Typical Business Style?

[kaosoi]

1. Thursday 11th February 2010 see studio apartment. It is advertsed as 10,000 on internet but at aprtment am told it is 15,000. I like the apartment though. The staff (Khun Yupin) tells me it is the last one and all the 10,000 studios are finished.

2. Make an agreement with the manager Wiset on Thursday evening for the apartment I saw.

3. Call Wiset on Friday 12th at lunchtime and ask him if I should come in and sign the contract - he says leave it until Saturday 13th.

4. Go to apartment on Saturday 13th at 1.30pm to be told that they already rented out "my" apartment to another person on Friday 12th.

5. I am upset but they show me another apartment that is suddenly empty - it is dirty, opposite layout and had furniture in bad condition.

6. I tell them I want the apartment I agreed on with Wiset. The lady at office says I cannot. I ask her to call Wiset and fix this. I take a seat - five minutes later she shouts across to me from the office that nothing will change. She does not apologise - just says I cannot have the apartment I had agreed on. I ask her to come and talk to me and not shout but she refuses. I ask for her name but she will not give it.

7. I get angry.

8. I tell her this is very rude and unprofessional and she says I can take the dirty apartment or leave. I tell her to shut up. She tells me to go away and says she is Wiset's sister.

9. I call Wiset. He says he gave my apartment to another person because sometimes people agree to an apartment but do not show up. I tell him that the timing was his choice and not mine (and it could all have been concluded in less than 24 hours), that I agreed to the apartment before he showed it to another and HE told ME to wait till Saturday (still less than 24 hrs later). He just repeated his story.

[jdinasia]

It aint your apartment until the contract is signed. I do understand your frustration. You, however acted like a baby and could not have seriously thought that a signed contract would be voided in your favor. Imagine what THAT guy would have said .. he actually had paid something and signed a contract!

[surayu]

Hi KaoSoi, yes that's the local trend here, i went myself to see a few properties around where after have agreed everything, they doubled up the required amount hoping i would not notice it....then another one told me the people on the ground floor were just builders, after have carefully examined all the details of this other building we went downstairs and i said "OK , i will take it!" and guess what was the reply? "sorry this thai men just took it, you can not have it".....so he was no longer the builder....how professional! ah ah, welcome to the thai style.

[cmsally]

Gazumping Thai style!

It's the same as anywhere, not yours until you sign on the dotted line.

Verbal agreement is not binding.

[surayu]

It's the same as anywhere

ehrm, sorry but i have been in quite a few countries and i really see this as something "grotesque" to not to say worse, at least someone should have the decency to mention that even during the view someone might take over, otherways this is total disrespect of the time the potential customer is spending into it, don't know, maybe is just me not adapting on things that are changing so fast apparently

[jdinasia]

Suraya -- sorry but then people would whine about 'high pressure sales". A property is yours when you sign the contract.

If you have paid nothing and have signed nothing then you have no real reason to complain. When I first started reading the OP I thought he was complaining about 'bait and switch'. Then the rest of the story came out. Yeah, it sucks and I understand his frustration, but to tell someone to void a real contract in favor of him? Childish.

Edited February 13, 2010 by jdinasia

[Jangot]

Well, I guess I am old, but I remember a time and place where a verbal agreement was honoured.

[Benjie]

Well, I guess I am old, but I remember a time and place where a verbal agreement was honoured.

Why did they ever bother with written agreements then?

[Jangot]

I guess because the time has gone and the place is not the same

[Benjie]

I'm pretty sure people were still gazzumped 60-70-80 years ago everywhere in the world.

[surayu]

I'm pretty sure people were still gazzumped 60-70-80 years ago everywhere in the world.

yes but i am also sure that your attemptive eye might notice when something happen more frequently in a certain place and environment instead of others.......by the way i am still waiting for a "crackdown" on the gazumpers, where is the BiB when you need it?

[trogers]

Does this apartment building not look like a drive-in motel on its first floor?

[kaosoi]

jdinasia.

Agreed to apt on Thursay night, offeed to come on on Friday and sign, he told me wait until Saturday. Went Saturday to sign to be told he had rent it to someone else.

Childish? You really look at the big picture, dont you.

[A. BOOZER]

C'est la vie !

Edited February 14, 2010 by A. BOOZER

[ExpatJ]

This happens all over the world, every day.

[jdinasia]

jdinasia.

Agreed to apt on Thursay night, offeed to come on on Friday and sign, he told me wait until Saturday. Went Saturday to sign to be told he had rent it to someone else.

Childish? You really look at the big picture, dont you.

Yes, your response to the office staff was childish. Expecting that your claim to an apartment that in fact you had not signed a lease for or made any deposit on would supercede a signed contract from someone else was also childish.

Yes, you got screwed over ... big deal. Just because you get screwed over doesn't make it OK to act like a kid throwing a tantrum. Simply 'Man Up' and walk out with a vow never to do business with that company again.

[MaiDong]

Your frustration is understood, regardless of your reaction in the office.

In the end though, it was a blessing in disguise wasn't it? The proprietors don't seem like very trustworthy people so now go and find apartments whom you can trust a little bit more...

I've found this kind of thing in most business situations in this country, unfortunately it's all part of the 'rich tapestry' of Thailand

[bangkapiboy]

so in the end you must be lucky you didnt rent from this place.

[hhgz]

"I am upset...I get angry...I tell her to shut up..."

I can't tell you how happy I am that you're not my neighbor. It's hard to believe, but there's more than one empty apartment in BKK, and you should take a peek.

[torrenova]

I would walk when someone wanted 15k for a 10k apartment. If I'd wanted to spend 15k I would have been looking at 15k apartments.

You are lucky to be out of it and not tied in with these people.

[eljeque]

Many of you are stating that the OP is basing his complaint on the verbal contract not being kept.

I see it that the OP wanted to sign, but the company did not want to sign until a later date. This is the company not keeping their agreement to offer him the one apartment on their agreed upon date.

OP, you are better off out of there.

[donx]

Many of you are stating that the OP is basing his complaint on the verbal contract not being kept.

I see it that the OP wanted to sign, but the company did not want to sign until a later date. This is the company not keeping their agreement to offer him the one apartment on their agreed upon date.

OP, you are better off out of there.

This is the way I see it as well. And I agree that he should be glad he didn't rent there. I'm sure that would have been only the beginning of his troubles.

[steelepulse]

If they screw you over before you sign, imagine how hard they will screw you after you sign, and good luck getting your deposit back when you leave. Better for you to look for an honest biz or person to deal with.

[t.s]

jdinasia.

Agreed to apt on Thursay night, offeed to come on on Friday and sign, he told me wait until Saturday. Went Saturday to sign to be told he had rent it to someone else.

Childish? You really look at the big picture, dont you.

are you dense? he obviously had a preferred potential tenant who was coming to sign on Friday. He slotted you in on Saturday in case the preferred tenant bailed. you were already too late when you first arrived, he had already found someone and you were insurance. Childish, maybe not, blessed with a firm grasp of the obvious, definitely not.

Had it been my property i would have done the exact same thing, but i would have called you once i had the other contract in hand to tell you it had been taken.

[t.s]

double post deleted

Edited February 24, 2010 by t.s