaint to a relationship manager and he had promised me several dates to resolve the issue. Till now the matter is unsolved. My concern here is not with the value of money I have lost, but how can a bank like SCB do something like this with their customers.
Every time I call the bank it plays a message that all the conversations are recorded. My question here is why don’t they retrieve the call and listen to the conversation so they can understand what the employee of SCB had offered?
From Mr Sakkeer Hussain
Dubai
Mr Sam Gad, Manager of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank, responds:
Thank you for bringing this case to our attention. It has now been resolved although as I am sure you can appreciate, it is not appropriate for us to discuss customer information for reasons of confidentiality.
Mr Hussain responds:
Gulf News’ intervention has helped me get my case resolved immediately. The charges were reversed and credited to my account.
As I mentioned earlier, it is not about the value of money, it is about the way bank treats their customers. I would like take this opportunity to appreciate Gulf News for creating a platform for people like us to get our issues resolved.
Refund of security deposit
Thank you Gulf News for doing a wonderful job by solving consumer complaints. I request you to kindly help me in resolving my issue.
I had applied for the cancellation of my Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) account as I vacated my flat in Al Nahda, Sharjah. I visited the Sewa office in Al Taawun Mall in Sharjah on April 25 to settle my bill. After doing that, I was informed on the same day that my Dh2,000 security deposit will be refunded to me next week as I need to wait for a text message from Sewa.
On May 2, I visited the branch to enquire about the status. I was informed it is in process and will take another week – I patiently waited for another 10 days. On May 12, I visited the branch and got the same answer that it is in process.
The same day I approached the manager in charge but he failed to understand and directed me to a counter where I normally used to follow up. I tried calling their numbers several times but all in vain.
If the customers delay their payment, the utilities are disconnected immediately. But, how will Sewa compensate for their mistake?
From Mr Idrees Shabbir
Dubai
Editor’s note: The complaint was forwarded to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority for comments. However, despite repeated reminders, its management failed to respond.
If you have similar consumer complaints, send them to readers@gulfnews.com
