Money Swap at NDLS Pre-Paid Autoh Booth

sannna

The first time it happened, I thought nothing of it - obviously I had given the wrong amount of money. The second time, a day later, it happened again. Again I gave a 50 instead of 100 rs bill, so the person in the booth pointed out. I felt a bit embarrased - mixing up notes and all, even after coming to India so often...

Than, that night, as I lay in my bed, it suddenly dawned on me: I was tricked, twice. And that at an official pre-paid autoh booth! And I did not even notice it, twice. I suddenly realized that I always keep my money extremely organized in my walled and that I always pick the right note. To give the wrong note twice in two days, at the same place... that was simply not possible. So this had to be a money-swap scam.

I became so angry...what is the point of walking to the booth if people in it rip you off? Next time I am in Delhi I will prepare a speech in Hindi to show that I know and that I will report them. I do not expect any money back, or anyting changing, but at least I'll get the stupid feeling and anger of my chest..

Moral of the story: beware of the pre-paid autoh-rikshaw booth at New Delhi Railway Station!

jyotirmoy

OMG another scam, this fellow seems to be a trained magician. Next time show him the note and tell him loudly that it is a hundred buck note, hand over the note after he agrees. He will get the message alright.

puchoo

really bad....!

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Indizen

You must insist you gave the right amount, instead of meekly giving in; otherwise these crooks will make a mockery of the prepaid system.

capt_mahajan

Next time insist you gave him 500, and make a fuss.

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sannna

Yeah but somehow you are not expecting this at a pre-paid booth, and you are the foreigner handling strange money so you don't want to accuse them falsely... You only make a scene when you suspect things are wrong.. I was caught unawares..

shashank.aggarwal

I understand your situation Sanna, but making a fuss is only solution...

Infact would have loved to go the Captain's way !!

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JuliaF

A similar one, which I've had attempted at railway stations too, is if you give say a 100/- note for a 35Rs ticket and are then given 15Rs change. Then there's a pause and he hopes you'll put away your change and run off to catch the train. So you stand there with your hand out and the 50Rs is given over with a little tiny smile (or a grimace).
It's a clever one, and especially as there is no illegality as such, he's just being rather slow in getting the notes out of the right compartment in the drawer ....

capt_mahajan

Yep.

Long ago, they did the same thing to me in Appu Ghar in Delhi. Maybe it was too hot, maybe he took toooo long, so I put in my hand through the small grill they had and slapped him

chAos

Oh man! Who needs Bollywood action sequences when they could just travel with the Captain instead!

sthakur

Hey its travel in a third world country.. whats getting ripped off a dollar or two, I understand the principle, but getting worked up for a few bucks is pointless.

sthakur

aadil

It is the principle of getting what is due to you and not getting cheated for even a single rupee, especially at a government run booth. This practice is not a new way of making money from foreigners but it is used even on local tourists so it is not only foreigners who get ripped off. Many taxi drivers also employ this same trick when you pay them at the end of the journey. So always mention which note you are giving when you pay anyone and ensure that they also respond correctly when taking your cash. It helps to be a little smart with such people.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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shashank.aggarwal

Your statement is correct, but it it would been spending extra money..as in traveling in a taxi rather than a local train..then I do support your point...however being cheated is not acceptable..

sannna

What angered me was not the fact that I paid too much. It was the fact that it happened in a government run place which main aim and purpose is, as I understand it, to not have to deal with these kind of tricks.

It happened to me a couple of times before (in a Bombay taxi), and I had to laugh at my own stupidity. If happened in wineshops where I would have to wait for a long time for the correct change came (in Lucknow and Hyderabad). It happened on markets and other places. Every time I had to laugh at my studpidity. ANd noticed the scam instantly. However I did not expect this to happen in a pre-paid taxi booth run by the police. Silly, maybe knowing that the Indian police is, well, not the most trustworthy police corps in the world, but at the same time it angered be, precisely because these are the people who are being paid to prevent people from having to put up with this...

puchoo

In theory your assumption is right, for all practical purposes this is not being cautious...