Apartment deposit shamefully robbed

[spidermike007]

8 minutes ago, taninthai said:

Ok if you think a business enforcing written contracts is classed as being a scam artist up to you.

the title of the thread should really be ...i broke my contract now landlord says he is keeping deposit...........as basically this is what has happened,some landlords would return deposit as goodwill gesture same as some tenants might say keep the 2 weeks rent as I move out early as again a good will gesture.

certainly no scam.confusion between husband ,wife and tenant but definately no scam.

Again you did not read his post. He discussed this with the landlord, and the landlord agreed to change the terms of the lease. The original lease no longer applies in that case. This is so simple. Don't know why some are still coming to the defense of this creepy landlord. The tenant did everything carefully, with respect, and gave the landlord notice and they agreed to a change in status. The landlord defied the new agreement, when it came time to man up, and return the deposit. All this is about, is a fool being a fool. 

[taninthai]

14 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Again you did not read his post. He discussed this with the landlord, and the landlord agreed to change the terms of the lease. The original lease no longer applies in that case. This is so simple. Don't know why some are still coming to the defense of this creepy landlord. The tenant did everything carefully, with respect, and gave the landlord notice and they agreed to a change in status. The landlord defied the new agreement, when it came time to man up, and return the deposit. All this is about, is a fool being a fool. 

Of coarse the tenant acted all nice and respectful they knew they were breaking contract and was in danger of losing deposit.

the wife the other business partner overruled her husbands decision this is the only problem here the husband and wife should have discussed how they going to deal with it before discussing with the tenant.

you have already made your mind up that the owners are worms and scam artist....funny op admits hotel has 150+ good reviews...you don’t get that by being a worm and scam artist.

All seems like making a mountain out of a mole hill to me....sometimes in these situations yes you might get deposit back if have good relationship with landlord other times landlord will stand there ground and enforce contract as they are fully entitled to do.

Edited May 22, 2019 by taninthai

[sead]

Have to agree with most. If the amount isn't much then leave it. The effort and trouble to get it back just isn't wort it.

[lensta]

2 hours ago, taninthai said:

And what if the hotel has a policy of no refunds issued on cancellations?

should the customer not take some responsibility and be liable/accept any penalty clause.......again I don’t really see any scams here ...just a slight disagreement between the husband and wife on how they wish to run/operate their business.

Really????

1. The guy paid for his stay up front and in full. It is irrelevant whether he stays there or not.

2. Because he was leaving early, he was kind enough to give the key back to the owner so the owner could re let the apt and make some more money, not expecting a refund for the 2 weeks. The owner was kind enough to give the 2 weeks rent back to the tenant. The wife didn't know.

3. It seems that the owners wife does not want to give the security deposit back to the tenant even though everything was paid for in advance. Understand the now?

[lensta]

45 minutes ago, taninthai said:

Of coarse the tenant acted all nice and respectful they knew they were breaking contract and was in danger of losing deposit.

the wife the other business partner overruled her husbands decision this is the only problem here the husband and wife should have discussed how they going to deal with it before discussing with the tenant.

you have already made your mind up that the owners are worms and scam artist....funny op admits hotel has 150+ good reviews...you don’t get that by being a worm and scam artist.

All seems like making a mountain out of a mole hill to me....sometimes in these situations yes you might get deposit back if have good relationship with landlord other times landlord will stand there ground and enforce contract as they are fully entitled to do.

How is he breaking the contract??? If the apt is paid for in full then it doesn't matter if he physically stays in the apt or not. He didn't ask for a refund of the 2 weeks. The owner offered it to him. Breaking the contract?? I don't think so.

[Monkeyrobot]

Do I read it right you lost 150,000 Deposit?? If it’s that amount call the police. 

[JimSaints]

My thai wife refuse to rent from thais - risk too big she claim … and I agree

[BestB]

Do you have any written evidence of what owner has said or promised or is it all phone conversations ?

 

if you have no written proof to support your version of events going for help anywhere will not achieve anything .

 

if you do have written proof , then Consumer protection board will fix it fairly fast 

[Lacessit]

15 hours ago, madmen said:

Give it twenty years and it may catch on. In the meantime for every rip off story your read on TV there are a hundred others that are to embarrassed to discuss it. So in reality you leave your 2 months deposit fully expecting it to be a donation. Renting here is a mugs game

Really? I've been renting here for 10 years now. After the first year, the landlord was happy to rent to me without a security deposit.

IMHO the mugs are the ones who buy condos and houses here. Then, when their circumstances change, they find the real estate agents are basically useless, and they can't sell except at a substantial discount to their purchase price.

[Pdavies99]

This post looks a little dubious, I've booked at least 30 times through Booking.com and never has a deposit been mentioned or requested?  I've stayed in Apartments, guest Houses, Hotels and rooms in homes via Booking.com...the longest booking being 4 months, did you make a separate agreement with the owners?

 

When I did have an issue, Booking.com refunded all my costs for a 5 day booking.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Pdavies99

[Fex Bluse]

18 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

Why should every one just give in and walk away, stand up to them then they will learn.

 

 

17 hours ago, SteveK said:

Standing up to Thais in Thailand almost certainly won't end well.

Sadly this is true. It's why the best policies involve

 

A. Avoiding dealings with them wherever possible 

 

B. Avoiding extending yourself and treating every transaction as a potential loss 

 

This means fighting as hard as you can to reduce your initial exposure, so smaller or no deposit. 

 

Or, where no deposit is not possible, make sure to hold some leverage over them until you get your money back. 

 

Treat them the same way you would Chinese and you'll win more battles. 

[snowgard]

Open a case at the consumer protection board. They will solve it for free. 

 

http://www.ocpb.go.th/ocpb_eng/main.php?filename=index___EN

[PingRoundTheWorld]

Amazing TV - people actually defending the landlord when he's clearly in the wrong. The contract was paid in full therefore complete. That the landlord decided to refund 2 weeks does not absolve him of refunding the security deposit too. Worst case scenario he can deduct the 2 weeks from the refund, but withholding the entire refund is predatory and illegal. Sadly it sounds like it's not even the landlord who came up with this "genius" idea - it was his wife. Never let a woman near your wallet/account/etc because they'll be taking control of it (and you) before you even know it.

 

It's actually very plausible that the husband really DOESN'T have the money to pay it back because the wife controls the money/accounts, and he doesn't have enough money hidden from her to pay it. Simple solution either way: go to a lawyer and have him write and deliver a letter to the both husband and wife detailing what you are owed (security deposit minus the 2 weeks) according to the contract, and stating that if they don't pay back within a reasonable amount of time legal action will be taken. The idea here isn't to take them to court - that'll probably cost more than it's worth - the idea is to intimidate the wife into releasing her claws so he can actually pay you back. It sounds like he wants to, so give him a good "excuse" for the wife.

[Tajasia]

l would have my mate call him.book a fake appointment and grab hold if the water monitor and l would leave the room until money in my hands that day or there would be many accidents 

[Letseng]

9 hours ago, shaurene said:

I would really go for Booking.Com. Tell them the story and hod them responsible to get your money back. Tell them you will post this all over the internet that Booking.Com did not support you with their help.

Blackmailing will achieve the opposite. 

[Letseng]

4 hours ago, Pdavies99 said:

This post looks a little dubious, I've booked at least 30 times through Booking.com and never has a deposit been mentioned or requested?  I've stayed in Apartments, guest Houses, Hotels and rooms in homes via Booking.com...the longest booking being 4 months, did you make a separate agreement with the owners?

 

When I did have an issue, Booking.com refunded all my costs for a 5 day booking.

I once had an issue with a hotel quality and checking out early due to this issue. Booking.com refunded the payment without argument. 

I didn't threaten any action of whatever sort. I just explained the situation.

OP sounds as if he had made a sep. agreement with the owner.

I wonder where this hotel/residence is? I know of a place which fits the description of fancy cars on the grounds. But the owner I know does not fit the story.

[KhaoYai]

22 hours ago, SteveK said:

Standing up to Thais in Thailand almost certainly won't end well.

Untrue.  I had a problem with one of the major hospitals, they lied and I had proof of it - still they refused to act. I went to a lawyer who told me not to waste my time - these hospitals can afford to pay for the top lawyers.  I persevered and eventually took the matter to the Thai Medical Council - at each stage keeping the hospital informed of my actions.

 

The Medical Council took ages and several e-mails before someone who spoke English eventually replied asking for my complaint to be translated in to Thai - which I duly had done.  Armed with the Medical Council's e-mail and the translation of my complaint, I went back to the hospital and asked them if they would like one more chance to reconsider their stance before I submitted my complaint to the Medical Council. They did and that same afternoon, the bill that has been the subject of the complaint + some expenses that I had incurred, was refunded in full, directly to my bank account. I did have to sign a 'gagging order' though, which was fine - all I wanted was my money back.

 

On another occasion I checked out of a hotel at 2am because of the noise from a party downstairs (my room was literally shaking) that I'd been told would end no later than midnight. I asked for a refund which was promptly refused until I returned later in the day with a tourist policeman. He didn't have to say anything, the manager took one look at him and said there had been a misunderstanding - the money refunded in full.

 

It can seem daunting to deal with these matters in Thailand but in my experience, a lot of these stories about the 'farang' losing out every time are just that - stories.  Some people just don't try. The wrong doers rely on the fact that most people just give up - you need tenacity.

Edited May 22, 2019 by KhaoYai

[wisperone]

Welcome to Land of Scams. Where farangs just bend over and take it and say chalk it up to experience. How many times a week do we hear that here for many different scenarios. Should have realized where you are, paid the rent for the new room, and stayed where you are until the end of your contract.

[clarky cat]

8 hours ago, BestB said:

Do you have any written evidence of what owner has said or promised or is it all phone conversations ?

 

if you have no written proof to support your version of events going for help anywhere will not achieve anything .

 

if you do have written proof , then Consumer protection board will fix it fairly fast 

we only have written evidence of the 3 months being paid in full, and a receipt showing the fee charged for losing the deposit. no evidence of the phone call made promising to give back both the deposit and half months rent, though the half months rent was paid back.

 

to the other poster - the room was found through booking.com, but we paid direct and signed a contract. the top half of rooms are used as apartments, bottom half as hotel rooms I think

Edited May 22, 2019 by clarky cat

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 9:30 PM, SteveK said:

Standing up to Thais in Thailand almost certainly won't end well.

Nonsense

[ericthai]

On 5/21/2019 at 10:32 AM, JimmyJ said:

Thailand needs to get rid of their ridiculous libel laws that punish for telling the truth.

 

Then in a case like this the OP would post the story on a public forum and the owner's business would suffer as the word would get out.

 

 

OP broke the contract! he got his rent back, lost the deposit. Should be lucky he got the rent back!  

[impulse]

22 hours ago, watcharacters said:

You characterize  consumer protection as a nanny state agency?

 

Short answer.... Yes.