Sorry, can't fix, we can sell new one for good discount! ......

[Old Croc]

I'm not the sort of person who tries to fix every little device that stops working. If it's had a reasonable life (a couple of days past warranty!) I will toss it and buy the latest version. Toasters, fans, microwaves, old laptops - not worth stuffing around with.

However, on several occasions I have come across (no point in sugar coating it) thieves, who under the pretext of repair, declare goods to be unfixable and either keep it for resale or try to sell you a new device or both. 

Two experiences:

My large screen TV copped a lightening strike and stopped working. My wife took it to a Panasonic agent located in Phuket City. At the time I believed they were the only agents on the Island  She said they had scores of TV sets piled up waiting attention. After the usual 2 weeks I rang about progress to get them started. A couple of weeks later they declared it to be unfixable. The wifey went to pick it up and was told it would cost 600 baht if she wanted it back, nothing if she left it there. She returned happy to announce she had saved us 600 baht, I considered they had stolen a 15,000 baht set that could be fixed  by replacing a start up switch for a few thousand.  Thieves!

 

Recently my salt water chlorinator went dead. A neighbor recommended a pool company who had been servicing their pool for many years. They took it away and, after the usual 2 weeks (and 2 weeks more) they announced the mother board was buggered. They said there was no agent for that brand in either Phuket or Bangkok and, if they could fix it at all, it would cost around 50,000 baht. Coincidentally the same price as a new one! They could supply and fit a new Chinese (or maybe French) one for a special price of 40,000 .

I declined and asked for my unit back which seemed to cause some disconcertion among them. Despite driving past my house several times in the interim, they eventually returned it about 10 days later, but not before I paid them 1,000 for their trouble. Thieves!

I was then able to locate a local pool supplier who did have this brand, and left the unit with them. Checked after a couple of weeks and found they could fix it. They gave a list of parts requiring replacing, all minor, nothing wrong with the motherboard, total  cost with labour, 5,700baht!  Now fixed and running.

 

Always pays to get a second opinion, thieves are everywhere. 

[watcharacters]

 

 

Time for you to write a letter to Panasonic.     That's just not right.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Always pays to get a second opinion, thieves are everywhere. 

 

Especially in the service trades here... The absence of any professionalism/honesty is horrible.

 

The only thing I can never figure out is -- how much of it (misdiagnosis) is due to simple ignorance/stupidity vs. how much of it is deliberate misinformation because they either don't want to bother or they're looking to sell you something for more.

 

[BEVUP]

Know the feeling 

The electric gate motor man tried the same thing

I think the wife pressed the remote to many times & gave it a brain shock

Man came out & said can't fix no parts (that's because they only want to sell whole units ) which ha said can do for 18,000 bht 

I said thats the cost of the whole set up, I only want motor (can't do )

This was the original man that set it up at another place we use to have (I'm sure he stung me on the repairs there )

This is also their main brand & he actually gave me a new lid & sold me a second hand sensor (still can't find on web )

I told him I will think about it, but I remembered a You tube clip concerning a reset button

 

GUESS WHAT I found the button & after pressing it for 5 sec it worked

 

One would think the gate man knew since it's their main brand

He did charge me 300 bht to ride a couple of k's & 15 min work

[Jimi007]

I'm sure this kind of thing happens quite often. I guess I've been lucky over the years. My old tube TV's still work. I gave one away for cheap because I needed a digital TV as a screen to watch movies and TV shows from my computer. Still watch the old Tube in the bedroom. I had a printer/scanner that didn't work and was still under warranty, The certified service center fixed it, no charge. My LG washing machine quit. It had a 5 year motor warranty, my wife found some repair place and they replaced the motor for a small service fee. My car mechanic is a really nice and honest guy, doesn't charge Farangs more than Thais. Same with my motorcycle mechanic. Both have even made house calls when I can't get them started. 

 

I have seen my neighbors and other getting ripped off for services, like water pumps. I figured them out. I installed the last one myself and haven't has any issues. My neighbor has gone through two of the same brand in just a few years and the new one still has issues. 

 

But I agree with what you're saying Old Croc! It can be easy to be taken advantage of around here at times!

[Coconut Kidd]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

Time for you to write a letter to Panasonic.     That's just not right.

Agree.

 

Send one to Panasonic Thailand and cc one to Panasonic Global.

[observer90210]

I would not mind paying to get back an apparatus that a shop claims unrepairable, just to have the pleasure to find another shop that would say the repair is possible.

 

Sometimes, in Thailand, necessary to shell out once or twice a bit more cash to get the crooks exposed and of course flee them like the plague and spread the word in your residence to avoid the crooked ones. This will enable the honest boys to get your money and business. All part of the game unfortunately.

[NamKangMan]

 

"thieves are everywhere" - true, and unfortunately, Thailand has defamation laws to protect them, and their businesses.  

[Psimbo]

It's just not inanimate objects. As part of my annual physical at Mission a dental inspection is included. Dentist says I need 4 fillings. Now I haven't had a filling for about 40 years so this peaked my curiosity a bit.

 

I do my annual dental check at the clinic by BHP- the dentist was recommended to me years ago. I decided to get him to do an inspection and said nothing about the trip to Mission. One inspection later I was given the all clear- no fillings required.

 

'That's interesting' says I,  'Mission wanted to give me four'. He stated that there was nothing wrong with my existing ones, as they were old-school and should see me out. In his opinion so long as a filling has not worn below a certain level there is no need to replace it.

 

We had a bit of a chat about newer things and built in obsolescence and I was out of there with a polish for B800. 

 

I hate to think what a similar bill and treatments would have been had I actually ventured into BHP (which apparently refers awkward orthodontic cases to him any way).!

[schlog]

Easy trick for situations like this if you go to a shop to get a quote or ask for a fix. Ask them in english and listen what they talk between them in thai. Very easy to catch their lies.

 

[LivinginKata]

It all depends on the age of the broken down piece of kit. You can't really expect spare parts after 5+ years. My Phillips DVR spares come from Phillips Singapore. I get serviced at the Phillips service center. I've had a few buts of Phillips kit over the years so I am known by the husband and wife team. Last time I went in for repair they checked the spare board inventory at Singapore. My unit too old, no spares board. As it was the power board the guy said he would try a component change. Worked for 6 months before pack in. I junked it.

 

Over the years we have had a few washing machine repairs. We call the manufacture service center and they sent round their engineer (1,000 baht per visit). Last time was for our Hitachi that was more than a year old so we thought no guarantee. Turned out main motor burned out, I thought big bill, but engineer checked our purchase papers and declared the motor had a 5 year guarantee. He ordered one and was back in  a couple of days. But we still had to pay his call-out time.     

[NamKangMan]

5 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

It all depends on the age of the broken down piece of kit. You can't really expect spare parts after 5+ years. My Phillips DVR spares come from Phillips Singapore. I get serviced at the Phillips service center. I've had a few buts of Phillips kit over the years so I am known by the husband and wife team. Last time I went in for repair they checked the spare board inventory at Singapore. My unit too old, no spares board. As it was the power board the guy said he would try a component change. Worked for 6 months before pack in. I junked it.

 

Over the years we have had a few washing machine repairs. We call the manufacture service center and they sent round their engineer (1,000 baht per visit). Last time was for our Hitachi that was more than a year old so we thought no guarantee. Turned out main motor burned out, I thought big bill, but engineer checked our purchase papers and declared the motor had a 5 year guarantee. He ordered one and was back in  a couple of days. But we still had to pay his call-out time.     

 

"You can't really expect spare parts after 5+ years." - possibly, but charging a "holding fee" whilst trying to rip you off, is a different matter all together, not to mention, trying to keep the easily repaired unit.

 

In the OP's case, new transformers are available for more than 5 years, even if it's after market Chinese. 

 

Criminals, pure and simple. 

[Jimi007]

2 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"You can't really expect spare parts after 5+ years." - possibly, but charging a "holding fee" whilst trying to rip you off, is a different matter all together, not to mention, trying to keep the easily repaired unit.

 

In the OP's case, new transformers are available for more than 5 years, even if it's after market Chinese. 

 

Criminals, pure and simple. 

LOL! So you're an electronic engineer now? A transformer in a  newer LCD Digital TV power supply? Maybe a decade ago or more! Digital switching power supplies are what is used now. Some are  internal. My Sony has an external power supply. You buy the power supply unit (PSU) and replace it. But something as severe as a lightening strike, unless protected, will suffer a catastrophic failure that would likely affect circuits way beyond the PSU. It's toast. 

[stevenl]

6 hours ago, Jimi007 said:

LOL! So you're an electronic engineer now? A transformer in a  newer LCD Digital TV power supply? Maybe a decade ago or more! Digital switching power supplies are what is used now. Some are  internal. My Sony has an external power supply. You buy the power supply unit (PSU) and replace it. But something as severe as a lightening strike, unless protected, will suffer a catastrophic failure that would likely affect circuits way beyond the PSU. It's toast. 

Agree. This also means that OC's comments regarding the Panasonic TV may be incorrect, it could easily be toast.

 

If that's the case it should IMO be returned foc.

[Old Croc]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

Agree. This also means that OC's comments regarding the Panasonic TV may be incorrect, it could easily be toast.

 

If that's the case it should IMO be returned foc.

I tried to convey my thoughts that some of these companies don't even examine, or properly examine, the TVs  (or chlorinators) before declaring them dead. 

In the OP I mentioned the Panasonic shop had scores of sets for repair lying around, perhaps too many to check. It's not hard to conclude that perhaps they wait a certain time and then inform the customer it can't be fixed without actually checking them.. I would have thought if someone had stripped my set down and properly checked it, the charge would be higher, and I would have had a report on  the reasons for it being declared dead. I don't believe they opened the back at all. I didn't get it back so couldn't check. I lost control of that situation so couldn't pursue it.

With the chlorinator, when the unit was returned from the first company, I checked to see if they had actually pulled it apart. I concluded they hadn't touched it because I found all the holding screws seemed to be untouched from manufacture . Their incorrect statement that the main circuit board was gone was a strong clue that they didn't actually look, just saw an opportunity to get a sale from a falang.

The second company, who actually repaired the unit, emailed a list of items to be repaired before proceeding and  obviously did the job correctly

 

This forum is infested with naysayers and I do admire your commonsense positivity most of the time, but sometimes the locals are just THIEVES!

[catman20]

second opinion is a must as you say they are dishonest thieves. i had the same thing with Daikin air said all the inside needed replacing 21,000 baht had to pay about 1000 baht for them to come out, got a local engineer to fix it 2000 baht.

i the had the same problem with Samsung phoned them they sent a engineer who said the screen had stopped working repair 17,500 baht got  a local man to fix it, it was the mother board 5,500 baht.

 

i  sent both companies emails complaining and chased it up nothing happen and  i never herd back from either company. ITS JUST A SCAM AND THEIR ALL AT IT.

[dickjones2018]

what about this one:  I dropped my iphone one too many times, the screentouch was not responsive and lines in the screen... connector problem I red online...went to the mini phone shops in a mall... they can fix, they ask me if I want original parts 1800 baht or non original 1000 baht... I was thinking, <deleted>, it is the connector that is not fitted anymore, nothing to do with original or not, just open it, reconnect it and that's it...  scam on top of scam... alternative =  buy set of mini screw drivers & do yourself ? probably would have costed even more in one of them APPLE stores

[SussexExpat]

Seems to me that the OP expects items to be tested for free. If you can't fix it yourself expect to pay for the services of others to investigate the problem.

[davemos]

23 hours ago, Jimi007 said:

I'm sure this kind of thing happens quite often. I guess I've been lucky over the years. My old tube TV's still work. I gave one away for cheap because I needed a digital TV as a screen to watch movies and TV shows from my computer. Still watch the old Tube in the bedroom. I had a printer/scanner that didn't work and was still under warranty, The certified service center fixed it, no charge. My LG washing machine quit. It had a 5 year motor warranty, my wife found some repair place and they replaced the motor for a small service fee. My car mechanic is a really nice and honest guy, doesn't charge Farangs more than Thais. Same with my motorcycle mechanic. Both have even made house calls when I can't get them started. 

 

I have seen my neighbors and other getting ripped off for services, like water pumps. I figured them out. I installed the last one myself and haven't has any issues. My neighbor has gone through two of the same brand in just a few years and the new one still has issues. 

 

But I agree with what you're saying Old Croc! It can be easy to be taken advantage of around here at times!

This is not unique to Thailand ?

[Jimi007]

19 minutes ago, davemos said:

This is not unique to Thailand ?

I didn't say it was... 

[dotpoom]

I first heard the term the "throwaway generation" many many years ago. Supposed to have started in the States and spread from there....No more fixing stuff...dump it and buy a new one.

   Japan had the same name. Property was supposed to be so expensive that there was no point it trying to save to buy your own home, so people became the "consumer society".... buy a new TV and as soon as a newer model came on the market throw out the " old model" and buy the latest. Nothing else to do with one's money.

[Jimi007]

3 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

I first heard the term the "throwaway generation" many many years ago. Supposed to have started in the States and spread from there....No more fixing stuff...dump it and buy a new one.

   Japan had the same name. Property was supposed to be so expensive that there was no point it trying to save to buy your own home, so people became the "consumer society".... buy a new TV and as soon as a newer model came on the market throw out the " old model" and buy the latest. Nothing else to do with one's money.

Technology, especially electronic technology, changes very quickly! I like old stuff that works. I have a 1977 VW Bus, a 1995, 1996 and 2012 Nissians. They all work. Even an old Sony 40" tube TV works, but sure does't look as good as the 40" Samsung 4K smart TV I only paid $300 for, and the Sony was $2,500 with an employee discount. My newest computer has 16 GB of RAM, which is more memory than my 1995 Apple laptop has in it's hard drive. The old one cost me more too! So, faster cheaper and better is somehow a bad thing?

[pennine]

I had a similar experience with my SMEG dish washer. The tank developed a leak and the official agent said it could not be repaired and offered to sell me a new one. We eventually found a local repair shop on Samui who fixed it for a few thousand Baht and it's still working.

[Stevemercer]

I think part of the problem is finding someone who is expert/experienced with the brand product. It can be hard in a smaller town. But at least, out here in rural Thailand, tradesmen don't usually request any fee if they can't fix the problem.

[Brayka]

Same situation here. Pool pump wasn’t working anymore. Our pool shop said...new one, (30.000 B), not repairable. Contacted an other one, he took it home(1 day) and repair it...costst 1000 baht. 2 years later and still running

[baansgr]

On 4/3/2018 at 4:19 PM, Psimbo said:

It's just not inanimate objects. As part of my annual physical at Mission a dental inspection is included. Dentist says I need 4 fillings. Now I haven't had a filling for about 40 years so this peaked my curiosity a bit.

 

I do my annual dental check at the clinic by BHP- the dentist was recommended to me years ago. I decided to get him to do an inspection and said nothing about the trip to Mission. One inspection later I was given the all clear- no fillings required.

 

'That's interesting' says I,  'Mission wanted to give me four'. He stated that there was nothing wrong with my existing ones, as they were old-school and should see me out. In his opinion so long as a filling has not worn below a certain level there is no need to replace it.

 

We had a bit of a chat about newer things and built in obsolescence and I was out of there with a polish for B800. 

 

I hate to think what a similar bill and treatments would have been had I actually ventured into BHP (which apparently refers awkward orthodontic cases to him any way).!

I was told need to extract and implant,  cost about 60 000. I knew it didn't so had a trip to P.I repaired by cap and cleaned for 3,000. 

[Golden Triangle]

Unfortunately when they see us (foreigners) all they see is this:

 

 

[Sapporillo]

2 hours ago, dickjones2018 said:

what about this one:  I dropped my iphone one too many times, the screentouch was not responsive and lines in the screen... connector problem I red online...went to the mini phone shops in a mall... they can fix, they ask me if I want original parts 1800 baht or non original 1000 baht... I was thinking, <deleted>, it is the connector that is not fitted anymore, nothing to do with original or not, just open it, reconnect it and that's it...  scam on top of scam... alternative =  buy set of mini screw drivers & do yourself ? probably would have costed even more in one of them APPLE stores

For iPhones and iPads, you can look up (official) repair costs for the most common parts like screen and battery on the local apple website, so at least you shouldn't lose time and money waiting for a quote (if you're sure what's wrong). Or fix it yourself, ifixit.com has great step-by-step instructions. 

[Beats56]

I bought a flat screen TV and it stopped working . It was a year and half old. Went back to the store ask it get it fixed. No can do. The girl said just buy a new one. I was very angry at that remark  and she slunk away after my remarks  I. Am frang and money is no object. Ok

Took it to a electronic repair shop. The power supply board was no good.

They repaired for few hundred baht .

Don't listen the sales people they don't know Shit. 

[Bangkok Barry]

On 4/3/2018 at 4:19 PM, Psimbo said:

It's just not inanimate objects. As part of my annual physical at Mission a dental inspection is included. Dentist says I need 4 fillings. Now I haven't had a filling for about 40 years so this peaked my curiosity a bit.

 

I do my annual dental check at the clinic by BHP- the dentist was recommended to me years ago. I decided to get him to do an inspection and said nothing about the trip to Mission. One inspection later I was given the all clear- no fillings required.

 

'That's interesting' says I,  'Mission wanted to give me four'. He stated that there was nothing wrong with my existing ones, as they were old-school and should see me out. In his opinion so long as a filling has not worn below a certain level there is no need to replace it.

 

We had a bit of a chat about newer things and built in obsolescence and I was out of there with a polish for B800. 

 

I hate to think what a similar bill and treatments would have been had I actually ventured into BHP (which apparently refers awkward orthodontic cases to him any way).!

 

My first experience of Thai rip-offs was going to a local dentist who stated that I needed to have four teeth removed. I thought not, and they've lasted me another 25 years with no problem.
 

Another scam, and it's brilliant. My wife needed her wedding ring enlarged and we took it to a gold shop at Central Bang Na. It duly came back and we were happy. Until some months later we were in a place with UV lighting and noticed that some of the stones were a different colour. When we had the ring checked we were told that some of the stones had been replaced with glass. Normally, how would you ever know you had been ripped off.

 

Another scam. Someone I know was going through a hard time and felt he needed some TLC so he went to a hospital and made up a story of having hurt his neck in a road accident. Not only did the hospital find the non-existent injury, they produced x-rays to prove it was there. Quite incredible.