Crazy Travel Stories, Peru, reflections, South America, Travel

Crazy Travel Stories #14: That One Time I (Almost) Got Scammed in Peru…

Greetings,

It’s been a minute last I last posted a “Crazy Travel Story” on my blog. Mostly because it’s because I haven’t had anything wild happen to me recently on my travels (knock on wood), but otherwise I’ve been preoccupied with getting my grand Argentina trip posts written to be published for later this year. However, this “Crazy Travel Story,” in particular, happened during that same trip, and while it wasn’t as bad as it might seem from the title of this post, it was still a long and arduous ordeal that, thankfully, has a happy ending. Read on!

Crazy Travel Stories #14: That One Time I (Almost) Got Scammed in Peru

Last November, I went on a two-week trip to Argentina. Coming from Los Angeles, there are no direct flights to Buenos Aires, the capital, and it required a layover at either Santiago (Chile) or Lima (Peru). I’d originally booked a flight with a 3-hour layover in Lima, but it ended up being canceled, and I was rescheduled for a layover there for a whopping 13 hours. Given that I had an all-day layover, I thought it’d be a good idea to book a quick tour from the airport to the city to revisit the Peruvian capital.

I opted for a city tour from Lima Discover on November 10th, which would be a 6 to 7-hour city tour with airport pickup and drop-off at the end of it. I paid $100 USD for the tour and was in contact with the agency via Whatsapp about the logistics of pickup in the month leading up to my arrival. The agency was very responsive, and everything seemed to be fine…

…until the day I was leaving. LITERALLY, I was on the plane in Los Angeles that I got a message from the agency that, due to civil unrest in Lima (and much of the country), they found it was unsafe for me to visit and ended up canceling the tour I’d paid for my layover. Seriously, I was in the aircraft, ready to take off, that I received the message. Shit.

I mean, I understood, considering it wouldn’t be wise to visit when Lima was going through serious political unrest. At the same time, I was bummed, and I also had to figure out what to do with such a long layover– would I be able to exchange my ticket for an earlier flight to Buenos Aires or did I have to wait the full 13 hours before the next flight? So many questions as I was taking off, but all I knew was that I had no choice but to wait and figure it out once I landed…

…8-and-a-half-hours later, I landed in Lima and spent the first couple of hours trying to see if I could reschedule my flight to Buenos Aires for an earlier one. Unfortunately, I could not, so I then went about trying to get my refund for the Lima tour with the agency. The agency was telling me that it wouldn’t happen until the following Monday, so I couldn’t do anything else. I ended up staying the full 13 hours in Lima’s airport, even checking myself into one of the airport lounges (which was super nice) and just waiting until my flight in the evening.

I received $30 USD of my $100 USD back the following week, on November 15th. I was in the midst of traveling throughout Argentina, so I sent a quick message to ask when I would receive the remaining $70 USD. No response. It took messaging throughout December, February, then April, to FINALLY get a response from the agency about refunding me the remaining $70 USD. Finally, I received the remaining refund on April 20 via Western Union, and I could not be more than happier. After more than five months since the ordeal began, I finally got my full refund back.

It was a long and arduous process and, while I can understand that the political unrest in Peru delayed getting my refund back, the fact that this agency took so long to return what I’d paid back, it was such a struggle. To be honest, if I hadn’t kept bugging them for so long, I probably wouldn’t have gotten my money back. Thankfully, I did! Whether I would want to return to Lima to properly revisit some day or not, that’s on me, but I am definitely hesitant on trying to book a layover tour over there again…

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day (and safe travels)!

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

47 thoughts on “Crazy Travel Stories #14: That One Time I (Almost) Got Scammed in Peru…”

  2. The anxiety before getting the refunds is quite relatable.. Glad you didn’t get scammed and the travel agency in Peru seemed responsible enough to refund the money.. Layovers are quite the nuisance especially when it exceeds 4 hours threshold.. Thanks for sharing this anecdote.. 🙂

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    1. Thankfully, this company came through and refunded the entire thing. But for a while, I was concerned that they wouldn’t, due to suddenly going MIA for four months…civil unrest had a part in it, so I can’t completely blame them. Overall, I’m just glad I got everything back!

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  3. Wow! I’m happy you eventually got your refund! I had a similar (ish) situation with Sky Airlines which promised a full refund for changing my domestic flight from Cusco- Lima to a much earlier time, but then took about 3 or 4 months to come through. Traveling definitely comes with a lot of hiccups but we grow and live and learn. Thanks for sharing this one Rebecca!

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    1. Yes, it took so long, but I’m glad that I eventually got my refund back! Sounds like a similar situation for you, but it’s about being persistent and having backup plans in case things were to go wrong. Thanks for reading, Elle!

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  6. That must have been so disappointing having the tour cancelled and then having to bug them for so long! I’m in the same situation with an airline at the moment about a refund and it’s been 5 months of waiting so far! Good that you were persistent and finally got your money back.

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    1. Honestly, if I hadn’t continued to pester them for months, I probably wouldn’t have gotten my refund back. It’s a pain, and I hope you get your refund back from the airline soon!

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  7. It would be a shame to end up with this bad experience, but at least choose another agency. In Lima, the Miraflores district is easy to visit on your own, but the rest of the city and even the city centre can be more intimidating, so it’s a good idea to take a guide on a layover.

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    1. Definitely! I would definitely hesitate to try this tour agency again, should I return to Lima…having visited the city before, I would prefer to go by tour, especially with limited time, so that’ll be a project for another day!

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    1. The tour agency was refunding via Paypal, and there were complications refunding the full amount that they had to do it in two installments. It worked out in the end, though!

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  9. I’m glad to hear you got the money back eventually 🙂 I wonder if they hoped that if they kept ignoring your messages you would give up and they’d be able to keep the money? Just shows you should NEvER give up when you’re owed a refund!

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  10. Ahh that’s so annoying that you had to wait months for your full refund – I can imagine having to wait 13 hours wouldve been a bit of a bore! I hope you treated yourself in the airport shops 😆

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    1. The 13-hour layover was super long, but I spent 9 hours of it at the airport lounge, which was quite nice! By the time it was getting close to my flight, though, I was ready to get it over with! 😆

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  11. Curious which airline pulled the ol’ 3-hr layover to 13-hr layover switcheroo. (thinking an epithet in my head right now). I wonder why the company took so long getting you the rest of your money, and why they only returned a portion of it originally. Good for you for persisting. What a hassle, though.

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    1. It was LATAM, and I think since I’d booked it out several months in advance, there was room for flights to be rescheduled or, in my case, canceled. I’d like to believe the civil unrest caused the delay in getting my refund back, although four months delayed was way too long!

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  13. So pleased you eventually got your money back but it shouldn’t have needed so much time and effort on your part as it should gave been fully reimbursed straightaway. Best to be safe and sound in the airport though than facing unrest n a strange city!

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    1. Right! It took a long time to get my refund back, but it worked out in the end! Although it was disappointing not being able to step out of the airport to revisit Lima, it was for the best due to the civil unrest. I made the most of it in the airport, though!

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  18. Glad you got your money back in the end, though how annoying that you had to wait for months and keep asking about it. If we ever end up on a long layover in Lima considering a city tour, we’ll check with you that it’s not the same agency.

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    1. I linked the tour agency in the post; it’s called Lima Discover. Given it’s decent ratings on TripAdvisor, I’m sure it’s a good, reputable company, but I think it was the timing of the civil unrest which made it complicated and frustrating to get the money back. You live and you learn!

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  20. What a shame you weren’t able to let me know. The problems were indeed pretty serious at the time, and rioters took over several provincial airports which trapped a lot of tourists from returning to Lima. However, most of the violent troubles in Lima were down town, and you would have enjoyed areas such as the bohemian Barranco which was pretty quiet compared with centre. Next time you pass by Lima, let me know and I would be happy to show you around myself! Glad you got your money back!

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    1. Yes, it was just bad timing when I was in Lima; in retrospect, I think it was good I didn’t take the tour, as it would’ve been a risk. Lima will always be there, and I’ll let you know if I ever return. Thank you!

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  21. Geez that’s a ridiculous amount of time to wait. Makes me wonder if they were hoping to make the process so frustrating you’d just give up. Either way, good thing you persisted!

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