Hi guys,

 

three days ago I had a motorbike accident with a bigger bike.

I drove the main road and one high/drunk/stupid Thai guy came from a small soi, somehow did not see me and just drive exactly in front of me.

Total crash.

 

Luckily almost nothing happened to me, I could easily be dead.

I waited for the police and we went to police station.

They filled a report and to my surprise they write that it’s not my fault at all, which is correct, and that the Thai guy made the mistake leading to the accident.

 

So far, so good.

 

 

But now the owner of the motorbike rental said the Thai guy has no money. I tried to talk with him but his English so bad, my Thai gf talked with him.

She said that the rental guy said something about 50.000 Baht and that WE should contact the Thai guy who made the accident and come with him to the rental place tomorrow.

First of all, i will not do this. I don’t have any claim against the Thai accident guy, the owner of the rental store has. He need to get the money from him, not me.

 

Furthermore I know already how this scam will continue.

Tomorrow morning I will arrive at the motorbike rental, demanding my passport and my money back.

The owner of the rental will refuse.

I know it will happen like this, otherwise it would make no sense that the owner told my gf that the other Thai guy has no money and it’s around 50.000 Baht.

 

So what should I do now?

Contact Tourist Police?

Contact the embassy of my country because the rental owner will most most likely not giving me back my passport?

 

 

Please help me, if I go there tomorrow and the rental guy will act as expected, I will explode, punch him and end in prison.

Go tomorrow, take your wife for translation and tell him

- if the Thai guy has no money, HE (the rental guy) must contact the insurance company of the bike he rented to you, they will pay (that is, IF he has a proper insurance,  but that is not your problem).

- Demand your deposit and passport back, and immediately

- Inform him, that otherwise you will take a lawyer and go again to the police and report him for extortion of money and theft of your passport.

 

MAKE SURE that you CLEARLY instruct your wife to ONLY translate and NOT discuss ANYTHING ELSE with the guy.

 

Informing your Embassy comes later, once you have a police report describing the THEFT of the passport. 

 

Another example that you should NEVER leave your passport with a rental company, only a copy. There are enough rental companies that accept passport copies. Been there, done that.

Add: stay firm, don't get angry, don't discuss any options or alternatives to getting your money and passport back, don't bother yourself with HIS problem.

 

AGAIN: make sure your wife has your back and does not kick YOUR balls by discussing options like maybe giving up the deposit for getting your passport back. Thais tend to try and find such innovative solutions for mutual face saving...

So some guy crashes and damages a motorbike that you own. What would you want him to do for you?

What did the rental agreement say? usually the insurance doesn't cover the motorbike and you will be liable for costs. Getting the money from the poor other guy will be futile

 

 

19 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

MAKE SURE that you CLEARLY instruct your wife to ONLY translate and NOT discuss ANYTHING ELSE with the guy.

she's Thai, that will be a very hard task at hand, usually a 5 minute matter, will easily turn into 1 hour or more Thai discussion, I would go to the police and ask them to go to the rental with you to get your documents, they may charge you some "coffee" money

Join the fishing fleet...swim to shore in another country at your first opportunity...claim your passport was lost at sea...

 

Just kidding, of course.  You will likely be placed under a lot of pressure to settle with the shop owner because you are a farang...and Thais know all farangs are rich...

 

Good Luck!

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

What did the rental agreement say? usually the insurance doesn't cover the motorbike and you will be liable for costs. Getting the money from the poor other guy will be futile

 

 

BS. Never rent cars or bikes without full first class coverage that WILL cover your vehicle no matter the guilt question, otherwise you make a plain stupid rental decision. Been there, done that

1 minute ago, Swiss1960 said:

BS. Never rent cars or bikes without full first class coverage that WILL cover your vehicle no matter the guilt question, otherwise you make a plain stupid rental decision. Been there, done that

Which part was BS? very unlikely he had 1st class insurance on a rental, do you live in Thailand?

7 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

she's Thai, that will be a very hard task at hand, usually a 5 minute matter, will easily turn into 1 hour or more Thai discussion, I would go to the police and ask them to go to the rental with you to get your documents, they may charge you some "coffee" money

yes ....  see if a 3,000 baht donation will assist .  

It's his passport .....  he must do anything to get that in his hand.

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Which part was BS? very unlikely he had 1st class insurance on a rental, do you live in Thailand?

Not only do I live here since several years, I am also renting from time to time and NEVER rent without having seen the first class RENTAL car / bike insurance but also never leave my passport there. Mostly, I just rent using copies of my Thai DL and Pink ID

Your BIG mistake was to hand over your passport as a deposit. I seen it to many times happen to foreigners who dont know better and get in an accident your fault or not. It will cost you in the end as forget about getting the money from the Thai guy. Suggest you negotiate with the motor bike owner on a price if you ever want to see your passport again.

5 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

Not only do I live here since several years, I am also renting from time to time and NEVER rent without having seen the first class RENTAL car / bike insurance but also never leave my passport there. Mostly, I just rent using copies of my Thai DL and Pink ID

Op probably doesn't know what insurance he has so it will be the mandatory 3rd class insurance which doesn't cover the bike. To get the 1st class usually it's at special request and costs extra

BTW: the easiest way to find out whether the insurance is for rental or private use is to ask for the insurance company phone number and knock-off forms... if you are told to call somebody who will the call the insurance company to deal with the issue, then with 99% certainty the insurance is private and will not pay, if they find out that the car / bike was rented out

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Op probably doesn't know what insurance he has so it will be the mandatory 3rd class insurance which doesn't cover the bike. To get the 1st class usually it's at special request and costs extra

Even more reasons for the OP not to pay... just tell the rental guy that you will also inform the police that you suspect that he doesn't have a licence to rent... 

10 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

Not only do I live here since several years, I am also renting from time to time and NEVER rent without having seen the first class RENTAL car / bike insurance but also never leave my passport there. Mostly, I just rent using copies of my Thai DL and Pink ID

YES! Every place always say DON'T ever leave your passport in any place! Even many coundry empassy say that! In they pages when say how should do in Thailand!

You can get rental bike whit copy your passport!

I've hired scooters on numerous occasions here and in other Asian countries. I only allow them to take a copy of my passport. If they want the passport itself, I walk away.

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Getting the money from the poor other guy will be futile

The "poor guy" has a car what he can sell. He only said that he has no money but who checked if it´s true? Perhaps he owns the house where he lives. And if he has a car he must have an insurance. EVERY Thai will say "I have no money" if he has to pay 50,000 Baht for a damage.

The biggest problem is to get your passport back. As mentioned before get some friendly police officers, make a donation to their favorite charity, take them with you and get them to pressure him to return your passport. You were not a fault so there should be no claim against you. Be firm and do not angry when you deal with him. 

 

It wouldn't surprise me if you weren't the first person to 'accidentally' hit this other biker on one of this guys bikes. It has a strong smell of scam around it.

25 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

The "poor guy" has a car what he can sell. .

No car involved. His bike is probably damaged too

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

No car involved. His bike is probably damaged too

"Thai guy came from a small soi, somehow did not see me and just drive exactly in front of me..."
How do you know that no car is involved? 

Handing over your passport to the MC rental co was a very stupid thing to do, I may be wrong, but the rental co have no right to withhold your passport.

15 hours ago, Swiss1960 said:

Another example that you should NEVER leave your passport with a rental company, only a copy.

 

Absolutely correct.

 

I was trying to rent a car in Chiang Mai once and all the rental companies wanted my passport as a deposit. I refused. They showed me an unlocked draw at the front of their shop with many foreign passports inside. I was amazed how naively trusting some people can be on holiday.

 

Finally , after many attempts , I found a place that accepted a copy and a deal was made.

 

Never part with your passport voluntarily.

10 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

"Thai guy came from a small soi, somehow did not see me and just drive exactly in front of me..."
How do you know that no car is involved? 

Just by reading the first line "three days ago I had a motorbike accident with a bigger bike" if that doesn't convince you read the second and third line. The car is a figment of your imagination, it wasn't mentioned

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Just by reading the first line "three days ago I had a motorbike accident with a bigger bike" if that doesn't convince you read the second and third line. The car is a figment of your imagination, it wasn't mentioned

Hmmmm, perhaps you are right. My English is far away from perfect and I understood ("I had a motorbike accident with a bigger bike") that the TO drove a bigger bike. But at the end the other guy could sell his bigger bike to pay the damage.

Unfortunately, if you read the contract you signed, you are most likely liable for damages to the bike you rented even if it wasn't your fault.  That doesn't mean what they want is a realistic assessment of the damage to your rented bike.  

I wish you good luck and hope it ends well, but I have my doubts. Fingers crossed?

I rented the bigger bike. The other guy had a scooter.

8 minutes ago, Covid19Everywhere said:

I rented the bigger bike. The other guy had a scooter.

5555555555.

all makes sense now. I can picture the whole event.????

yr scrwd.

2 minutes ago, jastheace said:

5555555555.

all makes sense now. I can picture the whole event.????

yr scrwd.

What so funny and why you think I am screwed?

You think this was a setup? I highly doubt. No way they could know I will drive this way at this time. And the other guy was seriously injured.