The Best Irish Ripoff Yet? The Ripoff Card....

H

Humpback

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And you have to pay for it

[broken link removed]

"Next time you buy a product or service and feel you were ripped off, simply hand the Rip Off Card to whoever you are dealing with and ask them to pass it along to the owner or manager.
It is the fuss free way of registering your complaint about rip off prices. The card is the same size as a Credit or Business Card.
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The back of the card reads....

To : The Manager/Owner

I am giving you this card as I feel the price I paid for the goods/services with your business left me feeling ripped off. Consumers in Ireland are paying some of the highest prices in Europe and this cannot continue. This card is a simple way for me as a consumer to register my concerns without causing a scene. If I have written my contact number on this card feel free to contact me and I will give you exact detail on the nature of the rip off. "
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ha! Someone stole my idea. I suggested this about 2 years ago on AskAboutMoney.
At the time I think the feedback was that it wasn't a good idea.

Fair play to whoever is trying it. I won't be buying myself, but if someone makes a bit of money from it then fair play to them.

-Rd
 
What a ripoff, you can get the cards in easons and print out the text on them for a lot less then that. Im going to get my own cards and send them one.
 
Next time you buy a product or service and feel you were ripped off, simply hand the Rip Off Card to whoever you are dealing with and ask them to pass it along to the owner or manager.
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... or, simply don't buy the product or service at the allegedly "rip-off" prices. Save yourself the allegedly exorbitant price of the good or service and also the cost of the silly rip-off cards. Duh!
 
A much more effective product would be a card that says

'The reason I did not purchase your product/service is because I think the price you are charging is a rip-off.........'

If enough people did this you would not be too long waiting for prices to come down. Otherwise the vendors will simply continue to charge what the market will bear.
 
So we all march into the local Lexus dealership with these cards and hey presto the prices will come down and we will all be able to afford one tomorrow? Dunno if its that simple
 
... or, simply don't buy the product or service at the allegedly "rip-off" prices.
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Agreed. This is the only message you want to give the provider of product or service. How about a section on the card saying "Instead of spending my money here I went to ________". A few dozen of those sitting on a manager's desk would get the message across!
 
ubiquitous said:
So we all march into the local Lexus dealership with these cards and hey presto the prices will come down and we will all be able to afford one tomorrow? Dunno if its that simple
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That is taking it to extremes, but if no-one was buying the cars, then it is liekly that Lexus would come up with some sort of incentive to stimulate sales, for example they may improve the spec of the car without rising the cost thus making the car better value.

I am just making the point that if people continue paying a price they percieve to be 'over-the-odds' - then they are a bit naive if they think vendors will voluntarily start to offer them better value.
 
For anyone that is interested, I am now selling the cards with add on stickers that allow for people to get the message across that they refused to pay the price and have taken their custom elsewhere. As stated on the site, the wording on the add on sticker may become the default in future if that's what people want but at least the option is there for any occasion now so it's covering all bases.
 
Sorry, but I still can't see the value in buying/printing off a bunch of little bits of card — with or without add-on stickers "covering all bases", no disrespect — to hand them over the counter to (alleged) rip-off merchants in the (deluded) hope that this will in some way contribute to "bringing down prices" or lead vendors to "offer better value".

Whoever advised daltonr two years ago was right.
 

If it's never been tried no one will know but what the hey..
 
Well you can't blame budding entrepreneurs for trying to cash in on Eddie Hobbs mania.
 
Given that the EH disciples are the type that buy nappies and post them to the relevant Minister in order to protest at how much they're being ripped off then presumably they're likely to fall for other similar campaigns which similarly, and ironically, leave them even further out of pocket. Fair play allee, fools and their money etc. Good luck with the venture. Hope you do as well as all those people who cashed in on post 9/11 mania by slapping stars on stripes on anything you can think of and flogging them to a gullible public.
 

A bit of a generalization No???. Not all EH disciples engage in this sort of thing. I know you don't like what the guy had to say but I'm not sure you have any right to call people who agree with him fools.

Anyone who had nappies in the house might have made the judgement call that if enough went to the minister it might affect his decision. Think of it as an investment. How much does one nappy cost? If the plan worked it would have paid a handsome dividend. You do agree with investing don't you?

As for these cards, the underlying principle is OK. We Irish are not alone in our inability to complain face to face when presented with bad service. I'd advise people to take along a notebook and pen and leave a specific note if they have a problem and don't feel inclined to get into a shouting match with a restaurant owner.

A notebook and pen is cheaper than these cards, and the message can be specifically related to the problem you encountered.

-Rd
 
daltonr said:
A bit of a generalization No???. Not all EH disciples engage in this sort of thing. I know you don't like what the guy had to say but I'm not sure you have any right to call people who agree with him fools.
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You're correct. I should have qualified that by saying "in my opinion" and "many" just to cover all the bases.

As for these cards, the underlying principle is OK.
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I disagree. The website says:
Next time you buy a product or service and feel you were ripped off, simply hand the Rip Off Card to whoever you are dealing with and ask them to pass it along to the owner or manager.
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whereas I believe that only a fool would pay the allegedly rip-off prices and only complain after the fact.
I'd advise people to take along a notebook and pen and leave a specific note if they have a problem and don't feel inclined to get into a shouting match with a restaurant owner.
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That's a good idea.
 
whereas I believe that only a fool would pay the allegedly rip-off prices and only complain after the fact.
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Nonsense. In most service industries you don't know whether you've been ripped off until AFTER you've experienced the service. If you have expectations of a nice meal in a relaxed atmosphere then the prices on the menu might look ok. If the reality when it arrives is poor food and you are being hurried along because they want to get the next person in then the PRICE is too high.

So it's perfectly normal to not know until after the fact that you've paid too much for the service/product supplied. Now you have a choice, argue the Rip-Off issue with your host infront of a crowded restaurant, or bring the issue to his attention in a more discreet way.

I recently had dinner in Khan's Balti House in Donnybrook. I went because one of their ad's in a local paper billed them as "The most reasonably priced Balti House in Dublin". Quite a claim. I'm a fan of Indian food so I had to see what the "Most Reasonable" Balti House had to offer.

The food wasn't good. I'd eaten there ages ago and it was fine, but in this particular night I had the most BLAND indian meal I have ever tasted.
I have a particular meal that is my benchmark for all indian restaurants, and this was the WORST attempt at this meal I've ever tasted.

The service was good, everything was very relaxed, but the PRICE was astronomical. It was one of the most expensive Indian Meals I've ever had. Now, I don't mind the high price if the meal lives up to it.

It's possible that this restaurant could have been BOTH the most expensive and most reasonable Balti House in Dublin. For this to really be a reasonable price to pay I should have had one of the best meals I've ever had. Instead I had the worst. How could I have know it would be such a poor meal in advance?

Had I any grounds for complaint. No. The service was acceptable.
So I didn't like their recipe, they would argue that others love it.
I'd have had as much right complaining leaving a cinema because I didn't like the movie. I.e. NONE.

I feel I paid too much for that night's meal. I wouldn't go back.
Am I fool for over paying?

-Rd
 
A customer who is dissatisfied with a meal is within their rights to refuse to pay as far as I know. Obviously in most cases the fact that the food may not be up to expectations or quality would most likely become clear early on so if/when this happens it's probably a good idea to alert the establishment to the problem ASAP rather than eating/paying up and only moaning about it after the fact.

Had I any grounds for complaint. No. The service was acceptable.
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But previously you said:
which sounds like you did have valid grounds for complaint. If you chose not to voice these, ate up (or did you leave it?) and then pay up then you can't really blame the restaurant for ripping you off as far as I can see.

So I didn't like their recipe, they would argue that others love it.
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How do you know what they might have said when you presumably didn't complain? Even if they did - so what? If you realised during the meal (not at the end) that you were not happy with things then that was the time to make the complaint and see what response you got.

I'd have had as much right complaining leaving a cinema because I didn't like the movie. I.e. NONE.
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Actually, I suspect that if you found early on that a movie was not to your taste (e.g. too violent etc.) then you could leave early on and make a case for a refund although I'm not sure how often you might get one.

Am I fool for over paying?
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Is that a rhetorical question?
 
I've been through the complaining to the restaurant deal before. On this particular night a poor meal was a far better option than going through the process of complaining and then finding somewhere else to eat.


If you chose not to voice these, ate up (or did you leave it?) and then pay up then you can't really blame the restaurant for ripping you off as far as I can see.
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I can blame them for incorrectly claiming to be the most reasonable Balti House in Dublin.

Actually, I suspect that if you found early on that a movie was not to your taste (e.g. too violent etc.) then you could leave early on and make a case for a refund although I'm not sure how often you might get one.
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I've walked out of many movies. I have no problem with violence etc. Boredom is my only criteria for leaving a movie. I've never asked for a refund. I'll always give a move 30 minutes or so to be fair to it. After that I don't think I have any right to ask for a refund anyway.

The original point remains valid. It is not possible to know from the price whether you are going to get service worthy of the price. And for some people a confrontation with Management over perceived poor service isn't something they relish. It can be made harder if they are entertaining guests.

A discrete way of complaining is required. Some restaurants have Customer Service cards, but it seems to olny be the cheap and cheerful types.

Whether it's pre-printed cards, or a notebook in your pocket, the "Note To Management" style of complaining is perfectly acceptable. If someone can make some money from people who'd rather carry a pack of cards than a notebook and pen then good for them. They're just reacting to a demand in the market.

If the demand isn't there this Card idea won't take off.

-Rd
 
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