Hi Nogggin,i was chatting to a friend who got back yesterday,and yes the same thing happened to them,firstly they were told they were 20 kilos over but had no more on their return than they did on the way out,they also had to weigh their hand luggage,and after a lot of arguing they finaly agreed to pay for 3 kilos just to be able to go through,she told me as a warning as we go in a couple of days.

Another Indian scam then !!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT NEXT ???????

Mike

Hand luggage allowance is completely separate from the normal checked in baggage ie 20 kilos! Take a copy of the paperwork from your tour operater and that will confirm your allowance.

They are at it and no way would I pay them more money for something I am allowed!!! £36 is a LOT of money in Goa. Sometimes I wonder why we even bother going, lots more countries would make us more welcome.

Hand luggage allowance is completely separate from the normal checked in baggage ie 20 kilos! Take a copy of the paperwork from your tour operater and that will confirm your allowance.

Just to clarify this, you have a checked in luggage weight of usually 20kg however you also have a maximum hand luggage weight of normally 5kg so if your combined total is over 25kg you may legitimately be charged extra baggage.

Yes Kiltman thats the way I see it as well. However, I got the impression from the posts that people are within the correct weight limits and the staff at Dabolim want to charge them when they are not overweight, ie perhaps a weight total of 23 kgs.

Another s c a m then
What's the matter with them, haven't they yet worked it out that we KNOW what they do.
Think I will be putting any possible extra items in my pockets but I don't anticipate being over my legal allowance as I really don't buy much in Goa any more.
Honestly..........I do get a bit fed up when I read what they are up to
Fizz

Be careful of "the leaning on the scale" s c a m too.

I think if I were within my limit of 20kg hold & 5kg hand luggage (I have digital scales so I can check) and they wanted to charge me, I'd produce my invoice/tickets and stand my ground.

My luggage has never been overweight on any flight though.
Like Fizzy, I don't buy much anymore.

I did read some time ago about the check-in staff putting their feet on the scales to make it look as though cases were over the limit.

I THINK that Monarch now have a sign on the check-in desks (or at least they did the last few times we've flown out of Dabolim) saying that if your luggage is overweight you are NOT to give any money to the check-in staff but instead go to the Monarch office and pay there.

I think this has been going on for quite a few years now at Dabolim, never had any problems ourselves but last season we saw 2 in front of us who were pulled for being a few kilos over.
As for hand luggage, we have never had the weight checked on these anywhere we have travelled. One annoying thing is the amount of people who take on mini suitcases, which must be not far off 3 kilos to start with, and they take up too much locker space.
We have hand scales which are very accurate, and I remember someone posting that they showed these to the check-in desk and was then told to continue with there journey - s c a m it is !!

Weighing hand luggage (seperatley) seemst to becoming the norm now in lots of U.K. airports, both last Sept. when flying to Thailand with Etihad and to Goa with Qatar in Nov. out of Manchester, our hand luggage was weighed seperatley. In fact the couple checking in in front of us had their carry on bag tabbed and sent to the hold. It's really about time, as it's a pantomime on boarding, especially abroad, watching people struggling to squeeze large items into overhead lockers, the result being if you are a late boarder there's nowhere near your seat to put your bag. It's not the first time I've had to lift someones case up, as the weight was too much for them, and in those cases I'd say the weight was far in excess of what's allowed, rant over!
Alan

Hi my friend got stopped a few years ago it was'nt goa it was egypt they said he was over weight he had his own scales and he knew he was'nt, they where doing this to very lot of passengers, on complaining,he was surrounded by armed guards , and was told no pay no way home,he payed with his visa card kept reciept complained to Visa back home and got it stopped,so dont pay cash as you've no come back.it worked for him might not work for everyone but worth a go

Cheers RJL

Has anyone spotted a Monarch Office at the airport?

Yes, it used to be down a passage behind the checkin, entered at the end of the desks, at least thats where it used to be. I know because years ago, before they started charging for extra leg room seats, i used to knock on the door, walk in , tell them I'd like an emergency exit seats, produce a £20 note and hey presto they went on to their terminal and blocked the seats for me, another time when our flight was cancelled, we got onto another flight by the same method. Of course now it'll be different as the emergency seats are all sold from the UK at a lot more than £20
Alan

Has anyone spotted a Monarch Office at the airport?

Oh, Mobor One - you've got me thinking now.

I haven't seen the office at the airport - but I THINK that's what the notice said.
I might be wrong and it might have been a different airline (Thomson or Thomas Cook) but I definitely saw the notice.
I also think that it gave directions to the office.

I remember thinking at the time " At last somebody is doing something about check-in staff charging for excess luggage when it's not over the limit".

It was a couple of years ago and I did post something on here (or TA) at the time.
I can't remember if the notice was there last time we went but next time we go, I'll have a look for it.
It was an A4 notice on official airline stationery in a perspex case.

Regards

And, lets face it, do you need any more chaos? Queuing to check in and then having to find an office to pay the excess. Do you have to queue again to finalise check in?

Has anyone had to do this as yet?

I got stopped one year, they told me to take my coat out of my case but I didn't have one We just shuffled everything around, didn't remove anything and they just checked it in - what a farce as nothing changed and the weight was the same
Fizz

I am a little concerned over this. This is the first time to Goa for us and I do tend to cover for all eventualities when I pack.

This may seem a daft question but could I get all the toiletries I need in Goa? I am well aware that these weigh very heavy in my case. I am more then willing though to buy any brand whilst there to save on weight in the case.

First time as I said and I would love to bring some souveniers back so weight is very important to me.

Any other tips on keeping the weight down much appreciated.

Thanks

Dee

Hi Dee

You can get all you need in toiletries in Newton,s supermarket [ Candolim] they have brand names so no
problem,you could also buy in Boots at the airport after security checks and take in your hand luggage.
I take a few travel size with me, and buy when in Goa. soap, toothpaste ect is really cheap.
most of the small shops in Goa also stock toiletries.
hope this helps
annx

Thanks - that should save a few kilos!
Dee

Dee
I usually take suncream with me but ran out of F25 last year and bought some from the Elephant shop - it was Boots Soltan, exactly the same as I use.
It was halfway into our holiday so I'd got a base tan, I didn't spend any longer in the sun than normal, it wasn't any hotter than normal - and I burned!
I'll never rely on suncream bought abroad again.

Surely if you're thinking about saving weight for souvenirs, it's not so much what you take out but bring back.....

If you can get your toiletries in your case on the way out and use or throw them away, you will definitely have space in your case for souvenirs.
I also take 6 or so paperback books in our case, all within our 20kg each, so I know that, after throwing shower gel & suncream away and leaving books in the hotel, I've got enough spare weight for a few handbags.

You could take older beach towels and throw/give them away at the end of your holiday. Or even buy them in Goa and leave them.
Same for old sandals & clothes.

Sorry, I know this is now going