tokyoblond

Hope I'm allowed to post a link here. This is widespread on YouTube right now... this YouTuber contacted the scammers herself on Telegram. Sorry you didn't win a bike...

Sorry, but no. This whole thing started becoming farcical on September 4, 2012, when, if I recall, a staff member (gardener?) was forwarded as the driver of said Ferrari. It's just got more farcical since.

Didn't the government sign a contract to produce Favipiravir locally? Somebody's pockets are getting stuffed. As always (especially in Thailand), follow the money... it's always about the money, whether it works, or not.

Hi Meat Pie. I can only provide my personal experience, as I don't know how others have fared. If the business and staff pay into the Social Security scheme (including foreigners), they can get up to 50% of their salary for up to 3 months, up to a maximum salary of 15,000 Baht, meaning that the most they will receive is 7,500 Baht per month. Bear in mind that the business and staff must have paid into the scheme for a period before becoming eligible. And each time my Thai staff applied they felt like we were fighting the SSO to get them to pay out, dodging obstacles put in our way by staff, e.g. "the database is being updated and it will take about 3 weeks to process your claim", "are you sure that the foreigner paid into the system, we can't find the records", etc. As for business help? Nothing. Not 1 Baht in assistance. We even tried for one of the "soft-loans" but we were "not the right type of business" and it was suggested that the "foreigner could get money from their home country" (that elusive gold-plated bank account that we are all assumed to have back home). Right now, income is down to about 20% of what it was before Covid struck and now we have entered another lockdown, meaning the business will be forced to shut down again, so no more income for the next month at least; yet the rent still has to be paid, we are still required to pay into the SSO monthly and so on - the costs don't just stop. I, very foolishly (I realize now, too late) used my savings to keep things afloat "in the short term", keeping salaries, rent, internet, electricity, water, etc. up to date. I love my business and staff and it was a bloody good little business before this debacle. Initially, I hoped that we would come out of this in a short time. Of course, once I started using up my savings, when the next lockdown came, and again, and again, I kept dipping in, in in the vane hope that "it will get better soon". It didn't get better soon and now all of the money is gone. The pot is empty. I'll be 60 soon, so very little chance of me 'starting again' at my age; I am virtually unemployable in my home country (I already checked), even if I could scrape together enough money to escape back home. Plus, having been out of the country for an extended period, there would be no support once I arrived back home anyway (I already checked, in desperation). TLDR: No, this government have given NO help to small businesses. Of course, the big boys are coming out smelling of roses. Maybe that was the plan all along.... Oh, and for the usual "never invest more that you're willing to loose" crowd, save it! I know.