Read this letter about taxi surcharges, which is getting out of hand.
My comment
It is better to raise the taxi fare and to remove all surcharges, such as the peak hour and location surcharges. All taxis plying the road should charge a standard taxi fare while premium taxi services (which charge a different fare, should be called by telephone or other means.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Excessive charge to repair a damage
Comment posted in my survey.
My car ran into the parking barrier. Upon inspection only the arm was damaged. We both agreed to it and took photos respectively. The car park management later sent me a letter asking for 1,571 SGD payment to repair the barrier arm. The break down was like this:
• Labour to attend to ACCIDENT Case by the contractor $ 150.00
• 3M Magnetic Barrier Arm only $ 650.00
• Barrier arm Aluminium Bracket $ 80.00
• Delivery and installation charges $ 250.00
• Admin Charges 30% $ 339.00
7% GST $ 102.83
Total: $ 1,571.83
I disputed all the charges levied, especially the 30% admin charge that made no sense at all. I replied them saying i would take responsibility for the accident. But only on reasonable grounds. That barrier arm is simple to install (held on by 4 nuts and bolts), and the market price for it is only around 300 SGD (unbranded).
I advised them to file a claim with the Singapore Courts, and we will appear in court, state our cases and let the judge decide. That was March. I am still waiting to hear from them.
My comment
It is a sad episode when the company wanted to make a profit from an unfortunate event. It would be a nice gesture for them to charge only the direct cost and not seek to recover the labour and admin charges.
My car ran into the parking barrier. Upon inspection only the arm was damaged. We both agreed to it and took photos respectively. The car park management later sent me a letter asking for 1,571 SGD payment to repair the barrier arm. The break down was like this:
• Labour to attend to ACCIDENT Case by the contractor $ 150.00
• 3M Magnetic Barrier Arm only $ 650.00
• Barrier arm Aluminium Bracket $ 80.00
• Delivery and installation charges $ 250.00
• Admin Charges 30% $ 339.00
7% GST $ 102.83
Total: $ 1,571.83
I disputed all the charges levied, especially the 30% admin charge that made no sense at all. I replied them saying i would take responsibility for the accident. But only on reasonable grounds. That barrier arm is simple to install (held on by 4 nuts and bolts), and the market price for it is only around 300 SGD (unbranded).
I advised them to file a claim with the Singapore Courts, and we will appear in court, state our cases and let the judge decide. That was March. I am still waiting to hear from them.
My comment
It is a sad episode when the company wanted to make a profit from an unfortunate event. It would be a nice gesture for them to charge only the direct cost and not seek to recover the labour and admin charges.
Dr. Goh Keng Swee's immense contribution to Singapore
Many people are aware about the immense contribution that Dr. Goh Keng Swee had made to improve the life of millions of people in Singapore. He was the architect of our economy strategy that transformed Singapore from a developing country to a thriving developed economy. His strategy to attract the multinatinal companies into Singapore laid the foundation for our economic growth. The same strategy is now emulated by many other countries that desired to grow their economy.
There is another aspect of his contribution tht may not be well known. Dr. Goh was the keynote speaker at the historic seminar on the modernisation of the labour movement in 1969. He laid out a convincing case for the labour movement to set up coooperatives to take care of the needs of Singapore, in life insurance, savings and other economic ventures.
This strategy led to the formation of NTUC Income in 1970. Dr. Goh was the chairman of the board of trustees of NTUC Income for nearly 10 years and provided the guidance and advice for NTUC Income to establish a foothold in a challenging market environment. Without his guidance, it may not be possible for NTUC Income to be what it is today.
Later, the labour movement set up a consumer cooperative (i.e. NTUC Fairprice) and a taxi cooperative (which has since been privatised). The lives of many people are improved by the the contribution of the insurance, supermarket and other coopertives.
I heard stories about the frugal habits of Dr. Goh. He does not believe in wasting money unnecessarily. In his last speech in Parliament in 1984, according to the Straits Times report (quoting Prime Minister Lee), Dr. Goh said about the importance of "public service". I hope that Dr. Goh's message about "public service" can be rekindled.
Tan Kin Lian
Read this report in the Straits Times.
There is another aspect of his contribution tht may not be well known. Dr. Goh was the keynote speaker at the historic seminar on the modernisation of the labour movement in 1969. He laid out a convincing case for the labour movement to set up coooperatives to take care of the needs of Singapore, in life insurance, savings and other economic ventures.
This strategy led to the formation of NTUC Income in 1970. Dr. Goh was the chairman of the board of trustees of NTUC Income for nearly 10 years and provided the guidance and advice for NTUC Income to establish a foothold in a challenging market environment. Without his guidance, it may not be possible for NTUC Income to be what it is today.
Later, the labour movement set up a consumer cooperative (i.e. NTUC Fairprice) and a taxi cooperative (which has since been privatised). The lives of many people are improved by the the contribution of the insurance, supermarket and other coopertives.
I heard stories about the frugal habits of Dr. Goh. He does not believe in wasting money unnecessarily. In his last speech in Parliament in 1984, according to the Straits Times report (quoting Prime Minister Lee), Dr. Goh said about the importance of "public service". I hope that Dr. Goh's message about "public service" can be rekindled.
Tan Kin Lian
Read this report in the Straits Times.
Case study - think out of the box
Case Study.
My friend told me this case. Mr. X is a retiree widower (i.e his wife has passed away). He applied for a 2 room HDB flat with his daughter to form a family unit.
The daughter now wants to get married and apply for a larger flat. Mr. X wishes to live independently. The HDB wants to take back the flat as Mr. X is not able to form a family unit.
They asked him to sell his flat (which cost him $30,000 after grant) and apply for a studio apartment costing $80,000. Mr. X does not have the money to top up. He appealed many times to HDB to remain in his flat, but was declined. Mr. X is still fighting for permission to keep his flat.
What would you do to help Mr. X ,without changing the HDB rules on the family unit? Give your answer here. A prize will be given for an innovative answer.
My friend told me this case. Mr. X is a retiree widower (i.e his wife has passed away). He applied for a 2 room HDB flat with his daughter to form a family unit.
The daughter now wants to get married and apply for a larger flat. Mr. X wishes to live independently. The HDB wants to take back the flat as Mr. X is not able to form a family unit.
They asked him to sell his flat (which cost him $30,000 after grant) and apply for a studio apartment costing $80,000. Mr. X does not have the money to top up. He appealed many times to HDB to remain in his flat, but was declined. Mr. X is still fighting for permission to keep his flat.
What would you do to help Mr. X ,without changing the HDB rules on the family unit? Give your answer here. A prize will be given for an innovative answer.
Expensive computerisation projects
A knowledgeable insider told me that a few hospitals in Singapore each spent tens of million dollars to computerised their operations, after engaging big name consultancy firms. They abandoned their projects due to difficulty in implementation and wrote off their investments. It was very wasteful, and probably explains why hospital bills are expensive.
He said that this type of practice of paying a lot of money to consultants for computerisation projects happen in many government agencies as well.
I am not able to verify this information. I hope to get get confirmation from people who work in these places and are able to share their information.
Tan Kin Lian
He said that this type of practice of paying a lot of money to consultants for computerisation projects happen in many government agencies as well.
I am not able to verify this information. I hope to get get confirmation from people who work in these places and are able to share their information.
Tan Kin Lian
Workload of teachers
Read this letter.
My comment
The workload of teachers can be reduced by employing more non-teachers for the support duties. There are many unemployed people who would love to have the opportunity for these support duties. I hope that the government will be willing to spend some money to create the employment and reduce the workload of teachers.
My comment
The workload of teachers can be reduced by employing more non-teachers for the support duties. There are many unemployed people who would love to have the opportunity for these support duties. I hope that the government will be willing to spend some money to create the employment and reduce the workload of teachers.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Claim for repairs to vehicle
Here are the results of the survey.
Dear Sir,
I would like your advice about a traffic accident involving my car colliding with a taxi. Both cars were at a traffic stop wainting for the light to turn green. When the light turn green, the taxi in front of me started to move but braked suddenly after a few feet. Because of the proxiity of the cars, a collision occured but the force of the collision was mild.
The taxi driver of the taxi and I both came out and inspected our cars but found no damage to both cars. The taxi driver and I both agreed that there were no damages to both cars as the force of the collison were mild.
The taxi claimed that he stopped the car suddenly to avoid a collision with a lorry but the taxi was making a U turn while the lorry was making a right turn at Alecandra road. However I did not see the lorry. From the traffic junction I found that it was not possible for the lorry to collide with the taxi as alleged.
As both cars were not damaged, I was surprised that the taxi send an invoice of the repairs to the taxi costing over $2000. to my insurance company. The officer of my insurance company said that the taxi has been repaired. Who allowed the taxi to be repaired whe there was no damage as a result of the acxcident?
F
REPLY
You can tell the insurance company to reject the claim from the taxi as the damages were not caused by you. However, the taxi driver will get his lawyer to sue you directly. You must be prepared to get your lawyer to reject their claim and to fight the case in court, if they issue you a summons.
Dear Sir,
I would like your advice about a traffic accident involving my car colliding with a taxi. Both cars were at a traffic stop wainting for the light to turn green. When the light turn green, the taxi in front of me started to move but braked suddenly after a few feet. Because of the proxiity of the cars, a collision occured but the force of the collision was mild.
The taxi driver of the taxi and I both came out and inspected our cars but found no damage to both cars. The taxi driver and I both agreed that there were no damages to both cars as the force of the collison were mild.
The taxi claimed that he stopped the car suddenly to avoid a collision with a lorry but the taxi was making a U turn while the lorry was making a right turn at Alecandra road. However I did not see the lorry. From the traffic junction I found that it was not possible for the lorry to collide with the taxi as alleged.
As both cars were not damaged, I was surprised that the taxi send an invoice of the repairs to the taxi costing over $2000. to my insurance company. The officer of my insurance company said that the taxi has been repaired. Who allowed the taxi to be repaired whe there was no damage as a result of the acxcident?
F
REPLY
You can tell the insurance company to reject the claim from the taxi as the damages were not caused by you. However, the taxi driver will get his lawyer to sue you directly. You must be prepared to get your lawyer to reject their claim and to fight the case in court, if they issue you a summons.
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