Bike Is Stolen

[YoungSkipper]

Hi,

Yesterday night after the Sunday bazar my rented bike was stolen

The owner offered me to purchase the bike Yamaha Mio (quite pretty used since 2005) for 30000 baht. If police find it, I could get money back. Alternatively pay 25 000 without purchasing the bike without chance to return.

Tourist police came and confirmed that this is correct problem resolution

Do you have and idea how to solve it ? What would you recommend ?

Could this be a some kind of cheating because he knew that I'm leaving on the next day (today) I bought tickets in the same agency.

If you could give me an advice, please call me: 08 46692675 until I paid. Andrew

I'm writing from the account of my friend.

[Blinky Bill]

Wouldn't be the first time the rental company has stolen the bike from the renter. It's been a scam going on for many years.

Can't offer any advice.

[Maejo Man]

...and there was me thinking all these bike hire shops advertised full insurance

[idrankwhat]

I have heard thus it is hearsay that there are some shops that steal their own bikes and charge the renter. However I do not know anyone this ever happened to.

[YoungSkipper]

A friend went to the airport. Plane to Phuket.

Paid 25,000 baht, the documents for purchase are not processed. If find bike company promised to return 10,000.

Company Mr. Order. Rented bike on the CM Thai House guesthouse reception.

[Texpat]

I'd be interested to see his rental contract.

No theft insurance included?

25,000 for a an '05 moto? Seems like A LOT. What's a new one go for? 38K? 40K?

Someone's making money here.

Amazing Thailand.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

How about you state the bike's license plate here, then we'll keep an eye out if it magically returns to the rental shop?

(When you make a police report it will include the bike's details as per the license registration booklet)

And the name and location of the rental agency of course.

In the mean time, cough up the 25K, it's a reasonable amount.

Edited May 4, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I'd be interested to see his rental contract.

No theft insurance included?

25,000 for a an '05 moto? Seems like A LOT. What's a new one go for? 38K? 40K?

Someone's making money here.

Amazing Thailand.

No it's not A LOT. It would have been better if you informed yourself on the price of second hand bikes before posting.

Amazing Thai Visa posters.

Edited May 4, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[T_Dog]

Skipper, if you have time, can you let us know what kind of area you were parked in?

[YoungSkipper]

How about you state the bike's license plate here, then we'll keep an eye out if it magically returns to the rental shop?

(When you make a police report it will include the bike's details as per the license registration booklet)

And the name and location of the rental agency of course.

In the mean time, cough up the 25K, it's a reasonable amount.

Its, dark blue Yamaha Mio, number 29. I stay here one month more and sometimes I will go to this agency and check. My friend have a copy of bike passport (with all information - engine number and etc), but he took it with him. I ask him scan it and send me.

Rental agancy Mr. Order. Its place on Tha Phae road Soi 4. Also have office on CH Thai House guesthouse on Tha Phae road Soi 5.

[YoungSkipper]

Skipper, if you have time, can you let us know what kind of area you were parked in?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&i....851563&z=4

I place mark - Stolen bike.

Its coner Koatchasarn road and Trok Koatchasarn road. If turn left from Tha Phae road first big turn on right.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

So.. that's not stolen from your hotel or guesthouse then.. That makes it less likely that it was stolen by the renter. The renter would know where your hotel is, but would not know that you like to hang out at Spotlight (or was it THC).

If the renter steals it then the most obvious place to steal it from would be from a place where he knows you'll leave it parked overnight.

Edited May 4, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Ulysses G.]

As usual, Winnie displays mucho common sense!

Edited May 4, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[IanForbes]

Theft is just one of the downfalls of renting and riding motorscooters in Thailand. Even buying them is a risk. I have a friend who has had 4 big bikes stolen in the past 2 years. He's going back to the USA and doesn't feel like returning. Riding a scooter in Thailand is also a risk. Just look around at all the guys wearing casts on their arms and legs... It's all from pratfalls off motorbikes. I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

[ovenman]

I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

So that's on average, ~165 deaths per day from motorcycle deaths in Thailand?

[IanForbes]

I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

So that's on average, ~165 deaths per day from motorcycle deaths in Thailand?

That is what I read in one of the papers a while back. I thought the figure was high, but after seeing how the Thais ride it wouldn't surprise me. Maybe someone just added an extra zero to the total.

[Priceless]

Theft is just one of the downfalls of renting and riding motorscooters in Thailand. Even buying them is a risk. I have a friend who has had 4 big bikes stolen in the past 2 years. He's going back to the USA and doesn't feel like returning. Riding a scooter in Thailand is also a risk. Just look around at all the guys wearing casts on their arms and legs... It's all from pratfalls off motorbikes. I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

Thai statistics are consistently unreliable, but most sources put the total number of yearly traffic fatalities in Thailand somewhere between 13,000-18,000. It is frequently said that ~85% of victims are motorcyclists. That would put the number of motorcycle fatalities per year somewhere between 11,000-15,000.

/ Priceless

Edited May 4, 2009 by Priceless

[IanForbes]

Thanks Priceless. That sounds a lot more reasonable... but still a scarey total.

[HTWoodson]

Yea, just a quick search for Yamaha Mio in the classifieds shows that 25k is about right. What I find messed up is that the company keeps the bike if it's found. If he paid 25k for the bike, isn't it his bike now? How is it that the rental company gets the money AND the bike if it's found?

My girlfriend had her bike stolen near the Sunday Walking Street a few months back. Police told her 10 other people had reported their bikes stolen that night alone. Seems like thieves are hitting the Sunday Walking Street pretty hard. Wasn't there also something in the new about police arresting members of a motorcycle theft gang that were hitting Sunday Walking Street specifically? I seem to remember reading about that a few months back.

[HTWoodson]

Speaking of motorbike thefts, my girlfriend's roommate told me a crazy story about something that happened to her recently.

She was selling her car, and placed an advertisement in a Thai classifieds. A guy contacts her and wants to look at the car, 20 something year old Thai guy. They meet up at Tesco and discuss the car a little, then he wants to test drive it. She gets in the passenger seat and he drives around a little. He tells her that he really likes the car but wants his friend who is a mechanic to look at it. He tells her the friend lives nearby and asks to stop by the friend's house. She says OK.

They stop by the house and he tells her to wait in the car. She watches through the window while he talks to a guy and a girl in front of the house. After a few minutes, he gets on a motorbike and drives off somewhere.

A looooong time passes, and she's wondering where the heck he rode off too. Finally the guy and girl walk over to the car and she rolls down the window. They ask her, "Where did you BOYFRIEND go?" She says, "What? He's not my boyfriend, he's just a guy that was test driving my car".

Turns out the guy and girl were selling their motorbike. When my friend and this guy pulled up, he told them he wanted to buy the motorbike, and that his girlfriend was waiting in the car. He asked to test drive it while his girlfriend waited with them, and then he rode off with the bike, never to return.

[doppa]

Theft is just one of the downfalls of renting and riding motorscooters in Thailand. Even buying them is a risk. I have a friend who has had 4 big bikes stolen in the past 2 years. He's going back to the USA and doesn't feel like returning. Riding a scooter in Thailand is also a risk. Just look around at all the guys wearing casts on their arms and legs... It's all from pratfalls off motorbikes. I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

thats interesting, because what i would like to know is , how many bikes are actually on thailands road, if we knew that, that would give us a %, my guess would be that 60k is relatively low, dont know though...anyone

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Turns out the guy and girl were selling their motorbike. When my friend and this guy pulled up, he told them he wanted to buy the motorbike, and that his girlfriend was waiting in the car. He asked to test drive it while his girlfriend waited with them, and then he rode off with the bike, never to return.

That story is too good to be true.

Edited May 4, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[AceCafe]

Speaking of motorbike thefts, my girlfriend's roommate told me a crazy story about something that happened to her recently.

She was selling her car, and placed an advertisement in a Thai classifieds. A guy contacts her and wants to look at the car, 20 something year old Thai guy. They meet up at Tesco and discuss the car a little, then he wants to test drive it. She gets in the passenger seat and he drives around a little. He tells her that he really likes the car but wants his friend who is a mechanic to look at it. He tells her the friend lives nearby and asks to stop by the friend's house. She says OK.

They stop by the house and he tells her to wait in the car. She watches through the window while he talks to a guy and a girl in front of the house. After a few minutes, he gets on a motorbike and drives off somewhere.

A looooong time passes, and she's wondering where the heck he rode off too. Finally the guy and girl walk over to the car and she rolls down the window. They ask her, "Where did you BOYFRIEND go?" She says, "What? He's not my boyfriend, he's just a guy that was test driving my car".

Turns out the guy and girl were selling their motorbike. When my friend and this guy pulled up, he told them he wanted to buy the motorbike, and that his girlfriend was waiting in the car. He asked to test drive it while his girlfriend waited with them, and then he rode off with the bike, never to return.

Finally, a Thai tealeaf with a lot more savvy than the average! Don't get me wrong, I abhor thieves, but this one did make me smile!

[HTWoodson]

Theft is just one of the downfalls of renting and riding motorscooters in Thailand. Even buying them is a risk. I have a friend who has had 4 big bikes stolen in the past 2 years. He's going back to the USA and doesn't feel like returning. Riding a scooter in Thailand is also a risk. Just look around at all the guys wearing casts on their arms and legs... It's all from pratfalls off motorbikes. I think the motorcycle death toll on Thai roads amounts to about 60,000 per year.

thats interesting, because what i would like to know is , how many bikes are actually on thailands road, if we knew that, that would give us a %, my guess would be that 60k is relatively low, dont know though...anyone

That number is ridiculous. Only 40,000 people a year are killed in motor vehicle collisions in the whole United States, with a population of more than 300 Million. The entire death toll for the 6 days of Songkran this year was 321. If you averaged the Songkran rate of fatalities through the entire year, by dividing 365 days of the year by 6 and then multiplying by 321, you would only have 19,528 deaths. The real number for the year has to be under 10,000.

(Songkran death toll number of 321 I got from here: http://nntworld.prd.go.th/previewnews.php?...&return=ok)

[HTWoodson]

Whoa, ignore what I just posted above. Here's a good link discussing road fatalities in Thailand with some solid numbers: http://www.iatss.or.jp/pdf/research/28/28-1-14.pdf

The last year listed in the study was 2002, with 13,116 fatalities for the year. And that's all vehicles; buses, cars, everybody.

Edited May 4, 2009 by HTWoodson

[Priceless]

Whoa, ignore what I just posted above. Here's a good link discussing road fatalities in Thailand with some solid numbers: http://www.iatss.or.jp/pdf/research/28/28-1-14.pdf

The last year listed in the study was 2002, with 13,116 fatalities for the year. And that's all vehicles; buses, cars, everybody.

Which is within the limits of what I posted above (post #17). Another problem is that Thai statistics are not really comparable to those of many other countries, since Thai fatalities only include those dead on the scene or on arrival at hospital. In many other countries deaths within a certain time of the accident, or diagnosed on the death certificate, are included.

According to the World Health Organisation ( http://www.who.int/whosis/mort/profiles/mo...ha_thailand.pdf ) there were 18,000 traffic deaths in Thailand in 2006.

/ Priceless

Edited May 4, 2009 by Priceless

[sassienie]

A friend went to the airport. Plane to Phuket.

Paid 25,000 baht, the documents for purchase are not processed. If find bike company promised to return 10,000.

Company Mr. Order. Rented bike on the CM Thai House guesthouse reception.

And for us English speakers?

[elektrified]

Why on earth would you (or your friend) rent a motorcycle without first making sure that it was insured for theft? I assume the rental company has your passport so you are at their mercy. Pay up because I don't think you have any other choice. Don't expect much help from the police.