A salutary warning about remaining vigilant to pressure selling in all area's of our life. Firstly let me be clear that these guys ( Travel Clinic North Shore) did not apparently contravene any consumer protection laws that I'm aware of , although the refusal of the receptionist to give an estimate over the phone for the cost of 5 typhoid vaccinations for two adults and three children ( necessitated by an upcoming trip to cyclone ravaged Samoa) would have altered me to a potential honey trap but unfortunately my less suspicious partner had made the appointments.

UPSHOT ..one slow long jargon ridden hour later I was over ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS lighter and I had not even been vaccinated ! Turns out a typhoid vaccination consists of the 'Doc' handing you three pills to take over three days but by then I had become so agitated by the entrapment and the shafting I could see coming I had attempted to regain some ground by refusing to participate. Of course by then to refuse to have my partner and children vaccinated was untenable and the doc stuck it to me anyway by charging us all (on top of all the vaccination charges) a $65 consultation charge each (we were all in the room at the same time) including me !

I guess the lesson is you always need to be on the look out , not just on the used car lot , secondhand furniture store or market stalls but didn’t expect to be so comprehensively tucked at a medical clinic .
We were in a bind because few clinics (including our local in Sth Auckland) carry vaccines in any quantity and there was a rush from island bound travelers.
So what should have been a simple instruction and hand over from a clinic nurse (few hundred $ at worst) became a Merry Xmas sucker from www.travelclinic.co.nz

Ouch