David Gardiner

Beware a guy called Deepak Patil of Sajawat home furnishings in Panjim. He is a real rogue-sold us some really bad blinds in villa violetta (we could not open the patio doors and he told us they would keep out the light)- did a very bad job on mosquito blinds and we paid for sun chair covers and never received them. He talks a good talk but once he has your money he becomes very elusive. I can recommend habitat who put his work right

old man

Yes :curse: have heard of him. A number of complaints at Regal Park.

Honey Bee

Another place to watch is the new large supermarket in Candolim.
They overcharge visitors, not what is on the packet, and try to give you sweets for change. 2 and 3 rupees each customer, look at the profit in a day from that.

emsirrah

Newton has always overcharged - from the day he started his other shop near to Luma. There was a special offer on vodka when one of the brands were launched and he scratched the price off the glass bottle and put his own on. We challenged him about it and he just huffed and puffed and eventually gave it at the proper price. He also takes off the free gifts with things like Maggie cubes and Milo and sells them in the shop. We watch very careful if we go into any of his shops - he did have the wrong price on the vodka when he first opened the new shop (too little) so we went in and bought all he had in the shop but it soon went back up to the overcharging price. We never take sweets from any shop - there is plenty of change about in Goa now but they still try to do it.

Honey Bee

You are so right!. They get away with it because people coming for two weeks holiday do not know any better. Only go in there if desperate and the Hira shop does not have what we need.

poppetjay

I went into the new newtons with my two of my grandchildren yesterday was followed down each walk way and stared at from every area in the shop, the kids picked up a drink each and put them in the basket, on reaching the checkout by this time (if the kids hadnt been with me i'd have left the shopping) the cashier put the two drinks through first so i'd given them to the kids to drink outside while i packed my shopping, to my amazement a girl came past me looked at the kids and said something in hindi, but didnt need alot to guess she had ask the cashier if they were on the bill, i lost it big time.
On the subject of giving sweets as change, ( old newtons)a friend saved all the sweets up and then went and purchased a carton of cigs, they tryed to refuse but he stuck to his guns good chap.

wheatsheaf

this "sweets" change thing is confirmation that the shysters from Mumbai have taken over. Small change is hoarded by a ring of "beggars" (with latest cellphones) who control various aspects of daily life in an area. Retailers gain tiny sums of profit which accummulate into an extra 20% revenue and are happy to be part of the "ring of beggars". Next step: creating vast slums on prime property which they are then paid vast sums to vacate but never do. Goa is finished because of the neglect of paradise by Goans and Goans alone.

noni

100% correct = although it is sad.

emsirrah

Many years ago my husband also saved up the sweets and went into Infantaria for his usual daily loaf and gave them the sweets back in payment for the bread. The boys just laughed, gave him the bread and he never got sweets again. He always refuses to take sweets and has been known to ask for an IOU (and got one). Anyway these sweets do not cost 1rp each but 50paise so they are making a profit on the change as well.

babu1

Likewise, regarding Newtons and his "sweetie scam" - what a dignified way to do business? - a friend stored up all the change she had received at "old" Newtons which amounted to a basketfull of shopping in value. She presented the sweets on the counter to be checked as payment, just in case she was being overcharged by a bonbon or two, Newton went ballistic but she got the goods. It hasn't stopped his sideline in confectionery though.

Forget the rupee. Sweets are the new currency. You can buy them cheap and by the truckload (from the same Authorised Dealer as Newton perhaps, but remember to use "normal banking channels" and keep those Inward Remittance Receipts ).

A few months ago, the Herald actually managed to give a few lines of reporting to an organisation (a solitary individual asleep at a desk, nobody wishing to disturb him) in Panjim which acts as a kind of Consumer Protection Agency. It is supposed to police breaches in MRP pricing and can enforce penalty. Unfortunately, I'm not certain I can find the information which I'm sure I must have kept.

When I told Mr Lawande that MRP means Maximum Retail Price (including all taxes) - this was while he was repeatedly charging me 20% above MRP - he told me to go shop at the market. I have known him 15 years since he was a small shop money changer, asked after his health during the past 2 years of his difficult health, and even paid respect at his brother's corpse this year.

At a tangent, it is interesting to note the roaring silence from our Goan "friends" in defence of, or protestation at the treatment of foreigner property owners. I suppose that's Goan "friendship" for you.

I hope they have many less "friends" next year, and from then on, otherwise they'll have to work harder at their business of "friendship".

noni

As usual BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Brilliant
Please Will you email the TONIGHT TEAM with one of your wonderful reviews
of FN purchasing in Goa, and the underhanded estate agents etc. You will be getting bored out there now with the monsoon starting soon, so please send email to them.

emsirrah

I am not in Goa at the moment but in Goa I do have a cutting out of the newspaper from a few years ago when the Consumer Agency was set up. We took this to Newtons when we had the vodka fiasco with him and I think this was why he changed his mind about the price as he had deliberately scratched the price from the bottle and your could see what he had done. (This was in the days when alcohol had the price printed on them). The only trouble was when we went to Panjim to find the office nobody knew anything about it or where it was!!!

poppetjay

very true noni, the've all and a slice of the cake and now have full bellies so they dont need us "friends" anymore, i just cant wait to see what is going to happen in the next few weeks when the last of the tourists have gone along with many longtermers and i wonder if mr newtons new shop will be closed, very few people using it now more spying staff than customers likewise many greedy shops in the area, its mapusa market for me and AJ's who still remains a local store but has imported stuff if you want it.

poppetjay

Just thought i'd throw this one in, went to fabindia yesterday, security guard outside demanded i left my "handbag" outside with him, i said no chance as i have my money in there, his reply take your purse out then, i said what along with my mobile, bank thigs etc etc,, on your bike fabindia stupid i am not...hence we didnt go into the shop.. their loss..

michellea

Hi I visited fab india in Panjim early Oct without incident but after Xmas when I visited again I was also asked to leave my bag behind the counter, I was furious and told the girl I would not leave it there and continued to walk into the shop, she advised me that she would need to check my bag as I left. I totally ignored her although from the look on my face she was left in no doubt what I thought. When paying for my purchases I was sarcastic and asked do you want to look in my bag now to which she said no it wasn't necessary. Luma's have a sign up asking you to leave your bag at the entrance but I have never been asked by them to leave it there. Not sure if it is normal in Indian shops but certainly it wasn't necessary when I went to the big department store in Bangalore.