Camera Shop Scams
All too often we hear about people who have been conned by Lanzarote camera shops, into parting with their hard-earned cash for a camera or electrical goods that are either fake, below par, or mis-sold. A prime example is paying €300 for a MXJVC camera, that is actually available for about £15 on Ebay - and is nothing to do with JVC
Before making any kind of purchase of digital cameras, or electronic equipment etc, be sure to shop around for price and quality comparisons. If the shop you are in does not want to let you go, and is coercing you into buying their products - then get out of there quickly, as 9 times out of 10 they are up to no good.
The number of times we have seen people practically pulled into these shops from the street. British people are notoriously polite, and do not wish to offend. You’ll have to be tough with this one - and say “NO” firmly.
If however, it is too late, and you are not happy with your new purchase, or you feel that you have been dishonestly looked after, you DO have the right to make a formal complaint in writing on the premises of the business.
First of all, ask for the ”Claim book” or “Libro de Reclamación”. By law every establishment must have one on the premises.
2. Fill in the green and white copies in front of the shop keeper.
3. Keep all your receipts as proof of purchase - both the shop receipts and any credit card slips.
4. Submit the sheets to the Departamento de Consumo at the Cabildo Building in El Reducto, Arrecife, within one calendar month in order for them to take action. Your claim is only valid if you submit the sheet directly to the department of Consumer Protection in Arrecife.
Remember… bargains are usually good - but beware of something that seems TOO much of a bargain!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Just to add if you go to shop for the complaints book and they refuse please dont be afraid to call th police or get someone to do it for you.As they WILL HELP YOU I advise everyone not to buy electrical I tems here in Lanzarote I have lived her for 11 years and seen some bad scam’s
April 24th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Well said Dawn - all too often people won’t complain loudly, or sstand up for their rights as consumers. Then they are left with a very sour taste.
Elle
April 28th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hi. i just read your coments on camera scams on Lanzarote.
well like an idiot i fell for it hook line and sinker,
i bought a camera supposed to be all singing and dancing after you load
the software, i could’nt do this untill i got back home to the UK.
when i tried to load the software most of it was’nt on the disc, so the very
expensive camera turned out to be rubbish.
I did not know about the Claims Book you mentioned,to late i’m back in
the UK now only two weeks after my holiday, a very good one to except
for being stung for a lot.
It would have been a great help if holiday Rep’s would warn people about this sort of scam.
keith.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Sorry to hear that you were stung Keith. Any chance that you paid by credit card and could take this up with your CC company? I know it’s a long shot hon.
We’re glad that you enjoyed your holiday despite this - but just wish more people were aware of the dangers. Hopefully this blog subject will help a little.
Elle
May 7th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
You know you could always Write to the Spanish Embassy in the UK I dont know if it would help but the more people that done it they would have to sit up and look into it.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Hi,
Just got back from lanzarote and I was looking to buy a canon EOS450D (been looking in the UK B4 holiday). Went into Micro-Tech just off the main beach in playa Blanca. Looked at the camera, very heavy salesperson. This seemed a good deal and left a 20 euro deposit (salesman said we could have the deposit back if we didn’t want the camera). Just before returning to UK, we got talking to the poolman (expat living on the island). He told us about his bad experience (another shop trying to sell him a camera “new” but once the shop knew he was a resident, the manager told him it was a refurbished model). So they didn’t buy.
Anyway, this put the wind up me so we retuned to the shop and told the salesman we didn’t want to buy the camera and wanted our deposit back. Well talk about turn nasty, as soon as they realised we weren’t going to buy it they turned like the wind. we ended up buying a game for my son just to save us losing the 20 euro.
My advice DON’T TOUCH ANY CAMERA SHOP WITH A BARGE POLE. IF YOU DO HAVE A GOOD THINK ABOUT THE DEAL AND DON’T LEAVE A DEPOSIT……………..EVER.
We won’t.
October 28th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Thanks Paul, for sharing your experience. Once again - another nasty experience.
All we can hope is that people find this out before they arrive… and avoid the scams!
Elle xx
November 13th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hello,
I returned from Benidorm yesterday only to discover I had also unwitingly been conned into buying two fake cameras. They were for presents (a JVCAM - 179 euros and a SHARPIXEL - 169 euros) and both are faulty. They were bought from a shop ‘Digital World’ at the Rincon end of the Levante Beach. The Asian salesman persuaded me these were top of the range cameras manufactured by JVC and Sharp and both had 16 megapixels. I was assured I wouldn’t find any better deals and as this was a shop, I thought it must be legitimate or it wouldn’t be allowed to trade. HOW WRONG!! WHY ARE THESE CROOKS STILL TRADING IN FAKE CAMERAS AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT? CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO STOP THEM?
There is no contact address on the receipt or the 2 year international guarantee so I am unable to return the cameras to them and even if I did, I doubt if I would get my money back. These salesmen are smoothtalking thieves.
Surely the Spanish Authorities could do something to stop these conmen from ripping off British tourists? To top it all, an unauthorised payment of £146 has been added to my credit card which is currently being investigated by my credit card company. In total I have been ripped off for approximately £450.
I FEEL SO ANNOYED WITH THESE PEOPLE. THEY SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AND SHUT DOWN. IT HAS PUT ME OFF BENIDORM FOR LIFE!
November 14th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Hi Tony - we’re very sorry to hear about your experiences.
Benidorm of course isn’t in the Canary islands… but I think your comments just go to show that this isn’t an isolated problem. These people should be made accountable. We heard of yet another incident in Lanzarote just last week where it got quite nasty against a woman and her daughter.
We hope that your credit card company can at least repay the unauthorised amount.
Elle xx
December 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
31/12/2008
Just returned from Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria having spent Christmas week there and my wife was scammed/duped into buying me a SMART JVCAM Camcorder for Christmas at the Jai Sai Electronic outlet/shop some 50 meters from the El Greco Apartments near the main Puerto Rico beach (a good few hundred euros spent).I tried in vain to the money refunded but it had gone through on the Credit Card within hours of the transaction taking place. I am extremely annoyed that this happened and wish to advise fellow travellers that this scam is very much alive and kicking. I would like to get some compensation for the episode and will be highlighting this incident ‘far and wide’, as well as contacting the local authorities who should no allow this to continue - it does nothing for the reputation of the Canaries! I agree that these unscrupulous dealers should be shut down in the interest of maintaining what is a lovely tourist resort.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hi Kevin - thanks for sharing your experiences. The more people who can share their stories, and who are not prepared to accept this… the better!
Please do let us know how you get on
Elle xx
Happy new year all!