News
Foreign couple taken for a ride by wheeler-dealer broker
A Swedish couple on vacation here since January has complained to police that they had been cheated by a so-called broker over the purchase of a three wheeler.
The couple-foster parents to a Lankan boy had gone to Gampola to buy a three wheeler for the biological father of their adopted child.
A man who they met had claimed to be a broker in vehicle dealings and had arranged the purchase of a second hand three wheeler for Rs. 250, 000.
However after a couple of days the vehicle broke down and it was returned to the seller who refused to return the entire Rs. 250,000, paying a lesser amount. The Swedish couple did not wish to make an issue as it would interfere with their holiday plans and asked the same broker to make arrangements to buy a new three wheeler from a recognised vehicle dealer.
Two days later the Swedes were taken by the broker to a vehicle sales outlet in Gampola and they purchased a new vehicle for Rs. 550,000, which is higher than the average price.
Having completed their dealings the couple returned to Hikkaduwa where they were staying when the story took another turn. The man for whom they bought the vehicle had been informed by the broker that the three wheeler was purchased under an easy payment scheme and that he would have to pay a monthly installment of Rs 10,000 to the finance company or else the vehicle would be seized.
The angry couple has now lodged a complaint with the police in Hikkaduwa before leaving the country tomorrow.
“We first came here in 1972 and followed it up with 14 more visits but we were never cheated in any manner-this is the first time and it makes us very sad,” they lamented.
The couple said they would take up the matter with the tourist authorities in Sweden as well as the local media so that other foreign visitors to the country will not face the same situation
Hikkaduwa police could not be reached for comment yesterday.