Claiming to be from a pretty big city, from my experience, I expect pretty straightforward business transactions. However, over the past two weeks I have found that this is not the case.
In order to use our phones, we have to "top up" which is basically putting money on our account, and then calls and texts deduct from the account. Well, the second day of my semester in London, I stopped into the convenience store on the corner, and asked to get topped up. Well the guy gives me the voucher, and explains to me that I just have to dial the 16-digit number on the receipt and it will put the money on my account. I take it home and try it, and it says that the code is "invalid". Well, the next day the store was closed, and then the next day I went in and told him that the code was invalid. He then automatically says, "Well that is becuase you have an O2 voucher and your service is T-mobile". Well, my first response is, "can you exchange it?" and he says, "No. If you had come in the same day that would be fine but now I cannot do anything. you can leave it with me and I will sell it for you." I obviously I looking like I am very suspicious of this whole transaction and he says, "what, you don't trust me?" and I, being my tell-it-like-it-is self says without hesitation, "well, not really."
So I walk away and try to deal with the situation on my own, contacting the company directly, etc. But everything is a dead end. So I sheepishly go back to the convenience store and leave my very expensive piece of paper with this guy (who is there ALL the time, quite literally) and told him I would stop in every day in order to collect my money.
The following day was the day I went to Cambridge, so I didn't go to the store, and the next day was Sunday, and the store was closed. So first thing Monday, I stop in the store and he immediately recognizes me and says, "I sold it, I don't get why you don't trust me." I am profusely thankful until he hands me a ten pound note out of the cash register, and I say, "My voucher was twenty pounds." He says adamantly, "No it was a ten pound voucher."
Now I had been carrying this piece of paper with me for a week, so I know how much it was worth. But in order to never see this horrible man's face ever again I just said to him, "It was a twenty pound voucher. You are a thief and a liar," and I walked out.
The next day, I had to go to the dry cleaner because I had stained my new beautiful yellow coat. Total fail. I go to the dry cleaner on the corner and explain the stain and the guys says, "I will probably have to do two cleans, which is normally 16 pounds, but I will do it for you for 11." Coming off of my recent scam, I was leery, but I thought it was I nice gesture. I still haven't picked up my coat yet, but I have a feeling that this guy just thought that I was cute.
Tonight, I went to the grocery store to pick up some staples (aka beer) for our floor dinner, and I realized after I had checked out that the guy had charged me for an extra pack. If I hadn't looked at the receipt closely , I would have never know this, so I went to the customer service desk and got refunded.
I guess it's experiences like these that make me wish that I wasn't a young American woman. But that category has its benefits as well.
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