Banana7

6 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

The challenge here was that I think they did everything but have a Thai lawyer of their choosing look at the papers as they were good forgeries.

The final payment should be done in the land office, not in a lawyer's office or elsewhere. The land office will examine and modify the original chanote. They will also issue a document stating the transfer of title between the buyer and seller. The land office also updates their own records, checks for encumbrances on the property and collects the transfer tax. The land office probably won't do all of this if there are issues with chanote or the title according to their records. I highly recommend the buyer watch the process in the land office, look at everything and ask questions if your don't understand what is happening.

Thai lawyers may not be protecting their client's property or interests adequately. The buyer must personally participate in the transaction at critical points in the process and verify documents.

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

It's the luck of the draw. 

 

We bought 2 condos. One in no problems at all and we are very happy with it.  

 

The other... we have been conned similar to the man in the OP.  We now have a hotel renting out our condo and taking all the money whike we have no access to it and no title deeds. 

 

These con people are very clever...that is how they can do these things.  It's easy to make comments when you have no personal experience.

 

And yes, we even had a lawyer look over everything and all the contracts signed... Makes no difference. 

 

Very stressful and depressing. The lawyers and the con artists have ways to drag it out for ever.. All the time making money out of us. 

 

Now we are going to just walk away. 

My first post in this thread, had several important points for the buyer to do before handing over the cash. Many lawyers may not be protecting their client's money and interests sufficiently. I highly recommend any buyer not sit back and expect the lawyer to do everything for you. The buyer must be actively engaged, at critical points, in the transaction. Don't trust the lawyer! to protect you and your money.

Always, see and copy the original chanote before signing the agreement. Do not accept a copy of the chanote. On the closing day, always examine the chanote has your name in it and the document from the land office also states the transfer has been made, before making final payment. Never give the final payment to the seller until the chanote is in your (buyer) hands along with blue book. Your name will be in Thai language, so have your lawyer, or an official certified translator, translate your name into Thai well before the final payment so you can personally verify your name is in the chanote.

Sometimes the land office will refuse to transfer a condo into foreigner name because foreigners already own 49% of the condo building/complex. There are other reasons the land office will refuse to register the transfer.

2 hours ago, Darksidedude said:

you need a good lawyer to do all the checks otherwise forget it, i have been using the same one for 20 years 50 k baht cost is worth it 

WOW! I only paid 5,000 baht for my lawyer. My friend also paid 5,000 for his condo. I found the lawyer in the Pattaya land office settling another property sale.

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

Problems, what problems are those?

I have started having problems with Wise. Their 2 step authentication is pain in the A. I change my phone number a number of times in a year because I visit different countries and have new local number. Every time I change countries they want me send a photo of me holding my passport. The photo is clear, no glare, complete in all respects to their specifications, but they always have an excuse for rejecting the photos and make me send at least 4 or more photos to change my phone number for the 2 step authentication. Last time I sent a photo that was 30 seconds old but they said it was a photo that was previously sent.

Next issue is that the limits set on the card are far too high. They don't allow the limits to be set to what ever the user wants.

11 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Do you really think that he is important enough to warrant reporters, news media?

 

He overstayed in Thailand, which is a crime.

 

He somehow botched up getting a new passport from the Canadian High Commission, which most Canadians never had a problem with.

 

And now you seem to think that hordes of reporters will be awaiting him and his "story"?

 

You are delusional.

Apparently you don't understand the cause of his overstay. The cause is that the Embassy failed to provide timely services such as renewing the passport, and providing consular service upon arrest. He didn't botched anything, the Embassy staff botched everything.

I know reporters are interested in his story, CBC has already expressed interest.

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

He is at least partially to blame for not getting the passport earlier. I've done a year early before

Why do say that?

He started the process to obtain a new passport in November 2022normal processing time is less than a month, and this was what the Embassy said. No new passport by February 2023 and no emergency travel order either.

10 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

In Quebec, Canada, I have to pay 6 dollars a month for something like 12 transactions. Be careful not to overgeneralise.

Quebec can have their own rules and fees. Sure you can pay fees but if don't want to pay, then there are options to not pay.

I don't even pay fees on my US$ checking account with a Canadian bank. I am in Ontario .

In Canada, ATM cards are free, no cash withdrawal or deposit fees. Free counter service for deposits and withdrawals. No fees to pay bills by automatic withdrawal, like for electricity, gas, water, condo fees. No fee to pay a bill like a credit card bill through online banking.

So the part that says "Thailand is the only country in the world that does not charge a fee for digital payments." is complete BS - typical Thai Banker talk.

11 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Is it possible that he caused certain Thai staff at the Canadian embassy to "lose face" by exposing their incompetence? This might explain a lot...  Most consulates and the like have a large local contingent working. I have renewed my passport in Japan 3 times and never saw a Canadian face! All local hires. 

Yes, it is possible that Embassy staff "lost face" for their gross incompetence.

9 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

This is utter insanity, and embarrassing as a fellow citizen of Canuckistan.

 

Have you considered going to the media, perhaps in your friend's hometown?  Get him to send you some covert photos from the jail, attach the line conversation screenshots, generate some sympathy.  The media usually love "Canadian stranded overseas" stories.  

 

Not to cast aspersions on your friend, but is there anything, anything at all, that may have happened in Thailand to possibly give someone motive to want revenge?  Could be a simple thing that makes one local person call their friend in immigration, who calls a higher up, who calls.... you get the picture. 

He will go to the media in the near future once he returns to Canada.

He had flights to leave Thailand on May 12, approved by Thai immigration and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). But the Embassy canceled the flights because they couldn't prepare an emergency travel order (ETO) before the flight. Embassy said it would take at least a week to prepare a ETO. Thai immigration were dumbfounded as to why the embassy would require such a long time to issue a ETO and also didn't undertstand why the Embassy approved the flights if the ETO couldn't be produced in time.

I complained to my MP, who is in contact with GAC, and suggested GAC phone the embassy staff and coach them through the process of issuing a ETO.

He now has approved flights for 13 May and should be on his way to Canada. I am still waiting to hear if he has arrived in Canada.

He may have pissed-off the embassy staff by confronting them with their lies about the timelines for renewing his passport. He started the renewal process in November and had been promised  a new passport in less than a month. He called the embassy frequently and still didn't have a new passport by February. The embassy was fully aware of the consequences for a foreigner not having a valid passport and not having permission to stay in Thailand. He suspects the Embassy contacted Thai immigration and had him arrested.

Go to the Kwaeng Court, and file court ordered mediation. This has produced results for me. In most cases, this should be your first stop in the sue process. If it doesn't work, the provincial court will look favourably upon you in that you tried to avoid the court and wanted a serious negotiation.

What is the reason for suing?

7/11 stores will take your coins and give you notes. But the coins need to be counted.

Here are a few screenshots of our conversation in LINE.

He had another court appearance several days ago. The judge released him and said he had 10 days to resolve the matter with the Embassy. He went home. A few hours later, immigration police arrived, told him he had 1 hour to pack his bag and the they were taking him to BKK IDC. An hour later, he was in custody, being transported to IDC BKK. Today he is now in living in hell, BKK IDC.

On 5/3/2023 at 9:13 PM, Old Croc said:

I'm calling bs on this one.

Canada is not some banana (!) republic in Africa.  A passport renewal in reasonable time for genuine citizens would be just a formality. It's obvious to me that the OP (or his friend) have issues.

I call your comments BS. Everything I have written is true. The Embassy of Canada in Bangkok and the local staff they hired are not for competency, or skills. The local employees are an embarrassment to Canada.

10 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

Normal processing time is 20 business day. Emergency would be faster and cost more.

There is also a 24 hour phone number to call.

He did call Global Affairs Canada emergency help line In Canada multiple times. It seems they have no clue what is actually happening in the Embassy and believe everything the Embassy is telling them.

It is the Embassy job to issue passports and emergency travel documents.

He even contacted Global Affairs Canada (GAC) back in Ottawa, complaining about the lack of service and also contacted his MP. Upon his arrest he contacted the Embassy asking for advice, no response. He contacted GAC again complaining about no help upon arrest. GAC told him the Embassy was never contacted about his arrest. Then he sent GAC a screenshot of a LINE conversation showing it had been contacted, same day as the arrest, and the message was read by the Embassy staff. Now GAC and the Embassy have been silent for about 2 weeks.

4 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

What country does this unhelpful embassy belong to?

Canada

I have a friend who was arrested by immigration Police for overstay. Basically his passport expired so he was unable to renew his marriage visa/extension. The Embassy has not issued a new passport or emergency travel document. He started the passport renewal process in November 2022, and his passport expired in February 2023.

He was jailed upon arrest, then released on bail, has appeared in court 3 times. This last court, yesterday, released him and ordered him resolve the issues with the Embassy within 10 days. However immigration Police came to his home, gave him one hour to pack, and took him to jail, and now he is being transported to Bangkok IDC.

How is it that immigration Police get to override a court order or decision? How can he get help?