Wednesday, February 12

Venice restaurant that ripped off tourists hit with €20,000 fine


 

 

A restaurant in Venice that charged four tourists more than €1,100 for lunch has been hit with a fine of €20,000.

The fine was imposed on the Osteria Da Luca, near St Mark’s Square, after the four Japanese students made a formal complaint about the sky-high bill they received for a meal of steak, fried fish and mineral water.

The restaurant charged them €1,143 (£970) – and omitted to give them a receipt.

They were able to prove to police that they had been charged the astronomical sum because they kept a credit card slip.

The fine was issued after the restaurant owners were questioned by police and local health authorities.

The Japanese tourists made their official complaint in Bologna, where they are studying, after returning from a short break in Venice.

Venice’s tourism sector was so mortified by the rip-off, and the global media attention it received, that they have offered the students a free two-night stay in a luxury hotel.

The offer was announced on Wednesday by the Venetian Hoteliers Association, whose president said the case had done immense damage to Venice’s reputation.

“The association has taken note of the fact that the episode did grave harm to the image of the city,” said Vittorio Bonacini, president of the association.

“After a high-level discussion, we’ve decided to offer the four tourists who had such an unfortunate experience a stay of two nights in a four or five star hotel.”