Enraged Tourist Calls the Police after She Almost Faints from Seeing a Restaurant Bill
A tourist from Bogota was practically scammed in a beach establishment in Cartagena, Colombia, but she reported the owner to the authorities and got her money back.
On Monday afternoon April 1, police officers in Playa Blanca were informed of a possible case of overcharging a bill in a beach restaurant, according to Noticias Caracol.
Janneth Jiménez Jiménez, 59, went to the police to put the complaint with the bill in her hand, highlighting the high amount charged by the tour operator of the beach establishment.
Cobran 292 mil pesos de más a grupo de turistas en Playa Blanca, Cartagena https://t.co/vP65wWajjO pic.twitter.com/SK59YQHLS5
— Caracol Cartagena (@Caracol1170AM) April 2, 2019
The bill reflects the payment she did for renting a beach sunshade for $ 60,000 Colombian pesos (20 USD), three cocktails for that same amount, seven Club Colombia beers for $ 105,000 (34 USD), a fish plate for $ 80,000 (26 USD), a Coca-Cola for $ 7,000 (2.50 USD), a Coconut Cocktail for $ 35,000 (12 USD), the service for $ 100,000 (33 USD) and, in addition, the tip.
The total receipt went up to $ 447,000 (144 USD), but when the prices were checked in the product chart, they realized that they were effectively charging them $ 292,000 (95 USD) more than regular prices.
Miembros de la @PoliciaCtagena en compañía de funcionarios de la @Secinterior impidieron el cobro excesivo por consumo a turistas en Playa Blanca, Cartagena.
— encontexto.co (@encontextoco) April 2, 2019
Más info 👉 https://t.co/RnENh2ufmh pic.twitter.com/HDgRHL4HV5
The Metropolitan Police of Cartagena and personnel of the Ministry of the Interior and Citizen Coexistence of the District verified the information, forced the establishment to return the surplus obtained to the tourist and sanctioned them with a fine.
Although the Mayor's Office of Cartagena has made efforts to monitor the beaches and ensure that tourists or locals are not being scammed by abusive vendors, these cases continue to arise. However, this family was lucky to have the help of the authorities. Not all cases end in the same way.
Playa blanca, Barú en Cartagena de Indias captada por @IoCass #ColombiaMagnífica pic.twitter.com/NLbxoWe4vs
— Historia de Colombia (@colombia_hist) January 8, 2019
"I am worried about this situation because I am Colombian and I know that tourism is very important in Cartagena, and I don’t understand how it is possible that they do that. My son-in-law who is Mexican said he would not recommend that place, and it's very sad that that happens," Jiménez lamented.
In a similar story of scams, Patricia Robertshaw, a 42-year-old woman from Barrowford, England, led the Yorkshire Cancer Research Institute to believe that she was diagnosed with cancer disease to make a profit out of it.
One of the most striking aspects of this case is that Patricia worked as an event manager at the institute. She made them believe that she was undergoing radiotherapy treatments to get three months of sick pay.
Woman who faked cancer to claim sick pay from charity jailed for £86,000 fraudhttps://t.co/J8sDC3nhNj pic.twitter.com/cMO7TbP9D8
— ITV News (@itvnews) March 14, 2019
In another scam story, Crystelle Baton, a cashier from Fort Myers, was arrested for trying to keep a customer’s winning lottery ticket.
The Florida Lottery Commission stated that Baton was working at the register at the Winn-Dixie Liquors on Gladiolus Drive when the undercover agent disguised as a customer came up to her with a winning ticket.
She scanned his ticket and realized that he had won a $600 prize. However, instead of telling him, the investigator reported that she pulled out $5 out of her purse and told the man that it was the worth of the ticket.
