Places or things to avoid getting Ripped Off

[Rimms]

With the recent bad publicity, I thought we might help the first time tourist by listing some of the ways you can get ripped off, in general, Turkey is great value for money but like everywhere there are the minority looking to steal your hard earned cash.

Avoid the guys selling what looks like branded perfumes, often they have the real stuff in a tester bottle then sell you fake rubbish.

Always take a calculator with you when changing money and ask how much they will give you back before handing over your cash.

Be careful at attractions like Fethiye rock tomb's, Saklikent Gorge, Kaya Village, Tlos etc. where seemingly helpful locals will latch onto you as a 'guide' and demand cash from you.

Haggle in the markets, I think the old adage of offering half the asking price and then meeting them somewhere in the middle is outdated, some traders now inflate the true price by up to 400%

Restaurants in the fish market advertise just 7YTL to cook you fish and provide bread and salad, confirm their price before you sit down and ask how much drinks or starters will cost.

Watch out for shopkeepers who say things like "Please have some Turkish tea, it is my tradition" once inside you will get the hard sell treatment.

Take your own food and drinks to Dalaman airport, a can of soft drink is £2 in there.

[tinkerman]

Dont buy your spices from the shop by the Duckpond,
They are stupid prices

[Twin Bee]

And avoid the person who offers you a tour of the mosque in Fethiye and explain that it is due to close for new flooring. He will invite you to make a donation in a cardboard box inside the mosque and outside politely ask you for money for his efforts. He will provide you with some interesting info about the mosque but it is a scam.

[Rimms]

At the airport, if the desk attendant tells you your luggage is overweight and you have to pay, insist on a proper receipt. There is a scam where they let you move away from the desk after warning that your luggage is too heavy then approach you before boarding to ask for the money which goes straight into their pocket.

[John H]

I was surprised to see Rimms warning about rip offs at the check in desks. In June some of the passengers on our flight were over their luggage weight limit, and in each case I saw, the baggage was booked through but flight tickets held back. A First Choice employee and an airport official with a receipt book appeared,the penalty was paid and receipt issued. The passengers were then given their flight tickets. All done very professionally and openly. It would be a pity if airport staff were to be generally viewed as potentially dishonest due to the actions of a 'chancer'.

[John H]

Sorry,only as I worked my way through the pages did I realise this thread was now combined with others.

[laffa]

 :)Rimms all good points you raised there,  In regard to the market one, what I have found useful, is when they give you a price in lira, then say this is only 10 english pounds, which in fact when worked out is 13 to 14 pounds, i take out an english tenner and give them that, it has saved me a good few pounds over the years.
The fish market is good advice also, I know people dont like asking prices when they are on holiday, but I also think it takes the enjoyment of the experience away when you are over charged.

[baklavalover]

Caveat emptor, caveat emptor !  (this means " buyer beware") In all honesty this happens everywhere in the world and if people are happy to pay a little over the odds for something that they cant get at home, regardless of the local value, I say let them pay. We are not talking big bucks here and at the end of the day, and getting wound up about it doesnt help.  Remember that Turkey is still a developing country and 6 months of selling  tat to tourists doesnt go far in feeding a family.  Loosen up Rimms, its all part of living in this  wonderful mad country

[mercury]

I think that the point we are trying to make is that we don't mind paying a little bit above the odds as it is a tourist area but blatently ripping people off is what gets up our nose and there is a lot of it goes on. They don't do it with the Turkish as they wouldn't get away with it. Another reason to learn the language.

[duffy2]

I wasn't going to say anything just yet, but this thread seems as good a time as any to announce my new website.

http://www.costtoomuch.com

This site will be directed at exactly those companies and individuals who blatantly rip people off. It is going to be a huge task and I am hoping that with input from folks like you I/we can "name and shame" them. It is still under construction and it will be a while before it is ready. In the meantime if you or anybody you know have evidence of overcharging I would love to hear from you/them. Copies of receipts or even better of menus, tariffs (especially images) etc would be great. Click on the email link on the bottom of the page or send any info to :info@costtoomuch.com.

If you click on Europe on the world (page 2) you will see I have included Turkey there.(EU membership may not happen for a while yet though).

This will be a huge task and I doubt I would live long enough to complete the whole thing  creating a suitable database is daunting enough!! So I intend to commence with Europe, that is as soon as I have the flag links uploaded.

Though I don't expect any help from Baklalover

Oh, Mr Scunner hope you don't mind me advertising, will only be the once - honest!! [: