In the charge to my CC, the sign $ appears in places where I know the original letter exists in the Turkish alphabet, e.g. $stanbul. Come on, I've been to Istanbul and I saw it written with an "I" everywhere. Thank you, anyway.
You are mistaken. In Turkish, an I pronounced 'ee' as in Istanbul is actually a different Turkish character with a dot over it. An I without a dot is pronounced 'uh' as in pencil. You may see Istanbul without the dot in western contexts, but on a Turkish keyboard, there are two different keys, thus computers would use a different ASCII code. (And yes, in Turkey it is "Eestanbool", even though Americans may pronounce is 'Istanbool'). My friend Irmak (no dot) pronounces her name "Uhrmok".
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danaraujo
# 10 (sbm12) I respectfully disagree with your opinion. I think the excess of $ must be the fruit of an imature mind, who thought he (she,it) would be praised for imagination and creativity, but who only managed to reinforce the suspicion about the whole operation (businesses and churches shouldn't use this sign in vain, as it makes you think they are after your $). In the charge to my CC, the sign $ appears in places where I know the original letter exists in the Turkish alphabet, e.g. $stanbul. Come on, I've been to Istanbul and I saw it written with an "I" everywhere. Thank you, anyway.
It is a different letter "I" in the Turkish alphabet. I've been to Istanbul, too, and I spent several hours using the local keyboard on the computers there. There are actually two keys that have an "i" on them. They are pronounced differently and are used differently. The letter that we all use as an I to spell Istanbul is actually not the letter that they use there. They have an i with a dot on top and one without. The one without is actually the one used to spell Istanbul and is NOT the same character as that which is ASCII character 73 or 109, the characters that our computers and the AmEx systems display as an "i" normally.
You can find more information about the Turkish Alphabet here where you will see that there are actually different letters involved.
After reading some reviews on Trip Advisor (thanks sonofzeus) I decided to cancel. I am one to criticize people caught in scams like the pyramid, when greed blinds the senses. The price I had paid was too good.
This company has a bad reputation. Also, the way they conduct business doesn't inspire confidence. For example: you reserve online, but you can only cancel by phone. There is an e-mail address, but they state clearly that it can't be used for cancellations. It may dissuade some people from cancelling and if you call, there is a chance that a sweet talker can change your mind.
Furthermore, I don't distrust a company because it's not in a developed country. It is just that dealing with businesses located in some countries make it easier to get your money back in case things don't work as they should.
Well, I called the hotel in Atlanta and they'd never heard about me or the reservation number I had received from HOTELCOLLECT. That was the last drop.
I sent simultaneous e-mails to two addresses I had gathered by reading the discussion on Trip Advisor and cancelled the "reservation". Two days later I received the answer. At the moment, the charges haven't been reversed yet. I will keep you informed.
It is a different letter "I" in the Turkish alphabet. I've been to Istanbul, too, and I spent several hours using the local keyboard on the computers there. There are actually two keys that have an "i" on them. They are pronounced differently and are used differently. The letter that we all use as an I to spell Istanbul is actually not the letter that they use there. They have an i with a dot on top and one without. The one without is actually the one used to spell Istanbul and is NOT the same character as that which is ASCII character 73 or 109, the characters that our computers and the AmEx systems display as an "i" normally.
You can find more information about the Turkish Alphabet here where you will see that there are actually different letters involved.
This I problem always made using a keyboard there difficult
I admit that some keyboards cause a great amount of pain and suffering. I once sent an e-mail using a public computer at CDG. Instead of my regular one minute to compose a one line message it took me close to 10 or 15 minutes.
However, in the case of HOTELCOLLECT, it explains but doesn't justify. If you have a site in the Internet dealing worldwide in English, shouldn't you have at least one $50.00 English keyboard? If the many $ in the message were caused by an inadequate keyboard, it shows that the company isn't equiped for the task.
UPDATE: I still haven't received the refund on my credit card. I will keep you informed.
I found the following post on the Tripadvisor site (Cycladesforum):
HotelCollect is owned by Bilsen Travel, Pls avoid all the services provided by Bilsen Travel. For those who don't know, the relationship between hotelcollect & Bilsen travel can be proven with the below link
