OkByMe
Contributor
- Messages
- 599
- Reaction score
- 202
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Never provide information unless questioned and never provide an answer to a question you are not sure of. Last week coming into Cancun, we went through customs and pushed the "button" which turned Red. My wife and I were herded over to an inspection table and they started going through our bags, while asking what was in the bags. Somehow, we had 29 packs of cigarettes between us when we had only planned to take 20 for the 2 weeks stay. The only thing that could have accounted for that was that ONE of us swept the few remaining packs on the counter off into one of the carry-on bags.
I always thought, but did not know for a fact it was 20 packs per person. They asked how much a pack was worth and my wife piped up with seven dollars... So I said that is not right. Since I started doing the talking, they herded me over to an alcove while my wife was left at the exit holding the bag so to speak. They had my passport and the dreaded 9 packs - I might note it was her brand not mine.. The alcove had a computer terminal and the young woman started a little data entry. When finished, she turned the screen around to show me the result. Lets see... 9 packs at $7.00 times 620% = $390.00. I said why, they said I was allowed 10 packs and My wife allowed the same. We had 9 too many. I said that is not right and I'm not paying it. I asked to see a supervisor.
I went over to a chair and sat down, folded my hands and stared at my shoes. They asked what I was doing and I said nothing... absolutely nothing, the information you have is wrong, we can't leave without our passports, You will not give them to us, I will not pay that amount and you can't detain us unless we try to leave... So I'm going to call the American consulate for advice. But I did not make the call, I sat there. I looked at my wife who was standing about 100 feet away and she looking at me, showing the palms of her hands and totally wondering what the hell is going on.
As I sat there, I recounted the part of a conversation I overhead between them and another man who just paid over $700.00 and was walking away for having too much booze. Hmmm... "But I bought this at the duty free, here is the receipt" Response.. You have it in your possession, not declared and you have too much. So this is hardball... Ok I'll Play.
I stood up, told them that I alone was responsible for any and all infractions, I did all the purchasing and packing of all the bags except for her 2 carry-on's, nether of which had any cigarettes in them and was the only one who knew the contents of the other bags. I asked that they give her passport to her and permit her to leave - which they did. Well she did not leave, I motioned for her to leave, but she did not leave and it would have worked out better had she left. So I decided to wait both them and my wife out.
Now nearly 40 minutes has been invested in this inspection and nothing was getting done. So thinking I had gained a bargaining position, I walked over to them and asked what the median price of a pack of cigarettes on the street in Cancun costs and suggested it was less that 40 peso.. They said no, it was more like 50 peso. I said my cigarettes are not worth any more on the street than your cigarettes, say 45 peso. And unlike that man before me , I did not have any receipts to show them to establish the value ( even if I did, I would not have produced them... ). A couple of minutes later I paid not a fine, but a duty, on an established value of $2.40 US and walked away with those dreaded 9 packs, passport in hand and $128.00 lighter.
I always thought, but did not know for a fact it was 20 packs per person. They asked how much a pack was worth and my wife piped up with seven dollars... So I said that is not right. Since I started doing the talking, they herded me over to an alcove while my wife was left at the exit holding the bag so to speak. They had my passport and the dreaded 9 packs - I might note it was her brand not mine.. The alcove had a computer terminal and the young woman started a little data entry. When finished, she turned the screen around to show me the result. Lets see... 9 packs at $7.00 times 620% = $390.00. I said why, they said I was allowed 10 packs and My wife allowed the same. We had 9 too many. I said that is not right and I'm not paying it. I asked to see a supervisor.
I went over to a chair and sat down, folded my hands and stared at my shoes. They asked what I was doing and I said nothing... absolutely nothing, the information you have is wrong, we can't leave without our passports, You will not give them to us, I will not pay that amount and you can't detain us unless we try to leave... So I'm going to call the American consulate for advice. But I did not make the call, I sat there. I looked at my wife who was standing about 100 feet away and she looking at me, showing the palms of her hands and totally wondering what the hell is going on.
As I sat there, I recounted the part of a conversation I overhead between them and another man who just paid over $700.00 and was walking away for having too much booze. Hmmm... "But I bought this at the duty free, here is the receipt" Response.. You have it in your possession, not declared and you have too much. So this is hardball... Ok I'll Play.
I stood up, told them that I alone was responsible for any and all infractions, I did all the purchasing and packing of all the bags except for her 2 carry-on's, nether of which had any cigarettes in them and was the only one who knew the contents of the other bags. I asked that they give her passport to her and permit her to leave - which they did. Well she did not leave, I motioned for her to leave, but she did not leave and it would have worked out better had she left. So I decided to wait both them and my wife out.
Now nearly 40 minutes has been invested in this inspection and nothing was getting done. So thinking I had gained a bargaining position, I walked over to them and asked what the median price of a pack of cigarettes on the street in Cancun costs and suggested it was less that 40 peso.. They said no, it was more like 50 peso. I said my cigarettes are not worth any more on the street than your cigarettes, say 45 peso. And unlike that man before me , I did not have any receipts to show them to establish the value ( even if I did, I would not have produced them... ). A couple of minutes later I paid not a fine, but a duty, on an established value of $2.40 US and walked away with those dreaded 9 packs, passport in hand and $128.00 lighter.
