Ah, but Karl, what is the definition of market? Can there be a 'market' comprised of one person? Kolumel assumes not, and wonders if maybe the hotel was chargin, not what the market would bear, but what they could intimidate him/her into paying. Without market data on the average price of a load of laundry for a hotel of same category (Kolumel doesn't tell us what category it was) there is no way of concluding whether K was ripped off, or not.

cd<BR><BR>Guardia di Finanza is one of the several branches of Italian Police (like Carabinieri) and they have more or less the same duties as IRS in the United States. There is one GdF station in all medium sized city and if called they must reach any area under their jusrisdiction. Calling 117 is free and the operator is supposed to give you all sorts of informations about problems like the one at the top of the thread. In case the operator thinks that there is a scam going on he will send a patrol to check it out.<BR><BR>Capo<BR><BR>According to Italian law prices nust also be reasonable and similar to the prices of other providers of the same service or product. If one provider charges a sum that is much highier than the others me can be fined (by Guardia di Finanza).

Thanks Capo

if the market bears a cost of $110 for laundry, then there's notmuch one can do...that's why the original postershould check with local hotels for comparables. However, we must remember that it is not unheard of that business will sometimes price-gouge tourists. <BR><BR>If Harry's restaurant owners change their prices depending on the customer, then you have a fairness issue. If the owner sees a family with 6 extremely grouchy and hungry kids and decides this is a good mark-up opportunity, then this unfair and unreasonable from a principle standpoint.<BR><BR>Right now, only the original poster knows if he was price-gouged or not because none of usknow the content of that laundry bag.

Kolumel hasn't appeared again to respond to this thread, however, I am very curious how many pieces were in his one bag of laundry, and what items were in there. Although the price does seem high, could it be that Kolumel had items that needed special care, like silks, cashmere and wool? It's nothing for a hotel in NYC to charge $15 or more to clean a garment. <BR><BR>And for that matter, why didn't Kolumel bring some soap with him and wash his garments out in the bathroom at his hotel? Yes, I agree that the buyer should beware, but I have to think that the prices were posted and that Kolumel had to complete some type of form listing what items were to be cleaned, and that the form had prices posted on it.

I would also like to know exactly what was in the bag. Kolumel, I recently (this May) paid almost $45 to have 5 or 6 items laundered at my hotel in Venice. The prices were clearly posted on the laundry sheet that I turned in with the clothing. So I wouldn't call this being "ripped off". I can easily see how a few more items could add up to over $100.