I Appeal To All Westerners To Boycot My Bar

[Mobi]

Getting back to the legal aspects, my case was helped immeasurably by the fact that the defendant failed to appear in court despite a series of summonses, and was therefore unable to defend herself. (If she had appeared she would have been arrested).

In the first instance I spent virtually the whole day at the police station, filing the report against her, and had witnesses also come along and make sworn statements to the station officer. By the end of the day the file was about 6 inches thick, and a warrant was duly issued, whereupon she went to ground. (I suspect she paid arresting officers to remain hidden)

The field was the clear for me to take out a civil action, and as previously stated, it took more than 2 years to wind its way through several court hearings, which required me and other witnesses giving sworn testimony before a panel of 3 judges.

Eventually judgment was made against the lady, and her asset, a house, was ordered to be seized by the court and sold at public auction. As you can imagine, this took forever, and there was all manner of fun and games in the auction process whereby officials tried sell the house to a court 'insider' for a fraction of its true value. We managed to forestall this by having own buyer at the final auction who at least got me a half way decent price.

Even now, after all this time, I'm not at all sure that I wouldn't have been better off just walking away from it all, as it dominated my life for a very long time, and at my age, I don't have too many carefree years left.

Please talk to Sunbelt or someone of equal standing, but unless they give you very strong vibes that you can win this, I would just write it off to experience and start again. Also bear in mind that even if you win the case, it might be quite difficult (and indeed will be another process) to seize assets if she doesn't pay you what she owes. And if comes to that, she would be just as likely to sell up and do a runner. Winning a case is no guarantee you will get paid. In my case the lady owned a house which was at the centre of my case, but in yours it seems to be far more tenuous.

[Cyberstar]

NEVER spend more than you can afford to walk away from.

NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

ALWAYS keep a low profile.

That's the best set of rules of thumb I've seen in a long time.

[Robski]

NEVER spend more than you can affrod to walk away from.

NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

ALWAYS keep a low profile.

I'll never have trouble with the first two, it's the third one that I find difficult.

[bkkmadness]

I think the people you deal with in a tailors would be a lot different from those in the bar business. At the end of the day there is not much sympathy in Thailand for bar-owning farangs. It is looked upon as a very dodgy occupation. The bar in question may be completely family-friendly but at the end of the day it is still a bar.

I sympathise with the OP because it is not nice to be double-crossed but when you get into a business such as bars it comes with the territory. If I was given a bar tommorow for free I wouldn't want in it and I certainly wouldn't want my wife working in it.

Agreed, I was just offering an example of a farang not always losing when they go through the correct channels.

i think that its a good idea to deal with the big issue of major investment up against a 5000 baht loss in a tailors shop.

two completely different issues.

Again Terence I have to explain that I used that example to show how a farang can use the legal system to get a result. Not every farang in Thailand that shows a little balls gets killed by a hitman.

(It was my turn to use the rolleyes smiley wasn't it?)

[bkkmadness]

I can't take your case Gary as I am not a lawyer. Since you have no real contract though I would guess you have a snowballs chance of getting that cash back.

Why exactly did you send the 35 K, because of a promised investment? Thats about the oldest scam in the book isn't it?

Contact a real lawyer find out what your position is.

We're not in Kansas Toto.

Too true, we are not in Kansas, so that's why you find out about Thai law before you start sending 35000 dollars to people based on a proposed contract and a few hand written letters.

[cdnvic]

If it's any consolation, she seems to be under the influence of these new "friends" who will, if my past observations are anything to go by, suck her and her bar dry before melting away when times go bad, and the bills come due.

[cobra]

NEVER spend more than you can afford to walk away from.

NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

ALWAYS keep a low profile.

That's the best set of rules of thumb I've seen in a long time.

It stings now but you'll recover from this, and you'll do things differently in the future, most all have lost money in our lives, in one way or another. Chalk it up to experience.

The above axioms hold true where ever. Personally I never invest what I can't lose, monetarily or emotionally, good luck.

[ZhangYimou]

make her an offer she cant refuse.

[cdnvic]

make her an offer she cant refuse.

???

[Mighty Mouse]

Not every farang in Thailand that shows a little balls gets killed by a hitman.

Hitmen also hit Thais of both sexes. It's not only farangs that need to think about the consequences of a partnership gone terribly wrong.

[Ulysses G.]

NEVER spend more than you can affrod to walk away from.

NEVER be worth more dead than alive.

ALWAYS keep a low profile.

I'll never have trouble with the first two, it's the third one that I find difficult.

Me too.

I like to walk a lot and where ever I go in Chiang Mai, the Tuk-Tuk drivers all shout out, "Gecko, Gecko"!

[Jet Gorgon]

Me too.

I like to walk a lot and where ever I go in Chiang Mai, the Tuk-Tuk drivers all shout out, "Gecko, Gecko"!

The infamous UG.

[mouse]

People like your ex grildfriend are motivated by pure greed and nothing else. So why not use that greed and tell her of the opportunity that you were just presented with for you to buy a hotel at a rock bottom price from another farang. That you need her to help make the buying a reality in that you surely already have a new buyer that would buy the hotel from you at a much higher price. You realize that you lost her heart but that without her you could not make this happen and that this is a chance for your to make good on your losses. I would think the fancier the story sounds the more of it she will bite. If she and her lazy ex brofriend see an opportunity they will raise the money come he** or high water. Then once you have your money back it will be time to leave town quickly and never come back. Give them a taste of their own mediciine, all it would costs you is a few fake emails some farang friends visiting you and playing along. Be careful if you do this but greedy people certainly make the biggest suckers. Good luck to you!

Do not take more than is owed you and leave a note of explantaiton when you go.

Edited March 18, 2007 by mouse

[garro]

People like your ex grildfriend are motivated by pure greed and nothing else. So why not use that greed and tell her of the opportunity that you were just presented with for you to buy a hotel at a rock bottom price from another farang. That you need her to help make the buying a reality in that you surely already have a new buyer that would buy the hotel from you at a much higher price. You realize that you lost her heart but that without her you could not make this happen and that this is a chance for your to make good on your losses. I would think the fancier the story sounds the more of it she will bite. If she and her lazy ex brofriend see an opportunity they will raise the money come he** or high water. Then once you have your money back it will be time to leave town quickly and never come back. Give them a taste of their own mediciine, all it would costs you is a few fake emails some farang friends visiting you and playing along. Be careful if you do this but greedy people certainly make the biggest suckers. Good luck to you!

Do not take more than is owed you and leave a note of explantaiton when you go.

In order for this scam to work the ex would need to be very stupid indeed. She has already proved that she isn't. It is also worth nothing that pulling a scam like this would be not only highly illegal but also very dangerous.

[cdnvic]

In order for this scam to work the ex would need to be very stupid indeed. She has already proved that she isn't. It is also worth nothing that pulling a scam like this would be not only highly illegal but also very dangerous.

Well.... some people watch a lot of movies.

[LoveDaBlues]

Terry57 I know people here (farang) who have won lawsuits against Thai. The problem is much like in the USA; you still have to collect...the courts don't do it for you. Also Terry (not picking on you I swear).....you keep talking about hitmen; let me educate you my friend there are hitmen everywhere not just LOS.

As I see it each case must be evaluated on it's own merits. If the people involved are REALLY KNOWN to "whack" someone then I would be inclined to just walk away. Most Thai's I deal with would never consider this option; so I guess who you associate with from the start is the most important lesson to be learned here.

On another note; if you're farang and really want a business here.....develop one that can start small (read: small initial investment) and grow. If the business fails not much lost but if it goes well you can expand later. I'd never invest a huge sum of money here on the front end.

[Vampyros Lesbos]

If you have a similar story on why you should not marry a Thai girl or get a Thai wife Please PM me

We can share the stories with others and take comfort and learning from each other.

Really sorry for this man but you are not alone

[LinkPopularity]

it's rather easy to avoid this kind of situations, just let them sign a sales agreement before you spend 1 Baht and if something goes wrong, you just sell her share and there's nothing she can do about it.

[Prakanong]

There is a syndrome that I have seen MANY times. I call it the MGID syndrome. Gullible guys come here and fall in love. If you caution them they will ALWAYS tell you that "My girl is different". How a reasonably intelligent 60 year old man can truly believe that a 20 year old beautiful Thai girl really does love him astounds me.

[/quote

I know I know and I am not 60 ;-)

[Prakanong]

There is a syndrome that I have seen MANY times. I call it the MGID syndrome. Gullible guys come here and fall in love. If you caution them they will ALWAYS tell you that "My girl is different". How a reasonably intelligent 60 year old man can truly believe that a 20 year old beautiful Thai girl really does love him astounds me.

dont go there mate as you'll have all the old fellas baying for your blood. :D

I do have to be a little careful myself. I am a borderline type because I just turned 62 and my lovely Thai wife is 39. I am a true cynic, maybe because I have been here too long and seen too much.

sounds ok to me for a 62 year old dude to have a 39 year old wife but a 60 year old with a 20 year old.

My Thai male friends used to tell me that the correct age for a man to marry was to find a woman half your age plus seven years. I didn't pay any attention but maybe they were right.

Not just Thai men I have heard that one from others.

I am looking for a 30 year old then and not the 20 year old I married who is now gone ;-)

[Pink Mist]

we have got away from the OP's topic, it's a wasted thread, closed