Tourists are met by scammers as soon as they land in major European airports, and others await them along the way. This is also the case of Istanbul, a city where Romanian tourists have been tricked more than once by taxi drivers and some Uber drivers.
Istanbul is one of the busiest metropolises. PHOTO: Unsplash
One of the Romanians who visited Istanbul reported, under the protection of anonymity, on a Facebook group dedicated to tourists, the way some of the taxi and Uber drivers in the Turkish metropolis act. It’s a new form of thievery, he says, and tells what tourists who order Uber should expect.
“A new form of thievery! You call an Uber in Istanbul, the taxi comes to you, takes you where you want, you realize that the price is inflated, when you ask for it and pay! You will notice in the Uber app that you canceled the order and 20 Turkish lira will be deducted from your next order even though the taxi took you to your destination, probably at double or triple the price! Be careful, there are many robber drivers, in their own way, in Istanbul0! But don’t give up, take a photo of the license plate and call 112, explain everything and you will surely be served justice! If you are being “robbed” at the end of the race, call 112, immediately! There is a tourist police, I found out firsthand“, he wrote.
The post went viral, and several who read it said they had faced similar problems in Turkey. Another tourist told in detail what happened and came with a piece of advice.
“The trick starts at the airport”
“The tip given by taxi drivers starts from the airport. You leave with a fare and after about 5 minutes they change it under the pretext that it will be very crowded in Istanbul and they can’t take you with the price told by the dispatcher who “fooled” you. You say you want to give up the race, but they tell you they can’t stop there and they walk you around a bit after which they say you have to pay a certain amount even if they take you back to the airport. The solution with them is not to be intimidated and to move on to threats because they mostly rely on the tourist’s laziness. Everything can be beautiful if you form the habit of asking several times before buying something“, someone wrote. “
“The solution is public transport, which is extraordinarily well organized”, another member of the group intervened in the discussion. “After you get burned the first time, you learn that this is the best solution when it comes to transportation”, came a reply.
“Why would you call Uber in Istanbul? Public transport is faster, very well organized and much cheaper”continued the same group member who came up with the carpooling solution. “For convenience, I did the same…. Luggage, busy streets, etc. It was more convenient to order Uber, although I admit I got scammed a few times too“, someone pointed out.
“Another world, other customs”
And other netizens intervened in the discussion. “Pthe problem is not why the lady called Uber because we all know that it is a service offered which if practiced honestly you call in case of need. The problem is when will the Turks stop with these ugly procedures?”, was an observation. “Probably never. Another world, other customs. We can, however, not give them the opportunity to flatter us”he was answered.
“I say that if each of the tricked tourists called the police, it would be noticed and sanctions would be applied. If they were left without a card or even without a license, they would lose their temper. I’d rather give a tip than be stupid in front of you”, was another reply. “I think you have to come back down to earth. Turkey is in Asia, not Europe. Other values, other rules. The police don’t even bother with such a thing“, the debate continued.
“You are wrong. I have my feet on the ground of Turkey and believe me that if the complaints were mass, considering that an image of the country is being affected, you will see that measures would be taken. Clearly, if it’s only discussed on social media and it stays here, the problem will continue.” someone wrote.
“There is a lot of theft in public transport as well“, another netizen changed the direction.
“With Turks, just like with Romanians, you have to beware of spikes. And if there weren’t safe All inclusive stays with decent prices, I wouldn’t set foot on vacation in Turkey again“, someone pointed out. “I did it! He also locked us in the car. Careful! He didn’t unlock our door until I threatened him with the police“, said another.
There are also happy cases
“I have also encountered the same. But I didn’t cancel the race to give them cash. They all said to cancel and pay them triple cash. They are all thieves there. I gave up and took the tram“, someone else wrote.
However, there are also Romanian tourists who claim that they were treated very well by Uber drivers and that they did not have any problems, while others did not seem to understand the idea and wondered why anyone would make a fuss for only 20 Turkish lira.
“Did they steal 20 pounds? A lot, a lot”, was the irony charged immediately by another member of the group. “Does the amount matter?”, came the short and to the point reply.
“We only went with Uber in Istanbul and no one “sucked” us. We were staying in the Fisekhane area and in front of the hotel we ordered Uber several times a day. It never took us longer to “walk around” around the city. Many times we got off long before our destination because of the crowd and the fare was super decent. I paid cash each time, never from my account. And if it matters, we were in Turkey for the first time, we were not familiar with what this experience entailedeh”, was another point of view.
“I think it is the safest tourist city. Speaking of thieves, I’ve never been robbed. I even once witnessed a young man try to steal from an old man. What a beating he took! There a thief is beaten three times if caught. Once the public opinion beats him, the second time the gendarmes and finally the police. I don’t care about human rights, blah, blah. They caught you, they charged you! Maybe that’s why they’re not really thieves. The most effective method of education!“, another netizen added.
