Scammed in Lisbon

[peregrina2000]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

 

[TulasiPriya]

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

What was that supposed to say? Sorry you got scammed.

 

[filly]

Well… dear Laurie! I just got scammed in a service station near Lisbon.

Ordered one coffee and custard tart and paid with contactless without checking the amount or asking for a receipt. I went to the baños and my partner waited. He was then asked to pay and did not realise I had already ‘paid’. On the tray was the bill I had paid… for the previous person for much more. Small matter and maybe not deliberate but the moral is:

- when paying ‘contactless’ look at the screen for the amount you are paying
- ask for a receipt as well as a bill

 

[filly]

… and I just read an article about the fact that Ubers were an issue in Lisbon as only official taxis had the gadget to lower street bollards in the very central controlled area … so maybe the moral is that you just live and learn.

 

[trecile]

I have always taken an Uber. I like knowing what the charge will be upfront.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Well… dear Laurie! I just got scammed in a service station near Lisbon.

Ordered one coffee and custard tart and paid with contactless without checking the amount or asking for a receipt. I went to the baños and my partner waited. He was then asked to pay and did not realise I had already ‘paid’. On the tray was the bill I had paid… for the previous person for much more. Small matter and maybe not deliberate but the moral is:

- when paying ‘contactless’ look at the screen for the amount you are paying
- ask for a receipt as well as a bill

one small reason to pay in cash for amounts under (say) E20.

 

[Robo]

A good warning and reminder to us all Laurie.
I think we've all been 'scammed' at one time or another

 

[dick bird]

You have my sympathy. It happens to us all. 35 euros may not be a huge amount in the great scheme of things, but it still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Whenever it happens to me, I try to remember the words of Socrates ¨The best revenge is a good life¨ so I think you are doing well.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Sorry to hear your trip starting this way Laurie. Don't beat yourself up even though you are obviously feeling Very Stupid right now. And thanks for sharing to alert others to the trick.

 

[naplesdon]

Laurie,
I will be in Cascais this coming weekend (25-29/9). Do you have some time to meet?
PM me,
Don

 

[TravellingMan22]

I have always taken an Uber. I like knowing what the charge will be upfront.

Indeed, I try to avoid taxis like the plague but if I have to get one I always look for an Uber, Bolt, Cabify or whatever the local equivalent is. It takes away the ‘foreigner tax’. I can’t speak much about USA (they do seem better there), but in many parts of Europe and Asia, taxis are probably the most notorious scammers I can think of.

 

[tinway]

Thank you for sharing your experience to help others avoid scams. Where did you catch the cab? Was it from the official taxi pickup area? I took a taxi to my hotel this May, and I was also nervous watching the meter increase. To my surprise, it ended up being cheaper than the price on Bolt. However, I only used a taxi once in Lisbon, so I might have just been lucky.

 

[BombayBill]

You have my sympathy. It happens to us all. 35 euros may not be a huge amount in the great scheme of things, but it still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Whenever it happens to me, I try to remember the words of Socrates ¨The best revenge is a good life¨ so I think you are doing well.

“….a good life“ and a kind heart. You have both and now a good story.

 

[VeroKen]

I had the same problem in Lisbon. I got a taxi from the airport. During the drive, I noticed the driver shut his glove compartment that held the taxi meter. When we arrived, he told me a very high price for the ride. I demanded that he open the glove compartment and show me the meter. It was much lower than he said. Live and learn.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I had the same problem in Lisbon. I got a taxi from the airport. During the drive, I noticed the driver shut his glove compartment that held the taxi meter. When we arrived, he told me a very high price for the ride. I demanded that he open the glove compartment and show me the meter. It was much lower than he said. Live and learn.

Good work! Remember you hold the power until you hand the money over!!! Just walk away if they try to rip you off!!

 

[lt56ny]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

We have all been scammed one time or another. Especially in The Bronx buying some things that would not be considered legal by law or proper society. haha. (But that was centuries ago in my very young days) I too only take Uber. I have on occasion taken a taxi when I am visiting my daughters in New York. My wife is Mexican and she loves to talk and drivers of course hear her accent. I am always vigilant because on more than a few occasions they have tried to take us on a tour of New York. I know Manhattan, The Bronx and Brooklyn like the palm of my hand. On a few occasions an "incorrect" turn or an attempted exit off one of our many antiquated highways are attempted. Of course I immediatly confront the driver in no uncertain terms with "DO NOT MAKE THAT TURN OR EXIT". That is not the way to go. From that moment on I do all the directing to the driver. In an unknown city or town it is Uber. I have found the few times I have taken a taxi in Santiago that the drivers always seem to take the correct route. Lesson learned but it was a little disconcerting to hear you say the receptionist at the hotel would have scammed you also if he didn't like you. Maybe he was kidding?

 

[Traveller44]

And make sure to count your change. Twice in the last week i was shorted. Once for only 2 € at a small tienda and the second time i bought a tube of toothpaste at a larger grocery store. I counted my change and when i realized i was short 10€ and after a " Disculpe Señorita "the cashier handed me the 10€ without even looking at me. Makes me wonder how mant times she has been successful in the past.

 

[Lexicos]

I know not everyone can do this but …… in three years of extensive travel including 3 Camino’s in that time and visits to quite a few cities, I’ve never taken a taxi or an Uber, and I don’t plan to in the future. I use public transport or I walk. And that’s because I’ve had crappy experiences like what you describe, once in Athens and once in Florence. I vowed “never again!” And I’ve stuck to my pledge.
Quite good at it now.
Peace of mind.
Sorry it happened to you, but, as I once had to say to my Mum, ‘there are bad people in this world Mum!!’

 

[El Cascayal]

Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

Don’t beat yourself up. You were jet lagged and stressed. 2 pluses: It won’t happen again anytime soon. You have warned all of us.
PS: your friends love you!

 

[Terry&Dianna]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

Sorry to hear of your misadventure. My experience from the Lisboa aeroport as well as the Algarve has been very positive with public transport, particularly using BOLT...very honest and caring drivers. Hope your driver experience was but a rare and unfortunate event. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Mikey - camino]

Sorry to hear you got scammed. I've gotten scammed a few times, theft is a better word.
I have never understood why folks do not obtain a receipt for a credit or debit charge. how do you verify the charge when the bill comes due??

 

[peregrina2000]

Where did you catch the cab? Was it from the official taxi pickup area?

Yes, it was an official green and black small Mercedes cab, which drove up to the official taxi pick-up area, and then showed me an official looking printed list of ridiculous prices. As @Kiwi-family noted, I felt Very Stupid. 20 years taking cabs in Lisbon and I have had a few occasions to insist that the driver put the meter on, or to point out that we were going in a very roundabout way, but never anything like this!

But you know, it is a whole less off-putting than getting flashed, which has happened to me more than I can count on Caminos. So by comparison, this was easy to shake off.

And then when I arrived in Villa Franca de Xira, having walked from the Cathedral on my jet-lag day, when I saw that an Uber back to Lisbon would cost less than half what I paid yesterday from the airport, I gave up my virtuous plans to use the train and hopped in an Uber! I am using that scam price as my daily upper limit now.

Thanks to everyone for the consolation. And I hope it never happens to you!

 

[AidaYYC]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

Oh, my dear fellow Pilgrim. I am so sorry to hear this happened to you as well. If this was the case, I was also scammed because I paid about the same but I never been to Lisbon assuming these were the taxi fares, I did not report it. I would not call myself 'nice' but it is small consolation that I am in the good company of a nice lady like yourself. We are both the wiser for it. Thank you for sharing and Bom Caminho

 

[coastlk]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

No reason to be embarrassed, we've probably all had something similar happen to us. Thank you for the warning!

 

[artsschmidt]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

I was conned to in Lisbon. Same deal but the cab was not that new or clean.

 

[peregrina2000]

I was conned to in Lisbon. Same deal but the cab was not that new or clean.

The sad thing is that people take official taxis because they think the odds of scamming are lower, but this may not be the case. As others have said, Uber gives you a lot more security. It’s too bad, because the taxi drivers used to make a decent living, and now they are undercut by Uber and its pretty exploitative practices.

 

[Freewalker]

I am very embarrassed to write this, because this is the twentieth year I have come to Lisbon to teach a two-week course, but I was scammed today. Hopefully, my embarrassment will save someone else some cash!

I got to the Lisbon airport and hopped into a cab. Very nice young man, very proper. I always try to speak Portuguese when I can, because almost everyone speaks English, and my Portuguese is shamefully inadequate after having spent so much time here. So we were having a jolly time conversing. When we got to my hotel, the bill was 38.50!! WHAT???? Well, as I now realize in retrospect, he had been building the case for this since I got into the cab. He told me he was a driver who was specially licensed by the city, one of a group of taxistas who only do airport runs. They pay more in taxes, but get priority in the long lines at the airport. It all seemed reasonable till I saw the charge. When I expressed my incredulity, he pulled out a very official looking laminated poster, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and maybe one or two more languages, which detailed the charges from the airport to the city, to Cascais, etc. It even had the seal of the city of Lisbon on it! I thought that it must be an initiative to raise salaries, so I gave him my euros.

When I was checking into the hotel, I commented to the receptionist about how much taxi prices had gone up in Lisbon. Another woman heard me and told me it was a scam. She had been a victim of the same thing. She paid the price, but asked for a receipt (I didn’t) and wrote down the taxi number, and then called some central taxi office in Lisbon. She was promptly refunded the difference. The receptionist at the hotel felt really bad, but he told me that I should be comforted by the fact that he wouldn’t have scammed me if I hadn’t seemed like such a kind person. Small consolation, but I think the operative word is gullible.

ANYWAY … the taxi prices have not gone way up in Lisbon. Taxi fares from the airport to the central city should not be more than 10-15. If this happens to you, get a receipt and get the taxi number. Or avoid the whole issue and take an UBER!!!!

(P.S. I am writing a find penguins but I am not going to admit to this stupidity to my family and non-camino friends!).

Awe Laurie I am sorry to hear that !! Geeezz it happens to the best of us. I am always dead tired after flying transatlantic and can be as gullible as a fish! I don't seem to fly well anymore. Take good care and enjoy every second. Bom Caminho !

 

[domigee]

@peregrina2000
Don’t feel bad, I got scammed in my own city, Paris! Or should I say, they tried to scam me! I put the taxi driver to rights! I was fuming!
Sorry it happened to you

 

[ShoshTrvls]

We've all been there. I once paid for two nights in a (nonexistent) guest house in Cusco, Peru from someone who I later learned was essentially squatting in a closed "travel agency" storefront in Lima. (In my defense, this was 1989, pre-internet for all intents and purposes, so no way to determine whether said guest house existed much less how much it cost; still, it was unbelievably stupid to just hand over my meager cash to someone just because he opened a door as I walked by).

 

[trecile]

What was that supposed to say? Sorry you got scammed.

FindPenguins is a travel blogging site/app.

Plan, track, and blog your trips

Automatically and effortlessly track your travels, simply with your phone in the pocket. Create a beautiful travel journal and enjoy the benefits of our leading travel app.

findpenguins.com

 

[TulasiPriya]

FindPenguins is a travel blogging site/app.

Plan, track, and blog your trips

Automatically and effortlessly track your travels, simply with your phone in the pocket. Create a beautiful travel journal and enjoy the benefits of our leading travel app.

findpenguins.com

Oh, thank you! It seemed like a very odd typo!

 

[chinacat]

Thank you so much, Laurie, for ‘coming clean’ so you could forewarn us all


I would like to offer something to balance @ShoshTrvls experience.
In 1972 I was wandering around Athens with a couple of friends when a young guy came up to us and offered the use of his apartment.
He seemed okay so we accepted.
When we got upstairs we found ourselves in a palatially spacious flat, high, high ceilings - the works. It was a little dilapidated but it had a view of the Acropolis and a lovely Californian couple already in residence. They were going overland. We stayed for about a week, shopping in the market and cooking pizzas etc on a couple of camping stoves .. lots of ratatouille!
The young man had recently inherited the apartment and was slowly doing it up. We offered help but he never let us do anything. Nor would he take any money from us.
I think he just wanted to share his luck with some laid-back travellers. I caught the train back for uni; everyone else travelled onwards.
It was a precious time and I’ll never forget it.