August 22, 2013Dear Sir,My family arrived home to Bermuda this week after vacationing and requested a taxi for the ride home. Due to the fact that we had two very large suitcases, a double-sized stroller, and two small children, we requested a large taxi. Since the first taxi in line was a small car, we were pointed to the taxi van behind it. We loaded into his van and when we were almost to our home in Sandys, we questioned the rate number on the meter - it was showing as Rate 3.I took a look at the Rate Card and saw that Rate 3 is for use after midnight, on public holidays, and/or for 5-6 passengers. Realising that we should have been on Rate 1 as it was 3.45pm on a Thursday afternoon and the taxi contained two adults and two children under the age of three (I have since been told that two children under the age of three actually count as one adult and thus technically we counted as three passengers), I questioned the driver as to why we were on Rate 3 which charged 25 percent more than the usual rate. He stated that, since we bypassed a car that could have fit us in order to have his larger car, we had to pay the higher rate.I told him that we could not have fit, but that even if we could, why is it that he is getting paid a higher rate just because we asked to go into a larger car. He again stated that we are paying for choosing the larger car. I saw nowhere on the rate card that mentioned this and I also questioned this “rule” to the driver. He could not give me a straight answer as to why we were getting a higher rate, even after I expressed my anger at the fact that we were unfairly being charged for the size of the taxi, not the amount of passengers as we should have been.He proceeded to argue with me and ended up throwing his arms in the air and yelling that the ride would be free. He seemed to think that we were trying to get a lower rate and asked us why we “waited until we got all the way here before asking?”. The answer to that question is that we did not notice until we were in Somerset; the driver also failed to explain this “new rule/rate” when we entered the vehicle.Needless to say, we ended up paying the increased fee and my husband and I were left at the top of our driveway with luggage and children and a lot of anger at essentially being robbed of our money and treated with complete disrespect as paying customers. I question if we are the first and if we were the last to receive not only unfair rates, but the disrespect that was shown to us by the driver. Is this an ambassador for our country? I think not. I cringe to think of the repercussions should this have occurred with a visitor. If this is how all of his passengers are treated, it is safe to assume that not only is he not contributing to showcasing this supposed friendly country, he is also disrespecting his fellow hard-working Bermudians.May all your future airport pick-ups consist of guests at Grotto Bay!ROBBED