Going to side in Turkey? Avoid this scam shop

[LittleTalkingMan]

Yesterday we were scammed by a shop in Side old harbour called Ottoman spice tea.

This seems to have been happening for many years.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297968-d21340278-Reviews-Ottoman_Spice_Tea-Side_Manavgat_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html

We wanted to buy a hat, and when we went to pay, we were offered a glass with tea.
The tea was lovely so we asked how much it was and they didn’t tell us, they just scooped three very large bags full. And gestured for us to pay.

They then told us it was 300 lira per 100g
They didn’t weigh it, they just told us it would be 1700 lira. We asked to just have the hat and the man became intimidating and aggressive so we agreed to pay.

They swiped the card and told us twice that the card didn’t go through. On the third attempt it did. However when we returned to our hotel we discovered they have charged us over 7000 TL for the tea.

This is £180 in British money!

it is a complete scam. We have read All
the reviews and apparently they become very aggressive if you don’t pay up.

My husband is very tall and broad and they didn’t have any qualms about getting aggressive with him. We had a small child with us so we wanted to just get out safely.

Speak to your bank, ask for a charge back if debit card or a section 75 refund if credit card

Also in the same resort watch for 'free' trips. You get taken to a jewellery store on the way to the published destination where they do very hard sell and charge exorbitant prices for tat. My daughter experienced this and cancelled further trips to other destinations to avoid the unpleasant experiences. You are told there is no expectation to buy but thats not the reality

That’s our plan. I have reported it to the department of commerce. It’s still showing as pending so we cannot do anything until it’s not showing as pending any more

That’s awful. We have had a lovely holiday so far but it’s tainted the experience.
The other shops in the area should be fighting against it as we immediately got on the bus back to the hotel as we couldn’t justify any more spending. We had planned an experience like a boat trip but that’s out now.

He also made sure to mention that our hotel was very nice to put the shits up us as we had wristbands

Yet another person has been scammed by them. Much worse than us

Have you been able to apply to get the money refunded from your bank
The authorities obviously aren't interested in stopping it

We are in the process of trying to get it back.

We posted about the shop on a tourist Facebook page for the area and we had a message from the man who ran the page saying he had been made to delete my post and threatened if it stayed up. So incredibly criminal!

Although we didn't get scammed it was the incessant pressure to get us to spend money that means I'll never go to Turkey again and doubly so for Tunisia

You need to report them to the local police (Zabita)
Ask in your hotel how to get there.
If enough people report they can close them down.

OMG a similar thing happened to us last year, not sure if it was the same shop but it was one for the first tea shops in Side old town. They offered us the tea as we were walking by. We liked one of them, the pomegranate one with menthol. I asked how much and they said something reasonable, didn’t mention that was per gram. They then proceeded to fill a bag and told me it’d be €160! I laughed and said no thanks. They tried to pressure us by husband simply walked out of the shop and told me to let’s just go. So glad he did!

Was very weary of accepting free samples after that.

Hope you manage to get your money back through your bank OP.

Yes that’s the exact shop! Please please write a trip advisor review for them as they have been posting blatantly fake reviews for the last couple of days to hide the awful ones!

Looks like lots of people met the same fate as us sadly! Please avoid if visiting side!
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297968-d21340278-Reviews-Ottoman_Spice_Tea-Side_Manavgat_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html

I went to Side in the 90s and, although I wasn't scammed, there was a lot of hassling and I was glad to go home. Even the taxi driver ignored the address we gave him and took us to his brother's villa in the sticks. An awkward stand - off resulted. I haven't been back to Turkey.

Loads more have been scammed this winter! If you are heading out to Turkey for some winter sun please avoid this dumpster fire of a shop.

This shop is still busy scamming people. If you are going to Turkey this year avoid this shop like the plague!