Real gem of a scam

By REBECCA PAVELEY

Internet websites, many of them foreign, are luring customers by advertising cut-price holidays which in reality are not available, Britain's Institute of Trading Standards has warned.

Trading Standards officers are investigating the so-called "bait and trap" technique of advertising low
prices to attract potential customers - who are then told that the lower price is no longer available and are offered the same holiday at a higher cost.

The practice is spreading on the internet, where it is known as "virtual pricing," ITS spokesman Bruce Treloar says.

"Internet sites offering cheap holidays have really taken off since the beginning of the year and we are try
ing to keep them up with the law," he says.

"We are looking particularly into last-minute holidays which are not available at the price advertised."

But he emphasises that no specific investigations are being conducted into either of Britain's two big online
travel agents, Lastminute.com or Bargainoffers.com, and adds: "We have had no specific complaints about these sites."

The institute is also concerned that many sites offering cheap holidays are not British companies,
Treloar says. "We have no jurisdiction over many of these sites."

Lastminute.com boss Brent Hoberman says his company's site does not use the "bait and trap" method.

"That is not the way we run our business. It is in our interests only to show offers that are available."

Another travel scam warning comes from a British tourist who allegedly lost about 400,000 baht ($22,425) to an elaborate Thai jewellery swindle. The holidaymaker, Tara Leonard, has now launched an
internet crusade to fight back against such practices.

She is also reportedly trying to get her money back.

Leonard, aged 26, has opened an e-mail address to collect messages from others who have been similarly cheated in Thailand, says the Bangkok Post.

Leonard and her fiance reportedly fell for a classic gem swindle that Thai tourism authorities have been
warning foreign visitors against for years, but apparently to little avail.

The couple were approached by a Thai man while they visited the Grand Palace, a popular attraction in
Bangkok, who offered to take them to another temple in what he claimed was a "state-owned" tuk-tuk, a three-
wheel taxi.

At the temple another man, who claimed to be an employee of the state-run Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT), approached them and offered to show them the Thai Royal Gems shop, which he claimed was set up by authorities to help to raise funds for Thais studying abroad.

Leonard claimed that she and her fiance ended up spending 384,000 baht on jewellery at the store, which had also offered them a free limousine tour of Bangkok and a ride to the airport.

At the airport the British couple became suspicious and asked a TAT information booth about the shop - only to discover it was not state-supported.

They cancelled their flight and are now seeking a refund from the shop and justice from the Thai Government.

Thai Royal Gems management has insisted that the jewellery the couple bought was worth the price they paid, says the Bangkok Post.

Gem scams, in which tourists are sold overpriced goods, have drawn complaints in the past and prompted TAT to launch an information campaign about the swindles and publish lists of TAT-approved shops a few years ago.

- NZPA