I was visiting Sorrento in Oct 2023 and used Best and Fast Change services to buy some Euros located on Corso Italia 150 in Sorrento. I enquired about the rate of exchange before handing my Canadian Dollars. I was not told about the 20% fee on transaction before proceeding. When I received Euros and did my math, I received $43 less than the given rate. When I asked a question about receiving a lot less than the exchange rate, I was told that there was 20% transaction fee, which was not advised when I inquire about the rate. I requested my transaction to be reversed and my Canadian Dollars back. Customer Service woman at the counter refused to reverse my transaction and or rectify the issue. I felt SCAMMED in a day light. Best and Fast Change is SCAM and ripping off tourists.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15810 posts
It is a well known fact that you should get cash in local currency at banks' ATMs ("Bancomat" in Italy), as you would do at home, and not those rip-off money exchange shops, as it is a well known fact that you shouldn't be enticed to play the "3 shells" game in the streets of NYC.
Posted by
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
3100 posts
You scammed yourself. Every post about getting euros says "do not use currency exchanges". If you don't do your research, you will have a bad experience. .
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5320 posts
Sorry to pile on, OP, but you did this to yourself. The most basic of advance research would have told you to use a bank ATM instead of a currency exchange office.
Posted by
Phoenix🌵
2981 posts
I’m sorry you are not getting empathy you apparently want. But if you had done your homework, you’d know this was your worst option for getting euros. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips
There are also many threads on the forum on the money topic. Yes, the search feature is wonky but it has info. Or you could have posted a how-to question before your trip. Link is to the last year’s posts. https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Euros&utf8=%E2%9C%93
Since this “rip off” happened a month ago, chock it up to lesson learned.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6976 posts
Sorry for your bad choice but since this is your first and only post I can say if you had spent any time here before your trip reading/researching you would have known this was a bad choice.
Posted by
PA
2841 posts
Not to pile on, but on this board this information has appeared repeatedly for the last 15 years. Did you not look into any of the information here before you decided to sign on to post how you were scammed? I am sorry you lost money -but there is no scam, this is how the exchanges do business.
Posted by
Washington DC
27609 posts
I see a fair number of exchange offices as I travel around Europe, especially in the former Iron Curtain countries. This year I saw a bunch in Istanbul. Sometimes there's a sign announcing "no fee" or something like that. Sometimes the actual buy/sell rates are posted. I don't think I've ever encountered a place displaying both those critical bits of information. I imagine there's a reason for that.
Posted by
Green Bay
20905 posts
you shouldn't be enticed to play the "3 shells" game in the streets of NYC
I remember seeing this in front of an Autogrill on the Autostrada about 20 years ago.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15810 posts
I remember seeing this in front of an Autogrill on the Autostrada
about 20 years ago.
The game (called 'gioco delle tre campanelle' in Italian, or game of the 3 bells) is widely practiced in or around Naples. Apparently it was first practiced in Ancient Greece, especially Magna Grecia (today's Southern Italy, including Neapolis), so no surprise if you saw it near an Autogrill. I remember once a guy coming out of the bushes approached me in the parking lot at an Autogrill near Naples. He was selling "fresh" gasoline out of a big jug at half price. I wonder what kind of gasoline he had inside.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you all for your replies. I am not looking for sympathy here. This was meant to help others travelers. Please check out reviews on Truepilot.com how many foreign people have been scammed by this business. Spreading the word could save time and avoid hassle of other travelers. Loss of $43 is not worth my time.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I have been following Rick Steeve for many years and I did my homework before leaving home. Cash that I had meant for small transactions such as bus fares or small vendors that don't accept visa. It would've been enough for 3 weeks trips; however,
the hotel in Cinque Terre didn't have their Visa machine working on the day I was checking out, so this one transaction took large amount of unexpected cash. I was on my way to the port to catch my already booked ferry to Capri. I used that cash in capri for bus fares and funicular. I am sure that most of you found answers to your questions or comments why I was stupid enough to walk into Best and Fast Change. I don't think that I am losing sleep over $43 when I can afford to spend 3 weeks in Italy. Cheers! Happy Travels!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7887 posts
For what it is worth, I had heard about these guys, in fact here is an entertaining YouTube video on them:
Posted by
Boston
1770 posts
@mannsonu thanks for warning others, I'm sure others haven't realized that simply choosing poorly would cause such a very large loss - I sure didn't and I've read about and experienced every aspect of Italian travel for years.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7014 posts
Take your experience as a learning one and hope that others do too.