Koh Samui: German says he paid 800,000 baht to operate his unlicensed villa

[webfact]

Koh Samui: German says he paid 800,000 baht to operate his unlicensed villa

 

 

A German man told investigators yesterday that he had paid some Thais 800,850 baht after they threatened to shut down his luxury villa while it was still being built.

 

Ulrich Schmidt, 47, said he was visited when his Best World Vision Villas project was under construction and he transferred the money believing it would enable him to operate his business. 

 

He then offered rooms to paying guests.

 

But the hoteliers' association on the holiday island reported the villa owner to the authorities for operating without a license and taking business away from legitimate Thai operators.

 

 

Authorities from Region 4 including police and soldiers went to the property on Chaweng Noi hill in Bo Phut.

 

The German owner was unable to produce a licence, building permit or guest registration books. 

 

He has been charged with not having a license to operate a hotel, illegal work practices and not reporting foreign guests within 24 hours.

 

He was told to make a formal complaint with evidence of transfer of the alleged 800,850 payment. 

 

Source: CH7

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-04-26

[colinneil]

OK saying he paid 800.000 baht, but who did he pay the money to?

He upset the local hoteliers, and they put the boot in, he needs to learn a lot more about corrupt practices here before spending serious money on any project.

 

[RotBenz8888]

10 minutes ago, webfact said:

Koh Samui: German says he paid 800,000 baht to operate his unlicensed villa

Can't be that he confused this with the 800 000 bank deposit for retirement visa,47 is a bit young?

[bluesofa]

Apparently, they've removed the word 'gullible' from the dictionary.

[petermik]

Saw this on MCOT news last night....some army bigwig turns up some time ago telling him that the building is illegal unless he deposits 800,000 baht in his wifes bank account which the german guy does with proof..bank transfer and photos of the soldier and his wife.....now the sh*t hits the fan again and someone in the military has some awkward questions to answer   

[petermik]

7 hours ago, colinneil said:

OK saying he paid 800.000 baht, but who did he pay the money to?

He upset the local hoteliers, and they put the boot in, he needs to learn a lot more about corrupt practices here before spending serious money on any project.

 

read my reply colin....some army big wigs missus bank account  ????

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, petermik said:

Saw this on MCOT news last night....some army bigwig turns up some time ago telling him that the building is illegal unless he deposits 800,000 baht in his wifes bank account which the german guy does with proof..bank transfer and photos of the soldier and his wife.....now the sh*t hits the fan again and someone in the military has some awkward questions to answer   

So he thinks he's taken precautions.

I wonder if he's taken the precaution of wearing a bullet-proof vest that will withstand Thai army issued ammunition?

[Tropicalevo]

15 minutes ago, petermik said:

Saw this on MCOT news last night....some army bigwig turns up some time ago telling him that the building is illegal unless he deposits 800,000 baht in his wifes bank account which the german guy does with proof..bank transfer and photos of the soldier and his wife.....now the sh*t hits the fan again and someone in the military has some awkward questions to answer   

I am sure that it was a voluntary donation to the Hard Pressed Wives of Generals charity foundation

[baansgr]

Whats the cost of a hotel licence anyway?.....more than 800,850?

[ThorD72]

What a moron. Building a high end villa like that and treat it like with no respect to the law and how culture in Thailand operates. What was he thinking,..I guess zero nada nothing,.. 

[huberthammer]

"The German owner was unable to produce a licence, building permit or guest registration books."

 

"He has been charged with not having a license to operate a hotel, illegal work practices and not reporting foreign guests within 24 hours."

 

I feel sorry for the guy. Seems rather naive and did not seem to waste a minute on getting his homework done before building a house and operating a business. Thai law and regulations are complicated, confusing and not always logical but it is safe to say that he did not even cover the basics. Must have listened to the property sales guy and his mates "don't worry, everybody does it and if they ever show up just pay them". 

 

I would think that we will get a lot more of this in the future as laws are getting enforced and things become more transparent. Missing building permits and licenses are not something that will just go away.

[ezzra]

So this german guy thought he could build a huge villa, no permit, no licence, no construction supervision, just a willi nilli devil may care attitude, in an area full of 'law abiding Thais' rent it out to gusts as a hotel and get away with that? and then he complain of a shakedown, could he have done that in Germany i wonder...and i thought german people are much smarter than that...

[KittenKong]

800,000 Baht plus 850 Baht. What was the 850 Baht for? Service charge?

 

Even when you are paying a massive bribe they find a way to nickel and dime it upwards.

[jonclark]

credit where credit is due - he's built some nice villas by the look of things. 

[RobMuir]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

OK saying he paid 800.000 baht, but who did he pay the money to?

He upset the local hoteliers, and they put the boot in, he needs to learn a lot more about corrupt practices here before spending serious money on any project.

 

How do you know he upset the local hoteliers? 

How do you know it was the “hoteliers” who “put the boot in” ?

Was the 800,000 divided up between all the local hoteliers? 

 

Do you have some information regarding the specifics of this case or is that just what you imagined to have happened?

 

It only costs 16,000 baht to apply for a hotel license legally.

[RobMuir]

40 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Whats the cost of a hotel licence anyway?.....more than 800,850?

16,000 to apply and the cost of any alterations that may be required to comply.

Lack of parking space is one reason why many villas wont/can’t comply under the laws.

[KKr]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

unable to produce a licence, building permit or guest registration books.

No building permit: sounds to me like the building has to be torn down.

[zhangxifu]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

1 hour ago, petermik said:

Saw this on MCOT news last night....some army bigwig turns up some time ago telling him that the building is illegal unless he deposits 800,000 baht in his wifes bank account which the german guy does with proof..bank transfer and photos of the soldier and his wife.....now the sh*t hits the fan again and someone in the military has some awkward questions to answer   

So he thinks he's taken precautions.

I wonder if he's taken the precaution of wearing a bullet-proof vest that will withstand Thai army issued ammunition?

Bullet-proof vests are war equipment thus illegal to possess.

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, zhangxifu said:

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

So he thinks he's taken precautions.

I wonder if he's taken the precaution of wearing a bullet-proof vest that will withstand Thai army issued ammunition?

Bullet-proof vests are war equipment thus illegal to possess.

Aw, you spoiled my witty repost!

I did wonder how long it might before someone pointed that (Thai) truth out.

[Kieran00001]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Whats the cost of a hotel licence anyway?.....more than 800,850?

 

The licence really just costs 20,000 baht, but the price charged varies from place to place but can be millions.

[KneeDeep]

US$62 per night, for a four level villa with a 20 m pool, a free Jeep and free and unlimited use of a 'maxibar'.

 

Gosh that seems a lot for the money. 

[KneeDeep]

Whoops....neglected to post the link; https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17701693

 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22019733

[Hank Gunn]

1 hour ago, ThorD72 said:

What a moron. Building a high end villa like that and treat it like with no respect to the law and how culture in Thailand operates. What was he thinking,..I guess zero nada nothing,.. 

“Respect to the law and how culture in Thailand operates.”? 

 

Give me me a break. There is no rule of law in Thailand. It’s money above everything else that personifies Thai culture. And before you label me some “Thai Basher” (a silly euphemism often applied to those who speak the truth on this forum) in less than 2 years back in Thailand after living with me in the US, my Thai wife is in the process of being cheated out of land that’s been in her family for decades, and has had to pay thousands of baht to corrupt government officials for a building permit for an extension to our house. I might add that while our extension was built to code, our next door neighbor built a similar extension but did clearly outside of code/illegally. No skin off my/our teeth as it doesn’t impact us, but spare us the drivel about “respect for law and Thai culture.”

[Pravda]

A lot of Germans like to complain about taxation and immigration policies in their own country, but then they come to Thailand and do the dumbest things imaginable. 

[Kieran00001]

14 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

“Respect to the law and how culture in Thailand operates.”? 

 

Give me me a break. There is no rule of law in Thailand. It’s money above everything else that personifies Thai culture. And before you label me some “Thai Basher” (a silly euphemism often applied to those who speak the truth on this forum) in less than 2 years back in Thailand after living with me in the US, my Thai wife is in the process of being cheated out of land that’s been in her family for decades, and has had to pay thousands of baht to corrupt government officials for a building permit for an extension to our house. I might add that while our extension was built to code, our next door neighbor built a similar extension but did clearly outside of code/illegally. No skin off my/our teeth as it doesn’t impact us, but spare us the drivel about “respect for law and Thai culture.”

 

Bribing an official is a crime which carries a maxmium sentence of 5 years in prision, you want to moan about corruption, stop fueling it you hypocrite.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'd like to know who actually owns the land on which this guy's mansion was built?  Because surely is isn't him. And presumably, land in that area would be pretty valuable....

 

Did this guy shell out a small fortune to buy the land in his wife's name?  Or is there an unmentioned Thai land owner behind all of this?

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

30 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

Whoops....neglected to post the link; https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17701693

 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22019733

 

So I wonder if my upcoming reservation is now cancelled?

 

Or, I'll just be paying instead to someone in uniform! 

[cardinalblue]

He’s at fault here for not getting a license....he obviously knew the payout was not for a license but his stupidity in thinking the payment would prevent others to ask for proper proof....

 

While he got scammed, he is still liable for operating an unlicensed hotel and not following compliance procedures....

 

two separate issues...

[Nip]

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I am sure that it was a voluntary donation to the Hard Pressed Wives of Generals charity foundation

Pension Fund

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So it seems he's got two different places, a larger and a smaller one.... The larger one offered for $187 per night seems to be the name mentioned in the OP article here.... Best World Vision below on the right...

 

Still, the locals were probably pissed that he was undercutting their prices for comparable offerings.

 

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/105303953

 

 

 

Quote

 

I am German but have changed country over 200 times in my life - have lived 10 years in California, 5 years in India, 8 years in Brazil among others - but after all I feel Koh Samui the best place and have come here again and again since 37 years. Since 5 years I have settled on this beautiful island and built 2 villas according to my own plans, combing all what I have learned from living only in hotels for over 10 years - so I will be able to give you many good tips if you like.

and you can try my complementary therapy devices that you see on the picture - Villa rental is just a hobby for me - if you want to see what I do for a living you can put my name KIRAN SCHMIDT into (SENSITIVE CONTENTS HIDDEN) or youtube

Also 50% of the net-profit goes to children charity - so I when you are here I can show you where your money is going to help

 

 

Hmmm......  have to wonder....