Introduction; Taxi Scams

[Jeanne Davis]

Hi, all,

I have travelled to and stayed in Bs. As. frequently over the past decade, starting (coincidentally) right after the peso collapsed in 2002. This most recent absence was a long one, lasting over 3.5 years, but happily it will end soon when I arrive in the city in late November to stay for several months. While my main objectives are to write (my profession) and to see porteño friends, I also will be very interested to see how the city has changed since my last visit. People keep telling me that it is degenerating, getting more dangerous, etc. But when I ask for specifics, they seem unable to put their finger on much other than the rate of inflation.

However, one specific that someone did mention is that taxi drivers may well scam customers -- especially foreign-looking ones -- by giving them counterfeit money as change. Is this real? (And with regard to acquiring change, do stores still typically ask, "¿Tenés más chico?"???) Are there other things I should look out for that I might not have needed to 3.5 years ago?

BTW, I love Bs. As. and don't mean at all to be dissing it here. Just want to have good experiences and continue to love it.

Thanks for any tips/comments anyone can throw my way,
Jeanne

 

[Raymond]

Welcome back in advance!
One thing to look out for is handing over the good 50 or 100 bill and having it returned as a fake, saying "¿Tenés más chico?" they (the cabbie), probably had it slipped to them and they are returning the favour.
A good tip is even if you´ve had a bit to drink, remember to note the last 3 digits on the bill you pay with.
As inflations continues I guess the big bills will become more common?!

 

[Joe]

I'm sure this has been the case for a long time in BA. You hoard small bills for things like paying taxi cabs at night. Sometimes they don't even have change for a 100 and on the rare occasions I need to use a 100 I asked in advance if they had change.

 

[sivan]

That taxi scam has been around for years!!! I remember being given fake money back in 2007!

 

[el_expatriado]

At least the cabbies don't give you back patacones as change. They did that back in 2002-2004.

 

[PhilipDT]

I think the change for $100 problem was a lot bigger back when 25 pesos got you from Palermo to pompeya instead of retiro to recoleta

 

[tangueraintrepida]

Hi, Jeanne,

I returned in August after a 2 year absence and, honestly, haven't noticed huge differences to the negative, although many will argue the contrary.

Crime is higher, but crime is higher all over the world. My own neighborhood in Orlando, Florida was seeing a lot of break-ins right before we came here which we had never experienced before. It's a crap shoot really. Just be aware of your surroundings. On a positive note, I have noticed much more police presence on the streets in general both on foot and in patrol cars. I don't recall ever seeing many cops patrolling two years ago.

Taxi drivers have always been scamming, so that isn't new. (My advice: take the bus, it's super cheap and easy to navigate when you plan ahead at the website: http://mapa.buenosaires.gob.ar/.)

All vendors were asking for small bills when I was here before and that hasn't changed, but there is no need to stash coins anymore since all the buses now take Sube cards.

You will definitely notice that prices for everything is higher, but if you have access to dollars to exchange on the blue market, things may actually be cheaper for you than they were 3 years ago. The blue market will be a new thing for you to get used to. (Do a forum search on it and read up.) Don't bother with ATM machines, I recommend opening a Xoom account if you are from the U.S. Today the Xoom rate is about 6.3 whereas an ATM will get you about 4.7. Hence the reason everything may actually feel cheaper to you this time around even though the prices are higher.

Good luck and have a great trip. For me, the city is as enchanting as ever once I get past the garbage, graffiti, crappy customer service and dog poop on the sidewalks. (Some things NEVER change.)

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I had the taxi scam pulled me in Istanbul in Turkey, great place btw. I knew it was going to happen but the driver got a bit heavy so I chalked it down as a lesson and moved on. Now I never, i possible, get in a cab without some sort of change.

 

[Jed]

The fake bills are unfortunately a somewhat dated scam in Buenos Aires: http://landingpadba.com/taxi-scams/ I think crime and petty scams are at about the same level, but if you stay here long enough something is bound to cross your path or someone you know well. It's a big city with a lot of people and there are always a couple of bad apples in the bunch.

 

[Macanudo]

To tangueraintrepida

How and where do you set up a xoom account, and how does it work? I am in California now but plan to return to Buenos Aires to live in 2014.