
A Woodlands, Texas based trucking company is accused of ripping off truck drivers.
Five truck drivers have initiated a lawsuit against TIGA Logistics, claiming that they were shortchanged their pay, overcharged for expenses and deceived by lease-purchase practices. The drivers worked as “owner-operators,” and transported oil and gas in tankers.
The suit was filed in Bexar County District Court. The drivers are seeking a certification as a class-action suit, and if approved, will impact up to 200 truck drivers.
According to My San Antonio, the truckers claim that TIGA Logistics “systematically underpaid them substantial amounts” through misrepresentation. Drivers say that the company told them that they would be paid 70-75% of freight revenue collected from customers, but failed to give a realistic value of what customers are charged. The lawsuit states that TIGA also disallowed truckers to view rate sheets to determine those charges.
The company is also accused of adding extraneous fees and expenses. Drivers were charged an additional percentage on work-related purchases when using a company card.
The lawsuit also states that TIGA’s lease purchase program is deceitful in nature. The company used drivers’ money to maintain escrow accounts. According to the claim, the escrow accounts were in place to grow funds until the company could end its contract with a driver, order the return of equipment and then keep the money that was held in the escrow account.
The truckers seek damages, return of funds, and any profit made from those funds.
Correction: The featured image on this story was fixed to accurately display a TIGA Logistics vehicle.