Kolumel

I was ripped off by an Italian hotel near San Gimignano ($110.00 for one bag of laundry). I will write the hotel itself and try to obtain redress through my credit card company, but is there a better business bureau or other Italian institution from which I can seek recourse? I noticed that the hotel room in Venice had an address to write to with complaints posted on the door.

janis

From your post I can't tell if you were ripped off or not. What kind of "bag of laundry"? Three shirts, or a week's worth of clothing for a family? Hotel laundry charges can be very high - what did the fee chart say?

xxx

Many european hotels charge outlandish laundry charges. In Paris I was charged $163.00 for 11 pairs of undergarments and 2 pairs of jeans. My husband put it in our photo album as a joke= ) Best to find your own laundromat in the future.

Alice Twain

You can contacting the Guardia di Finanza, the italian police branch that deals with these problems. The main point is that this should have been done while still in the place where you have been ripped off. In the future, if you have any such problems while in Italy (for instance beeing charged outrageous fares for a cup of coffee while sitting at a table in Florence or things like that), call 117, a telephone number similar to us 911 that will enable you to speak with a GdF officer that will give you all the informations on how to behave and, in case of need, the telephone numer of the local GdF officewhere to call for having a GdF patrol help you. Usually just menacing to call Guardia di Finanza is enough to scare the scammers off.

x

Sorry to say, I think "better business bureau in Italy" would be an oxymoron. While the people one-and-one are charming and warm, good customer service is not a forte of the country.

Alice Twain

X<BR><BR>This case seems more like a regular scam than a simple case of bad management of the business. A call to Guardia di Finanza means a fast arrival of a police patrol (do not stop a police patrol passing by: in this case you will need the Guardia di Finanza and not regular Police or Carabinieri) that will consider carefully the situation and fastly punish the hotel or bar or taxi driver etc. if the tariff is too high with a fine or, if it is the case, bring him to court.

Just

So, tell us Alice, what kind of an authority are you to make such pronouncements?

jd

First of all, you did not mention what was in the 'bag'. Also, as another poster stated, most hotels in every country 'rip-off' for laundry. Thirdly, don't you have enough brains to ask about cost first, and if you don't get a satisfactory answer, don't use them.<BR>Even in the U.S. I ask the cost, and if they can't answer me in English, I go elsewhere.<BR>Ask first.

Sherry

Just a note about the cost of laundry service in Italy.<BR>I was very surprised that on a recent trip, we were not able to find a self service laundry. We tried in several towns.<BR>Also, the cost of a load of laundry was very expensive. To take your laundry and pick it up, it was at least 11 Euro for one load if it took a normal dry. If not, the cost would be more. And the washers looked very small to me. So we really didn't know what they considered a load. <BR>This is without the extra that a hotel might tack on for the service.<BR>I am not saying that you were not overcharged, I just wanted to tell you how much the cost there is. <BR>We could use the washer at the apartment we rented. It was a communal washer (no dryer) and an honor system.<BR>The washer was very small. I suppose you could put three pairs of slacks in it. Anyway, the charge was 7.50 Euro for a load.<BR>I hope you can find someone to help.

pam

Frankly, I don't think there's too much more you can do than contact the cc company and hope for the best but:<BR>I had my laundry done in Italy and much of it was misplaced and/or I had someone else's clothes.<BR>This was a huge hassel and the bill was not as they originally explained as they ironed every single piece of clothing (including socks and underwear) and that cost was prohibitive.<BR>They did find my clothes ( a little late for me to use them in Italy) and were kind enough to ship them to the States.<BR>Lesson: Do your own laundry unless there is a terrific little laundromat that everyone knows of and is using.<BR>Make certain to ask what ALL the charges will be and when you can expect the clothes back. It took them a looooong time to do that wash.

Dee

I would contest the charge, and see what happens. In the end you may settle for half.

Bel

What "xxx" said below is true: $110 for hotel laundering is not unheard of. In fact, I think you may find that neither the hotel nor the credit card company will offer compensation. I was shocked the first time I had to pay such an exorbitant fee, but at this point it is pretty much understood that hotel laundering is prohibitively expensive.

Capo

Like others, I'm curious as to how you were "ripped off?" It sounds like the hotel charged you $110 to do one bag of laundry -- which is, admittedly, VERY expensive -- but did you not ask how much it was before you had them do it? Or did you ask them how much it was, and they charged you far more than they said? <BR><BR>If it's the second case, I'd agree you were "ripped off." If the first, I'd say it's a very expensive learning experience.

huh?

Capo: Based on your theory, if you neglect to ask a merchant how much a service will cost, they can then charge ANY amount, no matter how outrageous. So let me understand, if they charged $250 for a bag of laundry, I guess you think that would be okay also. Why not $400?<BR><BR>The answer is, what is fair and reasonable for a bag of laundry from a hotel in Italy? I would suggest you try to find the answer to that question and then you will know what is fair and reasonable. Call a chain such as Marriott, Starwood, Intercontinental, etc and ask about laundry charges in Italy at their hotels.<BR><BR>I would dispute the charge with the credit card company, and let the hotel prove that the charge was fair and reasonable.

Alice Twain

Just<BR><BR>My authority comes from the fact that I am Italian and I have been living in Italy for over thirty years. I am experienced on the multiple ways tourists get highier prices for the simple fact that they are tourists (not only foreign tourists but Italian tourists also). I have needed Guardia di Finanza in the past and I will require its services in the future in any case I will feel cheated. Calling the police is everyone's right, that's what the police is there for. prices in italy must not be unjustified, they must be reasonable. I have been charged 30' euros for a breakfast in the center of Firenze, I have called GdF and I ended up paying a reasonable price. Use your rights, do not let yourself be ripped off!

cd

Thanks for the useful information Alice! Are the GdF used thru out all of Italy?

Sue

Alice, your story reminds me of one in my own home town where the reverse situation applied.<BR><BR>An elderly lady went to answer her door. Two men pushed their way past her, and proceeded to start removing her antiques and putting them into a truck. They stuffed $5 into her hand before they left, over her protests.<BR><BR>Judge called it a theft, not a sale.

Capo

"Huh?", actually, yes. I think any merchant, company, or person can charge whatever they want as long as they don't coerce people into buying their product or service or have a monopoly on a product or service that is necessary, and as long as they don't state one price and charge another. <BR><BR>It's always the responsibility of the consumer to ask about the price beforehand. <BR><BR>I certainly wouldn't be happy about paying $110 for a bag of laundry. And I'm sure I'd be po'ed at the establishment that charged me this. But, I'd also realize, that if I failed to ask about the price beforehand, I was ultimately responsible. Therefore, like I said, a very expensive learning experience. <BR>

MQL

Capo,<BR><BR>I think you are wrong in this case. If merchants were to charge eggregious amounts, then it will hurt the tourism or business of that area eventually. The local authority would not agree with your policy in my opinion. A standard of fair practice should be maintain by all community members because the consequences will be felt by the community or businesses of that area in this case. This is a standard business principle.<BR><BR>I agree with a poster above in that research of the prevailing cost should be done to determine whether a legitimate gripe should be made.

Speculating

We still don't know whether Kolumel asked the price first or not. Kolumel, are you there?