Scam in POP Airport

[Si_Poppi]

This sounds like a scam to me.
The place to pay the departure tax is not at the top of the escalator.
There is a desk by one of the gates and if you weren`t looking for it you wouldn`t even know it was there.
Most tickets include it so it doesn`t make sense to have someone at the escalator attempting to collect from everybody.
And if they don`t pay they just walk by and board their flight without any issue?

Plus they know very well which flights don`t include this fee and they make sure it is paid before boarding.
From Toronto, if you are flying with Sunwing, you will need to show proof of payment before getting on the plane.
I am pretty sure that this is the only company here that does not include the fee, even though their taxes are as high as any others.

[hugrad95a]

Man yall missing the biggest scam they have at the POP airport.. That good for nothing whole in the wall food stand... $7 dollars for a ham and cheese sandwich...No tostones, no pollo frito, no chimis' WTF.. The Santo Domingo airport is like Mortons compared to POP airport.. Damn can we get some better food at the POP airport.. WTF..

[dquick]

Alright. I see what you're saying. But as has been posted, some travelers from other countries (not US) don't have the exit tax included in their tickets. Therefore, they do have to stop and pay someone upon leaving the DR. So who's to say that the guy Dquick saw collecting exit fees wasn't doing so legitimately? Personally, I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that he wasn't.

Now, I'm not saying the shit couldn't be conducted more efficiently (this is the DR). And who knows, the guy probably would've taken money from anyone who offered it to him. But who's fault is that? Really. The guy whose job it is to collect exit taxes? Or the clueless dumbass who just dishes out cash without checking to see whether or not he really has to?

No one is getting scammed in that situation. Someone was just uninformed, and therefore made an unnecessary (yet voluntary) donation to some local's presidente fund.

Once I heard there was a legitimate exit tax, I went back and looked at my receipt from American Airline. This $20 exit tax is not itemized on my ticket. I also went on American Airlines website and started the process to book a ticket. The $20 exit tax is not itemized there either.

If this was my first trip to DR, I would have stopped at the desk and pulled out $20. There is no way I would have known not to pay the guy. As I keep saying, the guy was posted at the top of the escalator. If this was not my 15th (I think???) time flying out of this airport, I would have been donating to this guys presidente fund.

But enough said. The moral here is to know what you owe or you are going to get scammed.

[rahsta]

Once I heard there was a legitimate exit tax, I went back and looked at my receipt from American Airline. This $20 exit tax is not itemized on my ticket. I also went on American Airlines website and started the process to book a ticket. The $20 exit tax is not itemized there either.

If this was my first trip to DR, I would have stopped at the desk and pulled out $20. There is no way I would have known not to pay the guy. As I keep saying, the guy was posted at the top of the escalator. If this was not my 15th (I think???) time flying out of this airport, I would have been donating to this guys presidente fund.

But enough said. The moral here is to know what you owe or you are going to get scammed.

Its a oxymoron.
LegalScam, How can someone just set up a booth at an international airport and just collect money with out being authorize by someone?

[Si_Poppi]

Its a oxymoron.
LegalScam, How can someone just set up a booth at an international airport and just collect money with out being authorize by someone?

Maybe it is a scam set up by some of the workers there to make some extra cash.
They probably only do it when there are no flights that didn`t include the fee and there is no need for anybody to man the real booth.
I`d like to see the reaction if Dquick had pulled out his camera and snapped some pics and a video.
It sure sounds like total bullshit to me.

[El-Rey]

No its not a scam, If you get someone who actually works you gotta pay the $20 I have too many stamps so I just say I been here two weeks and they get bored of flipping through and let me roll.

Thanx Balcoach

[Si_Poppi]

No its not a scam, If you get someone who actually works you gotta pay the $20 I have too many stamps so I just say I been here two weeks and they get bored of flipping through and let me roll.

Thanx Balcoach

You are comparing apples and oranges unless you are claiming to have paid at the top of the escalator.

They stamp the boarding pass so how can you have too many stamps?
If you are talking about the immigration stamps in your passport, again, apples and oranges.

[JD426]

No its not a scam, If you get someone who actually works you gotta pay the $20 I have too many stamps so I just say I been here two weeks and they get bored of flipping through and let me roll.

Thanx Balcoach

Why would they need to flip through the pages of your passport ? what are we in the dark ages , they dont scan it ??. all the info is right there on their Screen...


As far as this Dep Tax , it COULD be a Scam, but does not seem to be... Back in the '80's this WAS a BIG SCAM in JAMAICA (Im sure Seaweed can confirm).
You would get your bags, some guy would of course grab them without you even giving you a chance to say NO to him,, he would take them to your bus, where you would also be sold Red Stripe beer on the bus... And THEN the same dude or another, would approach you and SELL you DEPARTURE Tickets. I forget how much it was but I thought I remember like $24 ? Of course the little pieces of Paper were FAKE, and if you bought them you would be surrounded by Guys with Guns when you tried to use them, when you DEPARTERD the Country a week later... It was apparantly a HUGE ring at the time...

This POP booth to collect a departure tax thing, sounds legit UNTIL someone can prove that he PAID it already ON his ticket.

But who knows, in a country where Immigration is writing "TIP" on a piece of paper and smiling at you, while u are still sipping your complimentary RUM, at the exact point where you officially enter their Country, anything is possible..

[El-Rey]

The people who stand before the immigration booth look at your passport to see what date it was stamped. Immigration just scans and stamps. Its a stupid system but Ive seen it at all three airports

[Si_Poppi]

This POP booth to collect a departure tax thing, sounds legit UNTIL someone can prove that he PAID it already ON his ticket.

This doesn`t make sense.
I would be surprised if even 1 in 1000 people show up at the airport with proof that the departure tax is included in their ticket.

The booth, which is nowhere near the escalator, is legit.
If there is a flight that didn`t include the departure fee, there will be a guy at the booth waiting for people to come by and pay to get their boarding pass stamped so they can get on the plane.
He doesn`t tell anybody to pay.

Immigration stamps in a passport have nothing to do with the departure fee.
I sure hope nobody is clueless enough to be paying the person who stamps their passport.

[JD426]

You know I can tell you every single step, upon arrival, but for the life of me I have to be honest I can NOT do the same for departure.. maybe cuz im too buzy wiping the tears from my eyes, I just get all emotional ,you know.. LOLLLLLLL

but seriously, at STI...
1)- you cant even walk in the building without filling out your paperwork after you check your Luggage, a guy at podium checks your boarding pass ,passport etc. you can now approach the Entrance...
2)-you walk TO the door, where a dude takes one of the forms, i think your customs form ?,he also checks your documents, SOMEtimes
3)- now you walk through the door, and a roped area you wait in line, while waiting in line a lady checks peoples documents,she is standing, no podium, and she is official, you can tell, because this is the point where I have seen people REMOVED from the line, sometimes even women and children... cuz the documents were NOT proper... they went to a room to the LEFT side somewhere to be interviewed in more detail..
4)- when you make it to the front of the roped off line, you see an official,who checks your passport in detail, they stamp it,. and you are now ready to go in, documents are done, they take the other form, which I believe it the immigration form
5)- you walk to the SECURITY area, where you either wait in a small line, usually there is none when i depart, you put your carry on items thru the Xray machine, you walk through the xray, and are either cleared, or bags searched ONE more time...this is when they take away the idiots shampoo Giant shampoo bottles ,etc.
6)- Once you clear the Security area, you are in the Duty free , shop , first floor area.. you are free to walk around, buy your microwaved quipe or whatever, grab some Napkins for the Tears about to come.. LOL
7)- you take the escalator UP stairs, to the BIG Boarding Gate Area where you can SIT and relax, get a Presidente in a Plastic cup, which looks like it does not hold a whole presidente, but amazingly it DOES... you gladly pay the 100 , I think its 110 pesos now ?.. there is a Nathans ? there but its always just closing when I depart... so you just sit there and become even more sad ....
8)- when they finally CALL your flight for boarding, you approach one of 2 podiums , where they check your Docs yet AGAIN... and they will now let you walk down a hallwayto the right, where the chute is ...
9)- when you reach the END of this Hallway,. they MAY check your carry on AGAIN,, not sure what they are looking for at this point,who knows maybe you decided to smuggle in a dozen presidente bottles to ease the pain
10)- a HOT chica, its always a fucking HOTTIE,, just to RUB it in your sobbing FACE,.. will now take your Boarding pass, and let you on the plane..so you can go back to yoru miserable existence in the US or wherever the fuck you come from.... your trip is over, the end.
time to start dreaming about the next one.

at least thats the way I remember it...

[mtyjones94]

I just flew out of Puerto Plata Airport yesterday and saw a new scam. I checked in normally, went through security and customs with no problems. I passed the duty free and went up the escalator, towards the gates. At the top of the gate, a Dominican was set up at a counter with a sign that said "Exit Tax $20". The sign looked official and there were two AI tourist at the desk paying the guy. The guy looked at me and I gave him a dirty look and walked right past him. The guy did not say one word to me.

For those who do not know, THERE IS NO EXIT TAX IN DR. You pay $10 for a tourist card and that is it!

I kept my mouth shut about the scam in the airport. This guy had to pay off somebody in charge, to be set up inside the gate area.

Wow, I'm amazed at how things work down here there's always a payoff just around the corner.

[DCIronman]

This doesn`t make sense.
I would be surprised if even 1 in 1000 people show up at the airport with proof that the departure tax is included in their ticket.

The booth, which is nowhere near the escalator, is legit.
If there is a flight that didn`t include the departure fee, there will be a guy at the booth waiting for people to come by and pay to get their boarding pass stamped so they can get on the plane.
He doesn`t tell anybody to pay.

Immigration stamps in a passport have nothing to do with the departure fee.
I sure hope nobody is clueless enough to be paying the person who stamps their passport.

What's so confusing here?

As stated, it's listed among the taxes you pay when you purchase your ticket. And I always have a copy of that receipt in my carry-on bag (mostly because it has my itinerary on it). But I'll also carry a copy of my car rental reservation, my villa or hotel reservation, a copy of my passport, etc. Maybe I'm just anal. But I've learned to be prepared for any possible bullshit.

I also pay attention to what taxes I'm paying for when I buy my ticket. Not hurting for cash. I just like to know what I'm paying for. No one has to tell me what I do, or don't have to pay.

Though I'd like to think that I'm 1 in 1000, the reality is that many travelers come prepared with this type of info. They know they've already paid the tax, and can prove it.

[DCIronman]

You know I can tell you every single step, upon arrival, but for the life of me I have to be honest I can NOT do the same for departure.. maybe cuz im too buzy wiping the tears from my eyes, I just get all emotional ,you know.. LOLLLLLLL

but seriously, at STI...
1)- you cant even walk in the building without filling out your paperwork after you check your Luggage, a guy at podium checks your boarding pass ,passport etc. you can now approach the Entrance...
2)-you walk TO the door, where a dude takes one of the forms, i think your customs form ?,he also checks your documents, SOMEtimes
3)- now you walk through the door, and a roped area you wait in line, while waiting in line a lady checks peoples documents,she is standing, no podium, and she is official, you can tell, because this is the point where I have seen people REMOVED from the line, sometimes even women and children... cuz the documents were NOT proper... they went to a room to the LEFT side somewhere to be interviewed in more detail..
4)- when you make it to the front of the roped off line, you see an official,who checks your passport in detail, they stamp it,. and you are now ready to go in, documents are done, they take the other form, which I believe it the immigration form
5)- you walk to the SECURITY area, where you either wait in a small line, usually there is none when i depart, you put your carry on items thru the Xray machine, you walk through the xray, and are either cleared, or bags searched ONE more time...this is when they take away the idiots shampoo Giant shampoo bottles ,etc.
6)- Once you clear the Security area, you are in the Duty free , shop , first floor area.. you are free to walk around, buy your microwaved quipe or whatever, grab some Napkins for the Tears about to come.. LOL
7)- you take the escalator UP stairs, to the BIG Boarding Gate Area where you can SIT and relax, get a Presidente in a Plastic cup, which looks like it does not hold a whole presidente, but amazingly it DOES... you gladly pay the 100 , I think its 110 pesos now ?.. there is a Nathans ? there but its always just closing when I depart... so you just sit there and become even more sad ....
8)- when they finally CALL your flight for boarding, you approach one of 2 podiums , where they check your Docs yet AGAIN... and they will now let you walk down a hallwayto the right, where the chute is ...
9)- when you reach the END of this Hallway,. they MAY check your carry on AGAIN,, not sure what they are looking for at this point,who knows maybe you decided to smuggle in a dozen presidente bottles to ease the pain
10)- a HOT chica, its always a fucking HOTTIE,, just to RUB it in your sobbing FACE,.. will now take your Boarding pass, and let you on the plane..so you can go back to yoru miserable existence in the US or wherever the fuck you come from.... your trip is over, the end.
time to start dreaming about the next one.

at least thats the way I remember it...

This has been my experience as well Judge. But I always fly into either SDQ or STI. And I'd imagine that there'd be a higher number of charter flights coming into an airport like POP. With the higher number of tourist flights and all. So you'd probably see more tourists paying the exit fee there.

[dr1lvr]

Man yall missing the biggest scam they have at the POP airport.. That good for nothing whole in the wall food stand... $7 dollars for a ham and cheese sandwich...No tostones, no pollo frito, no chimis' WTF.. The Santo Domingo airport is like Mortons compared to POP airport.. Damn can we get some better food at the POP airport.. WTF..

Well then FLL is committing larceny due to $8 tuna half-sandwich....

[Si_Poppi]

What's so confusing here?
As stated, it's listed among the taxes you pay when you purchase your ticket.

I have flown various charters from Toronto to Puerto Plata over many years, as have millions of other people, and I have never seen a breakdown of the nearly $400 in many taxes and fees that we pay.

[DCIronman]

I have flown various charters from Toronto to Puerto Plata over many years, as have millions of other people, and I have never seen a breakdown of the nearly $400 in many taxes and fees that we pay.

I see. Well it's pretty clear on most flights from the US. No one flying on any major US flight should be confused.

$400 in taxes??? Geez! That in itself sucks for Canadian travelers.

Well I'd suggest mongers flying on charter flight to be a bit more careful about who they're paying the exit tax to. Personally, I check (and double check) before I pay extra fees.

Bottom line. Don't just hand out money to people without knowing why?

[Kevy]

the only real scam with this is that they will only take USD! I have seen many canadian AI tourists not have any usd when they travel have to go use the special atm in pop that dispenses usd for a fee of course.

[TNT72]

Here is the breakdown of the taxes on a ticket from Spirit. The departure tax is there.


Purchase Price

Flight	More Information ►	$17598
GOVERNMENT'S CUT	Less Information ▼	$15450
US-International Departure Tax $33.40 DO-Airport Authority Fees $30.00 DO - Airport Infrastructure Fee $32.60 September 11th Security Fee $7.50 Passenger Facility Fee $13.50 DO-Departure Tax $20.00 APHIS User Fee $5.00 Immigration User Fee $7.00 US Customs Fee $5.50

TOTAL^$330⁴⁸

[Ram]

On one of my early trips, I went to this desk with $20US to pay and they told me I did not have to pay....guy did not take my money. I have paid it on some flights but they usually announce it to the flight before boarding as most people do not know they have or dont have to pay it.