Facts regarding the con in Gran Canaria

We arrived in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria at about 20:00 on the 24th April 2010. After unpacking we went into the town to get a meal and look around. We got to the port Escala area at about 21:30. We entered a shop in the Port Escala district to buy some water and milk. We bought 2 bottles of water, they did not sell milk but the shopkeeper offered to get us some. When he went to buy the milk, the other shopkeeper showed us a camera, which he said was going cheap. It was a Sony HD DVD Handycam. He offered it to us for 70 Euro's. The deal included 5 boxes of discs, the camera bag, all the leads and a 3 year guarantee. It was a good deal so we agreed. He took the payment from my Royal Bank of Scotland, Marriott Visa credit card. The other shopkeeper came back and gave us the milk. I must stress that up to then these people could not have been more helpful.
The man who sold us the camera then took the camera over to another counter and said he would get the guarantee for us. The other man then said that the camera we had just bought was not very good on it's own. It would need filters and did not work in the light. He connected it to a t.v. and filmed around the shop, the picture was very dark and he said we would have to buy all sorts of things to get a better picture. I noticed that he had not turned on the night vision facility, when I turned it on the camera worked perfectly. He then tried to exchange the Sony for a Sharpix camera for the same money (70 Euro's). I know that this camera was not worth 1/3 of the value of the Sony. I realised then that they were trying to con me. I said no thanks I will take the Sony, which I had paid for.
The attitude of the two men changed in an instant. One of them swore at me and threatened to hit me. He said "get out of my shop". I said "give me the camera". He swore at me again and said "Leave now or I will hit you". I said "what about the money I paid you" he said "we won't take it from your card". My partner was becoming distressed so we left without anything.
I reported the incident to the police in Las Palmas and spoke to a translator. The police have given me a report in Spanish but when I had it translated I found they have got the address of the incident wrong and the details are vague. I received a statement from my credit card provider and they had taken 70 Euro's (£62:60).
This statement is a true account of the facts.



To: Happy holiday makers and Puerto Ricians.

I have just recently returned from a trip to Gran Canaria. On my first night their I was conned out of 70 Euro's by an Asian trader in Puerto Rico. Please see my report.
I have spoken to a large number of local people in Puerto Rico and have heard a great deal of horror stories about these traders. The Gran Canaria info website warns people about these fraudsters, so why are the authorities not stamping down on these crooks?
I have to ask why is this allowed to continue if the authorities know about it?
Spain spends a vast amount of money enticing people to holiday in Spain and the Canaries but seems to do nothing to protect them from crooks and thieves.
I tried to report the incident to the tourist information office and was told "you need the police in Arguinequin". They didn't want to know who was involved or anything about it. They didn't even tell me where the police station was. I went to the Arquinequin Police station and was told no one at the station could translate into English and I would have to pay 40 Euro's for a translator in order to report this crime. If the police was interested in stopping these people, would they not want to gather as much information as possible? Maybe they are too busy fining motorists to investigate thefts or frauds. I then went to the police station in Las Palmas. To be fair they were very helpful, I spoke to a translator over the telephone and he faxed through a statement to the police station. I received a copy of the statement. When I got home, I had my copy translated. The translator had the address of the shop wrong, they wrote it was in Las Palmas not Puerto Rico and the facts were to say the least, garbled. I had told the police my home address and knew my address in Gran Canaria, so why did they not contact me to establish the facts and get the right address so they could investigate the crime? No one to this day has contacted me about this crime. In other words, they are not interested in stopping these people ripping off the holidaymakers to the island. Well they should be. The Canarian's pay their taxes to the government and expect the law to protect them from these crooks. By allowing these people to operate, they are saying to the honest traders, if people stop coming to this island that's your problem, we are not interested.
As for the person who has been ripped off, what chance has he got for justice. In Puerto Rico, there is nowhere for him to report the crime, in Arquinequin, he has to pay to report the crime. When he does all that nothing happens. Spain is a civilised country so everybody, including Spaniards expects the authorities to act against crooks and thieves, if they fail to do so they are taking tax payers money, both native and immigrants, under false pretences and failing in their sworn duty. It's about time it stopped. As a citizen of the European union, I am demanding that Spain protects it's citizens and it's legitimate visitors.
It would be so easy to stop. I understand that these people are licensed. If the police get a complaint, all they have to do is send in an undercover shopper and see what happens, If they discover any underhand dealings or fraud, have their licence revoked and the shop shut down. The unlawful practices would stop almost immediately. How hard would that be?
As for foreigners reporting the crime, a pencil and paper at the information office to write a report in their home language, a fax machine to send it to the police for translation and the police would have all the information they need to investigate these people. As it is most people would give up and the crooks get away with it.
If you can help stop these thieves, I urge you to do what you can. Thank you,

Happychappie