I lived in Thailand for 10 years, visited several times before moving there, and never had problems (admittedly I only ever spent one night in Pattaya, Chiang Mai was more to my liking). I guess it does happen, but he must have really had some bad luck. Worse thing that ever happened to me was taxi drivers overcharging. Once I learned the buses, I had an alternative to that... Ohhh and the dual pricing at tourist attractions, though not in my neighborhood (Ladphrao Rd)