Comments on: Double Standards

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:08:43 +0000

Dan, you are 100% right in your assessment. I do not think the attitude will change in my lifetime. Business here is always done with the short term in mind. As you said, it’s a question of getting what you can now in whatever way you can. The system does not reward hard workers nor entrepreneurs unless they are well connected. It certainly does not reward the honest. Conor, I believe you are 100% wrong. There was NEVER any justification for double pricing. I’m sure you would not approve of it in your own country. You might as well hang a sign stating “Blacks pay a higher price; whites a lower one”. It is discriminatory, plain and simple. The sad thing is that a lot of people here have convinced themselves that this is a worldwide practice. Imagine being charged DOUBLE at Covent Garden just because you don’t have a British passport!

By: dan

dan — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:43:18 +0000

The problem, I think, is one of very short-sightedness. It’s not really surprising, Argentina’s economy has been based on short-term view policies for nearly two centuries now, with no view towards what will benefit the country and its populace in the long run. It’s the economic model that people are brought up in, learn in school, is it any wonder that they adopt it in their personal lives and business dealings? It is, unfortunately, a Catch-22. The short-term model leads to repeated economic collapses, which justifies that the monetary system is unstable, and therefore props up the belief that you get what you can while you can, transfer it into more stable currencies and keep it out of this country as much as possible. The same model leads to the non-payment of taxes – after all, why pay into a system that’s going to collapse in a couple of years; why pay into a system where the government will likely change in an even shorter time, with no one looking to recover back taxes – often even flat out “forgiving” all past debts?

By: Conor

Conor — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:31:25 +0000

It is going to be an interesting period now with tourist numbers dropping quite quickly. Coupled with the growing perception of double standards, it could have pretty bad results for the tourism industry and thus the Argentine economy as a whole. I personally believe that this double pricing was kind of necessary after the last economic collapse but now doesn’t seem right. A sharp depreciation of the peso since 2002/3 from 1/1 would have made the two prices a necessary thing but nowadays, with a more stable currency and increasing, yet albeit disproportionate growth, it doesn’t seem right. Especially with airlines flights (and what I find incredibly wrong from an international carrier like LAN) it is not right. It has become a means to extort more money or a simple, virtually stable cash cow.

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:17:20 +0000

This should help:

ARTÍCULO 6°.- Incorpórase como artículo 8° bis de la Ley N° 24.240 de Defensa del Consumidor, el siguiente: (as stated above).

Double pricing is strictly illegal however its abuse is not only being ignored by the authorities but practiced by the authorities. Nevertheless, the courts often rule against practices by government that they deem unconstitutional, hence a test case would be worthwhile.

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:50:25 +0000

I believe this is article 8 of a national law. If you have a lawyer, why not ask him to check this. As for the “exceptions” I have a feeling that few have ever been authorized. I have been waiting for someone to start a test case, i.e. take someone to court for double pricing on the grounds that it is a constitutional violation. Argentina is very protective of the rights of non citizens so this sort of abuse would seem to be completely illegal even though it is practiced by government entities. Even the city owned/run Teatro Colon got into the act a few years ago with double pricing for non-residents. They pretended that local people got a discount when in fact they DOUBLED existing prices rather than lower existing prices for locals. The result was pricing as high as $1,000 pesos per ticket for a single opera for foreigners. The policy caused a lot of ill will and resentment and was dropped because sales went down.

By: dan

dan — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:37:00 +0000

Evan, I didn’t, though I may now, having this bit of law in hand. I’m assuming this comes from some sort of Hotel Code?

For those who don’t read Spanish, here’s my rough translation of what Evan provided – emphasis mine.

Fair treatment. Abusive practices. Providers must guarantee conditions of fair and equitable treatment of customers and users. They must abstain from allowing conduct that would put customers in embarrasing, humiliating or intimidating situations. They may not exert upon foreign customers any differentiation in prices, technical or commercial quality, or any other relevant aspect about the goods and services they offer. Any exception to this agreement must be authorized by the Authority and based on reasons of properly founded general interest.