Is it legal for a property own to take my money like this?

[2baht]

12 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

I feel like they've basically just stole 3K baht from me.

Oh what a feeling! You're right, they ripped you off! Look before you leap!

[brianthainess]

11 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

I was being told that if I didn't pay immediately I would not be able to rent the property. Yes, stupid mistake but I was under pressure and in haste made a bad decision. It happens.

 

What I really want to know is if there is any recourse for this? 

 

It isn't a lot of money. However, based on principle I feel like it is theft and should be addressed in some way if at all possible.

No Witnesses ? unless they were friends of the property owner, maybe the 3k is the agents fee. Let it go - welcome to Thailand have a nice day.

Edited March 23, 2023 by brianthainess

[nickmondo]

in this case, they should not have returned any of your money.  you paid a deposit to reserve the property, therefore taking it off the market.  this prevented the owner from doing any other viewings and possibly losing a potential tenant.  i would not have returned your money.

[Wuvu2]

12 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

We had no written agreement and I feel like they've basically just stole 3K baht from me.

You had no written agreement so you basically gifted agent 15k baht. The only shocking part of the story is that you got 12k back ????  

[lexxy]

In the 3 hours between the time op agreed to rent the place and then cancelled

* Landlord have cancelled inspections for serious tenants

* Removed a paid Marketplace ad which has cost money to relist it

* Put a deposit on a new place they planned to rent which they had to cancel and lost $$ to the new landlord

* Paid out commission to real estate agent

 

For the op to post online like this is bordering on defamation and should be sued.

 

 

 

[newnative]

10 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

None at all, and consider yourself lucky you got any money back at all. All the other party had to say was you gave a nonrefundable deposit and due to your own decision to cancel you forfeited your money.

Exactly.  OP paid 15,000 baht to secure the property for himself.  Seller took the property off the market, reserved it for the OP, and turned down any other offers that may have come in.  OP decided not to buy; seller retains the non-refundable deposit as payment for his work, the possibly lost customers, and the wasted time he will never get back.  As others have said, always take your time, don't be pressured, and have a written contract you are happy with before turning over any money.

[Caldera]

You hand over a deposit, then decide to bail out, and expect your deposit back? ????

 

As others have said, consider yourself lucky with the outcome. 

[spidermike007]

I make it a point to refuse to respond to these kinds of deadlines or pressure. You need a commitment today? OK, find someone else. I don't do that, and you mistook me for a sucker.

 

It helps that I have been in sales and marketing my whole life, so I can see it coming from a mile away. And I tell them that. Look, you are selling to a salesman. You can't do that. I know what you are attempting to do. It won't work. Explain to me why I need to buy this item, or rent this place. Don't pressure me with fake tactics. See ya. 

[arick]

12 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

I was being told that if I didn't pay immediately I would not be able to rent the property. Yes, stupid mistake but I was under pressure and in haste made a bad decision. It happens.

 

What I really want to know is if there is any recourse for this? 

 

It isn't a lot of money. However, based on principle I feel like it is theft and should be addressed in some way if at all possible.

Your lucky they didn't keep it all

 

[SOTIRIOS]

...Polite Or Compliant = St*pid... (In Some Peoples Eyes)

...Let It Be A Lesson...

 

 

[snowgard]

Contact the consumer protection board and ask for help!!! It's free!!!
https://www.ocpb.go.th/ewtadmin/ewt/ocpb_en/main.php?filename=index___EN

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

Consider yourself lucky.

You wasted people's time.

You also made a good faith deposit so the owner will rent the apartment to you and to nobody else.  This is an enforceable oral agreement.

When you changed your mind, you broke the oral contract.  The Owner could have kept all 15K as Liquidated Damages, which is the penalty you suffer in order to be released from your agreement.  Theoretically, the Owner could sue you for Specific Performance and force you to pay for an entire years worth of rent.

You are lucky you got away with only losing 3K.

I would have kept all of it because you wasted my time.

Further, it's not normal to offer a 'payment' to hold the property, but you did.

So the owner possibly lost other opportunites to get a tenant all signed up, legit deposits all paid,

etc. And owner doesn't need to spend any more time or pay any more expenses.

[scorecard]

13 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

To reserve it but I cancelled after less than 3 hours. 

Why do you mention 3 hours, how does that change anything? In fcat when you paid the 'holding' fee (your plan) was there a holding period (days/hours/weeks) mentioned?

 

And do you have any witnesses who would confirm your statements?

Edited March 23, 2023 by scorecard

[Brick Top]

I think your very very lucky to receive anything back , it sounds to me like you wasted the agents time and while wasting time with you they could have been making money somewhere else.

The agent probably after you paid the 15,000 deposit , informed the owner the they had rented the place and then strarted preparing a contract only to be told you changed your mind , we call people like you "Tinewasters" were I come from 

[Mavideol]

16 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

Why would you hand over 15K baht with no written agreement?

did you see his name.... it says it all  555

[Liverpool Lou]

15 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

What I really want to know is if there is any recourse for this? 

You put a deposit down on a property that you wanted to rent and that prevented the owner from offering it to others, then you just back out of the arrangement and expect your money back for breaking the "contract"?   You're lucky you got anything back.   

[khunPer]

16 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

Is this legal for them to do this? We had no written agreement and I feel like they've basically just stole 3K baht from me.

You pay a deposit as guarantee that you don't back out of the rental agreement; five minutes after you left, somebody else might have been accepting a lease, so it cover for loss. The landlord has been kind to you.

 

Always look at the bright side of life: If you had made an agreement to buy land, the penalty could be more than the deposit, sometimes the full price of the land – even that you don't get the land, as you broke the agreement...

[KaputtAlreadyNa]

I would say it is a fair gesture, the landlord might have lost opportunities to rent it out to other potential tenants.

Warmest 

[Wuvu2]

3 hours ago, snowgard said:

Contact the consumer protection board and ask for help!!! It's free!!!
https://www.ocpb.go.th/ewtadmin/ewt/ocpb_en/main.php?filename=index___EN

Yes, thank goodness for Thailand's Consumer Protection Board - on duty since in 1979. Great job so far ???? 

[snowgard]

3 hours ago, KaputtAlreadyNa said:

I would say it is a fair gesture, the landlord might have lost opportunities to rent it out to other potential tenants.

Warmest 

In 1 day? BS!!!

 

[JimTripper]

14 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You put a deposit down on a property that you wanted to rent and that prevented the owner from offering it to others, then you just back out of the arrangement and expect your money back for breaking the "contract"?   You're lucky you got anything back.   

Really, if it was only 3 hours I would have returned all the money even if there was a signed contract. 3 hours is nothing.

 

If I was really a roach though, I would have hidden behind the technicality and charged 3k baht for nothing. 
 

They charged that fee because they were angry at you for cancelling, not because they were inconvenienced. They probably returned most of it because they need to work with the real estate agent in the future and don’t want to seem unreasonable.

Edited March 23, 2023 by JimTripper

[JimTripper]

The roach motel. They check in, but they don’t check out. ????

[Cricky]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:11 PM, nailbrains8 said:

I was being told that if I didn't pay immediately I would not be able to rent the property. Yes, stupid mistake but I was under pressure

I would not have given your deposit back.

You are a time waster.

 

It seems that your Life's a gamble. 

 

You took the bait. 

 

 

Be accountable for your actions.

 

What if the agent had another customer, the other customer would not be able to rent. You decided that you changed your mind, it all goes pear shaped. 

 

Next time make the right decision.

You'll find life will be so much easier. 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Cricky

[TheAppletons]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:11 AM, nailbrains8 said:

What I really want to know is if there is any recourse for this? 

 

It isn't a lot of money. However, based on principle I feel like it is theft and should be addressed in some way if at all possible.

OP, you need a man with a very particular set of skills. Skills he has acquired over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like the property owner.  

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, JimTripper said:

19 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You put a deposit down on a property that you wanted to rent and that prevented the owner from offering it to others, then you just back out of the arrangement and expect your money back for breaking the "contract"?   You're lucky you got anything back.   

Expand  

Really, if it was only 3 hours I would have returned all the money even if there was a signed contract. 3 hours is nothing.

 

If I was really a roach though, I would have hidden behind the technicality and charged 3k baht for nothing. 
 

They charged that fee because they were angry at you for cancelling, not because they were inconvenienced. 

"They charged that fee because they were angry at you for cancelling"

Me?  They're not angry at me, I'm not the OP, try addressing your comments to the correct posters!

[ChaiyaTH]

If you paid a deposit that is because they would stop looking for other people to rent it and assume you take it, you should be thankful to have received back any of the money at all.

[BobBKK]

Well... you should not have handed anything until a contract is signed. You lose $100 treat it as a learning curve - no big deal.

[VocalNeal]

On 3/22/2023 at 10:18 PM, eisfeld said:

The only recourse would be if OP had whitnesses that can testify that the deposit was refundable. Doesn't sound like it though.

Also important to know the difference between a deposit and a part payment.

[scorecard]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:35 AM, DudleySquat said:

Based on principle go to the police and charge him with theft by deception.  Even if you have to pay the police money, it will be worth it to make his life miserable.

 3/22/2023 at 9:11 PM, nailbrains8 said:

I was being told that if I didn't pay immediately I would not be able to rent the property. Yes, stupid mistake but I was under pressure and in haste made a bad decision. It happens.

 

There's no logic or legal premise etc., to support 'If you don't pay a deposit immediately you can't rent the place.'  With all respect, why would anybody believe that? Why wouldn't 99% of people think 'This is not sensible, I don't need to do business with people who play games / talk nonsense, and move right along.

 

Further it seems to me most folks would think 'he's playing a game right now, what more games are in his bag of tricks for the future If I do sign to stay? '

 

Reality is that there's hundreds of houses, condos, apartments for rent at any given time, and not difficult to find some potential addresses. 

 

What I really want to know is if there is any recourse for this? 

 

It isn't a lot of money. However, based on principle I feel like it is theft and should be addressed in some way if at all possible.

'principle'  You did something silly now you want other to see you as having the moral highground. Learn and Move on

Based on principle go to the police and charge him with theft by deception.  Even if you have to pay the police money, it will be worth it to make his life miserable.

Do you really think th police see that there's a solid case here? They won't be intereted. Move on. 

 

[scorecard]

On 3/22/2023 at 11:19 PM, nailbrains8 said:

To reserve it but I cancelled after less than 3 hours. 

What has 3 hours got to do with this matter? You paid a deposit to reserve the property.

 

OK deposit all paid, and you believe it's now reserved.

 

Now you want to unreserve it and mess he owner/agent around. And it's possible they already told other folks 'Sorry, it's now taken' and the owner/agent lost an opportinty to rent and have income from the property.

 

Again, what's the elevance of 3 hrs, the bottom line; the agent has possibly last a 12 month? income opportunity. To be honest in the circumstances I'm surprised the owner/gent returned any of your  reserveing deposit. In the future follow the normal processes. Learn and move on. 

 

If you're not sure do what other folks do, say "I'm not sure, becaue I already look at three properties before I decide.

 

If the owner/agent says "you HAVE TO make a deposit now", then scrub that property and keep looking.

 

Again, what difference or relevance is there that just 3 hours has transpired? None.