{"id":3826,"date":"2016-12-20T00:39:08","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T00:39:08","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-07-16T00:04:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-15T20:04:58","slug":"jet-ski-scams-in-al-mamzar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/en\/news\/jet-ski-scams-in-al-mamzar\/","title":{"rendered":"People Are Being Ripped Off Thousands In Jet Ski Scams At Al Mamzar"},"content":{"rendered":"
Picture this: you’ve decided to try something adventurous on the weekend and you opt for\u00a0jet-skiing. The operator tells you the\u00a0ride\u00a0costs only\u00a0AED 50. Sounds amazing,\u00a0right?<\/p>\n
Bet it is until the point he throws you a four-digit bill.<\/p>\n
Residents have been complaining of incidents where they were\u00a0being asked to shell out crazy amounts for their jet ski rides.<\/p>\n
Because of the\u00a0jet ski “accidents” that take place during the ride\u00a0– a scam modelled after similar kind of\u00a0rackets in Phuket and Pattaya. Some companies operating jet skis work as organised gangs and target thrill-seekers.<\/p>\n
Indian expat Ravi Talreja shared his experience with the\u00a0XPRESS where he says his ‘AED 50\u00a0joy ride\u00a0turned out to be an\u00a0AED\u00a03,000 nightmare’. Midway into\u00a0his jet ski ride he fell into the water while he was trying to avoid a collision with another jet ski\u00a0– something orchestrated by one of the gang members. When he\u00a0reached the shore he was given an AED 5,000 bill for “damages” which they claimed included a dent and water in the engine.<\/p>\n
Talreja was given two choices: either to pay AED 5,000 or get the jet ski repaired himself. But the latter would\u00a0mean AED 1,000 in compensation each day – a price he’d have to pay for the loss of business the company would face.<\/p>\n
With his Emirates ID kept as guarantee there wasn’t much choice for Talreja. He had to bargain for nearly 30 minutes before they brought the price down to AED 3,000.<\/p>\n
Two other groups were in the\u00a0same situation\u00a0with these jet ski operators at the time\u00a0Talreja was. What’s extremely surprising though is that the incident happened less than a month after\u00a0Sharjah Police confiscated 60 jet skis as part of an awareness campaign.<\/p>\n