Taylor Swift trip. I hate Poland. Everyone tries to scam you

[Anonymous]

OP this is on you. All the places you could have gone for the concert and you pick Poland? Why? And then clearly continued to cheap out on things like accommodation.

[Anonymous]

I need to see this AirBB listing.

[Anonymous]

So we think this is OP?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13699329/amp/I-paid-18-000-daughter-Taylor-Swifts-Eras-Tour-Warsaw-Im-worried-tickets-bought-StubHub-arent-legitimate.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You booked accommodation on Airbnb, a site with no quality control.

You took a taxi without looking at your destination on a map. (Too cheap to pay for a data plan?)

You booked tickets on Stubhub, a site with no quality control. (Sensing a pattern here.)

Op, POLAND is not your problem. If you’re going through life with a due diligence strategy of “Other people are responsible for giving me what I want,” then what you get is… this. This is all on you, ducky.

+1. Sounds like the kind of person who would turn a wonderful opportunity to travel to a foreign culture into a chance to go to a Taylor Swift concert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve traveled all over the world and in many underdeveloped countries.

I have never encountered so much scamming as I did in Poland.

They scammed us by renting out an apartment on Booking.com full of bed bugs and no access to kitchen.

Taxi driver scammed us by dropping us off at a wrong location and telling us our destination is around the corner.

We almost got scammed with Taylor Swift concert tickets too. There was at least a hundred of people who bought tickets on Stubhub and although their names were on the tickets , the name inside QR code didn’t match and they would not let them in.

We got lucky by chance. They denied us the first time, but we tried again and they didn’t check our names the second time. Stubhub is going to be so screwed by Polish concerts.

I’m never coming back. I thought it was a developed European country because they are part of EU. Wrong.

We spent 2 weeks in Poland.

No one tried to scam us and everything was great.

Maybe this is a “you” problem.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been to Poland twice and loved it both times. I found the people kind and generous.

A general rule of thumb when traveling or living abroad is that when you find yourself thinking that “everyone” in another country is scamming (or dirty, or stupid, or dangerous, or hateful) you need to check yourself for unreasonable expectations or culture shock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For work, I have lived in both Slovakia and Ukraine, which share proximity and cultural mores with Poland. Yes, there is corruption, and yes, you can be scammed if not careful.

But I also lived in Pakistan and India for a few years, and the lies and scams in THAT region of the world are truly astounding. If someone in India or Pakistan is speaking to you, there is a high chance they are telling a lie/trying tondeceive/scam you, and the lack of shame when they are caught out is disgusting. Poland is squaky-clean honest in comparison. OP, don't ever go there.

+1

Let's not blame the OP. But everyone needs to be aware that outside of the US (and yes plenty of places inside) you need to have your guard up and be suspicious about everything.

Is it exhausting? Yes. I hate being Suspicious Sue all over my vacation, and I definitely travel LESS because of it and definitely to less sketchy places. Their loss.

DP, and I don't blame the OP either. We do lots of due diligence to minimize the chances of being disappointed or scammed but don't enjoy vacations that require us to be suspicious of everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’s the OP. And regularly travels is bullshit

Poland hates you back OP. You’ve prevented 4 little girls from Poland from seeing Swift.

“Regularly travels” in this context has to mean cruises / Caribbean resorts where they never went off property. Absolutely nobody who travels regularly/extensively would be this bamboozled by a European country, which is like travel on EZ mode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For work, I have lived in both Slovakia and Ukraine, which share proximity and cultural mores with Poland. Yes, there is corruption, and yes, you can be scammed if not careful.

But I also lived in Pakistan and India for a few years, and the lies and scams in THAT region of the world are truly astounding. If someone in India or Pakistan is speaking to you, there is a high chance they are telling a lie/trying tondeceive/scam you, and the lack of shame when they are caught out is disgusting. Poland is squaky-clean honest in comparison. OP, don't ever go there.

+1

Let's not blame the OP. But everyone needs to be aware that outside of the US (and yes plenty of places inside) you need to have your guard up and be suspicious about everything.

Is it exhausting? Yes. I hate being Suspicious Sue all over my vacation, and I definitely travel LESS because of it and definitely to less sketchy places. Their loss.

DP, and I don't blame the OP either. We do lots of due diligence to minimize the chances of being disappointed or scammed but don't enjoy vacations that require us to be suspicious of everyone.

If you’re staying in an air bnb and buying concert tickets from a third party seller you should be suspicious/do due diligence regardless of where you are going. It has nothing to do with Poland specifically.
Signed another poster who had a great vacation in Poland and had no issues with being scammed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’s the OP. And regularly travels is bullshit

Poland hates you back OP. You’ve prevented 4 little girls from Poland from seeing Swift.

+1. It’s some of the worst kind of tourism where you don’t go to experience local culture, but you take away the opportunity for locals to experience the show. What a trashy tourist.

[Anonymous]

Two different threads OP? You needed two?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You booked accommodation on Airbnb, a site with no quality control.

You took a taxi without looking at your destination on a map. (Too cheap to pay for a data plan?)

You booked tickets on Stubhub, a site with no quality control. (Sensing a pattern here.)

Op, POLAND is not your problem. If you’re going through life with a due diligence strategy of “Other people are responsible for giving me what I want,” then what you get is… this. This is all on you, ducky.

Actually,

1. I do have a data plan on my phone. It didn’t occur to me that I needed to micromanage the taxi driver.

2. Stubhub has very good customer service. They issued us another set of tickets after I complained.

We ended up seating in our original seats. They were legit. It was some bs Polish bureaucracy.

Also, forgot to mention, all the guide tours we had were really bad. Don’t hire tours, do it yourself with audio guides.

What?!



If that's your take on taxi drivers it's a wonder you made it home.

Good grief.

DP. I have traveled a lot and also never had a need to map out where a taxi driver is going.

That's a mistake - you need to always be aware of your surroundings - this includes at least a rough idea of where you are in the context of your journey from point a to point b when you are in a taxi/uber/etc or in a car w/ a stranger driving. This used to be difficult when there were no cell phones but is much easier in this day and age.

Be safe out there people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two different threads OP? You needed two?

Three if you count the thread about the Warsaw uprising (which at least was trying to be positive although similarly indicative of op’s ignorance)

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear this, but I’ve been to Poland several times and had a wonderful time. I particular like Krakow.

[Anonymous]

Plenty of scammers in Poland, but the worst scammers are in Greece—they take it to the next level.

I’m a seasoned traveler and savvy person, and now that I’m older and well equipped to throw money at problems, I tend to opt for mainstream hotels and private drivers, guides, etc. arranged through a concierge. It’s just easier to not have to worry about getting screwed.