++ Help Requested - Passport Held By Shop Owner ++

[samuibeachcomber]

am very sorry for the op,let it be a lesson to everyone,never leave your passport with anyone.most bike renters i know on samui and phuket always ask for your passport as security,or they ask fo a cash deposit of say 3000baht instead.

I agree you will probably have to return to koh tao to get police report,but what will you say in report(passport lost or stolen,or do you state what is happening at bike shop?Cos if you go back to embassy with the report(passport kept by shop demanding money for scratches on the bike,the embassy might insist you go back and pay,the safety of the passport being your responsibility)

Its a tough call,but telling the truth is usually the best way to go.

[terrier123]

Just a guess the Bike rental place is at the top of the High street in Mae haad on the right hand side....? (looking up hill)

If so you wont get it back . Just Tell your embassy the truth... Believe me the police are equally as pissed off with them ,but I'm guessing you as everyone before you signed a rental agreement stating the charges.

I feel for you but don't waste your energy accept it and get a new passport its easier than dealing with these <deleted>"""wits.

On another note apart from the a++ hole bike rental did you enjoy Koh tao.

It's so disappointing that as guests in the Kingdom foreigners still get ripped off by these unscrupulous types. Ten years here and I get 6 months free of scams then can get caught again if only for 50baht or so. 24,000 is another kettle of fish. It's no surprise there has been such a lot of interest in your original post as so many get caught.

Try the Tourist Police again face to face; see if the shop is registered with TAT or other Tourist Agencies. Please post the outcome of you dilema.

[TJAN]

Start with the Tourist Police - 1155

Don't involve police or tourist police, they always support thai and not you.

Just go to your embassy and get a new passport or paper to go back your country

Go to the touristpolice and don't listen to those idiots they will go with you to retrieve your passport.

[Packu2]

Just a guess the Bike rental place is at the top of the High street in Mae haad on the right hand side....? (looking up hill)

If so you wont get it back . Just Tell your embassy the truth... Believe me the police are equally as pissed off with them ,but I'm guessing you as everyone before you signed a rental agreement stating the charges.

I feel for you but don't waste your energy accept it and get a new passport its easier than dealing with these <deleted>"""wits.

On another note apart from the a++ hole bike rental did you enjoy Koh tao.

No its...

OWEN BIKE

Mae Head Rd. Sairee Beach. (just south of 4 way intersection)

As you head north it is on the left - opposite a petrol/gas station and next to Family Mart type place.

Edited October 5, 2008 by Packu2

[Samuian]

Regarding the "scratches" who in the world can prove that they HAVE or HAVEN"T been there before - whom to believe?

One should NEVER EVER give a passport or a substantial "security" deposit... here the scam starts already, once done - things keep moving - Embassy is only good for the issue of a new passport, police may be ableto smooth out things, usually they are "in" too!

Which, in the worst case scenario even could make the "deal" even dearer!

So you wrote you made the move with a "lawyer" and the police - GOOD LUCK!

[zorro1]

Just report it as stolen...effectively it has been since it is no longer in your possession.

If you have to confront the shop owner again tell her that the passport is the property of the US Government and you will inform the embassy that she has stolen it if she doesn't return it and that the US Government will report her to the police and press criminal charges against her for theft of US Government property.

I don't think she will want to deal with that. But you may have to back all this up with your original 10,000 baht offer.

I've been asked by the Thai police for my passport on a number of occasions. I refuse to hand it over saying it belongs to my government and am allowed only to hand it over to a consular officer. Never had to give it up yet.

He handed it over therefore not stolen. She has nothing to deal with and she knows it

[Packu2]

So you wrote you made the move with a "lawyer" and the police - GOOD LUCK!

thanks...these are friends of friends of my wife. If this fails I will follow the advise of others here and get a new paspsort and then

go to Thai Immg. I have until Oct 17. Thats when I am returning home for an extended vacation.

[desertrat]

Better tell the truth to the embassy, I'll bet they read these forums, scanning for this sort of story.

[Maigo6]

Next time, rent from a falang.

Thailand would be a paradise if falang ran the place...too bad there was never any colonization here.

Joke of the day, you ain't got a clue mate.

If Thailand was a Farang run country, not many Farangs would come here, they wouldn't be able to afford it so easily, and if they could why would they come here, there would be less poor people to exploit, they'd all be on the Social Security just like they are in Farang run Countries.

Yeah don't tell me, there would be millions of single men travelling thousands of miles from all over the globe to visit temples.

Dream on!

[Packu2]

Next time, rent from a falang.

Thailand would be a paradise if falang ran the place...too bad there was never any colonization here.

Joke of the day, you ain't got a clue mate.

If Thailand was a Farang run country, not many Farangs would come here, they wouldn't be able to afford it so easily, and if they could why would they come here, there would be less poor people to exploit, they'd all be on the Social Security just like they are in Farang run Countries.

Yeah don't tell me, there would be millions of single men travelling thousands of miles from all over the globe to visit temples.

Dream on!

I didnt say frang govts. I said farangs! You know like you and I!

You didnt come for the temples?!

[TEFLMike]

I too, would tell the British Embassy everything.

Edited October 5, 2008 by TEFLMike

[imaneggspurt]

This is commom amongst the rental mafia, in pattaya my friend sank a jet ski and they wanted 300.000 baht, he played the game and told them ok ,keep my pasport and ill be back with the money tomorrow,. he went to bangkok to the embassy, reported it stolen and got a replacement,. been back 4 times since, no problems, but aviods that beach area like the plague !.

[imaneggspurt]

I too, would tell the British Embassy everything.

No good im afraid, once you admit you gave it as security it is your responsibility to get it back, and in these cases they can refuse a new one,..If it was stolen, thats different

[Loaded]

US embassy out trumps the koh Tao (tourist) police. Get them on your side and you'll get your passport.

Just had a thought: tell the US embassy you think they (the scammers) are muslim.

Edited October 5, 2008 by Loaded

[imaneggspurt]

Start with the Tourist Police - 1155

Don't involve police or tourist police, they always support thai and not you.

Just go to your embassy and get a new passport or paper to go back your country

Go to the touristpolice and don't listen to those idiots they will go with you to retrieve your passport.

They will ,but not without money changing hands, the police take the side of the thai, and why not, if its held as collateral and damage is evident they are within their rights,.ill bet even with the tourist police present money will change hands,everyone carries a camera/phone these days dont they ? , TAKE PICS BEFORE RENTING AND SHOW TO THE OWNER ANY DAMAGE BEFORE YOU TAKE IT.

[LaoPo]

US embassy out trumps the koh Tao (tourist) police. Get them on your side and you'll get your passport.

Just had a thought: tell the US embassy you think they (the scammers) are muslim.

...yeah..and also tell them they should phone Dick Cheney, George W. and a few Generals...and ask them to send the 5th Fleet with at least one Carrier...

I'm convinced they will give the OP's passport back...

LaoPo

[IMA_FARANG]

I just returned from Koh Tao. Upon returning an ATV to the shop owner they have tried to hit me up for 24K baht for what amounts to a few superficial scratches on an old and piece of crap bike. I refused to pay that ridiculous amount. I did offer 10K baht just to get rid of the situation but that was refused. The shop owner bragged about doing this to other tourist and said she would have my passport BLOCKED and I couldn't leave Thailand. The shop also mentioned that if I dont pay that she can sell it for a lot of money (black market).

We went to the police who did nothing. They made a report but no real action taken. MY wife later called (Thai) and the police told her that this shop will charge at least 4 times what is a reasonable fee. The police report just states that the owner will return my passport when I pay 24K baht.

QUESTIONS:

1. Can I get a replacement at the US Embassy given this situation?

2. Can I be BLOCKED from leaving Thailand?

3. Should I raise this as a security issue (black market thing)?

My options appear to be

1) report to embassy as described above

2) just report as lost passport

Any suggestions or follow up questions are appreciated

1)First...you made a police report. Go to the police and get a copy of the report. They may not want to give you one. It will be in Thai if you get one. If they won't give you a copy, make sure you get the senior officers name.

2) If you manage to get a copy, get it translated into English.

3) Notify the U.S. embessy of what happened.

4) Apply for a new U.S. passport. You will be required to file a statement of how you lost the old one. Make sure you have the translated police report, or all the info on where/when/and senior police officers name who would not give you a copy of your police report. Make sure the embessy gets this info.

5) Go back to the shop where you rented the bike. Let the owner know you have applied to the embessy as having your passport stolen (not lost) by her. Make sure she knows you reported it as stolen by her to the local police, and the U.S. embessy.

6. See if you can come to an agreement on how much you will pay to get her to "clear" your supposed bill. If it is reasonable, pay it. Otherwise, you will have a long and trouble-filled process trying to get your passport back. Better to get out of it for what you can.

7. One of your problems may be that the local police and the owner may be in this scam together. Maybe if you cause enough problems they will back off, or take waht they can get. That's why I suggest negotiating a price for the ransom.

8. And, finally, your statement to the U.S. embessy is a LEGAL DOCUMENT. If they later discover it isn't completely true (i.e. the only reason that the owner wanted to keep your passport ((which is illegal)) was because you refused to pay for some damages to the bike that you actually caused) you can be prosecuted for making a false LEGAL claim to the U.S. government. Just so you understand that point.

And NEVER HAND YOUR PASSPORT OVER as security for renting a bike. If the owner insists, don't rent from them.

Good luck, but it might be a sticky situation for you however.

[Tim207]

Are US passports fitted with a micro-chip? My British passport is which makes it pretty much worthless on the black market because it is just about impossible to tamper with. The bloke is probably giving you BS about selling it, or if he does try then he might get a surprise when he is offered 0 baht for it.

Oh, don't be a numpty again and learn from your lesson.

AHEM, those fancy little RFID chips are only to give a SENSE of security to the masses. They have been hacked and the source code has been released. Care to clone a passport, have a look at

http://freeworld.thc.org/ .

It is a crude example but definitely a proof of concept.

[philstone]

Your passport can NOT be blocked. The embassy can get you a new passport. You should however report this to the embassy that this particular shop owner is blackmailing you for you passport and threatening to sell it on the black market. The US will be very interested in their dealings. The US embassy works closely with the Thai police, and when the US government requests something it is carried through. It is known as politics.

Go to America Embassy claim he took it from you with asking to write the passport number. His word against your.

[tattoodrob]

similar thing happened to me......long story but the resolution was that i paid the tourist police a smallish fee to get passport back for me(this was in pattaya and i was in bike accident but was being sorted thru insurance company who had agreed to pay rental people,but they wouldnt give passport back without me paying 10k baht....duh!).

in your case then you could have paid police a few k to negotiate between the two of you and show that you didnt cause 24k damage and say you aint got 24k anyway and if u didnt get your passport then you would notify us embassy of all involved including police.....take there names etc

too late now for that so i think you on the right track of involving other police or lawyer who can contact them and re negotiate and even better if they know some high up police to help you in this case.....if all else fails then tell embassy exactly what happened and take there advice telling them about lawyer/police help as you being scammed.

if you only caused a few scratches then im surprised they didnt accept the 10k offered especially in desperate low season,they must have edged ther bets that you would pay the 24k...as others before you had.

good luck and let us know the outcome..im sure all will be ok whatever,even just get new passport or travelling docs and give them nothing.....the barstads

[Huey]

Next time, rent from a falang.

Thailand would be a paradise if falang ran the place...too bad there was never any colonization here.

on an interesting note...my friend and I had a Burmese waitress as we waited for ferryout of hel_l and we both noticed a marked

difference in personality and "where with all" she had when compared to almost any thai. I also found the same thing when visiting

Cambodia. Thais really are lagging in terms of personality, knowledge, social skills(with foreigners) when comapared to other SE Asians.

Its quite noticeable when you have lived here for a while.

Thai's are lacking in knowledge and social skills???? either your a troll or F'ing retarded. Your the one who actually left your passport with a motorbike taxi guy!!! Then on top of it you don't know that all you have to do is contact the US embassy and say they are holding your passport and threatening to sell it on the black market. They will get with the police to have it returned and if it isn't done promptly, they will issue you a new one. Your just a dumb "mark" really and someone just took you for the sucker you are.

Now I wouldn't have said all that if you hadn't shown how much you deserve it with your ignorant, nonsencial, false comments about Thais. But you deserve all that.

[stephaniee]

another case of thais taking advantgae of hopeless fatangs

[mrt273nva]

fatangs

nicely put

[sassienie]

OK, this is what you do:

Visit a police station in Bangkok and say that you have lost your passport, fell out of your pocket somewhere. Ask them to make a report and get a copy of it.

Than go to your embassy, present them with the police report and inform them of the same story you told the police.

Once issued with a replacement passport, go to the Immigration office where you were issued your non-imm visa and ask them to re-stamp your passport.

If you tell your embassy that your passport is being held by a motor bike rental company than the embassy officials have no way of knowing whether or not the claims of the shop owner is legit or not and will tell you nothing they can do until the police have investigated or worse that the matter may have to go to court. Your embassy will not act on your behalf here and will say it’s up to you to sort out this matter.

If you say the passport was stolen, that will cause no end of complications, may involve police investigations etc.

Also by stating your passport is lost, your embassy should make your old passport null and void and issue a brand new passport with a different number making your old passport useless to the motor bike rental owner for selling on the black market.

After that, write it off to experience.

[jdinasia]

Next time, rent from a falang.

Thailand would be a paradise if falang ran the place...too bad there was never any colonization here.

on an interesting note...my friend and I had a Burmese waitress as we waited for ferryout of hel_l and we both noticed a marked

difference in personality and "where with all" she had when compared to almost any thai. I also found the same thing when visiting

Cambodia. Thais really are lagging in terms of personality, knowledge, social skills(with foreigners) when comapared to other SE Asians.

Its quite noticeable when you have lived here for a while.

I am beginning to sense a troll ......

[BSJ]

Packu2: on an interesting note...my friend and I had a Burmese waitress as we waited for ferryout of hel_l and we both noticed a marked

difference in personality and "where with all" she had when compared to almost any thai. I also found the same thing when visiting

Cambodia. Thais really are lagging in terms of personality, knowledge, social skills(with foreigners) when comapared to other SE Asians.

Its quite noticeable when you have lived here for a while.

Their got their own version of hel_l! If they choose to ignore the rest of the world who cares!

[Cuban]

Just had a thought: tell the US embassy you think they (the scammers) are muslim.

Expect that your passport/future passports will be flagged for 'random' inspection when crossing US boarders.

[Samuian]

I too, would tell the British Embassy everything.

No good im afraid, once you admit you gave it as security it is your responsibility to get it back, and in these cases they can refuse a new one,..If it was stolen, thats different

short and clear, down to the point!

[Hssl]

I'm sure the OP is not the first and won't be the last buffoon to leave their Passport as security with a shark, sorry rental company. I would think be honest with the embassy would be the best course of action, lie and your just going to go further up the creak with no paddle.

[TopDogger]

Try this,

Take yourself down to the ATM, get 24k out, slide on over to the shop and tell them your willing to pay the 24k, however due to their threat about selling your passport you want to inspect it fully before you hand the cash over. Whilst inspecting the passport you notice a few scratches on it & as its a very special passport they forfiet the 24k, then make a quick stage right type exit. Give it a go, normally the easiest solutions work, worse case scenario....he wont let you inspect the passport.

lol.. Worst case senario... is you get beaten to death while leaving, people are often beaten to within an inch of their life in Thailand for less than 200 baht never mind 24'000....