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British tourists complain to Hanoi authorities about hotel scam

Three British tourists have complained to Hanoi tourism authorities that they were cheated by a man who took them from the gate of a hotel they had booked into to another one by lying to them.
Bradley Spillman, Jonathan Bearman and Matthew Taylor, all 21, told officials at the Hanoi Tourism Department Thursday that they had booked rooms at Hanoi Old Town Hotel, 95 Hang Chieu.
On Wednesday they arrived at the hotel from airport by taxi when a man who introduced himself as the “manager” of the hotel jumped into the vehicle.
He said the hotel’s water system was broken and he would take them to another branch of the hotel at 9 Nguyen Truong To Street, Ba Dinh District.
They booked into the new hotel, called Hai Nam, when they received an email from the Hanoi Old Town Hotel asking why they did not turned up.
Meanwhile, the man sold some tours to them, and after learning he had scammed them, they wanted the money back. But he only made a partial refund.
They told department officials they wanted their money back and the man and the hotel to be punished.
On Thursday Vu Cong Huy, deputy chief inspector of the department, said they were investigating the case together with Ba Dinh District authorities.
Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi's Tourism Department, said the authorities will "seriously address any violation" to "maintain the good image of Vietnam's tourism."