A limousine service operating at Phuket Airport has been fined 180,000 baht for taking passengers to tour shops while en route to their hotels or other destinations. It has been a well-known scam for decades where taxis and limos take detours to their ‘brothers’ hotel, gem factories or souvenir shops (where they get huge commissions).

 

Phuket tourist police say the detours are a violation of the terms governing the company’s concession to operate at the airport. The authorities have also requested that the offenders’ driving licences be suspended.

 

The Phuket News reports that the company was visited by Krit Warit, Commander of Tourist Police Region 3, on Tuesday this week. According to the report, the limo service in question is the Phuket Airport Limousine and Business Service Co-Operative. The firm’s office is located just south of the airport.

 

By Peter Roche

 

Full Story: https://phuket-go.com/phuket-news/phuket-news/phuket-airport-limo-firm-fined-180000-baht-for-taking-passengers-on-tour-shop-detours/

 

-- © Copyright Phuket GO 2023-06-22

 

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14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

It has been a well-known scam for decades where taxis and limos take detours to their ‘brothers’ hotel, gem factories or souvenir shops (where they get huge commissions).

Decades.. nuff said.

How about removing them from the airport.  They'll just find new drivers to do the same thing.  Or even more likely is the old drivers will still be driving without a license anyway.

Its been going on for years that has, it happened to me one night before i lived in Phuket i told them at the airport where i wanted to go and the driver stopped on the bye pass road he went to the shop and 2 women came out to talk to me, Tell that driver to get back in this taxi right now he knows where i want to go. stop your stupid games.

 

There was a video posted on Facebook the other day it was a minivan full of tourist and it show them pulling into to tour shop but one of the women in the van obviously knew the scam and started kicking off at them and made a video, from this video it's starting from the airport, i couldn't quite tell what was going on at the airport but clearly saw the touts. 

 

 

the scary part is that they don't care or even comprehend that this continues to make them look like clowns. 

49 minutes ago, stoner said:

the scary part is that they don't care or even comprehend that this continues to make them look like clowns. 

Do you mean the Cops or the Limo company  

its been going on for decades.

10 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Do you mean the Cops or the Limo company  

its been going on for decades.

20 years ago that it happened to me

Whenever anyone I know tells me they are planning a trip to Phuket I just use one word to them. Don't.

The minibuses used to be the worst. They'd take you to a tour shop on the pretext the driver had to check in with the bosses, and try to sell hotel bookings, for those that didn't have one and in some cases to those that did on the pretext that the booked hotel was rat-infested, closed down or didn't exist. They'd also sell tours with a 10% discount on the brochure price (you'd get 50% in resort). 

 

I have no idea if this still goes on.

On 6/22/2023 at 5:10 PM, snoop1130 said:

Phuket tourist police say the detours are a violation of the terms governing the company’s concession to operate at the airport.

 

On 6/22/2023 at 5:10 PM, snoop1130 said:

The firm’s office is located just south of the airport.

So, which is it?

 

The photo looks like the kiosk I use just to the right as you exit international baggage reclaim/customs.

6 minutes ago, London Lowf said:

 

So, which is it?

 

The photo looks like the kiosk I use just to the right as you exit international baggage reclaim/customs.

The photo is the kiosk at the airport, their office is just to the south of the airport.

6 minutes ago, stevenl said:

The photo is the kiosk at the airport, their office is just to the south of the airport.

Thanks for the clarification stevenl - a shame the OP story wasn't so precise.

 

I've used that kiosk several times without any problems - but maybe that's because I'm a solo traveller and rent a limo rather than a shuttle and so am not as commercially viable for a detour.

 

On 6/22/2023 at 9:32 PM, ChipButty said:

20 years ago that it happened to me

20 years ago I voved never ever again to visit "The island of Thai Greed"

Then covid came and I reversed myself to attend the sandbox scheme

 

 

On 6/23/2023 at 7:39 AM, hotchilli said:

Decades.. nuff said.

Also in Bkk. Take a taxi or Tuk Tuk on a local trip and suddenly find yourself inside a compound with high walls/gate, and gates closed. It's an unpleasant dirty jewelry shop with high pressure to buy, insistance to buy to get out of the compound.

Also (false) pleading from the taxi/tuk tuk driver for the passenger to buy some jewelery; "If you don't buy they will damage my vehicle".

It happened to me once, 3 decades back. I then instructed my office mngr to quickly find a reliable driver with a car not marked as a taxi, for all my transport needs.

We used the same guy for maybe 15 years and paid him well, then he retired but his son took over, also very pleasant and reliable. 

Shameful.

Six high ranking police officers, for a case of trying to get people to 'willfully' buy goods, to boost someone's income.

Lack of safety on the roads remains the same.

Talking about trying to boost someone's income, my son on a one month holiday here last May, got stopped 6 times on one day, on a 20 km trip. He gathered that it was about trying to boost someone's income.

He got stopped typically twice a day....

Shameful as it is.....

On 6/23/2023 at 8:27 AM, rwill said:

How about removing them from the airport.  They'll just find new drivers to do the same thing.  Or even more likely is the old drivers will still be driving without a license anyway.

Fine the company enough that it goes into failure and bankruptcy and also fine the principals enough that they can never restart a business. Punishment and set the pace so that others don't just do the same thing because they are very frightened of the law. 

Thai tourists also get fleeced by these taxi crooks or do they offer them reasonable fares?

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

Thai tourists also get fleeced by these taxi crooks or do they offer them reasonable fares?

in Bangkok at night it's difficult to get a taxi i was with my wife and her friend we waited for ages to get a taxi they don't want to turn on the meter, with Thais the have to.