Whistler

Undisclosed hookup fee of 2,000 additional Baht!

I went to sign up for new 3BB DSL(phone line)  Internet. The woman at the counter said they "Only bring service to the outside of the building" and to check with our condo if they charged for hookup within the building. It's a pretty new building with telephone already installed and the condo manager said they don't charge any additional fee or have required technicians. I went back to 3BB and paid for a year in advance plus 800 for the modem, and was told there was not any refund once paid.

When 3BB arrived the technician hooked up the internet to the outside of the building, and another worker then asked for 2,000 baht to complete the hookup to my room. When I argued that 3BB never said anything about a hookup fee she said she was a "contractor" and that everyone has to pay them for the last link to the room.

I called 3BB  and argued that it was unfair to charge an undisclosed hookup fee, and that having a subcontractor that follows their technician around charging an undisclosed fee was just a way to avoid disclosure of the fee when I paid the non-refundable year in advance. After much discussion about what a jerk I am for not being more generous, the fee was reduced to 1000 baht and took 15 minutes to complete. The "contractor" bragged that they had gotten the full 2,000 baht out of four other tenants in my building today alone.

3BB would probably loose business to a competitor if they revealed the 2,000 baht hookup fee in advanced, and I find this very deceptive and sleazy.

Beware of the potential of hidden fee - and bargain if they surprise you with it. 

It would be great if they accepted workable suggestions - I meant to say it shouldn't be our responsibility to come up with a fix. Immigration isn't a service we can choose to use or not. We are just trying to fulfill the requirement the government places on me, and its' the government's responsibility to administer their requirement. The immigration officer pointed out that I have two weeks left on my existing retirement extensions - the implication being I should plan nothing for the rest of the month other than trying the same failed system again and again.

I spoke with an "Agent" who can get it done in a day if I pay them a 5,500 baht service fee. It is totally unacceptable that I can't fulfill the requirement on my own - and must pay a middle person to do it.

A cynical person might suspect the immigration office intentionally empowers a system which discourage us from doing it ourselves and might have motive to help the agent's business. Any family connections between the officials creating obstacles and the agents smoothing the way must certainly be a coincidence.

It is absurd that getting in line at 6:00 AM - two and a half hours before the office opens - is not sufficient time to make ANY progress towards satisfying one's immigration requirements before closing time.

If they simply passed out numbers that were valid to the next day that would be an improvement, but it shouldn't be up to foreigners to need to suggest how immigration administers the requirements they place on us.

After arriving at CM immigration well before 7:00 am and standing in line for more than two hours, it took the guy at the counter more than 20 minutes and a dozen questions to say "Que full come back tomorrow".

Unlike other posters I have no sympathy for the staff. They seem to use long lines that lead nowhere, confusion, and frustrations as a deterrent to having any expectation that the office runs as efficiently as possible. Having renewed my retirement visa for several years in Jomtien I know the process isn't that complicated.

The incompetence ingrained in the Thai system is really beyond imagination, and a major reason that Thailand is rapidly becoming an object of ridicule - both globally and right here at home.

Harrumph.

Massive Police Party Weekend on Kho Tao: 200 policemen invited as paid guests.

Murders solved. Time to party - just in time for the weekend!

All they have to do is stand around for an hour "guarding" while the murder is reenacted, and their entire weekend is paid for by the government.

For me it was quite easy to do it all inside Thailand.

I entered on a "Visa Exempt" status and three weeks later I had a 15 month multiple entry Non-imm B visa in the passport (and a WP) done by a agent. She took care of everything, all I had to do was to meet her at the Labor department to sign the WP. And yes, also sign all copies of the passport for the visa at the same time.

Matseng; What were your charged?

Koh Tao murder probe 85% complete: Panya

Implies that they are certain that 85% of the people on the island that night didn't do it?

Seems to me murder investigations are a bit like pregnancy - there is no such thing as "85%" pregnant.

Until they catch the right perp it seems to me the crime is 100% unsolved.

Was traveling in Palau years back and saw a restaurant offering the "Blue corner special" - Barbequed Sea Turtle, Giant Clam, and Napoleon Wrasse served with rice and shark fin soup. We nicknamed it the "Endangered species combo plate".

There are no boundaries on capitalism. It's really up to consumers to make responsible decisions.

I did not partake, but my buddy said most of it tasted just like like chicken.

"In court, Yutthana was sentenced to six months in jail and fined B4,000. Because he had pleaded guilty, the sentence was halved to three months and B2,000, and the jail term was suspended for a year."

It is a strange twist in the Thai legal systems that for many crimes there is a potential for long jail sentences, but the max fines are very low. 2k Baht is less than a day's income off a handful of sun beds.

Things won't really change until the consequences get a lot more severe. Will they actually start enforcing some of the jail terms instead of letting the wealthy get away with a few baht slap on the wrist? I'd expect it will always depend on who knows who.

It will be interesting to see if there are real consequences for these corrupt government officials, but I doubt any of the sun bed operators have much to worry about. Unless I'm misunderstanding they kept up their end of the contract with an official "representing" the government.

Dog meat collectors take truckloads of neighborhood dogs over the bored to be slaughtered for food. No kidding.

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