I Need A Good Lawyer

[JT65]

Hi All

Had a bad experience with a LPG mechanic. Went in to upgrade my LPG kit and the boss did not watch the boys working on my car. They decided to connect the water pipe to the engine and pumped water through my engine. Of course when they realised what they had done they claimed the car engine was no good . The car drove in without any problems and left via the police tow truck with water coming out the exhaust. The owner refuses to pay the 15,000 for repairs to the engine etc and the police actually did try to get him to pay but said now we have to go to court and sue him.

I am skeptical about doing this as I cannot see a Farang with a Thai wife winning in any Thai court. We have pics and documentation from police on the whole affair and in any other country it would be an open and close case but we will see here.

Anyways, if anyone has had experience with a good lawyer that has not cheated them and charged a fortune I would appreciate a referral.

Cheers

JT

[ChiangMaiThai]

If it's 15 000 Baht, you're probably better off just taking the hit. But you can call this lawyer and ask. She's honest and speaks English.

29 Tanin Co., Ltd

Sumalee Jennapa

053 410 174

081 882 4311

[anonymouse]

I'd second that Khun Sumalee at Tanin Law is a very good lawyer

[JT65]

I'd second that Khun Sumalee at Tanin Law is a very good lawyer

Thanks guys , i will give her a call.

15,000 bht is not the point. He is expecting me to take the hit.

I had a perfectly good car when I went in and now it is in pieces with parts of the car missing which he stole as well. I cannot just let this guy treat me like a fool. In addition his worker attempted to physically assault my wife. We have the newspaper currently preparing a story to print in the Chiang Mai News with his photo and that of his shop. We also have an appointment with the registering body for the LPG Mechanics to explain what happened to us.

I dont believe in just taking crap off people like this. Will let you guys know what happens.

JT

[Sanpatong]

Famous last words.

No seriously, I think what you're doing is commendable and I do wish you good luck. Just keep the legal costs in check, no use dropping an inflated amount on a legal fee on top of dropping good money on a shoddy car shop.

Anyway, which car shop was this at? One of Charoen Muang's finest no doubt..? Would be good to know which ones not to go to.

[JT65]

Famous last words.

No seriously, I think what you're doing is commendable and I do wish you good luck. Just keep the legal costs in check, no use dropping an inflated amount on a legal fee on top of dropping good money on a shoddy car shop.

Anyway, which car shop was this at? One of Charoen Muang's finest no doubt..? Would be good to know which ones not to go to.

The shop was an LPG shop. We did not need any repairs as our car and LPG kit worked fine. We just needed to upgrade to a better LPG unit with auto tuning and auto choke system. It was a simple job of pulling one piece out and reconnecting the pipes to the new model. The owner did not watch his hilltribe boys working and they made the mistake of connecting a water pipe to the engine manifold.

The shop is not a mechanical shop , it just fits LPG units to the cars and the owner does not need to be a mechanic ( go figure). The shop is located directly opposite the Motor Registry on Hang Dong Road, it is in the small cluster of shops that sell insurance etc for vehicles.

We are going to court and we will win. I will post the whole legal experience once we have finished.

JT

[miltonbentley]

Nothing better than a good legal drama.

Good luck JT

[Loaded]

when you sue, he'll be forced to either settle or pay for a lawyer. Cheaper to settle. Good luck

[SamuiJens]

So the BMW isn't for sale, no more?

[JT65]

So the BMW isn't for sale, no more?

Yes it is, it is having its engine reconditioned a second time, new valves, gasket kit, rockers , seats. The works. It will not be ready for another 4 days or so. Its going to cost me nearly 18,000 bht to repair and i am hoping to get that back of the dimwit that f****d it. I am sceptical of the Thai Legal system but I just cannot let this one go, especially as his workers attempted to physically assault my wife.

I know the Foreigners here say I should just give up and pay the money, but I believe that is why they do it to foreigners here as they are counting on us just letting it go. I wouldnt let it go in my country so Im not going to let it go here. My wife is Thai and she is definitely not letting it go as this is her country and she has the right to use its legal system.

As I said I will post the outcome as some of you may be interested to see how it turns out.

JT

[realthaideal]

Got one more lawyer lady for you or for anybody's future references. Her name is K. Araya and she has great English and used to be a referral lady we used when I worked for a real estate co. She's very friendly, reasonably priced, and just an overall pleasure to work with.

Mobile: 081-724-2744

Office: 053-814-830

CR Legal Services

10/1 Samlan Rd., Soi 1

Prah Singh Muang - rt behind Wat Pah Singh

[SamuiJens]

So the BMW isn't for sale, no more?

Yes it is, it is having its engine reconditioned a second time, new valves, gasket kit, rockers , seats. The works. It will not be ready for another 4 days or so. Its going to cost me nearly 18,000 bht to repair and i am hoping to get that back of the dimwit that f****d it. I am sceptical of the Thai Legal system but I just cannot let this one go, especially as his workers attempted to physically assault my wife.

I know the Foreigners here say I should just give up and pay the money, but I believe that is why they do it to foreigners here as they are counting on us just letting it go. I wouldnt let it go in my country so Im not going to let it go here. My wife is Thai and she is definitely not letting it go as this is her country and she has the right to use its legal system.

As I said I will post the outcome as some of you may be interested to see how it turns out.

JT

Good luck to you JT, and hope justice is done.

[JT65]

Got one more lawyer lady for you or for anybody's future references. Her name is K. Araya and she has great English and used to be a referral lady we used when I worked for a real estate co. She's very friendly, reasonably priced, and just an overall pleasure to work with.

Mobile: 081-724-2744

Office: 053-814-830

CR Legal Services

10/1 Samlan Rd., Soi 1

Prah Singh Muang - rt behind Wat Pah Singh

Thankyou for your referral. We have settled on a Female Lawyer already but I will kee the details.

Once again I will post the progress on what happens.

JT

[ThaiPauly]

JT. I have every sympathy with you.

My freind told me that when you have a legal problem with a Thai don't faff around with Solicitors letters threatening to sue.....just get the solicitor to issue them with a summons, cheaper and they are far more likely to pay up, saving you a lot on solicitors fees.

This guy is banged to rights and he won't want to go to court to loose!

Good Luck

TP

[JT65]

JT. I have every sympathy with you.

My freind told me that when you have a legal problem with a Thai don't faff around with Solicitors letters threatening to sue.....just get the solicitor to issue them with a summons, cheaper and they are far more likely to pay up, saving you a lot on solicitors fees.

This guy is banged to rights and he won't want to go to court to loose!

Good Luck

TP

Thai Pauly

Thanks for the tip. The car will be repaired tomorrow and MY mechanic will complete a full invoice of the costs. I will then be visiting the lawyer again with all our pics, videos, and police reports etc. I will be sure to tell her not to screw around and go straight for the jugular.

I understand what you are telling me, it makes sense because with my experience with Thais they only act on things when it is too late. They will buy time forever if they can.

Thanks for the advise.

JT

[Bill97]

Good luck. However, I do not think it is just old time farangs that would suggest to let it go. A lot of Thais would do the same. Mechanics around the world take advantage and it has nothing to do with nationality. Sometimes it is best to recognize sunk costs and move on to doing what will be best considering the time, money and energy required to get what you want from this point forward. Getting even often has other effects which are greater than the initial loss.

[rogerchiangmai]

If it's 15 000 Baht, you're probably better off just taking the hit. But you can call this lawyer and ask. She's honest and speaks English.

29 Tanin Co., Ltd

Sumalee Jennapa

[TommyGun]

I had a legal regarding a lease and a business. I was told not to persue as i would loose being the farang. They were wrong, i won. Don't let these a-holes get away with it. As with me it wasn't the money it was the principal.

My lawyers word were that foriegners are to scared to persue, thinking they have no rights and are going to be threatened. She was very good and solved the issue within days.

Edited July 23, 2007 by TommyGun

[chiang mai]

For my money there is only one decent lawyer in CM and his details are pinned in this forum. Khun Akarawath is a judge and teaches other lawyers. As one Mod put it he's the lawyer you go to get you out of the problems caused by other lawyers and that's correct.

[ThaiPauly]

For my money there is only one decent lawyer in CM and his details are pinned in this forum. Khun Akarawath is a judge and teaches other lawyers. As one Mod put it he's the lawyer you go to get you out of the problems caused by other lawyers and that's correct.

Strange that. I met with K.Akarwath regarding a problem I had with a local hospital and said that I understood that he was a Judge having read the "Pinned Topic".

He told me he was'nt, but his Wife was.

It would seem a bit stange to be both anyway, If he was then I would certainly want him to represent me if he was presiding over the court

[JT65]

I had a legal regarding a lease and a business. I was told not to persue as i would loose being the farang. They were wrong, i won. Don't let these a-holes get away with it. As with me it wasn't the money it was the principal.

My lawyers word were that foriegners are to scared to persue, thinking they have no rights and are going to be threatened. She was very good and solved the issue within days.

Thanks for your input to my original post. I am glad to hear your outcome and I am feeling very sure that mine will be similar. The lawyer we are using laughed when I said I was concerned about taking legal action because I was a foreigner. She assured me that it has nothing to do with it. I am probably the most cynical foreigner in Thailand and can understand other posters advising me to forget it , but after 7 years of living here and doing business I just cannot let some d***head attach a water pipe to my cars engine and then as the car is been towed away tell me that he and his staff did nothing wrong. I dont need the 19k it has cost me to repair the engine ( actually 25k but we cannot claim the entire amount).

The letter went to the idiot today , so he has 3 days to respond to my lawyer. If he does not respond she will go in person to see him with a summons for court. She said that if he had come to her office she would tell him to settle and avoid going to court. We will wait and see what he does.

Will post again when i have an update.

JT

[madjbs]

Hmmm

This is slightly worrying for me!

Jake