dsfbrit

Thanks for the feedback. I must admit when I was posting it I thought I was being over the top, worrying about a Pick-up! Like you say when its being driven its the same thing isn't it.

I 'googled' this topic before I posted here and the claims made by manufacturers of some products made me think its an area where a lot of daft claims are made.

When I lived in was Australia in 1982-1984, many of the cars had their their dashboards etc 'blistered' - don't see that at all nowadays - I guess technology has moved on a lot.

I will get one of those reflectors anyway.

Thanks again for the feedback

The New Bangkok airport has long term parking, but there is no shade at all. For some reason they don't have those poles with netting that seems to be used just about everywhere to protect your car from the sun.

If I were to park my Toyota Vigo there each time I go to the UK for 2 weeks, would the sun damage it. As I write this I think I am being a bit too 'protective' of a pick up truck, but still I like to look after things if I can and the saving on parking fees for the covered short term parking over 2 weeks is only about 2000 baht!

Getting a taxi from Pattaya is even easier, but they drive like maniacs!

I have one of those silver plastic covers, does that protect from the sun or is is just to keep it clean.

Thanks for any advice.

Ignoramous, Appleman and Blizzard, I agree. You will be delighted to hear he is about to 'go for it'. He has received some pieces of paper from her that 'pretty much proves what she has been saying' and is about to embark on the roller coaster of his life.

He is still muttering about having the documents checked out (yeah right), but is already suggesting that whatever this girl says I will be 'against her'. So its my fault then - I have been keeping these two lovers apart for all this time (4 weeks! and counting).

Once again I asked the unreasonable question of how come she can now have kids and wants kids with my friend, when her story was that she split up from her previous (married and wealthy) boyfriend because she could not have kids. My friend does not like this piece of the puzzle, so along with other bits of the puzzle that just dont fit - ignores it!

Good luck to him I say, as long as he leaves me out of it from now on. I don't want this girl and her family (her father is a policeman out here) knowing where I live in Thailand and contacting me when it has all gone pear shaped.

I will keep you posted how this turns out. Mind you as my chum is reading this thread, he may feel I am 'dissing' his new love too much and may never speak to me again

I agree with nearly all that is being said here. At best this girl is a money grabber. Her tale, true or not, is not even about wanting money for a 'sick' relative, she just wants to pay off business debts and then start another business.

The emails from her got more and more absurd. For example, just before she was deciding to sell her body for the 'first' time because of her financial problems, she was involved in setting up another business with two (or more) members of her family. Hang on just a minute, I thought she was broke and in massive financial debt

It turns out as well there is over 300,000 baht equity in the car - so she could sell the car to pay off her debts not her body - if it upsets her so much to work in the bar.

I therefore dropped out of the 'loop' on Friday.

The 'best' one for me though, is the tale she told that she had to split from her pervious (wealthy) boyfriend, because she could not have kids and now wants to have kids with my friend - huh - she can now have kids - a miracle indeed for Christmas.

Each time I point out any details to my friend that dont seem to fit, he 'explains' why she is not lying.

Even to the fact that she can now have kids - he says he may have misunderstood what she originally said.

So I asked him, OK, if she did not split up from the original boyfriend because she could not have kids WHY did they split up. I mean its a pretty big mistake to make isn't it, quite a misunderstanding.

Just think of the situatuion - My friend asks her why she split up with her previous boyfriend, she says it was because he smells or drinks too much, however my friend comes away thinking its because he wanted children and she could not have them !!! - perfectly normal mistake to make.

I do not think I mentioned before that in the UK he is also married, so he is risking his marriage as well Good heavens a classic tale, wealthy farang meets bar girl, gets conned, wrecks his marriage, finds out the bar girl is a liar when it is too late and all his money is gone, and he ends up living in a shoe box!

The trouble is he thinks this only happens to other people.

So I am pretty much out of it - he is a lost cause for now - anyone who checked me out to see if this tread was the work of a Troll, will see on other posts I am in the process of training as a teacher - so I am going back to spend my time on that.

My chum will make his own decision on this - sadly I know what it is going to be.

He has been reading this thread, so please keep any comments coming, not that it will stop him pursuing the 'love of his life'

Thanks for all your thoughts and useful comments.

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

I was interested to see the comments that have been posted since I last looked at this thread.

My friend in the UK said there was also a TV programme in the UK about the way the bar girls use the Internet cafes to send the same message to lots of different farang. I think he took this on board.

When I was dealing with this girl, I went into their local internet on te Island and there was one 'mother' witch in the corner doing the translations. I speak, read and write Thai so we did not need her help - I was helping this girl read my friends email, and sending an email to my friend in the UK as a reply. At the time she seemed (possibly) plausible.

Behind me I heard a Thai girl talking to a farang on the video link. He had a beard and seemed very tired. She explained how she loved him, missed him, could not wait to boom boom him etc...

I was absorbed in the email I was writing so did not take much notice. However, after about 10 minutes I looked over and she was still saying how much she loved this guy blah blah and I thought nothing of it until I realised he DID NOT have a beard. Now either he shaved pretty quickly or this was another bloke - classic!!!

As for my friends case, we have decided that she needs to provide all the information about any debt she wants him to help her with and he will pay the credit card company DIRECTLY if he helps at all that is.

This will ensure that at least the debt is genuine - even if nothing else about this girl is.

My chum is reading this thread, so I am being very polite here about his true love - don't want to alienate him and lose him to the 'dark side' if I can help it.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Well once again thanks for the advice. He has decided to do what several of the posters suggested here and check into the debt. He has promised me he won't send any money to her until she has proved she has this debt and also proves she owns the car.

I will then take the documents to be verified by a solicitor, make sure they are what they claim to be.

Should be interesting.

Thanks for advice, I bet he enjoyed reading this thread !!!

Thanks for the feedback - all good advice.

I will let you know how it all ends up!

regards

If it was me, I would ask the girl to document the details of this. I would want to see the credit card agreements, the transaction history etc. before I would believe it. If she couldn't be bothered to show me this - too much hassle, don't like to be interrogated - I wouldn't be bothered to pay it off either. If she expects me to part with my hard earned cash, I expect her to show me effort as well.

Exactly. Get your "best friend" to take ALL the docs to someone like Sunbelt or a similar co for verification, whatever it costs it will be cheap.

I'll bet the ranch she has no docs to back up her story.

A few years ago a friend and I tried to help a lass with her "mortgage arrears" when push came to shove, nothing was produced. It was a con. I dumped her on 9.11.01.

Get your mate to read this forum thread/topic, regardless. He may wake up, who knows.

I have sent him the URL - it may help - lets hope so - I am still amazed he is not seeing this for what it is - she even wanted to use some of the money for English Lessons - I kid you not!!! a classic even - one used against me in the past!!!

The proof of debt is a good idea. The trouble is this, yes it gets worse, she lives in Koh Samui and he has gone back to the UK and is not back for a couple of months. Yes I know what you are going to say, what a *****. His is a classic tale and he knows it, but is STILL considering sending the money

So getting the info is not as easy as it seems. I live in Pattaya and am not sure I would want to go into that bar again anyway!

I have contacted a private detective agency, do not know what good that will do. Thought we could at least check out the story of the shop and her background. She has several different stories about her parents and the fact she left her former boyfriend because she cannot have kids - then says she wants kids with my friend.

Maybe its time to get a new best mate - would be easier in the long term if he is going to get involved with this con artist!!!

On a practical note, can she restructure the 'loan' in any way - I am trying to get his so-called required monthly amount down from 30,000 baht to at least stop him sending 30000 baht a month if he does get sucked in!!!

Firstly, unless she is rich and I mean earning many millions a year, then no way would she have a Bt300,000 line of credit. I have a friend here, working years and earning perhaps 4-5m per year and his credit limit is around Bt150k.

The normal repayment is 10% so on this ficticious 300k, it would be 30k per month.

Now I have businesses but they are not on a credit card. You cannot do that. All you can do is borrow money from a credit card and I am not sure what percentage of the credit limit Thai cards allow. I doubt 100%.

It stinks to high heaven. tell your friend to cut her loose and she can get back on the game to service whatever needs she has.

Agreed, this is a con. Unless she can prove ownership of the car and it's free of debt, your mate should dump this deadbeat beauty, poste haste!

It makes you want to weep doesn't it - he is usually so level headed as well!!!

I have suggested she sell the car, but if there is not enough equity in the car to cover 300,000 baht - can she restructure the loan??? Ask for the payments to be made ove 10 years say at around 3000 baht or something like that???

A friend of mine has a new girlfriend who has some money problems. She says she had a clothing shop which went bust owing 300,000 baht on a credit card.

She says she needs 30000 baht a month to clear this debt off and wants my friend to pay.

The story gets worse. She says this is the reason she has to work in a bar (yes we can all smell a con here, but he is my best friend and I am trying to help him).

I would like to know if the situation in Thailand is similar to my native country England, where this kind of debt can be restructured in some way if there is hardship.

If this is a persoal debt (ie: she did not have a limited company), would she be able to go and speak to the credit card company, explain she cannot pay and restructure the loan in some way.

She has a car worth 600,000 Baht (not sure how much she owes on this) and a house (not sure of the value of this), could this used to restructure the loan. My initial thought is sell the car and the debt is gone isn't it!!

If she had a limited company and the credit card was in her name I suspect the debt would be a part of the company bankrupcy and not really an issue. Is this correct in Thailand.

Any advice would be appreciated, as my friend is eager to help this girl and I am eager to prove that she does not need 30000 baht a month.

By the way, I am NOT a Troll - check out my other posts - I cannot believe he is planning to do this. She has been proven to have lied on other issues, however love is blind it seems.

Thanks for your help

Try this service, very reliable and a fair price:

http://www.samuishuttle.com/

We did and I would recommend it to anyone.

I have had several trips to Koh Samui in the last month, firstly with friends and then on my own twice and have used this service for the last 2 trips.

Excellent, picked me up on time - 150 baht to Chaweng and back the same price and on time again as well.

Next trip on time again and a very early pick-up as well, got the 6 am flight from Bangkok on this trip so I was the only one on their mini bus.

I came back to the airport from Lamai and they only charged 200 baht.

The best prices I had from other companies were Chaweng/Airport = 300 baht and Lamai/Airport 400 baht.

So thanks for this advice.

Like I say - I am not a cheap charlie - I spent about 10 times this bus fare on tips for the hotel staff!! - I just don't like being ripped off by taxi drivers thats all!!

DK today are about the best suppliers of ESL books around they have a branch in Pattaya and will give you discount on larger orders.

Pay direct to the Bkk branch and receive your books within 2 days by EMS for a small extra cost.

Ok thanks, I will try there next before going to Bangkok. Where is DK in Pattaya, I know many of the bookshops, but DK does not ring a bell?

thanks again

dave

DK is on the corner of Central and beach and soi Post office.

If you PM me I will give you details of the main depot in Bkk. they are very efficient.

Sorry for the delay in the reply, I have been away this week.

I found DK, it had some of the books I wanted, but annoyingly I had already ordered them elsewhere - the other one - 'training for dummies' I have ordered from that website recommended above and will pop to Bangkok to pick it up next Tuesday (18th). An excuse to visit Bangkok and my wife and I will stay there overnight as well.

I also sent off for the 'Police Check' in the UK. Sent it UPS and it arrived there today, so when I go to the UK at the end of January, the 40 days they say it takes will be up so I should know what they have to say about me by then!!

Thanks for you advice with this and....

Merry Xmas

DK today are about the best suppliers of ESL books around they have a branch in Pattaya and will give you discount on larger orders.

Pay direct to the Bkk branch and receive your books within 2 days by EMS for a small extra cost.

Ok thanks, I will try there next before going to Bangkok. Where is DK in Pattaya, I know many of the bookshops, but DK does not ring a bell?

thanks again

dave

Found Dk's on Soi Post Office - I did not know it was called that, been there quite a few times - really good little shop.

One week in the classroom is not enough. You may as well take a correspondence course, such as that offered by our new sponsor, ICAL. The industry standard is at least four weeks of full time classroom work plus six or more hours of closely observed and critiqued classroom practice teaching., such as that offered by our other sponsor, SEE.

As it has been stated forcefully, you don't need to pay a huge sum for a dubious guarantee to get a dubious job.

I will check again that I wrote everything down correctly and then go and see her again. OK, I need to make sure I get 4 weeks training in the classroom from any course thats offered.

Agreed on the job 'front', I was planning to take the first option and then see what happened during the trainng period and of course ask questions here.

Thaks for the feedback on this.

If you intend to " teach " in Pattaya after your TESOL, ESL whatever.............don,t forget your Criminal Records check too as this is being requested at Immigration and by Chonburi MoE now.

I will keep this in mind. Although, as I can prove I 'was fitted up by the old Bill' for all my offences I should be OK. No seriously I will look into this, I have no convictions so it should not take too long I would hope. I will look through the forum to see what this is all about.

thanks for the advice

dave

It takes about 40 days Dave and is applied for at your local police force where you resided last.

Cost is 10 UK pounds.

Thanks for that. I did read through many of the posts on this forum regarding this, but until I read this reply I was still not too sure what I needed to do. I have to go back to the UK in January for a couple of weeks. Would it be a good idea for me to visit the local Polic Station and get this underway then? I will 'search' the forum again and see if there is a post that explains the procedure in some detail.

thanks again

I searched the forum again and found this posted by 'Daihard' - http://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q542.htm, and gives the FAQ on this process.

I searched the Police Websites and this is the downloadable 'SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST' form for the Met Police:

http://www.met.police.uk/information/request_forms.htm

I am assuming this is the form that starts the process to provide me with a piece of paper form the UK authorities that satisfies the 'Criminal Records Check'. If not then I would appreciate it if you would let me know.

dave

One week in the classroom is not enough. You may as well take a correspondence course, such as that offered by our new sponsor, ICAL. The industry standard is at least four weeks of full time classroom work plus six or more hours of closely observed and critiqued classroom practice teaching., such as that offered by our other sponsor, SEE.

As it has been stated forcefully, you don't need to pay a huge sum for a dubious guarantee to get a dubious job.

I will check again that I wrote everything down correctly and then go and see her again. OK, I need to make sure I get 4 weeks training in the classroom from any course thats offered.

Agreed on the job 'front', I was planning to take the first option and then see what happened during the trainng period and of course ask questions here.

Thaks for the feedback on this.

If you intend to " teach " in Pattaya after your TESOL, ESL whatever.............don,t forget your Criminal Records check too as this is being requested at Immigration and by Chonburi MoE now.

I will keep this in mind. Although, as I can prove I 'was fitted up by the old Bill' for all my offences I should be OK. No seriously I will look into this, I have no convictions so it should not take too long I would hope. I will look through the forum to see what this is all about.

thanks for the advice

dave

It takes about 40 days Dave and is applied for at your local police force where you resided last.

Cost is 10 UK pounds.

Thanks for that. I did read through many of the posts on this forum regarding this, but until I read this reply I was still not too sure what I needed to do. I have to go back to the UK in January for a couple of weeks. Would it be a good idea for me to visit the local Polic Station and get this underway then? I will 'search' the forum again and see if there is a post that explains the procedure in some detail.

thanks again

There are 2 prices for the 8 week course. The lower price of around 25000 Baht is for the TEFL training and exam only. For a higher fee of around 45000 Baht, they guarantee to get you a job as well.

This is a total scam. They're offering to find you a job for 20,000 baht? Please. At least they're being up front about ripping you off; they have it clearly posted. They may as well rephrase it and say something like: 'If you are new to Thailand and the teaching scene, and unaware of how easy it is to find work, don't worry. We can help you, but you will have to bend over and let us have our way with you.'

Thanks mbkudu, point taken. Sounds like I am 'green behind the ears' in the area of teaching and the local scams. Still I will continue to 'do my homework' before I sign up to anything and appreciate this advice. Although I was not too sold on the option that offered a job at the end of it, I did not appreciate how poor the 1 week in the classroom training was as well!!

Oh well, back to the proverbial drawing board!!!

Any decent tefl school would help you find a job for no charge. There is no need to guarantee a job nor charge for it. If anything, it's the school that pays an agent to connect with you. There is too high of a demand for teachers, so never pay for a job. There are also various websites and even the Bangkok Post where you could find your own job if you are without connections.

I have contacted this school again to make sure of my facts. If they are confirmed then I will not consider this school further. Its the TEFLIntercontintental for anyone that reads this thread. Next week I will try the Text-And-Talk-Academy recommended by several people and also Robski PM'ed giving his positive opinions on it.

One week in the classroom is not enough. You may as well take a correspondence course, such as that offered by our new sponsor, ICAL. The industry standard is at least four weeks of full time classroom work plus six or more hours of closely observed and critiqued classroom practice teaching., such as that offered by our other sponsor, SEE.

As it has been stated forcefully, you don't need to pay a huge sum for a dubious guarantee to get a dubious job.

I will check again that I wrote everything down correctly and then go and see her again. OK, I need to make sure I get 4 weeks training in the classroom from any course thats offered.

Agreed on the job 'front', I was planning to take the first option and then see what happened during the trainng period and of course ask questions here.

Thaks for the feedback on this.

If you intend to " teach " in Pattaya after your TESOL, ESL whatever.............don,t forget your Criminal Records check too as this is being requested at Immigration and by Chonburi MoE now.

I will keep this in mind. Although, as I can prove I 'was fitted up by the old Bill' for all my offences I should be OK. No seriously I will look into this, I have no convictions so it should not take too long I would hope. I will look through the forum to see what this is all about.

thanks for the advice

dave

There are 2 prices for the 8 week course. The lower price of around 25000 Baht is for the TEFL training and exam only. For a higher fee of around 45000 Baht, they guarantee to get you a job as well.

This is a total scam. They're offering to find you a job for 20,000 baht? Please. At least they're being up front about ripping you off; they have it clearly posted. They may as well rephrase it and say something like: 'If you are new to Thailand and the teaching scene, and unaware of how easy it is to find work, don't worry. We can help you, but you will have to bend over and let us have our way with you.'

Thanks mbkudu, point taken. Sounds like I am 'green behind the ears' in the area of teaching and the local scams. Still I will continue to 'do my homework' before I sign up to anything and appreciate this advice. Although I was not too sold on the option that offered a job at the end of it, I did not appreciate how poor the 1 week in the classroom training was as well!!

Oh well, back to the proverbial drawing board!!!

DK today are about the best suppliers of ESL books around they have a branch in Pattaya and will give you discount on larger orders.

Pay direct to the Bkk branch and receive your books within 2 days by EMS for a small extra cost.

Ok thanks, I will try there next before going to Bangkok. Where is DK in Pattaya, I know many of the bookshops, but DK does not ring a bell?

thanks again

dave

Yes the above job offer is a bit suspect - where will they employ you? what wages? who pays you? Work permit, licence visa etc???

I think you are right wilko. I am replying in reverse order, so I put my thoughts in the reply to PeaceBlondie. Thanks for the comments, although I wasn't thinking of going for this option, this school could be dodgy and I could be getting ripped-off methinks!!!

cheers

dave

J, 2000)).

2. Books Still To Acquire

--------------------------------------

2.1. Learning Teaching (by Jim Scrivener ****get from where****).

2.1. Use Your Memory 'Tony Buzan' (can get from B2S in Pattaya **** where is this please****)

2.2. Training for Dummies (by Elaine Biech) (can get from Kinokuniya in Bangkok ****where is this please***)

Thanks for your help

Dave

1.B2S used to have a large store on Sukhumvit in the small retail park next to Big C. However this has recently closed down. They have a smaller branch in the third floor of Royal Garden Plaza.

2. Kinokuniya. Has a large store in Siam Paragon Shopping Centre in Bangkok(Siam BTS station) and two other smaller (although still large) stores. . You can check if the book is availible at their website www.kinokuniya.com.

I have learning teaching, Use your memory and Training for Dummies. I live in central Pattaya and can get them copied for you if youi want. PM me if you want to do this.

I know the shop you mean - went in there a few times but when I went in there last week - it had closed down - not surprised as it never seemed to have many customers.

Thanks for the offer on the books, I would certainly like to take you up on the offer if I cannot track them down. I am off to that website and then maybe a trip to Bangkok.

One week in the classroom is not enough. You may as well take a correspondence course, such as that offered by our new sponsor, ICAL. The industry standard is at least four weeks of full time classroom work plus six or more hours of closely observed and critiqued classroom practice teaching., such as that offered by our other sponsor, SEE.

As it has been stated forcefully, you don't need to pay a huge sum for a dubious guarantee to get a dubious job.

I will check again that I wrote everything down correctly and then go and see her again. OK, I need to make sure I get 4 weeks training in the classroom from any course thats offered.

Agreed on the job 'front', I was planning to take the first option and then see what happened during the trainng period and of course ask questions here.

Thaks for the feedback on this.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback - I will take the advice onboard and I have added all the books to my 'potential books to buy list'.

Thanks again

Dave

This list complied at Amazon may also be useful to you Dave...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CELTA-These-Only-B...tpa_f_1_rdssss0

It was and in fact still is... There are a two more books on that list that I might get after this first batch has arrived.

thanks again

regards

dave

Just a short update and several more questions.

I have been to visit the 'TEFL Intercontinental' school in Pattaya and was quite impressed. There are 2 prices for the 8 week course. The lower price of around 25000 Baht is for the TEFL training and exam only. For a higher fee of around 45000 Baht, they guarantee to get you a job as well. The course is 5 days in the classroom and then 80 hours in a teaching/observer capacity.

The advice I would appreciate is this. Even though I will probably not be teaching children in the long term, would the best experience be training/assessment in a large school environment? Would this be better training than the 'gentler' option of a small language school with adults.

In the long term, I expect I would opt to teach in a small language school or at company premises (if anyone wil have me!!!), but as I have never taught before I thought that the experience of a large school environment may benefit me.

I Have not yet been to visit the 'Text-And-Talk-Academy', the other school in Pattaya recommended by forum members. I will go there next week.

Neither courses are CELTA, but I have taken the advice offered here and elsewhere, that I do not really need CELTA for what I am wanting to do. If I am wrong, then I can travel to Bangkok and take that course at a later date.

I have ordered the following books from Bookazine in Central Pattaya, Carrefour Mall, they were very helpful and even had book number 1.3 in stock.

1. Books Ordered

------------------------------

1.1. Oxford Pocket Basic English Usage (by Michael Swan)

1.2. Essential Grammar in Use (by Raymond Murphy)

1.3. English Grammar in Use (by Raymond Murphy)

1.4. Advanced English Grammar in Use (by Raymond Murphy)

1.5. How To Teach English, (by Jeremy Harmer (Longman, 1998))

1.6. Grammar For English Language Teachers, (by Martin Parrott (CUP, 2000)).

2. Books Still To Acquire

--------------------------------------

2.1. Learning Teaching (by Jim Scrivener ****get from where****).

2.1. Use Your Memory 'Tony Buzan' (can get from B2S in Pattaya **** where is this please****)

2.2. Training for Dummies (by Elaine Biech) (can get from Kinokuniya in Bangkok ****where is this please***)

Thanks for your help

Dave