British tourist given 3,000-Turkish Lira bill for Istanbul airport-hotel transfer
ISTANBUL
A British tourist visiting Istanbul has reportedly been given a 3,000-Turkish Lira ($757) receipt for a two-way transfer from Atatürk Airport to a hotel in the neighboring district of Gebze in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.
A British company based in Istanbul had invited Gary Stimson to Istanbul from London. Upon his arrival, Stimson was referred to a tourism travel agency at the airport for his transfer to the hotel in Gebze, but he ended up being charged 3,000 liras for the two-way transfer.
Stimson claimed that he had been defrauded and immediately demanded help from the company that arranged the transfer, but the total fee had already been taken from his debit card.
The company subsequently filed a criminal complaint to the Prime Ministry Coordination Center (BİMER) against the tourism agency.
“We were shocked when our guest told us about the issue. We wanted to cancel it but they had already withdrawn the fee from his debit card. If our guest had taken a commercial cab from Atatürk Airport to Gebze it would have cost around 350 liras. We will monitor the issue,” company officials said.
The tourism agency has claimed that the fee included a four-hour Bosphorus tour and a two-way transport bill from Atatürk Airport to Gebze and from Gebze to the airport in a luxury car.
