Odessa 10/07 - The Taxi Scam and other interesting tidbits

[JohnMI]

For anyone interested in reading this novel concerning my most recent trip to Odessa I can promise a few amusing stories that show a gullible newbie at his worst. I suppose this can also serve as a warning to anyone considering renting an apartment from Odessaapts.com. It’s a long tale, but maybe you will find it interesting and educational concerning a type of scam I was not previously familiar with.

Pretty uneventful trip from Pittsburgh to Vienna to Odessa. As is usual, I could not sleep on the plane so I was pretty tired when we landed in Odessa. As with my prior trip to this city, I paid the $80 bribe, aka VIP Service, so I would avoid the time-consuming and probing ‘customs’ paperwork and luggage search. Like clock-work, I was whisked from the plane in a very nice shuttle and placed in a very comfortable room with lounges and a bar while all other passengers were led like cattle into a series of lines, searches and paperwork. No one asked me any questions, someone filled out my customs form for me and handed my passport back to me as I was lead to my apartment company’s driver who was waiting outside to grab my bags and place them in the trunk of his car. VIP Service is the best expenditure anyone could make if visiting this cityy, but I did not know that I had probably just experienced my best moment in Odessa this year.

Unlike my last trip, this driver speaks no English at all. As we are driving from the airport I asked him where a grocery store is so I can buy some beer, water, Pepsi, bread and a few other things. “Odessa” he replies.  I told him I know there are stores in Odessa, and I tried to explain to him that I wanted him to drive me to one first, or at the least describe to me where one is. “Odessa” he replies several more times. Hmm. Why would the manager send someone to meet me who speaks no English at all? It makes no damn sense. I thought to myself “When I see Julia (the English speaking apartment manager) at the apartment I can ask her where a grocery store is and, if it’s too far to walk; I’m going to ask her to have the driver take me there and wait for me while I buy some things.” As I am pondering those thoughts, the driver’s cell rings and after he speaks for a moment he hands the phone to me. I said ‘hello?’, and the person identified herself as Julia, told me I owed $381 plus another $100 security deposit, and that I should pay the entire $481 to the driver when he drops me at the apartment. I told her I thought I would pay her directly, and she said ‘No, he is my agent. You pay him directly at the apartment.’ I said I needed to speak with her and I asked where her office is located. She said “Just a short walk from the apartment. The driver will give you my office information.” I gave the phone back to the driver and he sped like a maniac all through the city streets - he cut off a bus that nearly hit us and then he forced another car into the median strip, seemingly indifferent to the chaos he was causing. I will admit that most other drivers I saw that day would have been arrested if they drove that way in PA so I suppose he was no worse than anyone else.

We finally arrive at the apartment building, and the driver leaped out of the car, grabbed my suitcases and began running through a long ‘cave-like’ corridor through the bowels of a very old building. The building is nice from the street, and it looks very historic, but internally I imagine it resembled New Orleans buildings post-Katrina. Well, we passed through the courtyard and I could see in front of me a nice balcony with wrought iron railing surrounding a small porch that projected over the courtyard. “I hope that is my apartment” I thought to myself. I also smiled as I thought “My mother should be here ... she would enjoy smoking on that fancy balcony in the middle of such a historic place.” Then the driver, who was still running in front of me, stopped at a metal door and motioned for me to catch up to him and watch what he was about to do. A large metal door was located about 30 feet inside another cave-like tunnel that began under my balcony and appeared to end in another courtyard filled with trees about 150 feet away from my location. The door was nondescript though it was a bit scratched and dented here and there. On it was a keypad that looks like it has been knocked to the floor or pried off the door several times already. The driver points to me and shows me that he is pressing ‘1', ‘5' and ‘2' at the same time. I hear a click from behind the door and the driver smiles and yanks it open. My senses are immediately aroused the moment the door is opened ... visually, I see a decaying and rotting stairwell that looks to date from the 1800s ... lots of very old wood in various stages of decay and disrepair. The steps wind upward and in a circle as well (a spiral staircase). An audio treat awaited me - the door itself slamming shut reminds me of a gothic dungeon or maybe a prison. I also heard a crying infant somewhere in the building, along with several women talking with each other. I don’t know where they were, but their voices echoed all through the stair-well. What other senses do we have??? That’s right ... SMELL. The moment that door opened all I could smell was urine and a combination of dirt/mold/mildew. Horrible!!!!! I was happy the man was still running up the steps with my bags because I wanted to get to whatever floor I was on and get out of that stairway and into my corridor. Wrong. My driver stopped running one floor above me on the steps and he pulled a VERY large skeleton key out of his pocket. I assume he had it tucked in his pant leg because it is too big to fit into a pocket. I believe Vincent Price displayed this key in the movie “The Pit and the Pendulum”. I thought the hallways must be keyed, but when he opened the door from the stairwell I saw he walked into an apartment. My apartment opened directly into that pee-filled stairway.

As we opened the door with that frightening key, I noticed a young girl jump off the couch and pick up a mop. I don’t know who she thought she was fooling, but it was obvious to me that she was supposed to have been there cleaning for me but was instead listening to my ‘high end’ stereo that the web site says complements my room. (Soundesign cube stereo, ca. 1979) The driver immediately drops my bags and holds out his hand for money. He apparently can say’481' in English,  but no other words. I gave him the money, he counted it and then called Julia. “Da” was about the only word I understood from his conversation with her. ‘Da, I have his money’, ‘Da, he looks stupid and will fall for our scam’, ‘Da, I am ready to run away with the cleaning girl’ ... who knows what he was talking about. He ended his brief call, gave me that god-forsaken key and a small business card with Julia’s contact info on it, and then he disappeared into the urine filled stairwell with the cleaning girl. Oh, I forgot, he pointed at my key and made a turning motion with his wrist as he was leaving - suggesting that I should lock the door behind him. He really didn’t need to tell me that because I was way ahead of him with that thought.

I began to explore my surroundings and I immediately noticed that things were not as nice as shown on the web site (www.odessaapts.com), but it nevertheless had more character than my apartment last year. I first decided to explore the balcony, and as I opened the door and stepped on to it I gazed down into the courtyard and caught a glimpse of the driver and cleaning girl walking very quickly out of the courtyard into the dark tunnel leading to the main street. I turned and walked back into the apartment. From opening the door. some cold air had come inside and the apartment was now chilly (it was in the 40s outside). I saw the heater was a wall unit like I had last year and I pressed the buttons to turn on the heat but there is no heat - only cool air. The heating function is broken! Damn, I’ve have to close the balcony door any time I walk out there to conserve heat until I see Julia and tell her about  this. I continue to explore, and I noticed that the couch and chair both have large tears and rips in the fabric. Also they are very uncomfortable and they feel like neither has anything for support under the cushions. I also noticed that the front of the couch, along the floor, is broken and tiled forward.  A quick review of my room shows more damage there - the door jam is busted out, and it looks like someone was in the bedroom and kicked the door open to the rest of the apartment.  I think to myself ‘I’ll have to make sure Julia knows about all of these things so she doesn’t blame me and try to take my security deposit.’ I am very tired and sweaty from the flight, however, so I thought a shower would be nice.

I opened the bathroom door and saw a very fancy tub on a pedestal in the corner of the room. It looks like an expensive jacuzzi tub, but without the jacuzzi jets. The room is a bit dark and I needed to use the toilet, but I missed the pot a bit and hit the floor because of the darkness. No problem, it’s a marble tile floor so it can be wiped up with toilet paper. I grabbed a few sheets and wiped the spill, no problem. It was the last little section of paper on the roll, however, so I began looking for the replacement roll. Can’t see it in the darkness so I began to turn on all the bathroom lights only to discover none of them work! I began filling the tub and walked into the hallway to turn on lights there that would help me find the toilet paper. About half those lights worked, and it became obvious to me that there was no more toilet paper in the house. I made a mental note to hold inside anything other than urine until I can find some TP.

Struggled through a bath in the darkness while showering with the hand unit attached to the tub. Unknown to me, the hand sprayer must have been pointed toward the middle of the room at some point while I was washing the shampoo from my hair. I got out of the tub and slipped on the water that I couldn’t see on the floor. I didn’t fall to the ground, but I twisted my back a bit and it feels stiff now. I shuffle toward the mirror and immediately notice the room is too dark to shave in. So I applied shaving cream in the hallway, went into the bathroom to wet my razor in the sink, walked back to the hallway to carve a swath down my face, back into the bathroom to rinse, etc. It didn’t take too many trips in and out to complete my shaving. I quickly dressed because it was 5PM and Olga said she will be at my apartment by 7PM. Everything was wrinkled from being packed so I tried to iron the shirts, but the steam and spray functions of apartment iron do not work. I did the best I could with a dry iron, but it will soon be dark outside so no one will notice the wrinkles anyway. I am a bit nervous about meeting Olga since things did not go well during my August 2006 trip. I thought I would watch a bit of TV to relax while I wait. The apartment web site says I have a large selection of cable channels at my disposal, many of them in English. Bull! I have 37 channels available, NONE of them in English! I finally narrowed my choices to the Russian version of the original King Kong movie, or Spongebob in Russian. There was a Jerry Springer type of show that I would have watched if I had known the language - I sensed that the crowd was cheering and several people on the stage were quite upset with each other. Anyway, Patrick and Spongebob are not the same without the voices I am used to hearing, but I did recognize the episodes and it was funny to follow along in Russian. At that time I decided to send my family an email to let them know I arrived safely.

I unpacked my computer and selected the proper plugs to use on my power converter. I remember which combination I used last year with my camera charger so it didn’t take me long to set up. Once the computer booted up it gave me a message that there is no wireless network in range. I forced it to search again because Julia had convinced me to upgrade from my original apartment selection to this one based on the free wireless broadband with a very reliable connection that was included in the price of this apartment. She had said if I needed the reliable internet then this apartment is the one for me! I thought she must be mistaken about the internet connection being wireless so I looked around the apartment for a data port. In my bedroom I found the data port - on the floor in the middle of probably 50 feet of coiled cable and shredded phone wire. The connection is a cable modem and I can see a tv cable coming into it and an ethernet and USB wire coming out of the modem. I plugged the USB wire into my computer and it said it was scanning for the driver for this particular cable modem. It didn’t find it locally on my computer and it said it needed to search the internet for the driver. I cant get on the internet though because I realize that there is no ethernet cable in this mass of wires! I didn’t bring one with me either, but I thought Julia probably has one at the office. I picked up the phone to call her at the number listed on the card the driver gave me, and I noticed no dial tone at all. I pushed the hook button several times to try to get the dial tone, but I got nothing. I looked at the base of the phone (it is a cordless) and immediately realized that the phone wires were also torn up and in the midst of the wire pile on my bedroom floor. Okay, I cant call or email anyone right now, but I will certainly get this fixed tonight, I thought. Olga was to arrive in less than 2 hours and a second girl I scheduled a meeting with was supposed to have her interpreter call me tomorrow to set up a meeting. I grabbed Julia’s business card to locate her street address so I could immediately run over to complain, but there is no address information - only a web address and a phone number that is only to be used in emergencies. Hmm.

I’ll fast forward to 7PM, the time Olga is to arrive. There is no one here ... no one is knocking, no one is calling... nothing. By 745 I am beginning to think she is standing me up. Then I remembered that she cannot call me and she cannot get past the metal dungeon door inside the dark tunnel! Has she been here already and left? I went out on to the cold balcony, and I sat there watching for any activity in the courtyard. Several people walked in and out ... kids, a few couples, an old lady with a broom, and a guy came inside the courtyard to pee in a corner. A slim shadowy figure walked to a point under my balcony and just stood there looking at me. The figure did not speak, nor did I to it. It looked at me some more and then pulled out a cell phone to dial. It held the phone to its ear a minute and then turned the phone off. It then walked to a small set of stairs and sat on them, all the while looking over at me. I couldn’t tell who or what it was because it was dark outside and all I knew was the figure was thin and alone. Finally I heard it say something to me, and I said “Olga?” The figure said “Yes, it is me! I cannot open your door and why not you answer telephone?” I said to wait a minute and I ran downstairs to open the door for her. She walked into the stairwell and didn’t seem to notice the pee smell, wasn’t shocked by the king of all skeleton keys, and she entered my apartment and announced ‘it is beautiful’! She stood there a moment and then wiped her shoes on the doormat before asking if she could come inside. I told her to please come in and then she admired the decor and asked is she could sit on my nice couch! Again I apologized for my manners and asked her to please sit down. .... At that moment I smelled smoke. She sniffed too,  and we both looked around for the source. At that moment I saw flames coming from my power converter! It was melting and dripping burning plastic to the counter-top while the wall around the outlet was burning. I pulled out the cord and tossed the damn thing into the sink. It was smoking like crazy, but I doused it with water. Olga seemed sad about the loss of my converter, but I am indifferent to the debacle - almost as if I expected something like that to happen. As we progress further into this tale you will all notice that her and I deal with setbacks in entirely different ways.

Back to her, however. She was very beautiful. The moment she saw me she gave me a nice hug and a kiss on the cheek and said how pleasant it was to finally meet me, unlike my date last year who acted as though our meeting were a duty to be performed. A very nice face with a cute upward bend at the tip of her nose, very pretty eyes, a nice smile and cute dimples. Her hair color is no longer blonde, but a dirty reddish color, and all around she is just a very pretty girl in all ways. She has black high-heeled boots on with the jeans and a black lacy shirt covered by a dark brown leather jacket that covers down to her mid-waist only and it is so small I think my 6 year old son would be too big to wear it. Anyway, she immediately began talking. Her English is not perfect, but it is much easier than talking to someone though an interpreter, and she is not embarrassed to tell me to slow down or to repeat something. We talk about the phone not working, she tells me where the grocery store is and offers to go there with me to help me purchase things later. I asked her if she has eaten yet and if I could take her to dinner, and she said she will show me a nice traditional Russian restaurant where I can try borsch and other folk favorites. We walked together to the restaurant while talking, and she tucked her arm under mine as we walked. When we arrived at the restaurant she paused for me to open the door for her. Then she paused for me to take her coat and hang it up, and she paused while I took her arm to seat her. She then asked the waitress for an English menu for me, which was provided without question. She told me that borsch is great there and I must try it so I allowed her to order it for me. The waitress asked what we wished to drink and she ordered tea. I figured I should stay away from beer at the moment so I ordered Pepsi or Coke. Olga frowned and said I can get that at home and I should drink something that sounds like ‘Chazz’? It is apparently a very old and traditional carbonated beverage made from old bread. I doesn’t sound good, but it wasn’t too bad. Soon the borsch arrives and Olga scoops a pile of sour cream into the middle of it. Then she stirs it for me and sits back to watch me try it. I told her I don’t like beets and that I hope she is not offended if I don’t like the borsch. She said ‘ok’ and I tried a small spoon full. The stuff was pretty good! I continued to eat the borsch, and Olga made some comment about ‘You did not know you like the borsch extremely’. She really is cute.

Our meals arrived shortly thereafter, and we both finished our dinner rather quickly. I was expecting that we would go for a walk around the city center, but at that point Olga announced “It is 21:00 hours and I must go home to my son. He waits for me.” I said I understand and she said the taxi driver is waiting for her outside. I asked how he knew she is here because I didn’t see her call him, and she said he has been waiting outside the restaurant the entire time! I know I am supposed to pay the cab charges, and I wondered how expensive that would be. I asked her if she would first come back to my apartment because I had a gift for her and another for her son. As we were walking back to the apartment she thanked me for dinner and told me that I was a very handsome and well-mannered man. She asked whether I would like to see her the following day to tour the city, and I told her ‘of course’. We arrived at my apartment and I gave her a present for her 6 year old son - my own 6 year old had selected it for him because Olga had previously told me her son loves Spongebob, and my son does too. She kissed me on the cheek. Then I gave her a nice bottle of perfume. She looked it at very closely, turned it around a few times and then said he loved it. I was rewarded with another hug and another kiss on the cheek. I thought I was doing much better than last year, and I was, but never count your chickens before they are hatched. We walked back to the taxi and the driver wanted $95!!!! I gave  him a $100 bill and he looked at it and said ‘no change.’ I said ‘whatever’ and I motioned him to leave. She told me she would come to my apartment at 9AM and take me to the ‘7 Kilometer market’ which, according to the New York Times is the largest market on earth. Another kiss on the cheek and she is gone.

I return to the apartment. It is early and there is nothing for me to do now. I began to read a magazine I brought with me and I became sleepy. I walked from the living room into my bedroom and turned on one of two night stand lights located on either side of bed. The one on the left is dead so I tried the light on the right side and it works. I turned out all other lights and laid down to read. By 10PM I was becoming sleepy, but soon after that the light bulb in that lamp burned out so I had no choice but to sleep. Woke at 2:00 AM (9AM my time) and went back to sleep because it was still dark. Awoke again at 8AM, with an hour to spare before Olga’s return.

I had previously told Olga the metal door code so when I heard a soft tapping at my own door I knew it was her. She walked in looking very pretty again, she smiled and came over to hug me and kiss me on the cheek. She apologized for being a few minutes late and she explained that she left her cell phone in the taxi just now and she needs to track down the car to retrieve her phone. She asked would I go with her and help her find it, and I agreed. She asked to use my phone so she could call her mother to tell her what we were doing and to explain that she lost her phone. Anyway, my phone actually worked, and I told her that was impossible because I had no dial tone the day before. She said it works now and held the phone to my ear. I could hear a woman talking so I handed it back to her and then she gave my number to the lady, allegedly her mother.

Upon leaving my apartment I noticed that the same taxi driver and car are once again waiting for Olga. What a coincidence, I thought, to call a taxi and have the same driver and car come to meet you two days in a row. So we got in the cab and drove toward a suburb of Odessa. Olga claims her mother had called the taxi company and asked them where the driver lived and where the taxi was kept. This information was given to Olga during her second call from her mom. As we were racing along the streets and violating all manner of traffic and safety rules Olga talked about all the things we would do today and tomorrow, and all the things she would show me. We passed the opera house, and she said we would see an opera there tonight or tomorrow. We would walk in the park and watch the military guard that watches the graves of the unknown soldiers killed by the Germans- there is some kind of unusual procession of young, blonde uniformed girls with guns that takes place at the changing of the guard there daily. She was going to show me the train station, the stadium where the city soccer team plays, she was going to take me to an Italian café at lunch, and while we were at the 7km Market she was going to help me search for souvenirs for my sons.

We arrived at a large apartment building that one would expect to see in the ghettos of New York City. It was run down, dirty, unkempt grass areas, broken-down playground equipment. She got out of the taxi and I followed her. We went inside and I noticed the hallways are very dimly lit and very skinny. The paint on the walls was a putrid looking sea green, and she pushed an elevator button to go to the eighth floor. The elevator opened with its floor about a foot higher than the hallway floor. It is VERY skinny and two people cannot stand side by side. Maybe three total can fit in it if then line up single file from the door to the rear. The elevator made quite a bumpy ride, and I really doubt it is safe, yet probably a thousand people in the building use it daily, Olga seemed indifferent to the cruddy state of everything here so I assume her own apartment building is the same as this.

We reached an apartment on the eighth floor, and she began pounding on the door. Soon a guy wearing only a robe, smoking, and padding around in slippers opens the door - he is the taxi driver and his shift had ended so he returned home to shower and sleep. Olga begins talking to him and he starts to gesture and shake his hands while saying “Nyet”. His Nyet’s become louder and more frantic, while Olga’s own words quicken and her voice raises. Soon both of them are yelling at each other and waving their arms. The robed man threw his cigarette butt at her feet and slammed the door in her face. We took elevator back down and I asked whether the guy saw her phone. She says he claims he did not see it but that he is getting dressed and will ride with us to the taxi company to look in the car. Soon the guy comes outside with another cigarette and wearing clothes this time. We are in our taxi and he jumps in the front seat of our car, motions directions to our driver and we speed off to his cab company yard. The man got out, walked into a walled area and came back saying ‘nyet’. Olga started yelling at him again, and then he took her back into the walled area so she could look for herself. When she returned to the car she had no phone and her mood was entirely different. The guy we plucked from the shower started walking back home with another cigarette in his mouth and did not even ask us for a ride back to his building.

Olga said the phone was missing. I asked whether someone else could have ridden the cab and picked it up, and she said the driver told her she was the last passenger. I asked whether the driver or someone at the taxi company could have taken it and she said ‘it is probable, but who would admit to such thing?’ I asked whether she called her own number to see who answers it, but she said she already did that from my apartment and no one answered. I don’t remember her making a second call from my apartment, and I thought that was a curious statement. I then asked whether she could contact the phone company, cancel her account and then have them give her a new phone so her minutes would not be used by the thief and the phone would be useless to whoever stole it. She looked at me like I was an idiot, and I could see she was in no mood to talk. She did explain, however, that their phones are similar to our trac phones - everyone owns a card that has a number and a minute balance on it, but it will work in any phone as the phones are not preset to any number. There is no company or place to call in the event a phone is stolen, and the victim is just SOL if that happens.

Olga then said ‘We go to 7KM Market. What you want to buy?” I said I would look around when we arrived, and I asked whether she would look at anything. She said she might look at coats. We got there and our taxi driver waited in the lot for us while the bill increased as each minute passed. 7km is huge and disorganized, and I thought it was great! Near it is the Russian version of Home Depot. I forgot my camera, but outside it looks like an HD done in blue instead of orange. It has all the usual stacks of lumber and building supplies along one side of it and lawn tractors and grills in front. I wished I could have gone inside that store as well, but it was obvious to me that Olga was in a really bad mood now. In the 7km market, she ran from one area of leather coats to another without really pausing long enough for either of us to look at anything. I actually had to nearly run a few times in order to keep up with her. She didn’t buy anything and then asked me what I wanted to buy. I said I was having a tough time seeing what was availabkle because we moved so quickly, but she muttered something about coming to the market and not buying anything, or why did I want to come here if I wasn’t buying anything, or something like that. On the way out I saw a store front in the market that had cell phones. I paused there to look because I assumed the phones were dirt cheap and I might replace hers since she lost it while coming to see me. She had been walking in front of me and turned to see what I was doing. I said maybe they had her phone there, but she grabbed my arm and said she would never buy electronics at the 7km Market because if its broken there is no one who will accept a return or exchange. She seemed angry that I paused to look at those phones even though she should have surmised that I would consider replacing her lost phone. I decided I should talk a bit less because she seemed to be more angry than before. As we prepared to leave 7km, less than 30 minutes after we arrived, she announced she was returning to her home because she needs to speak to her son and her mother. She said the taxi driver would return me to my apartment after he dropped her off at her home.

During the ride to her apartment I was thinking about her phone again, and I asked her what store she purchased it at, who manufactured her phone, what model #, etc. I thought I might replace it for her, though I didn’t tell her that because I read these women are very proud and will not accept charity. For some reason she did not answer but instead yelled at me again. She said she was quite angry with herself, that she is in a really bad mood now, and that she is very sorry that she cannot smile when she does not feel like smiling or talk when she does not feel like talking. She was saying this in a very angry tone, by the way. I said ‘sorry’ and she stared out her window and said ‘its okay’. We barely talked the rest of the way to her apartment and she just stared out the window. When we pulled into the lot of her apartment building I could see it was in the same condition as the one of taxi driver lives in. She turned to me and said she was not in a happy mood and she wanted to go inside and be with her family. She said she would not be returning to my apartment tonight either. She said she would like to see me tomorrow morning when she would give me a city tour but that she could not see me tomorrow afternoon or evening because she had to be at work Monday mornign. In my mind I am thinking “I came all the way over here for this? An hour Friday night, 1.5 hours Saturday morning, a quick tour on Sunday morning and that’s it?”

At that point I was becoming a bit peeved myself, and I said “Actually Olga, we don’t seem to be getting along very well right now. The ride over here was very quiet and it really seems like I’m just making you angry every time I speak. Maybe we should just end it now and I can see whether I can return home tomorrow.” She snapped her head toward me and said ‘Repeat please’ in a very stern voice. I repeated myself and she said in a sarcastic tone “Oh .... good... I angry with myself about phone and now you angry with me! I CANNOT SMILE FOR YOU WHEN I NOT HAPPY!! I cannot pretend phone here, I cannot seem happy when I not. I sorry John!! It is big deal to me ... no one give me phone, I work hard long time for phone, I very upset with myself and want to be by self today. You want to see me tomorrow ... yes or no?” I thought a moment and decided that I probably could not rearrange my return flight so I might as well spend some time with her rather than be alone so I agreed to the Sunday morning tour. She said she would be at my apartment by 10AM. The taxi  dropped her off and then I rode back to my apartment with the taxi driver. His only words were smiling at me in the rear mirror and then motioning with his hand moving from his mouth outward while saying ‘ya-ya-ya-ya-ya’ and shaking his head side to side. I assume he was commenting on her yelling, but who knows. As I exited the cab, the driver said to me ‘$180'. Damn, cabs are expensive here, I thought. I returned to the apartment at about noon and realized I have nothing to do now until tomorrow at 10AM. I’m not sure if Elena, the other girl I intended to try to meet, can call me or not because the phone did not work on day 1 while on day 2 it did. I cannot access the internet to get on Anastasia Web so I don’t know if Elena has been trying to contact me either.

Since the phone was now working, I called Julia and told her about the internet problem. She told me the last occupant of the apartment ‘had internet, no problem’.  I told her that I had no signal at all and that the last occupant must have taken the ethernet cable with him when he left.  She suggested that I go to ‘internet café and have cup of coffee there and use your computer’. I politely explained that I had paid her extra money to have the internet in my own apartment, and I intended to do my work there and not in an internet café. She once again said the prior occupant had internet and I should go to internet café if my computer wasn’t working with their internet service. I was getting pissed at this point, and I told her there is no service to work with in the apartment, and the ‘problem’ is not my computer’s fault - the ethernet cable is missing! I added that I have no software for the cable modem either, which I noted is also to be connected to the computer with a USB cable that is on the floor. I also mentioned  ‘Before I forget, Julia, the bulbs on the two reading lamps beside my bed are burned out, and I cannot use them to read at night. Can you bring over two others?’ The lady said in reply “The last occupant used lights to read no problem.” I said ‘the bulbs are burned out!’ and she said ‘bulbs new. last occupant read fine’. Now I was angry, and I said to her “Julia, I paid extra money for the internet, and YOU upgraded me to a more expensive apartment because YOU said the service was better here. YOU also said that when I arrived a technician would meet me, charge me $10 and set up my computer. There is no technician here and I have no internet ... I need to be connected now before my family thinks I am dead!’ Julia replied “Internet café near your apartment. Go there, it is good and is free!” “I need the service here!!! Where is the technician that was supposed to be here??”, I begged. She said “I call technician I call you right back.” Finally, I am getting somewhere.

About 10 minutes later she called back and said the technician wanted to know what the problem is, and I told her “I have no internet!” She says “Yes, yes, yes ... we know, but why?” I was getting mad again and I said “I told you ... there is no ethernet cable, there is a cable modem that I probably need a driver for, and there are wires all over my bedroom floor” “Okay, I tell them and call you back” says Julia.

About 90 minutes later I still had not heard from anyone so I called Julia again. Her tone was one of disgust once I announced who I was. She asked what I wanted, and I asked what she had heard from the technician and when he would come by to fix the internet. Get this .... she said “I called him twice and the line was busy. What more can I do?” I’m thinking ‘what more can you do??? You &%%*$, I’ll tell you what more you can do!!”, but while I was thinking these thoughts to myself I politely said ‘can you call them again?’ and she explained they were very busy at the office. I said “please, Julia. I paid extra for this because you said the connection here was good and reliable”, to which she responded “Yes, good internet. Last occupant use no problem.” About 30 mins later she called back to say the technician was too busy and that I should go to the free internet café with my computer!! I reminded her that I want service in my apartment, and I asked when the technician would NOT be busy ... she said if I didn’t want to use the internet café I could either fix the internet myself or wait for the technician to arrive tomorrow (Sunday). She then hung up the phone. Now I know why this company accepts credit card payments toward the rent deposit only, and cash is required for the balance. I won’t bore you with more details concerning my internet. Suffice it to say the internet was never available in my apartment during the trip..

Awoke at 9:30 AM Sunday morning. Olga said she will be here by 10 or 10:30 for my city tour so I have to quickly bathe in the dark once again. It is freezing in the apartment so I turn on all burners on the cooktop and allow the heat to rise. Probably does nothing for the room temperature, but I know Ukraine has big problems with gas debts to Russia so I am doing my part to increase the misery of the apartment manager since I suspect no one will return my $100 security deposit on Wednesday morning.

Olga arrives on time, and once again she is beautiful and greets me with a hug and kiss on the cheek again. After she greets me I feel somewhat more upbeat. She tells me it is very cold outside and feels my shirt I am wearing and says that will not be enough, even with my windbreaker jacket. Then asked if I had talked to or emailed my family yet. I told her the internet didn’t work yet. She asked why I didn’t go to the internet café - it is free! I’m so tired of hearing about that internet café - what about the internet service I PAID for? Upon hearing that I had not communicated with anyone she picked up my laptop, handed it to me and said we were going to the café. A short walk later and we arrived, though we walked past the same taxi and driver that I had seen the two prior days. How could he be here again, I wondered to myself? Olga advised that she saved me money today by hitching a ride to my apartment with a friend’s husband who was driving a truck route, but she had to leave her house very early in order to catch this ride. I was curious and suspicious why she told me this, but she answered my question by volunteering that she was not able to cook breakfast before she left, she was very hungry and she wanted to know whether I would mind if she ordered a meal while I was sending out emails. I told her she could order anything she wanted and she certainly did!

After we ate the tour began. I was expecting a lengthy event, but she only walked with me around one small section of the sea-side edge of the city, maybe 2-3 blocks in size. The tour lasts for about 20 mins, and then she announces she has to return to her home and she lead me back toward the apartment. We were talking a lot, yet I find it strange she always has to leave so soon after we meet. We arrived back at the apartment and she called a taxi from there. As usual, after a few minutes she gives me a hug, a kiss on the cheek and leads me outside to that same taxi and driver. I am surprised how she knew the taxi would be out there already though, and she told me the driver wants $140 USD. I gave the money to her and she handed it to him before kissing my cheek again, but I am finally catching on to things. Is this a scam involving her and the taxi driver to rip me off??? If she is trying to slowly siphon my money though, wouldn’t it have been easier for her to ask me to replace her phone when it should have seemed obvious that I was thinking about doing just that? Nothing to do the rest of the day so I purchased some beer and watched the Russian version of Gone With the Wind while waiting to see whether Elena’s interpreter would telephone. Mammy sounds strange in Russian, by the way.

Spent the night drinking at the Irish pub on Deribasovskaya. I noticed three guys bellied up to the bar speaking English so I sat beside them and introduced myself. Two of the guys were from England, and they talked about meeting women here so I asked one which agency they used. One guy introduced himself as David, from England. He has a tall, skinny buddy whose name I cannot recall and that guy is from Ireland. The third guy is from Amsterdam, All of them immediately begin to fill me in on the number of times they have been here, the number of phony women they have met, the number of times they have lied to the women in order to get sex, insider secrets concerning the operation of the agencies (the guy from Amsterdam says he used to work for A Foreign Affair, and he described that agency’s scam of purchasing photos from girls for about $60  and then creating fake profiles with them), etc. It seems that the English guys have been here 8 and 13 times, respectively. “I keep getting shit on by these women, and I’ve done a fair amount of shitting myself, but once it’s in your blood, mate, you have to come back again and again.” reported the skinny guy from Ireland. I described my progress with Olga, and all three immediately suggested that I remove my head from my butt long enough to notice I was being scammed for taxi fares, that the driver was likely Olga’s husband or boyfriend, and that she really wanted me to buy her a phone but she became angry when I didn’t catch her hints in that regard. Overall a very interesting night with these FSU veterans, and I learned a lot.

Olga? I never heard from her again until the day I departed for the US. She sent a message through AW telling me that I am a very nice guy, but she could not imagine a future with me. Never heard from Elena either until a few days after I returned to the US. She sent a letter telling me about her weekend, asking what I had done that might have been interesting, etc. Never acknowledged that we had made plans to meet with each other in her own city and that she stood me up. I am now of the opinion that ‘Elena’ never existed or that her correspondence was being penned by her agency and she was not aware of our plans to meet.

[Ravens9273]

Very small world. I spent the month of October in Odessa and actually met the same guys you did. From England, Ireland and Amsterdam while at a pizza place.

Sorry to hear about your trip being so lousy.

Everytime I took cab with my lady average was $3 unless going very far out of town. But most give ride in general downtown area for $3

[JohnMI]

Wow, Ravens! I can't believe we ran into the same group of people. Too funny! They were definitely characters. Concerning my trip, what can I say? I lived like a college student on Spring Break, and in hindsight it was rather amusing and I'll always have those interesting memories. Yeah, it took awhile for me to catch on to the scam, and I should have realized sooner that the taxi fares were even out of line for New York City. You live and learn, I guess.

[Serebro]

John, your profile says you have been looking for more than 3 years' time, why didn't you understand that was scam?

[I/O]

John: Super report and never too late for the freshman to read such. May I relate to you a short story regarding "That" Irish bar. At the end of my last trip to Ukraine (we are going back a while here) I decided I was tired of local food and I had seen my fill of Odessa and surrounds, which BTW, I rather like and having had a quick meal in that bar once early on in the trip, I concluded a cold beer and something horrible like a plate of fries might be the go so off I went.

It was early evening and of course I met a few loud mouthed Poms and dare I say it, the worst example of a loser Yank I have struck anywhere. Sitting quietly at the bar, I realised I was being grouped with this second rate crew by the watching Pimps and employees. Quite amusing actually as one paraded her wares back and forth to apparently powder her nose. I think it was on her 5th or 6th trip to the Loo that I happened to make very brief eye contact with her. She was quick.......$200.00 thanks she muttered with only a small accent. I nearly fell off my stool laughing and said, geez that's cheap honey, if you want with me honey you'll have to pay a lot more than that. Needless to say the ol' pimp in the corner lit up like a neon light and bounced all around me like a juggler's monkey. He found himself sat back down again fairly quickly, not of his own free will. (Size advantage)

The irony was that a Russian couple (Husband and wife) had been watching the process and he came over to pay respect to me and invite me for a drink, them being Russian it was of course to be several vodkas later we parted agreeing to meet the next day. They are a super couple and we spent, simply the best day together, not to mention visits to their home in Moscow and counter visits since. How a nothing day can turn to gold if you play your cards right.

She (I'll leave her name out of this) was most concerned that I shouldn't go near that or any other bar again as it has "Muched baddish Vimmitts. LOL. "He" was slightly less concerned..... I wonder why.   Believe me, when the Russians (And I imagine Ukrainians also) take you to heart and decide they are going to look out for you, they ARE the most protective and hospitable people you can imagine. You simply need to tap into the better end of the spectrum and you'll think you are in heaven.

Hope you next trip is more productive and thanks for sharing, I enjoyed your story very much.

I/O

PS: A top dollar taxi fare from the ariport to central Odessa should cost NO MORE than $10-20.

[Turboguy]

You have a nice writing style John.   It was an interesting read.  I did read one thing in there that may be part of the problem.   It sounds like you were using A-Web which is not well thought of here.

Some of the things such as the smelly stairways are pretty common there but all in all you were scammed and figured it out pretty quickly so you did better than some do.   I have gone through some of the same experiences such as the taxi scam and the cell phone scam so a warning to newbies is always good.  The smarter we get the more likely we are to avoid these things and spending time at RWD is the quickest way to get smart.  Thanks for contributing to the knowledge pool.

[JohnMI]

Wow, I am surprised that quite a few people actually read through my long post, though I did pare it down quite a bit. Originally it was an email that I sent my family from that free internet cafe that everyone suggested I visit.

Serebro - Well, I have been searching more than 2 years, but less than 3 so I rounded up when selecting the proper entry for my profile here. Why didn't I catch on? To be honest, it is because I am sometimes a naive idiot. I would not treat another person in that way, and I tend to assume that the other person plays by the same rules. What more can I say? You know, I think the hardest scam to detect and protect against would be where the girl's real interest in the guy is for the purpose of receiving expensive dinners and gifts - I would be worried about balancing my concern that I was being used against my concern that I not appear to be 'greedy' with her. In fact, I am pretty sure that scam would work against me very well. I do plan to read as many trip reports as I can on this site, however, and maybe I will see some behavioral trends that might help me spot the scam in action.

I/O: I'm happy you enjoyed my tale. Interesting story about your night at the Irish pub. Thanks for sharing! My sister works with a Ukrainian girl at a hospital in DC, and prior to my first trip to Odessa in 2006 that girl gave me a quick primer on Ukrainian culture. She described the same hospitality and warmness that you talked about when referring to people I might meet there. Oh, I cannot let your comment about the horrible fries at that place go without adding that I completely agree with you. The fries were awful, as were the cheeseburgers. I prefer my patties between two halves of a bun, not between two slices of bread, and I have no idea what that awful, burning sauce is that they spread all over the patty. Absolutely horrible.


Turboguy: You are welcome for the story, and thanks for your support. I've been told a few times now that AW is suspect, but I think I need to read a bit more to discover the reasons behind this as so far all I have read are allegations without support. I'll dig a bit deeper to see what I can find out. I will say that, other than Elena, the other 2 girls did actually meet me and were the girls depicted in the profile photos. I can't imagine how any other agency can screen the girls for hidden motives any better or any worse than AW. I mean a scammer is not going to announce to any agency that she intends to scam, is she? I understand the local agencies AW works with can place false profiles on the site, which a smaller agency could more easily detect, but AW claims that every girl on every profile has been verified. Is there something else I should be looking for that AW does not provide, or should I keep reading and come back later if I cannot find the answer?

[Turboguy]

John, I have a feeling you won't have to read to far to come across a number of horror stories.  Still there are a few guys who have had good luck with them but a lot who found the gals they had written for ages didn't even know they existed.   Some only found out when they hit the ground expecting to meet the gal who had written all the love letters.  Read here some and you will see what I am talking about.

[BillyB]

she muttered something about coming to the market and not buying anything, or why did I want to come here if I wasn’t buying anything, or something like that. On the way out I saw a store front in the market that had cell phones. I paused there to look because I assumed the phones were dirt cheap and I might replace hers since she lost it while coming to see me. She had been walking in front of me and turned to see what I was doing. I said maybe they had her phone there, but she grabbed my arm and said she would never buy electronics at the 7km Market because if its broken there is no one who will accept a return or exchange.

I've read many trip reports where a girl "loses" a phone when a foreign man is visiting. Olga wanted you to buy a phone at a place she could return it for cash. Her phone was never lost.

John, you were basically robbed the whole time visiting Olga. I don't think complaining to Aweb is going to help, they need those kind of women to get business for themselves. Best to send the info to antiscam sites or send them a link to here and they can determine for themselves is Olga is the type of woman they should list. That's about the only thing you can do to help the next guy who may think about visiting her.

[Shadow]

John, next time you rent an aparment make sure it has 'western style' furniture. It will not save you from the bad looking hallways or half-working equipment, but at least inside things might work.
Drop AW and make sure that before the trip you have built some communication. You got a pro-dater here that understood pretty quickly you were not a good mark.

On the other hand, reading your report on how things look I wonder if you are fit to continue this. You were taking a trip to the FSU but make it sound like a survival on the North Pole....

[Serebro]

John, next time you rent an aparment make sure it has 'western style' furniture. It will not save you from the bad looking -hallways or half-working equipment, but at least inside things might work.

I agree.
-Learn some Russian.

-Try to make some friends in the place where you are going to, maybe they will help you in  case of possible difficulties.
-Know prices in advance, if you feel it's "above"don't be afraid to refuse.
-In the case with taxi scam explain that you know the prices and that you don't have such a big sum of money at the moment as this isn't the price that you heard of..

[2tallbill]

If you go to Odessa again I could recommend someone reliable to help you with the a very nice apartment phones taxi's etc.

Great report!


Udachi (good luck)

Bill

[I/O]

John: Just a small clue if you end up drinking with a few countrymen or even alone in places such as "That" bar.  INSIST on paying for each round of drinks or coffee or whatever piece by piece. The won't like it one bit. I tend to put some money squarely on the bar and leave it there for the duration. Many prolly think I'm mad, but I've never had any one try me on for it.

INSIST on paying per piece as they come and you'll end up paying for a LOT LESS pieces than if you let them run up a "Tab" for you as they so very much like to do under the guise of local hospitality.

I/O

[Mir]

So you paid $400 plus as well as for meals etc for a few hugs and kisses on the cheek, rather pricey indeed.
I don't think she wanted you to buy her a phone from the market as they would be crap and cheap. She needed to use the phone excuse to wast time and return home but a phone bought by you would have been a welcome bonus for her.
Did you get your deposit back?
I am miffed why you had such bad service as I have used this agency in Odessa and did not have any problems.

[JohnMI]

Thanks for the continuing flow of advice, everyone. Since AW seems to be suspect in the minds of so many, I wonder whether anyone can suggest other agencies that I might consider contacting and which cover Odessa, Kharhov and/or Lugansk?

BillyB:    Interesting perspective concerning replacing her phone at the outdoor flea market v. a retail store. I hadn't considered that previously, and you are probably correct that she would have wanted to return any phone that was purchased for her. I have no plans to report the story to AW as I don't need to embarrass myself with those people, and everything would be my word against hers anyway.

Shadow: The apartment listing did mention that it was of 'western standards' and, to be honest, it looked pretty nice in the photos that were shown on the web site. Concerning communication ... I assume you mean with the lady? I didn't just rush over there on a whim, and I think some here would say that I corresponded with her for an excessive length of time - between 40-50 letters exchanged over the course of 5 months. Her responses were specific to questions and issues raised in my own letters, and I am certain they were not 'cut and paste' responses. Not sure what more I could have done in advance of actually meeting her, other than some telephone contact. In hindisight I wish I would have called her a few times, and I do plan to make that a necessary element of my search process from now on. Not sure what you meant with the comment that I might not be 'fit' to continue the process, but I assure you I am as 'fit' as you or anyone else here. As I explained in this thread, the report I post was actually a scaled back version of an email message to my family and a few select friends who have never been to the FSU, never will travel to the FSU and, in fact, have no desire at all to see any part of the FSU. I tended to stress the differences between what my audience would expect to experience when traveling internationally (to western Europe,for example) v. the reality of things in Ukraine because that is what they would have been interested in reading about. Also, if I visited the North Pole and sent a message back to civilization wherein I complained that the weather is colder than I expected, that does not make me un-fit to travel there.

Serebro:  Yes, I really do need to learn more Russian than I already know, which isn't too much. I had purchased a language instruction book and a set of audio CDs prior to my first trip to Odessa in 2006, but together they weren't a lot of help. Some of the words/phrases in the book did not match the spoken words from the CD so it was kind of confusing at times. I live in a rural area with no access to live language instruction so my ability to learn the language is limited.

2tallbill: Thanks ... if I decide to return to Odessa I might take you up on that offer!

I/O: It should not surprise you to read that I ran a tab at that place. I'm trying to remember whether or not I was presented with an itemized bill at the conclusion of the evening, but I think I was just told a number. Apparently you are suggesting that my bill may have been padded. That figures, but thanks for the advice ... I will keep that in mind for future use.

Mir: Yes, it really was that bad. I can't believe that apartment agency has too many repeat customers if all of their apartments are in the same condition as the one I rented. They did return my security deposit, however, and that was a pleasant surprise.

[Serebro]

So you paid $400 plus as well as for meals etc for a few hugs and kisses on the cheek, rather pricey indeed.
I don't think she wanted you to buy her a phone from the market as they would be crap and cheap. She needed to use the phone excuse to wast time and return home but a phone bought by you would have been a welcome bonus for her.

no, she didn't want to buy the telephone there- he was supposed to offer money to her so she "would be able" to buy a good telephone somewhere else.

[I/O]

I/O: It should not surprise you to read that I ran a tab at that place.

I doesn't.

I'm trying to remember whether or not I was presented with an itemized bill

Probably...........with LOTS of items.

I think I was just told a number.

I suspect they "had" your number. Don't allow it to occur again.

Apparently you are suggesting that my bill may have been padded.

Not suggesting, telling. It's a given.

It's a tricky row to hoe this MOB show.

I/O

[Shadow]

Shadow: The apartment listing did mention that it was of 'western standards' and, to be honest, it looked pretty nice in the photos that were shown on the web site. Concerning communication ... I assume you mean with the lady? I didn't just rush over there on a whim, and I think some here would say that I corresponded with her for an excessive length of time - between 40-50 letters exchanged over the course of 5 months. Her responses were specific to questions and issues raised in my own letters, and I am certain they were not 'cut and paste' responses. Not sure what more I could have done in advance of actually meeting her, other than some telephone contact. In hindisight I wish I would have called her a few times, and I do plan to make that a necessary element of my search process from now on. Not sure what you meant with the comment that I might not be 'fit' to continue the process, but I assure you I am as 'fit' as you or anyone else here. As I explained in this thread, the report I post was actually a scaled back version of an email message to my family and a few select friends who have never been to the FSU, never will travel to the FSU and, in fact, have no desire at all to see any part of the FSU. I tended to stress the differences between what my audience would expect to experience when traveling internationally (to western Europe,for example) v. the reality of things in Ukraine because that is what they would have been interested in reading about. Also, if I visited the North Pole and sent a message back to civilization wherein I complained that the weather is colder than I expected, that does not make me un-fit to travel there.

John, AW is famous for letting the interpreters write the letters, and informing the woman in question about one week or less that there is an interested party. With this agency a long writing campaign without copy/paste letters is no where near guanratee that the woman knows of your existence.
Regarding your descriptions back home, I can imagine your family not having any desire to go to the FSU after such report.
I tend to emphasize on the good things and beauty of a travel experience, not on confirming the already bad picture people have.

[thompsongunner06]

I was just looking and sew and read your post. WOW! I met my wife here in the US. Did you have a camera with you so you could take some pictures? I don't think I would go to meet a women and not have one.  If you did please post a few pictures for us.

[JohnMI]

Thanks for the additional input, everyone. Sorry I haven't loggeed on in a few days, but I did spend a significant amount of time as a guest reading some of the AW tales here as well as Shadow's warning within this thread (that agencies might write letters on behalf of the ladies). You know, the more I read the more angry I became because I think I may have been a victim of that during my first visit to Odessa in 2006. That girl and I exchanged over 150 letters during an 8 month time frame, and it seemed through our letters that we were absolutely perfect for each other - same warped sense of humor, same political views, same views concerning family, very similar sporting and recreational interests, etc. I thought she was perfect, and even our telephone calls were great - several exceeded 2 hours (at AW's rates, no less). Perhaps I am paranoid, but now I wonder whether any of it was real. Prior to my departure to meet that girl, she repeatedly told me how excited she was to finally meet me after such a long correspondence, she said her agency translator had taught her some 'very special English phrases' that she would only tell me in person while whispering in my ear, and she asked what I would tell her father if he asked me to prove to him that I loved his daughter more than life. Sounds promising, right? Well, when I first met her in person I thought it was more than appropriate that I approach her to give her a hug, but she instead backed away from me and extended her hand to shake mine. At dinner she had very little to say, and when I discussed a few of the things we had talked extensively about in our written correspondence she seemed to not acknowledge any of it. Ever since that meeting I thought she was simply in a bad mood that night and our timing was just wrong, but now I wonder whether she and I ever really communicated at all. At the end of our second date the following evening she told me we were not right for each other. I still remember asking her how she could make such a decision after only about 3 hours of face to face communication when we had such a great correspondence over 8 months. Her reply was along the lines of 'we've known each other since dinner, and I've made up my mind'. Believe me, that whole meeting has bothered me for two years because my heart was torn in two and I had no real explanation for her change in attitude, and now I wonder whether I've been scammed twice in that city. I can say her agency interpreter and I got along very well. I wonder whether I had been writing to her all along? Anyway, I am done with AW now. Poorer but wiser. Based on several recommendations I have read here I think I will try Elena's Models and Kherson Girls so I'll start putting together my new profiles this week.

Thompson: Yes, I took my camera and video camera as I knew that if Olga were 'the one' I would need evidence that we met outside the US. I hardly saw her so I dont have too many pictures. I think I took more pictures of the apartment damage than anything else. I thought I might need to prove the state of the apartment at my arrival in order to prevent my security deposit from being taken. You wanna see the phone and television ball of wires on my bedroom floor, the burned electrial outlet or the torn couch?

[Donhollio]

  Dude I was reading most of your post ,and I acually slapped my forehead with my hand
 
 I was hoping your quoted taxi fares were in UHA not USD ,but you later confirmed that.  AW is a place to avoid, if your wanting to use up your remaining credits, plan another trip and use them as a plan B. That is have other real sincere girls waiting to meet you,and use them as a date  without any emails being exchanged.
 I can't recommend any honest agencys in Odessa, Natasha was one of the managers I trusted, but she no longer works it, last I had heard.

 And please read heavy on these forums, and learn from this experience.  I have spent months in Odessa,and your tale isn't too different than the stuff I have heard before.
 Try odessarentaflat in the future, Matt is a Irishman living & running his business in Odessa renting apartments.  He's quite street wise to the various scams,and I can garrentee you wouldn't of had a slum like you decribed to stay in.

 Billy is right about wanting a phone to return, she may not get her full refund ,but the store would take it no problem for 50% of what you paid the day before.  This scam also works on clothing ,shoes,jewelry and appliances.  Just be happy she didn't have any restaurants in her portfolio where they pad the bill,and she gets a commish on the total.

 You've learned a lot I hope, check out the flat before you pay, don't use AW, and so on.
Next time use agencys that give you the girls contact infomation !  Without that your well on the way to getting scammed.
 If prices don't seem right, keep the cash in your pocket, wait until she blows her top, and than you will see it all unfold. Every scam needs cash to work, if you don't pay ,you end the scam.

 I'm sorry your naiveity cost you all this.

[JohnMI]

Yes, Donhollio, I was referring to US dollars, not uah. I'm ready to try the new agencies ... just need to have some new pics taken. I'm sure I'll let everyone know how things work out once I'm up and running. I really don't understand how having a real number and address can prevent scamming, though. If a girl wants to string a guy along and play with him in the hope of receiving gifts, dinners, etc. she doesn't need an alias to do that. I suspect there is a steady stream of new people, such as myself, who do not know to look for scam reports concerning the girls, and the new guys will always be ripe targets ready for the picking.

[Voyageur]

JohnMI:

Thank you for the time (and the guts) it took to tell your story. I am sorry that things turned out for you the way that they did. FWIW, I was in Odessa only one time and it was by far my least favorite place I have visited in the FSU. Your description of the apartment complex and it's amenities rang a familiar bell with me, although I did not try to find any internet service when I was there. One thing that you should do concerning taxi rides in the future, always get an agreement on the fare before you sit down in the cab.

And your story about meeting some stranger that you thought that you were getting to know through correspondence through an agency.  I can also relate to this story, although my correspondence was much shorter than for six months. When I wrote to this woman through an agency, it seemed to me that we were getting to know each other pretty well. But when I finally met the "face-behind-the-picture", she also knew nothing about anything we had written. One time at a social I met a woman that I had written a few letters to, and she knew nothing about me, but I was able to tell her where she worked, about her children and other details about her life. The best recourse is obviously to get a private email address and to communicate with no middle-man involvement.

I met one interpreter in Ukraine who also worked for an agency. After she got to know me she told me that she very often wrote letters to American men for the women posted on her site, often without their knowledge.

Some agencies read the correspondence to women over the telephone and transcribe letters back to the men.  This type of agency is more respectable than the novel writing agencies like the old Confidential Connections.

I sounds like you are a nice guy, and frankly I think that you are lucky to get out of that situation like you did.  It could have been much worse. Remember that if something seems wrong in your "gut" it probably is wrong. Move on and find someone whom you have no questions about. Good luck!

[JohnMI]

Thanks, Voyager.

The reason I did not, and could not, ask the taxi fare in advance is because each time Olga made the arrangements without my knowledge or input. Of course, things had to go that way in order for the scam to work. I didn't want to seem cheap or stingy, and I could not leave her there with a taxi bill that she could not pay so I paid up. I would not have paid for a fourth ride with the same driver though ... I did finally catch on to what was happening.

Well, I am nearly done with AW. I now have the names and addresses of the last three girls I was really interested in, and I've called one this past weekend so she could give me her phone number. After I get the final two phone numbers I will hire someone to do some investigating for me to make sure they really exist, that their addresses are valid, their stated employment is true, etc. If all of that checks out then I will call them directly with the assistance of someone other than AW. Other than that, I just need to make some new photos so I can create profiles on a few other sites that seem to have a better reputation, according to the folks here.

[I/O]

John: I admire your patience but I am not convinced you are "getting it" in this whole deal. Discard this if you are certain you have it sorted, but in the meantime indulge me to paint the picture another way.

This entire process is a bridge you walk across, but it is a bridge you must construct for yourself. Nobody will do it for you.  Reputable websites are one piece which goes into the construction of that bridge. They help, they are useful, but they do not constitute the bridge itself. They aid the construction.

There is a million pieces to this bridge and most of those pieces fall under the bigger umbrella of the word information or knowledge.

I agree you should have gotten the hell out of AW long since, but it is not AW that is your major problem. It is the fact you placed your faith and trust in AW. I don't give a rats foot how good the next website or agent is, if you rely on their trustworthiness to see you through, you have crashed before you start. YOU must become YOUR own best expert, particularly when it comes to sniffing out rotten eggs, of which there is far too many in this caper.

Rotten eggs come in the form of non genuine women, scammer organisations, hookers, bent agents, bent terps, good time girls, green card girls, taxi crooks, hotels paying kick backs to the girls you visit and so it goes and so it goes. If you apply the same methodology as you have previously done and that is to try to find services/providers you can trust, you will suffer the same fate time and again.

Certainly find a better website/s. But forget about trusting anyone. The moment you start to trust those who have any financial interest whatsoever, you are ripe for the pickings. Even a decent agent (If you can find one) should be called to account on a regular basis. If they can't account, kick them to the curb. If they are decent, they will account. Keep that cycle happening. The moment you hear something like "Don't you trust me/us/our firm" kick them aside quick smart.

This caper, including the women, is full of every slippery eel you can imagine. My advice is trust none other than yourself and even question yourself regularly.

I/O