Pretending
not to Know the Way to Your Hotel
1. Pretending not to Know the Way to Your Hotel
This scam is most often tried on
visitors arriving at Delhi airport who attempt to take a pre-paid taxi their hotel. During the journey,
the driver will say that he doesn’t know where your hotel is (or that it’s
full, or doesn’t exist) and offer to take you to another hotel, or a travel
agent who can find you a hotel.
Many people end up falling for this
scam as they’re tired from their flight and overwhelmed by the onslaught of
India for the first time. Make sure you insist on being taken to the hotel that
you planned to stay in. In addition, in Delhi don’t give the pre-paid taxi
voucher to the driver until he does so. The driver requires this voucher in
order to receive his payment from the taxi office for the trip.
2.
Saying that the Place You're Looking for has Moved or is Closed
This is a common scam that you are likely
to experience all over India, but most often around tourist destinations in
major cities. In Delhi, travelers looking for the foreign tourist
reservation office at the New Delhi railway station are often told that it's
closed or has moved. They are then taken to a travel agent to make their
booking.
Other variations of this scam will
be encountered when you attempt to visit shops and tourist attractions that are
apparently “closed”. In each case, an offer will be forthcoming to take you to
an alternative and sometimes even “better” place. You should ignore these
people and continue to proceed to wherever you wanted to go.
3. Importing Gemstones Duty Free
This scam is widespread in Jaipur
and also Agra, where many people come to buy gemstones. It involves tourists
being approached by a gem dealer, who convinces them to buy some gemstones for
him, import them under their duty free allowance, then sell them on to one of
his willing partners in the their home country for much more money than they
originally paid.
Of course the details that you'll be
given about the "partner" are fictitious and you'll be stuck with a
lot of worthless gems. Definitely avoid anyone who approaches you with an offer
like this or any similar scenario. Sometimes you won't be asked to buy the
gems, but instead to provide a "financial guarantee" of your credit
card number and signature.
4.
Making the Meter Run Fast
Many taxi drivers and auto rickshaw
drivers are honest, but some have meters that they’ve altered to run fast so
that they can claim a higher fare. It pays to watch the meter to ensure that
it’s ticking over at a consistent pace, and not too quickly. Another variation
to this scam is the taxi driver saying that the meter is broken, and then
quoting an inflated fee to your destination. Here's a non confrontational way
of dealing with ripoff taxi drivers who try this
scam.
5.
Offering a Reduced Taxi Fare in Return for Visiting Emporiums
While this isn’t a scam as such, it
can still be quite a bother. Taxi drivers will often offer a reduced fare if
visitors agree to stop off at a few expensive handicraft emporiums on the way,
so that they can get commissions. No purchases are necessary, only looking. The
catch is when the number of emporiums to be visited increases from “a few” to
at least 5 or 6, so that the driver can maximize his commissions.
The sales people in the emporiums
don’t let potential customers get away easily, so such an exercise can end up
taking hours. If you want to reach your destination promptly or don’t want to
be caught up in what will feel like endless browsing, it’s best to give this
offer a miss and pay the full taxi fare.
