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Refusal to TIP driver almost leaves 4 tourists stranded roadside in NY

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n2ooz

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?I'm looking for advice on how to proceed with a situation that occurred with our Aupair while on a 3 day bus tour from Boston to Montréal last week.

To make a very long story short, 4 young ladies from Brazil went on a bus tour of Boston & Canada, unaware that the entire bus was occupied by and guided by Chinese speaking tourists. The 4 ladies speak Portuguese and are learning English as part of a cultural exchange program. They had a miserable time since the entire tour was conducted in Chinese. On the ride home, a collection is taken by the Guide as a tip for the Driver. The 4 women refuse to tip since they were extremely disappointed with the tour. The Driver and Guide stop the bus on the side of the road in NY state and tell the women to get off the bus. The Driver begins to remove their bags from below the bus and tells them that they will be left there if they do not pay the tip. 2 hours of arguing on the side of the road and the women finally break down in fear of being stranded in a foreign country, in the middle of nowhere, and surrender the $15 tip.

Our Aupair is extremely upset, as are her friends. It gets me angry to no end to know that people would threaten the safety of others over a $15 tip.
This is what our Aupair and her friends from Brazil will forever remember about the USA; Highway Robbery.

CAN THE TOUR PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH THIS?

We live in NJ. This took place on the NY State Thruway outside of Niagara Falls. I have contact info for the tour company and bus company and the Guide's name. I would REALLY appreciate any advice on how I should proceed.

Thanks in advance!

John
 


Kane

Member
I'm not sure why you posted this in the criminal forum.

If you're asking whether the bus driver committed a crime, my answer would be "yes." It was a kind of theft (extortion). But not everyone would agree with that, and if it was a kind of theft, it was for $15. In other words, it was not a very serious crime. Local law enforcement wouldn't want to spend a lot of time on it - and possibly none at all, if you (or the bus driver) were not from their jurisdiction.

But you have nothing to lose by trying. If you call the police, the worst that can happen is nothing. Maybe it's part of a string of forced-tipping incidents, and you'll help them make the case.

If you're asking if you can file a civil suit, that's a different section. Post it in one of them. But from what I know of civil law, the damages are, well, about $15. You're not going to be collecting millions here.

I'd start with a letter to the company, demanding (at least) the money back, and preferably an apology. If the company is run by anybody but the most negligent of dunderheads, they don't want drivers extorting money from custormers. My guess is that bus driver might not be working there that long, especially if there have been other complaints before.

I'd also look to see what federal agencies regulate the busing industry. It's possible if you filed a complaint with them, you might get some action.
 

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