News In the Sun

A 77-year-old Scottish tourist paid dearly last Sunday when he decided to buy a video camera, a battery and a carton of cigarettes from a shop in Los Cristianos.

Perhaps the old boy was a little confused when he handed over two Visa cards, complete with PIN numbers, to the sales assistant who presented him with a bill for…Wait for it… 11,347 Euros.

On Wednesday the victim went to the local police with the sales receipts and explained what had happened and was taken by them back to the shop in Edificio Bucanero.

When confronted, the shop’s owner denied all knowledge of the incident and called for an assistant he knew to be working on the Sunday.

The victim recognized him immediately but when questioned, the assistant refused to say anything.

Because it was clearly a case of fraud, National Police were called in and, for the sake of expediency, suggested they ‘mediate’ in the case.

This resulted in the shop owner handing back all the money to the victim, who handed back the carrier bag containing the goods.

Ed. Note:

It ain’t right and it ain’t fair but usually in these cases the victim is long gone back to the UK before realizing they have been scammed.

In this case, the National Police officers decided that getting the old boy’s dosh back was the most important thing, which is what they did.

Had the victim pressed charges, heaven knows when the case may have come to court and the victim would, no doubt be asked to appear as a witness.

That could be a matter of years rather than months away and by that time the victim would be in his eighties and possibly no longer able to travel, in which instance, the case would be dropped for lack of evidence.

The National Police should be praised for their action, when despite the law, they took a practical decision for the sake of the victim and no doubt they will be keeping a keen eye on that establishment in the future.

But..It ain’t right and it ain’t fair and the authorities need to clamp down hard on the leeches that prey on unsuspecting and vulnerable visitors.

They contribute nothing to this island except to taint its reputation, which the Canarian Government and island Cabildo are spending millions to promote.

Some really useful information on consumer rights in Tenerife can be found here:  http://www.diana-mcglone.com/#ConsumerComplaints

Published on November 6th, 2009 Please leave your comments on the article or letter to the editor on this subject using the form below. All comments are vetted. ... or Share on Facebook