My quest for justice (well, sort of) ...
So, I know I've alluded in past posts to the apartment drama that occurred when I first got here. For awhile, I decided to just move on, and accept it as a very expensive lesson about how I should always look at a place before putting money down (and, as a man I met in the hostel pointed out, such tragedies always take place in periods of transition - so allowing adjustment before spending that much money would have been a much better option). But, well, I'm not so great at letting things go - I'm a dweller. So I decided to try to get my money back ... Tak, a Japanese guy I met at the hostel, has been working with the police for a week or so to prosecute a man who "stole" 60 LE from him (the two had drinks together, but then the local had "forgotten" his money, and so Tak had to pay), and I have to respect the kid - it's only $10, but as he keeps saying, it isn't about the money. It's about the principle. And I, too, would like justice - after all, people shouldn't be allowed to take advantage of foreigners like that. But really, more than the principle, in my case, it's kind of about the money ...
First things first, though. I lamented the poor state of the apartment in my first post, but just so everyone gets an idea of how stupid I was and how much I was taken for, here's a (too extensive) recap:
I registered online at some subletting site, so that I could contact people ... apparently, my info was sold, and I got an email from some guy in Cairo who rents flats. So we did some talking, I told him where I was going to be working, and he told me he had a nice, 2-bedroom apartment (I'd specifically asked for two bedrooms) about 12 minutes walk from my office. Then I received an email from HRAAP, where I'm working, with the office address actually listed in the signature block ... and it was a different address than the one I'd gotten off the website! I verified that the website address was old/wrong, and then contacted Baher, the apartment dude, with the news - "Sorry, I gave you the wrong address, if you have anything within walking distance of this new address, let me know." And he writes back and tells me that, in fact, the apartment he was holding for me was 12 minutes walk from THAT address as well!!
Huh ...
So I'm like, "Dude, you're obviously wrong, because the two addresses I gave you are on DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE NILE!" He insists it's 12 minutes, he's walked it himself, but if I don't want to take that place, he has one available in Zamalek that also meets all of my requirements, and is the same price. I was told that Zamalek is a good place for Westerners such as myself to live, and I found the street on a map - it looked like a good place to be (Zamalek is actually an island in the middle of the Nile, and the apartment was at 5 Brazil Street, a street that goes around the edge of the island, so the building would have a Nile view). So I told him I'd like that place instead, and made him verify that we were still talking about the same essentials - AC, washing machine, phone, two bedrooms ...
Anyhow, long story short(er), he told me I had to send a $200 deposit to get the owner to hold the place for me, and so I wired it over, spending an extra $45 with Bank of America (stupid overseas transfers), verifying that the deposit for the 5 Brazil Street apartment had been received ...
And then I got picked up at the airport, and everything I mentioned earlier happened ... the place was a one-bedroom piece of shit on Yehia Ibrahim Street, and since Baher wasn't there, I couldn't talk to him about it. His agent called him, and I got on the phone only to get told over and over again, in an increasingly loud voice, that "You can't get a two-bedroom apartment for $500!!!" and "This is a nice place! What's your problem???" They agreed to show me a two-bedroom in the building, and it wasn't bad, but wasn't good, either (and was on the second floor, which means there's NO natural light), and they wanted $750 for that one! I kept trying to reach my cousin's friend Nazli, to come over and look at the place (I was pretty sure I was getting screwed, but obviously didn't know how much stuff should cost), but she wasn't answering her phone, and so I was stuck in an apartment with three men, only one of whom (the landlord) spoke any English at all, in a strange neighborhood in a strange country, absolutely exhausted ... and these people refused to leave until I signed the lease and paid for all three months. So I caved, handed over my money, and they left.
But I finally got through to Nazli, and she was ASTONISHED at how much I was paying - and kept telling me that, for that much money, I better have a VERY nice place, and if there were any problems, the owner better be handling them immediately. Her negativity managed to undermine my tenuous "it'll be fine" attitude, and I decided to leave. A full month's rent is an absurd amount of money to keep for one night, but since I'd actually signed a contract, the owner didn't have to return anything - I wasn't going to rock the boat. But when the rent was returned, I learned that Baher, in addition to being a slimy, lying asshole, had skimmed significantly off the top. And the men at the apartment had no idea - as I was waiting for a cab, I was talking to the landlord, and he seemed just as surprised/irritated as I was.
So, all told, I lost, in addition to the $350 the landlord kept, 1000 LE (about $150) x 3 months in skimmed rent, and the $150 commission that Baher actually admitted to taking.
Grand freaking total: $950, $600 of which is currently in the hands of a sleezy flat agent!!!!
$800 is a pretty significant dent, but I spent the next two weeks being touristy and busy, so didn't really consider trying to get the money back. Besides, I was fairly certain I had no chance ... but, reading over our email communications, it became very clear that I'd at least been responsible enough to demand verification of the particulars of the apartment, including the address, after I'd sent my deposit ... and he'd complied. (Sadly, I haven't found Egypt's Better Business Bureau yet ...) And now that I'm settled, I'm much more motivated to try to get the money back, both because having an apartment makes life less stressful and because I know how incredibly significantly he scammed me (my super-nice, three-bedroom apartment with every possible appliance and convenience costs less than 3000 LE).
So, I sent the guy an email that basically said, "You're a big fat fraud, you owe me $800, and if I don't get it back, I'm going to the tourist police." This idea hadn't occurred to me until I witnessed Tak's quest ... but apparently, it's a viable threat, because Baher almost immediately wrote back, saying "I'm really sorry, I'm an honest man, this was a misunderstanding, one of my employees screwed up, and he's been dismissed - just make an appointment, and I'll fix your problem."
Sweet, I thought! Obviously, this has nothing to do with his employees - I only ever communicated with him, and he's the one who told me how much to pay, and actually yelled at me over the phone for thinking I could get a 2-bedroom apartment for $500 - but it seems I've scared him enough that he's willing to work with me! So I email him back and set an appointment for Saturday (it was Wednesday) ... and then don't hear anything from him at all. Of course. So, Saturday, I write him again, saying, "Look, if you're really an honest man, you should probably follow through with this appointment thing - I'm not actually patient enough to play this game all summer." I heard nothing all day Sunday, so spent last night stressing over the hassle of actually going to the police (can you say "empty threat"?), but I showed up at work this morning to find an email proposing we meet tomorrow, Tuesday.
SO ... that's where we're at. I'll definitely meet with him, but the question right now is WHERE? I want to meet him in a public place, in the hopes that he won't scream too much at me (although I don't know - he still might), but don't know where's appropriate. Also, I'm thinking about inviting Nazli to come with me, as back-up. She's absolutely LIVID about this whole thing - after I'd left the apartment, she called there and reached the landlord, who she bitched out pretty extensively for charging me 3000 LE, and for making me pay all three months ahead of time. When he explained that neither of those had been his idea/doing (the apartment was only 2000 LE, and it was Baher who'd insisted I pay all three months, so that no one found out about the discrepancy between what I thought I was paying and what the landlord was receiving), she turned to lecturing him about keeping an entire month's worth of rent for a one-night stay. As my mom says, "She's a bulldog." But she's also Egyptian, and really upset about the complete lack of ethics this kind of thing demonstrates ... which worries me, because I don't want her to piss him off so much he refuses to return my money.
Anyhow, I've got to decide on a meeting place to email him before leaving work today ... I'm leaning towards Cilantro, a Starbucks-style coffee shop near the American University that will be filled with Westerners. Added bonus - pretty close to where Nazli lives. And, also important, they have yummy hot chocolate. He hasn't specifically said, "Yes, I'll give you your money back," so I'm sure I'm in for a fight - he's not just going to walk in and hand over a wad of cash. But, well, I can be pretty bitchy when I want to, and at this point, I kind of want to ...
Freaking Egyptians! Most of them are quite nice, but I have to admit I'm a bit exasperated with all the scams. I know it's a poor country, but constant attempts to part me from my money without any qualms because I'm American, and therefore "rich," are getting a bit frustrating ... do they not understand that the cost of living in the US is significantly higher than here? I wonder what they'd think if I told them that my 2-bedroom apartment in Boston is 9000 LE a month??? Hah! Or if I told them how much I'm taking out in loans just to pay for school ... maybe then they'd be a bit more willing to leave me alone.
Doubtful, though. Cultural stereotypes are strong enough to quash whatever sob story I try to pass on ... I'm definitely thinking that, to many of the locals, I'll retain my rich foreigner status. Besides, in comparison to many of them, I am almost offensively well-off ... and understand that my 5 LE cab rides cost the locals 3, and that our 3000 LE apartment is probably a bit overpriced as well. I can accept that ... honestly, I generally feel that, if someone is smart enough to get a bit extra out of me, good for them! But Baher stealing what amounts to 6 months of the average Egyptian salary from me is, in my opinion, a bit excessive. So, I'll try to get it back. Didn't expect to spend my time and energy this summer arguing with a local over money and ethics, but it should be interesting, at the very least ... Wish me luck!
First things first, though. I lamented the poor state of the apartment in my first post, but just so everyone gets an idea of how stupid I was and how much I was taken for, here's a (too extensive) recap:
I registered online at some subletting site, so that I could contact people ... apparently, my info was sold, and I got an email from some guy in Cairo who rents flats. So we did some talking, I told him where I was going to be working, and he told me he had a nice, 2-bedroom apartment (I'd specifically asked for two bedrooms) about 12 minutes walk from my office. Then I received an email from HRAAP, where I'm working, with the office address actually listed in the signature block ... and it was a different address than the one I'd gotten off the website! I verified that the website address was old/wrong, and then contacted Baher, the apartment dude, with the news - "Sorry, I gave you the wrong address, if you have anything within walking distance of this new address, let me know." And he writes back and tells me that, in fact, the apartment he was holding for me was 12 minutes walk from THAT address as well!!
Huh ...
So I'm like, "Dude, you're obviously wrong, because the two addresses I gave you are on DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE NILE!" He insists it's 12 minutes, he's walked it himself, but if I don't want to take that place, he has one available in Zamalek that also meets all of my requirements, and is the same price. I was told that Zamalek is a good place for Westerners such as myself to live, and I found the street on a map - it looked like a good place to be (Zamalek is actually an island in the middle of the Nile, and the apartment was at 5 Brazil Street, a street that goes around the edge of the island, so the building would have a Nile view). So I told him I'd like that place instead, and made him verify that we were still talking about the same essentials - AC, washing machine, phone, two bedrooms ...
Anyhow, long story short(er), he told me I had to send a $200 deposit to get the owner to hold the place for me, and so I wired it over, spending an extra $45 with Bank of America (stupid overseas transfers), verifying that the deposit for the 5 Brazil Street apartment had been received ...
And then I got picked up at the airport, and everything I mentioned earlier happened ... the place was a one-bedroom piece of shit on Yehia Ibrahim Street, and since Baher wasn't there, I couldn't talk to him about it. His agent called him, and I got on the phone only to get told over and over again, in an increasingly loud voice, that "You can't get a two-bedroom apartment for $500!!!" and "This is a nice place! What's your problem???" They agreed to show me a two-bedroom in the building, and it wasn't bad, but wasn't good, either (and was on the second floor, which means there's NO natural light), and they wanted $750 for that one! I kept trying to reach my cousin's friend Nazli, to come over and look at the place (I was pretty sure I was getting screwed, but obviously didn't know how much stuff should cost), but she wasn't answering her phone, and so I was stuck in an apartment with three men, only one of whom (the landlord) spoke any English at all, in a strange neighborhood in a strange country, absolutely exhausted ... and these people refused to leave until I signed the lease and paid for all three months. So I caved, handed over my money, and they left.
But I finally got through to Nazli, and she was ASTONISHED at how much I was paying - and kept telling me that, for that much money, I better have a VERY nice place, and if there were any problems, the owner better be handling them immediately. Her negativity managed to undermine my tenuous "it'll be fine" attitude, and I decided to leave. A full month's rent is an absurd amount of money to keep for one night, but since I'd actually signed a contract, the owner didn't have to return anything - I wasn't going to rock the boat. But when the rent was returned, I learned that Baher, in addition to being a slimy, lying asshole, had skimmed significantly off the top. And the men at the apartment had no idea - as I was waiting for a cab, I was talking to the landlord, and he seemed just as surprised/irritated as I was.
So, all told, I lost, in addition to the $350 the landlord kept, 1000 LE (about $150) x 3 months in skimmed rent, and the $150 commission that Baher actually admitted to taking.
Grand freaking total: $950, $600 of which is currently in the hands of a sleezy flat agent!!!!
$800 is a pretty significant dent, but I spent the next two weeks being touristy and busy, so didn't really consider trying to get the money back. Besides, I was fairly certain I had no chance ... but, reading over our email communications, it became very clear that I'd at least been responsible enough to demand verification of the particulars of the apartment, including the address, after I'd sent my deposit ... and he'd complied. (Sadly, I haven't found Egypt's Better Business Bureau yet ...) And now that I'm settled, I'm much more motivated to try to get the money back, both because having an apartment makes life less stressful and because I know how incredibly significantly he scammed me (my super-nice, three-bedroom apartment with every possible appliance and convenience costs less than 3000 LE).
So, I sent the guy an email that basically said, "You're a big fat fraud, you owe me $800, and if I don't get it back, I'm going to the tourist police." This idea hadn't occurred to me until I witnessed Tak's quest ... but apparently, it's a viable threat, because Baher almost immediately wrote back, saying "I'm really sorry, I'm an honest man, this was a misunderstanding, one of my employees screwed up, and he's been dismissed - just make an appointment, and I'll fix your problem."
Sweet, I thought! Obviously, this has nothing to do with his employees - I only ever communicated with him, and he's the one who told me how much to pay, and actually yelled at me over the phone for thinking I could get a 2-bedroom apartment for $500 - but it seems I've scared him enough that he's willing to work with me! So I email him back and set an appointment for Saturday (it was Wednesday) ... and then don't hear anything from him at all. Of course. So, Saturday, I write him again, saying, "Look, if you're really an honest man, you should probably follow through with this appointment thing - I'm not actually patient enough to play this game all summer." I heard nothing all day Sunday, so spent last night stressing over the hassle of actually going to the police (can you say "empty threat"?), but I showed up at work this morning to find an email proposing we meet tomorrow, Tuesday.
SO ... that's where we're at. I'll definitely meet with him, but the question right now is WHERE? I want to meet him in a public place, in the hopes that he won't scream too much at me (although I don't know - he still might), but don't know where's appropriate. Also, I'm thinking about inviting Nazli to come with me, as back-up. She's absolutely LIVID about this whole thing - after I'd left the apartment, she called there and reached the landlord, who she bitched out pretty extensively for charging me 3000 LE, and for making me pay all three months ahead of time. When he explained that neither of those had been his idea/doing (the apartment was only 2000 LE, and it was Baher who'd insisted I pay all three months, so that no one found out about the discrepancy between what I thought I was paying and what the landlord was receiving), she turned to lecturing him about keeping an entire month's worth of rent for a one-night stay. As my mom says, "She's a bulldog." But she's also Egyptian, and really upset about the complete lack of ethics this kind of thing demonstrates ... which worries me, because I don't want her to piss him off so much he refuses to return my money.
Anyhow, I've got to decide on a meeting place to email him before leaving work today ... I'm leaning towards Cilantro, a Starbucks-style coffee shop near the American University that will be filled with Westerners. Added bonus - pretty close to where Nazli lives. And, also important, they have yummy hot chocolate. He hasn't specifically said, "Yes, I'll give you your money back," so I'm sure I'm in for a fight - he's not just going to walk in and hand over a wad of cash. But, well, I can be pretty bitchy when I want to, and at this point, I kind of want to ...
Freaking Egyptians! Most of them are quite nice, but I have to admit I'm a bit exasperated with all the scams. I know it's a poor country, but constant attempts to part me from my money without any qualms because I'm American, and therefore "rich," are getting a bit frustrating ... do they not understand that the cost of living in the US is significantly higher than here? I wonder what they'd think if I told them that my 2-bedroom apartment in Boston is 9000 LE a month??? Hah! Or if I told them how much I'm taking out in loans just to pay for school ... maybe then they'd be a bit more willing to leave me alone.
Doubtful, though. Cultural stereotypes are strong enough to quash whatever sob story I try to pass on ... I'm definitely thinking that, to many of the locals, I'll retain my rich foreigner status. Besides, in comparison to many of them, I am almost offensively well-off ... and understand that my 5 LE cab rides cost the locals 3, and that our 3000 LE apartment is probably a bit overpriced as well. I can accept that ... honestly, I generally feel that, if someone is smart enough to get a bit extra out of me, good for them! But Baher stealing what amounts to 6 months of the average Egyptian salary from me is, in my opinion, a bit excessive. So, I'll try to get it back. Didn't expect to spend my time and energy this summer arguing with a local over money and ethics, but it should be interesting, at the very least ... Wish me luck!
posted by Teale at 9:42 AM
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