Beware hotel extortion scams in India
Mar 23rd, 2016, 09:43 AM
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Beware hotel extortion scams in India
I had booked two rooms in Hotel Bansi in Dwarka, Gujarat for two nights in January 2016. The booking was done online on December 24th through Arun Singh of indiahotelsroom.com who collected the full payment in advance into their ICICI Bank account before confirming the booking in my name.
Check-in was without any issues after providing my USA passport as ID. On the second night I was told by the lobby manager that indiahotelsroom.com had paid them only half of the charges and had asked them to collect the rest from me in person. We held our ground that we had made full payment to them and had proof of a successful online transaction with details showing Hotel Bansi as the Merchant Reference. Calls to indiahotelsroom.com to sort out the matter were not answered. The next morning Hotel Bansi owner threatened not to let us checkout unless we paid up. He threatened to file a FIR report with the police if we attempted to do so. We ignored his threats and left since we had definite proof of having paid the full charges. It was certainly an empty threat since did not hear from them or the police thereafter.
My attempts to contact Arun Singh of indiahotels.com after returning to Mumbai were unsuccessfull. The person who answered the phone, named Neha, affirmed that they had made full payments to Hotel Bansi. But she did not comply with my request for the transaction details of the payment nor with the request to talk with Arun Singh. This leads me to strongly suspect that indiahotelsroom.com is a partner in crime with Hotel Bansi and might be attempting such scams with other hotels at popular pilgrimage destinations in India. Most Non Resident Indian tourists might cringe at the FIR threat and succumb to the extortion. Such scams are sure to give a new dimension to the adjective in "Incredible India" slogan used by the Indian government to promote tourism in India.
I hope my posting will serve as a caution against using online hotel booking agencies in India of unknown reputation and to carry ample proof of all advance payments even when dealing with better known agencies. Perhaps it is best to book directly with the hotel and avoid agencies altogether, although smaller budget hotels in temple towns in India might not offer online booking facility.
Check-in was without any issues after providing my USA passport as ID. On the second night I was told by the lobby manager that indiahotelsroom.com had paid them only half of the charges and had asked them to collect the rest from me in person. We held our ground that we had made full payment to them and had proof of a successful online transaction with details showing Hotel Bansi as the Merchant Reference. Calls to indiahotelsroom.com to sort out the matter were not answered. The next morning Hotel Bansi owner threatened not to let us checkout unless we paid up. He threatened to file a FIR report with the police if we attempted to do so. We ignored his threats and left since we had definite proof of having paid the full charges. It was certainly an empty threat since did not hear from them or the police thereafter.
My attempts to contact Arun Singh of indiahotels.com after returning to Mumbai were unsuccessfull. The person who answered the phone, named Neha, affirmed that they had made full payments to Hotel Bansi. But she did not comply with my request for the transaction details of the payment nor with the request to talk with Arun Singh. This leads me to strongly suspect that indiahotelsroom.com is a partner in crime with Hotel Bansi and might be attempting such scams with other hotels at popular pilgrimage destinations in India. Most Non Resident Indian tourists might cringe at the FIR threat and succumb to the extortion. Such scams are sure to give a new dimension to the adjective in "Incredible India" slogan used by the Indian government to promote tourism in India.
I hope my posting will serve as a caution against using online hotel booking agencies in India of unknown reputation and to carry ample proof of all advance payments even when dealing with better known agencies. Perhaps it is best to book directly with the hotel and avoid agencies altogether, although smaller budget hotels in temple towns in India might not offer online booking facility.
Mar 23rd, 2016, 11:12 AM
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Thank you for the heads up.
This does not surprise me as corruption there seems more rampant day by day.
I am not sure where the fault is but empathize completely. We had a terrible experience at the Mansingh Palace in Ajmer some years ago and three emails to their corporate address went unanswered. Once the money is in their pockets you are out of luck and I have a lot of personal experience about this.
Good you stood your ground.
This does not surprise me as corruption there seems more rampant day by day.
I am not sure where the fault is but empathize completely. We had a terrible experience at the Mansingh Palace in Ajmer some years ago and three emails to their corporate address went unanswered. Once the money is in their pockets you are out of luck and I have a lot of personal experience about this.
Good you stood your ground.
Mar 23rd, 2016, 07:44 PM
#5
WE had this happen at a quite popular hotel in Varanasi. Owner insisted that our reservation was for an earlier date, and we had lost our prepaid room. Eventually, he offered us a "reduced" rate. Luckily, I was finally able to get a copy of the actual western union papers, on which I had noted the date of our reservation.
The worst part was waiting in the heat (forever) for a hotel pick-up that never happened, dealing with the manager on the "pay by the minute" phone, being dropped in the middle of nowhere by our scamming taxi -we refused to agree to an increased fare halfway to the hotel- and then having to create a scene in the hotel lobby.
I had several "the hotel has closed/burned down attempts by drivers as well.
India is not for naive travellers!!
The worst part was waiting in the heat (forever) for a hotel pick-up that never happened, dealing with the manager on the "pay by the minute" phone, being dropped in the middle of nowhere by our scamming taxi -we refused to agree to an increased fare halfway to the hotel- and then having to create a scene in the hotel lobby.
I had several "the hotel has closed/burned down attempts by drivers as well.
India is not for naive travellers!!
Mar 23rd, 2016, 08:30 PM
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Thank you, KamathU, for sharing your interesting story. I hope that you will post it on Trip Advisor, Flyertalk, and Thorntree. When sometime tries to scam me, I feel a little better getting revenge.
Yes, India is the land of scams. My son and I went on a 3 1/2 week adventure in India, and he likes to use guides, but we were alone in Mumbai. Here's what happened in a three night stay:
Airport Cab Driver:
My son flagged down a driver, and they agreed on a price. After we got in the cab, the driver tried to double the fare. My son whispered to me to keep quiet until we got our luggage out of the trunk. My son then gave the driver the original amount, and he followed us into the hotel, demanding more money. I told the driver to get out of my face, and he left.
Boat To Elephanta Island:
My son and I bought tickets at the dock, and we decided to sit on the upper deck. Well, along comes some guy on the boat, demanding money for the privilege of sitting on the top. I also told him to get out of my face.
Hotel:
Stupid me, they were having a special at the Taj, but for a few dollars less I put us into a dive called the Suba Palace. On the website, the room had lovely white linens, but when we got there, the bedspreads were brown and filthy. Photoshop? Also, two employees blocked the door when we were leaving, while they checked the mini bar. I told them to get out of my face and I pushed past them.
I don't think I'll be returning to India.
Yes, India is the land of scams. My son and I went on a 3 1/2 week adventure in India, and he likes to use guides, but we were alone in Mumbai. Here's what happened in a three night stay:
Airport Cab Driver:
My son flagged down a driver, and they agreed on a price. After we got in the cab, the driver tried to double the fare. My son whispered to me to keep quiet until we got our luggage out of the trunk. My son then gave the driver the original amount, and he followed us into the hotel, demanding more money. I told the driver to get out of my face, and he left.
Boat To Elephanta Island:
My son and I bought tickets at the dock, and we decided to sit on the upper deck. Well, along comes some guy on the boat, demanding money for the privilege of sitting on the top. I also told him to get out of my face.
Hotel:
Stupid me, they were having a special at the Taj, but for a few dollars less I put us into a dive called the Suba Palace. On the website, the room had lovely white linens, but when we got there, the bedspreads were brown and filthy. Photoshop? Also, two employees blocked the door when we were leaving, while they checked the mini bar. I told them to get out of my face and I pushed past them.
I don't think I'll be returning to India.
Mar 24th, 2016, 03:53 AM
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When we went to the Delhi train station the luggage porters offered to wait with us and put our bags on the train and we agreed on a price. As we had 5 heavy bags I was fine with this. Then the train was five minutes late and one of the porters tried to double the fee. He got the original fee and that was it.
Another time at the train station I got a coke and got very little change in return so it came to about $10.00 USD. I told my Indian nephew in law and he lit into the guy right away. He gave me the rest of the money from his own pocket, not the cash register.
I could go on and on but you get the idea. its too bad because there are also many nice people too but these cheats spoil it and sadly there are many of them.
Another time at the train station I got a coke and got very little change in return so it came to about $10.00 USD. I told my Indian nephew in law and he lit into the guy right away. He gave me the rest of the money from his own pocket, not the cash register.
I could go on and on but you get the idea. its too bad because there are also many nice people too but these cheats spoil it and sadly there are many of them.
Mar 24th, 2016, 12:21 PM
#8
And then there was my Savaari driver:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...savaaricom.cfm
And of course you always either have to bargain hard with taxi and rickshaw drivers, or watch the route like a hawk if one actually uses the meter. I have been known to stop the driver and get out when one tried to go the long way.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...savaaricom.cfm
And of course you always either have to bargain hard with taxi and rickshaw drivers, or watch the route like a hawk if one actually uses the meter. I have been known to stop the driver and get out when one tried to go the long way.
Mar 24th, 2016, 07:27 PM
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thursdays, Didn't you have that awful driver in Romania awhile back? Trouble seems to follow you--kidding. Yes, getting into a car with a male is quite scary, I think they have already spent the extra money in their mind when they see a tourist. And we forgot to mention the shopping scams. Every taxi driver in Delhi wanted to take us to carpet shops. It's a shame such a fascinating country as India has such annoying scammers.
Mar 24th, 2016, 08:23 PM
#10
Good memory, CaliforniaLady, that was all the way back in 2006! (Actually it was the guide, the driver was fine.) Hmm, Savaari was 2010, looks like I'm overdue....
I didn't have too much trouble with shopping stops in India, aside from Agra (India's worst for hassles, of course). Don't know whether I didn't look rich enough, or it was because I often took rickshaws instead of taxis.
I didn't have too much trouble with shopping stops in India, aside from Agra (India's worst for hassles, of course). Don't know whether I didn't look rich enough, or it was because I often took rickshaws instead of taxis.
Mar 24th, 2016, 09:11 PM
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Actually, thursdays, I'm headed to Romania and Poland in September, so your old posts came up during my research. Do you have contact information on your blog? I have some specific questions about your experiences--thanks.
And another India story. We were at the Red Fort in Agra, and I needed to use the restroom. In keeping with typical India, the bathroom was disgustingly filthy. As I was leaving, a little boy blocked my path, stuck his hand out, and said, "I clean the bathroom." I replied, "If you did, you didn't do it very well."
And another India story. We were at the Red Fort in Agra, and I needed to use the restroom. In keeping with typical India, the bathroom was disgustingly filthy. As I was leaving, a little boy blocked my path, stuck his hand out, and said, "I clean the bathroom." I replied, "If you did, you didn't do it very well."
Mar 25th, 2016, 08:30 AM
#12
@CaliforniaLady - you can't email me through the blog, although I it may still works through the old website. However, if you post a comment to the blog I will be able to email you, and if you haven't commented before I can block your comment.
Nice line, lol.
Nice line, lol.
Mar 25th, 2016, 04:20 PM
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Cali Lady: reminds me of the 1st time we saw the Taj. I tipped the guide but he wanted more and followed us out. He said "you're an American and they usually tip more. You know I am not paid by the govt." And I said "neither am I" and went my way.
Mar 25th, 2016, 08:35 PM
#15
I didn't have any problems in Lebanon (in fact it was a breath of fresh air after Syria). I might add Morocco to the list, though.
I had a very similar tipping "discussion" with a taxi driver in Jordan. I replied that I was English (I'm a dual national) although it was more that we had negotiated the price for the ride to the airport ahead of time.
The third time I was in Vietnam I found some of the taxi drivers had started scamming. Disappointing.
I had a very similar tipping "discussion" with a taxi driver in Jordan. I replied that I was English (I'm a dual national) although it was more that we had negotiated the price for the ride to the airport ahead of time.
The third time I was in Vietnam I found some of the taxi drivers had started scamming. Disappointing.
