When that gelato is more expensive than you think it should be, who you gonna call? Well, no one, or at least you shouldn’t if you failed to read the menu before ordering it. After all, numbers are written in a language everyone can understand, even if you don’t speak the language.

American tourists in Rome ended up admitting that maybe getting the police involved to dispute their bill at a bar in Rome, reports The Local, after reporting that they’d been ripped off.

The couple and another relative ordered three ice creams and a bottle of water and were shocked when the €42 bill — about $57 — arrived. So far they’d only paid a few euro for ice cream on the rest of their vacation, so the bill seemed like it just had to be too much.

And furthermore, the husband explains, they’d paid €59 for an entire meal with wine elsewhere, only to shell out big bucks on gelato? It didn’t seem right.

Alas, checking the menu with its €13 price for a big glass bowl of ice cream would’ve prevented the problem, restaurant staff explained, adding that they’d actually received a discount because he hadn’t charged them the €2.50 per person cover charge.

They paid the bill, but still were so sure it was a scam that the tourists showed up the next day with police to dispute the charge. That’s when an officer checked the menu and found that indeed, the price was right there, which meant the bar wasn’t breaking the law.

“I should have checked the menu,” the man admits.

Heck, at least he didn’t call 9-1-1 (or the Italian equivalent) over the wrong pizza sauce, claims of raw waffles, or missing hash browns. Among so many other things we’ve heard consumers seeking police help with.

US tourists outraged over €42 ice cream bill [The Local]

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