what will you do if some one cheat you in Vietnam?
14/06/2013 | 09:49
cheating is somthing not frequent in Vietnam, but happens. Recently, some tourists have been cheated buy taxi drivers, and cyclos. But all of them can get back their money, if they know how to solve problems.
by a cabbie from Trung Viet taxi firm. To avoid taxi scams, Kevin said he wrote the number of some good taxi companies in his notebook and decisively refused other taxi firms.
On April 28, two Australian tourists took a Trung Viet taxi from the Vietnam Military History Museum to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. The cabbie charged them VND980,000 (roughly US$43), 10 times higher than the normal fare. The driver has been detained for further investigation.
Many expats often show each other tips on how to deal with taxi drivers who claim they do not have change. “I will stay in the taxi until the driver procures change,” said Maria from Papua New Guinea.
Guim Valls Teruel, owner of The Hanoi Bicycle Collective, told Tuoi Tre that the foreign tourists, particularly those from Europe or America, who fall victim to taxi scams in Hanoi often let their cases pass because they do not want to be involved in a conflict with local people or do not know where they should report their cases to.
Jean - Jacques Barre of Freewheelin’s Tours said: “Vietnam is actually not the first choice of foreign visitors. So, if they come here and are cheated, they will never return for the second time.”
Meanwhile, Teruel called on local authorities to apply “tough measures” towards taxi scams. “Heavier punishments should be imposed on cheating taxis. If not, potential tourists will cancel tours to Vietnam and those who already traveled to Vietnam will never return to the country for the second time,” he said.
Cao Bich Lan, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem District, admitted that taxi scams have a bad influence on promotional tourism campaigns to attract more international tourists to the capital.
“The cheated foreign tourists will tell their stories to their friends for sure. They may also share their bad experience on social networking sites and the bad news will quickly spread,” Lan said.
The deputy chairwoman also called on all tourism authorities to work together to deal with taxi scams. “Taxi or cyclo drivers should be educated,” she stressed.
Meanwhile Colonel Dao Thanh Hai, head of the Hanoi Police Department for Investigation of Social Order, said foreign tourist should be vigilant about potential scams, and if they fall victim they should report their case to local police.
