richard_smith237
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Posts posted by richard_smith237
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12 hours ago, janclaes47 said:
Let me see, usually TVF members are the first to slag off Thai people who do a job for which they are not qualified or licensed. Usually they call them mom and pop or Somchai.
Now they are all up to allow mom and pops, who may be got there driving license last week by paying some tea money, to play taxi driver and transport other humans in their vehicles.
So what's the real reason for this? Is it because they can save 25 Baht on a trip, or is it because Uber and Grab are foreign companies, because everything foreign must be superior?
Answers on a postcard, but you don't get my address.
You think the regular taxi drivers are these upstanding virtuous citizens with a wide geographical knowledge of the area's they drive in who have had held licenses for years ?
Some of them maybe, however, the reality is many of the regular Taxi drivers are taxi drivers because they can't do anything else, they are ex convicts fresh out of prison, no licenses, no taxi license...
Of course, thats a little unfair as many are excellent drivers with clean cars, guys who do offer a professional level of service, however, in aggregate the negative experiences end up tarnishing the positive encounters - this is a shame for the good drivers.
I know UBER or GRAB are not going to kick me out of their taxi half way through a journey because they've changed their mind and don't want to go all the way to the chosen destination. A regular taxi? this exact thing happened to me a couple of nights ago. I know UBER or GRAB will be reliable in their promise to the customer, with a regular taxi, anything can and does happen...
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12 hours ago, janclaes47 said:
Let me see, usually TVF members are the first to slag off Thai people who do a job for which they are not qualified or licensed. Usually they call them mom and pop or Somchai.
Now they are all up to allow mom and pops, who may be got there driving license last week by paying some tea money, to play taxi driver and transport other humans in their vehicles.
So what's the real reason for this? Is it because they can save 25 Baht on a trip, or is it because Uber and Grab are foreign companies, because everything foreign must be superior?
Answers on a postcard, but you don't get my address.
In your haste to criticize TVF members you forgot the primary reason people are in support of UBER and GRAB...
... We, the customer, are quite frankly sick and tired of taking taxi's and encountering the repetitive and tiresome issues....
It comes to the point whereby if we are planning to take a taxi we wonder what type of scam will be attempted or what issues we will face. With UBER and GRAB these issues disappear and life simply becomes more pleasant again.
Why should we use a Taxi service which so frequently leaves distaste when the viable alternatives offer a much better level of service and reliability ?
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2 hours ago, the guest said:
Uber is illegal, and so the taxi drivers have a right to defend their jobs, but in accordance to the law of course.
If using the legality argument take a closer look at the regular taxi's...
They rarely have insurance, the drivers are often unlicensed or a different driver from the registered driver, they refuse the meter, refuse fares, some of the cars are downright dangerous and poorly maintained.
So, if we are comparing legality - scores of regular taxi's are also operating illegally, but from a personal perspective they are much less safe than a regular UBER or GRAB.
Of course, not all, there are number of good taxi's out there, but you take your chances and risk and issue or use the option known to be reliable and safe.
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3 hours ago, hansnl said:
I am not really in favour of private persons offering some kind of taxi services.
But I am really disgusted with the official taxi services.
Not willing to use the meter, not wanting to serve a customer, and most of all these vigilante style actions would make me a fan of Uber.
And most of all, the authorities not doing anything against these taxi mob is simply awful.
I too am disgusted with the self-entitled behavior or the official taxi drivers.
Just last night I was kicked out of a cab because the driver decided he didn't want to go to my destination after all, we were 89 baht into the journey, traffic was clear.
I've used UBER and GRAB for the majority of my journeys this week with just one minor issue; an UBER driver accepted my journey then failed to turn up and eventually canceled.
The regular Taxi's are UBER and GRAB's best marketing tools !...
That said: Last night when I tried to get an UBER or GRAB none were available in the area I was in, thus the regular taxi's proved invaluable, even if I did get kicked out half way into the journey !
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22 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:
Excellent post, as always Richard !
BUT, ( there always has to be a but doesn't there ? )
You can get a residence certificate from immigration if you haven't done a 90 report, I did.Thats good to know. I don't want to side track the thread - Approximately 5 years or so ago I tried to get an Affirmation of Residence from Immigration at Chaengwattana, I was told that they could not issue me the document as I had not carried out a 90 day report.
Perhaps things have changed or Immigration made a mistake...
Either way, I'll try again in future *(I'll need one for my Driving License renewal in November) and am happy to hear that I may save a few thousand baht when compared to getting such a document from my consulate.
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Thanks but link no longer working.
I could use a simple calculation
(Original price of car - current value/odometer)
Depreciation: 1,179,000 - 600,000 = 579,000
579,000/198,000km = 2.92 THB/km
The link is to a PDF... Googke the words and you will see the document.
At 20 baht / km your yearly 40,000 km = 800,000 baht... It's a lot, but that's the internationally recognised rate according to Rotary, which is just one example of milage rates for an international busines...
It does seem rather high when you work it all out.
There may be other information to dig out from Thai companies to use as a comparison.
Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect -
"A person who was refused by three cars in a row."
What a blatant lie: since a customer puts out a travel request and ll taxis in the vicinity receive it, the customer only gets a driver when somebody agrees to the pickup and destination. It's impossible to know that you've been refused by x amount of drivers
Agreed... This is clearly negative spin by someone who doesn't want competition...
Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect -
I've noticed a little 'Thainess' creeping into UBER as of late...
Sometimes the drivers accept a trip which they clearly don't want to take. They've accepted the journey for fear of being 'downrated' by UBER. As a result, they prat-about nearby, missing junctions etc in the hope I'll become exasperated and cancel the booking. This has happened a few times, its become an irritation and I've started using Grab a little more lately.
However, these issues pale into insignificance with the issues encountered with regular taxi's over the years from the downright rude, dangerous and ignorant to the cars that are hardly road worthy. Of course, not all are like this, but enough are to warrant seeking out the viable alternative, which for the moment is Grab and UBER.
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When I used my car for work here in Thailand I used the following (Google the link below), which at the time was about 20 baht per km. The company I was working for at the time seemed satisfied with this, but it did actually mean that driving was more expensive than flying !...
Google: Rotary 2016-17 Mileage Reimbursement Rates Jan17
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Buying a car:
1) Deposit
2) Delivery payment (or Cashiers cheque) - you pick the car up at the dealership.
3) You will need a Copy of your Passport.
4) You will need Affirmation of residence*
*Proof of residence can be obtained form your consulate (or immigration if you have done a 90day report)
5) Your new car will have red dealer plates - you will need to choose a 'white' place within 1 month (this law is hardly enforced). The dealers say they will do this, but quicker to just do this yourself at the DLT.
Driving here:
1) Home license with accompanying IDP (Dates cover 12 months: You can drive 90 days)
2) Its best to obtain a Thai License. Use your Home license + IDP. You will need Affirmation of Residence, and a medical checkup certification.
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4 hours ago, mstevens said:
When I read stories like this one involving long overstays I think that there is a case for police and Immigration to carry out random passport checks of foreigners from time to time...one does not want to have people such as these for neighbours.
I agree, for the benefit of the greater good we may have to encounter some inconvenience now and again.
That said, it opens up an opportunity for extortion as has happened in the past - No passport pay fine etc...
I would like to see clear common sense rules.
I don't like the idea of carrying my passport because of the risk of loss and potential hassles of having to replace it.
I do think its reasonable for us to have to carry a Colour Photocopy of your Passport (including Visa Page) must be carried, along with a Driving License or other 'government issued ID' which shows a Visa page.
Many of us carry our phones, I think its reasonable to have to carry photographs of our Passport and Visa Page. I've asked immigration officers before and they have said this would be acceptable, but that is an individual and not an official response.
It is also quite simple for the BiB to check our immigration status: They just need to Call in the Name, DOB of the person to an Immigration officer who can run a quick search, also checking that you match the photo of the person in the picture.
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I must admit to feeling like doing something similar yesterday after I had to stop and give way to an oncoming car, the twit on the motorcycle behind me couldn't wait and started hitting the horn...
The temptation was to get out and knock him off his bike !!... fortunately, most of us, myself included have sufficient self control to instead ignore these issues and get on with things.
In this situation we have an entitled pr!(k who has no self control.
What caused the person in the other car to sound their horn is also unknown at this stage. Maybe the guy in the car was trying to push in, or maybe she was driving aggressively.
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While this is a perfect example of the selfish me-first attitude of many drivers here, this is also an example of the astronomically daft road design...
I see no reason whatsoever not to make the a 'double u-turn'... It just doesn't make sense to me that traffic coming from one direction can make a u-turn and traffic from the another direction can't... In some area's the stupidity of the road layout often forces drivers in to illegal actions - I'm not condoning this, but I can understand why sometimes.
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36 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:37 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:20 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:
Did you read the post above yours or the link I posted (Post number 12)
This doesn't serve the taxi driver right, it could have been anyone of us driving down the road when the barrier drops without warning.
Your comments and many of the others on this thread are unjustified in light of the real story.
I would also suggest that the Mods Change the Name of this headline as it is simply inaccurate.
Did you read the Thai Rath story. This is a faithful translation of that. Your link is another version of the event.
The link contained a video... Did you watch it ?
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4 minutes ago, hottrader77 said:
As i said before and got lambasted by others on here , this guy will never admit it was his fault and now wants some gullable people on here to pay for the mess he caused dont pay up , he was driving too fasy , too near to the car in front and changed lanes without properly looking in the mirror , the only thing he deserves is 20 years in jail
Why stop with Jail... why not just hang him, after all, he caused a death ?... OR should society recognize this for what it is, a tragedy, death by careless driving (not death by dangerous driving which is more severe).
This was not a deliberate act. Caused by inexperience, a lack of concentration or even an adaptation to local driving standards this man is not a murderer he is the victim of his own mistake, as such the charge needs to reflect the tragic consequences of his mistake. The law allows for this, society in general allows for this, but some posters on ThaiVisa.com would see him locked up for 20 years !!!...
....as if some guys (ThaiVisa.com forum posters) have never had a moment of inattentiveness on the roads... we are all lucky, accidents such as this could bite us at any time... it is impossible for anyone to be 100% perfect, as a species we are fallible and make mistakes, sometimes with tragic consequences, the law generally recognizes this.
I hope the enforcement of the Thai law in this case is handled fairly and in awareness of humanity and the accidental nature of this tragedy rather than a face saving and headline hunting measure.
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10 hours ago, berybert said:
If you are to old to cross the road you were probably to old to have a baby.
Idiotic comment of the day (week or even year)... Who is going to chance crossing the road with a child in a push-chair ?
This has nothing to do with age and everything to do with ensuring the safety of your child.
If a mother and child were to be hit crossing the road it is posters such as you who find themselves entertaining a great opportunity to criticize them.
Please recognize the issue for what it is, its not about age, its about being able to walk the streets and cross them safely, for in many cases even a fully fit healthy 25 year old still has to take a chance negotiating passing traffic when crossing the road.
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I've never heard of this tradition, but it sounds fun, certainly sounds interesting and having been here a while like many traditions and aspects of culture it is certainly one which I can see as being quite popular in some areas and never practiced in others....
Of course, some guys believe they are the 'authority' on all things Thai and completely fail to recognize the vast differences and gulf in culture from one area of Thailand to another when all they can do is generalize.
So, for my little golden droplet of generalization: IF you are well respected in the local community, if people like you and know you have a sense of humor then your attempt to 'heckle' will go down well. IF however people don't know you very well, you may well find your 'heckle' met with blank faces in which case it may hardly be worth the research.
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3 hours ago, grollies said:3 hours ago, theoldgit said:
Good for you, as a matter of interest how do you get round the request for a credit card when checking in at a hotel,
Never been asked for one, just passport and cash.
Quotebuying flight tickets online - Debit card
or renting a car - don't
- or don't you do any of these?
Cheers
I've had issues using Debit Cards when attempting to book a flight online and over the phone. Some Airlines would only accept a Credit Card.
Cash only at hotels ?.... I'd find it quite impossible to travel anywhere without credit cards. It may be relatively simple in Thailand by paying in advance and leaving a cash deposit, but internationally? How can you book a room?
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Regardless of the discussion of whether or not the Death Penalty acts as a deterrent or whether or not its is morally correct for society to judge and impose the death penalty, the simple response is that this sentence removes a person who has proven that he doesn't deserve to be part of society from society at minimal long term cost to society.
This man killed cold bloodily, there was irrefutable evidence - this is a logical and just sentence.
He will not have the opportunity to kill an innocent member of the public again.
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1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:
Exactly correct Richard.........All the doubters please check out this story in English, they are searching for the bridge operator....
https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/metal-barrier-crashes-taxi-windy-weather/
Apologies Mods if I am not supposed to copy this link......
This just shows that even after posting evidence and a news story to the contrary many posters only read the headline and can't wait, tripping over themselves in their haste to post something negative....
GUYS - READ THE COCONUTS STORY ABOVE AND STOP MAKING STUPID ILL-INFORMED COMMENTS.
MODS - THIS HEADLINE IS WRONG AND MISLEADING.
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2 hours ago, sanukjim said:
And many times there is no GIVE with some Thais.They can be real axxholes and hurt someone or your possessions.Get out now.plan revenge for later. maybe ?
What idiocy is this?? Revenge ????? this topic is about house rental... I think you've been watching too many movies.
OP: Just find a new place - it really isn't that difficult.
I really can't understand a dumb some posters can be in choosing to make life so difficult for themselves.
Go ahead, fight the fights worth fighting, but this is about renting a house, thats all.
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Smart move. Its good to see some proactive thinking and consideration of peoples safety.
Now, if they could take the precaution and move people away from the areas at particularly high risk of flash-flooding and particularly mudslides until the risk levels subside further lives can be saved.
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5 minutes ago, wazzadg44 said:
Hi-I have several million baht in accounts with Kasikorn-last week I asked if I could get a credit card-I'm retired here 7 years-never worked. They said yes- if you lodge 150,000 baht insurance for one year. I said no thanks.
If you have several million baht in accounts with Kasikorn why wouldn't you agree to lock 150,000 baht away for the convenience of a Credit Card? (sometimes more than a Debit card is required).
Could it be you made an emotional decision out of annoyance and irritation rather than one based purely on logic ?
Ultimately, if it were your bank would you offer a foreigner who isn't working and has no local ties a line of credit ?
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On 5/29/2017 at 10:43 AM, johng said:
Yes I think that's one of the biggest problems made worse by the tour buses and to a lesser degree SUV drivers and their me first attitude to blocking junctions....they should also re-instate the turn left on red ( if safe to do so) at every junction, not have someone hiding around the corner fining motorists that turn left at the poorly signed " left turn waiting light" junctions that they change on a whim every now and again !
You've made a fundamental error in the SUV drivers and me first attitude... Its pretty much any driver, and as soon as the traffic gets worse the selfish actions of a handful spread like a virus to everyone around them as generally good nature of drivers fall like dominoes until every has the 'me first' attitude...
The roads could do with a huge amount of improvement and design, but it is the selfish attitude of those blocking box junctions which creates a rapidly deteriorating general road attitude and an infuriating '<deleted> u' attitude to everyone else...
UBER is now in.... WHAT ??? Pattaya - Bangsaen - Chonburi ???
in Pattaya
Posted
The same thing happened to me here in Bangkok last week.
UBER drivers are expected to accept a certain number of rides or risk having their rating reduced by UBER.
I'm quite sure the driver accepted a ride he had no intention of honoring. He just drove around nearby hoping I would become irritated and cancel, the UBER driver eventually parked up 20 mins away and waited me out for 1 hr until he eventually cancelled.
I've encountered a couple of UBER drivers using this 'Thainess' when they don't really want the trip but have to accept it.
Recognizing this 'game' and after 10 mins of being messed about it was clear what this driver was up to. I used GRAB and was home before the UBER driver gave up and finally cancelled on me.
I also reported this to UBER but was disappointed with the generic 'we have resolved your issue' response...
That said: Only 2 issues with UBER after using them for 2 years in 4 countries - when drawing comparison with the regular taxi's UBER's service seems flawless !