fleeced
[By the way.. welcome to FT]
Thank you. (I still have alot to learn about message boards and responding to threads).
I feel like such a dope. Here I was worried about the scammer, who I thought had lost face and was embarassed. However, I had a feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It wasn't until a friend seriously questioned the whole thing that I searched the web more intensely, and wayla!, I came up with the Beijing TeaHouse Scam!
Dispite all, I really don't regret anything: the story itself makes a fantastic tale.
And, I absolutely fell in love with China, the little that I did see.
Of course, I am still going to contest the charges with my credit card company.
Would you believe, the girl part of the scam is writing to me via email?
Sepharadi