In Reply to: It IS only US$25 posted by Putu_Les on Thursday, 28. May 2009 at 11:29 Bali Time:
getting fixed any time soon.
It is part of the culture, and extends through from immigration to porters, to taxis, to policemen, to money changers, to shop keepers,to bars to tour "guides", to property deals and to pretty much everyone and every thing.
That is why it pays to know the score, and also why forums (or formi ??) like this are of such good value.
In general, people don't seem to be put off by this creative accounting, as is evidenced in the high rate of bookings currently experienced.
As for "only in Bali", I don't think so as plenty of "luggage scams" go on with loaders and handlers elsewhere, including Australia and the elsewhere.