Foreign tourists in Hanoi have recently fallen foul of overcharging by local shoe-shiners.

Several incidents have happened in the Old Quarter and around the Hoan Kiem Lake involving shoe-shiners who have taken shoes off tourists without their consent.

Avy, a tourist from Australia, was shocked when a shoe-shiner took off her sandals without her permission. She was shocked to be charged VND900,000 (USD40) for a little sewing.

“I was extremely shocked as the cost, it’s more than I paid for them in Australia,” said Avy.




 

Avy was overcharged by shoes repairer.

Helen, a tourist from Norway, was compelled to pay VND500,000 for her shoes to be shined. “It was a really terrible experience,” she said.

Shoe-shiners charge clients differently depending on their attitude. Those who are good-natured are overcharged from VND300,000 up to VND1 million. Those who are good at bargaining are charged less, around VND200,000.


 
A foreign tourist disappointed by the rip-off shoe cleaning prices.


Being informed about the situation, Nguyen Thi Thuy, head of the Office for Culture and Society under Hanoi’s municipal government said the city was determined to curb this rip-off culture as it badly affects the capital city and the country’s prestige.

Hanoi’s NA deputy Nguyen Thi An proposed that local authorities should immediately deal with the situation. “Such behaviour should face criminal penalties,” she said.
 
Lieutenant-colonel Nguyen Ngoc Linh, head of Hang Buom Ward police in Hoan Kiem District, said in addition to shoe-shiners, street vendors were also disturbing and overcharging foreign tourists around the Old Quarter.

However, no tourists have made official complaints to the police so far either because the prospects of filing a report with the police sounds too complicated or simply not knowing who to turn to with their complaints.

Dtinews