Only a few weeks have passed since the storm that erupted with the €600 plate of crab legs that was charged to American tourists on Mykonos and a new case has emerged, this time on Santorini involving a French couple.
Following the lawsuit filed by the American tourists in Mykonos, a French couple are engaging lawyers for unjustified overcharges and threats from staff, after they were charged €5,000 on their credit cards by a care rental company on the island.
The problem is said to have occurred suddenly, without the French being responsible and without being able to understand how the car they rented stopped working.
They were surprised, as they pointed out to Proto Thema, when they were taken to the port by the officials and were forced, after threats, to give €5,000 for damage on the clutch of a used Nissan Micra.
The situation
The French couple, who initiated legal proceedings, filed a lawsuit against the owner and legal representative of the car rental company in Santorini, as well as against employees of the office.
According to the lawsuit, it all started on June 14 when the French tourists went to Santorini for a vacation.
At noon of the same day, they decided to rent a car from an agency located in the port.
For the Nissan vehicle, they were initially asked to pay €160 in cash after the keys were handed over to them.
They then headed to the hotel, which is 10 km away from the agency. Just three hours after the French received the vehicle, it stopped working, a fact that was noticed by the tourists outside a supermarket.
Then, anxious, the French hurried to call the authorities to report the incident and received an answer about the problem in the clutch.
“They came to the place where we were, five people (along with the boss), where they forced us to follow them to the port and especially to the store, from which we received the car, telling us that we must pay the amount of €5,000 for damage!” the French claim.
“We were shocked and the boss threatened that if we did not pay we would not leave the island, that they knew the hotel we were staying at and that if we did not pay them the money we would ‘suffer a lot’.
“Because we had no other choice! Then we gave them two credit cards, one for each of us and the boss made various charges until the amount was completed and finally the first of us was charged the amount of €2,000 and the second the amount of €3,400.
“Then they exchanged the car with another KIA brand, white color whose return date was 16/6/2022.”
The French claim, in the same text of the complaint, that they were initially afraid to report the incident to the local police.
They decided to take legal action when they contacted their parents and they in turn spoke to a lawyer and advised the young people to report the incident to the Athens police station.
The lawsuit was finally filed last weekend in Athens.
Lawyer Marizana Kikiri
In fact, it was submitted by Mrs. Marizana Kikiri, the lawyer who also represents the American tourists in the crab leg case.
“My principals suffered a great shock, intense terror, from the threatening behaviour of the defendants,” the lawyer said. “For these reasons they filed a lawsuit for the offenses of extortion, intimidation and fraud.”
“The case has taken the path of Justice and responsibilities will be assigned,” Kikiri continued.
“Unfortunately, this is another incident that tarnishes the reputation of our country and should not go unpunished.”
READ MORE: American tourist charged €600 for meze and two drinks in Mykonos bar will sue workers for intimidation.
