Being Rip Offed! Sucker For Punishment?

[samran]

A Thai person going about their normal business will never approach someone they don't know. If one does, and just so happens to speak suprisingly good english, turn around, and walk away from them.

[soi lurker]

Its amazing isn't it? If your a smart enough person, in your own country, you would see these things as a scam from a country mile away. As soon as you leave your postcode, why is it so that you instantly become 100 times dumber and fall for things like a man coming up to you while your ordering your food from a stall and asking for you to pay for his? Im sorry, I just dont get it. Just because your in a different country, dont drop your guard (and IQ) to try and be complient with your new country's hosts...................

[samran]

Its amazing isn't it? If your a smart enough person, in your own country, you would see these things as a scam from a country mile away. As soon as you leave your postcode, why is it so that you instantly become 100 times dumber and fall for things like a man coming up to you while your ordering your food from a stall and asking for you to pay for his? Im sorry, I just dont get it. Just because your in a different country, dont drop your guard (and IQ) to try and be complient with your new country's hosts...................

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

must be the increased radiation exposure at higher altitudes zapping the brain cells on the flight over.

[udon]

Billy's naievity (sp) is the tip of the iceberg.

I wonder how many tourists get ripped off every day in LoS.

They have never heard of TVisa or any other forum to prepare themselves for SEA & LoS in particular.

I was lucky on arrival, I had made contact with a longtime farang resident who showed me the "ropes" on arrival.

The only thing he didn't/couldn't teach me about was theft by trusted bargirls.

BillyBoy, you are not alone.

Just say NO, smile, & walk away.

[aviador88]

Billy's naievity (sp) is the tip of the iceberg.

I wonder how many tourists get ripped off every day in LoS.

They have never heard of TVisa or any other forum to prepare themselves for SEA & LoS in particular.

I was lucky on arrival, I had made contact with a longtime farang resident who showed me the "ropes" on arrival.

The only thing he didn't/couldn't teach me about was theft by trusted bargirls.

BillyBoy, you are not alone.

Just say NO, smile, & walk away.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I posted this recently in the Phuket forum.

Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004 I contracted with ABLE CARGO

2445 Morena Blvd

SAN DIEGO CA. 92110,

an American shipping company to have a 1 Cubic meter container, weighing 227 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Khao Lak Thailand. Everything went as planned. About 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a Mr. Kittipung who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. He informed me that my container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you. "You must be kidding.” I replied. “ I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing. Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee: 3,500 Baht

Handling: 4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees: 12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous: 5,200 Baht

Grand total: 52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight stays, meals etc 14,000 Baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. As it turned out the container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it off. It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand: I don’t know if ABLE CARGO is in cahoots with this creep.

I was going to just write it off as a learning experience but it has been gnawing at me all along, why people like that should get away with ripping off unsuspecting Farangs.

Another incident involving outright fraud.

Back in June of 2004 I was involved in an accident with my car and a motorbike in Phuket driven by a guy who had an illegal side car attached to it, no insurance as well as no driver's license (what else is new). Well the man had a badly injured knee. The hospital they had taken him to, wanted to amputate his leg, therefore I had him transferred to the International Hospital in Phuket. Since the hospital did not trust my insurance company (I found out why later on) I paid the daily charges, such as private room, ICU, surgery etc. All in all it came to around 260,000 Baht. I did visit the man at the hospital several times and remember when I first met his family right after the accident. Instead of a grieving wife and daughter I found smiling faces. "Hot dog, we are in fat city now. A Falang and looks like one with money" !!!!! The fact is, it cost me over halve a Million Baht to settle the case out of court. Then.......

Around the middle of October I received a check from the insurance company for 240,000 Baht to reimburse me for the hospital expenses. It promptly bounced., citing insufficient funds. A trip to their office in Phuket revealed that they had closed their doors and disappeared. I had also paid 25,000 Baht in advance for the repair of the motor bike, because it was fixed at an "unauthorized" (per insurance) repair shop. I never received a single Baht for that.

People like that put a sour taste in everybody’s mouth about Thailand. I am sure that I was not the first or will be the last one this gang will rip off.

Otherwise I really love it in Thailand and working on a non-O retirement visa.

I had invested 750,000 Baht in the transportation company of my Thai friend Suwan who owns a transport and travel compnay. He operated 10 minibuses. Business was booming until December 26th 2004. Out of the 10 vehicles, only 2 survived. We also lost one driver and 4 tourists. The insurance company balked at paying, citing something like "act of nature" He finally received 500,000 Baht last week for one brand new bus which had cost 1,6 Million. Suwan promised to repay me as soon as he can get back on his feet but I explained to him that it was an investment and not his fault the money was lost. I told him "Hey, it's only money. At least we survived". He now thinks I am the greatest thing since sliced bread, since most of his Thai investors are hounding him.

How to spend almost a Million Baht in one short year without really trying ??? Go to Thailand.

[Steve2UK]

Its amazing isn't it? If your a smart enough person, in your own country, you would see these things as a scam from a country mile away. As soon as you leave your postcode, why is it so that you instantly become 100 times dumber and fall for things like a man coming up to you while your ordering your food from a stall and asking for you to pay for his? Im sorry, I just dont get it. Just because your in a different country, dont drop your guard (and IQ) to try and be complient with your new country's hosts...................

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wonder how long before we get the following scam in Thailand? Some of you (Brits, particularly) may know that there has been a property goldrush in Bulgaria in the last few years - much of it centred on the Black Sea coast which is expected (hoped?) to become another Costa del Sol (Spain).

An enterprising Bulgarian parked a caravan for a week on one of the more attractive bits of coastline and put up a nice sign advertising a property development with delightful villas and apartments. He took deposits from many eager buyers who saw only the prospect of owning their dream property in the sun - without any boring fuss with lawyers and the like. Needless to say, at the end of the week he put the sign in the caravan and drove away.........

None of these people would have handed over cash for a property in their home country without going through a lawyer - but the combination of cheap prices and a sense that the foreign country (Bulgaria) has convoluted and strange laws which are not always enforced just made these buyers act like they'd left their brains at home.

Sound like another country we know?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Caveat emptor.

[camerata]

Around the middle of October I received a check  from the insurance company for 240,000 Baht to reimburse me for the hospital expenses. It promptly bounced., citing insufficient funds. A trip to their office in Phuket revealed that they had closed their doors and disappeared. I had  also paid 25,000 Baht in advance for the repair of the motor bike, because it was fixed at an "unauthorized" (per insurance) repair shop. I never received a  single Baht for that.

This is why I prefer to live near a BTS station in Bangkok and never drive. My colleagues at work think I'm weird, but at least I have a relatively stress-free life.

[maerim]

I posted this recently in the Phuket forum.

Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004 I contracted with ABLE CARGO

2445 Morena Blvd

SAN DIEGO CA. 92110,

an American shipping company to have a 1 Cubic meter container, weighing 227 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Khao Lak Thailand. Everything went as planned. About 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a Mr. Kittipung who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. He informed me that my container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you. "You must be kidding.” I replied. “ I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing. Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee: 3,500 Baht

Handling: 4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees: 12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous: 5,200 Baht

Grand total: 52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight stays, meals etc 14,000 Baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. As it turned out the container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it off. It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand: I don’t know if ABLE CARGO is in cahoots with this creep.

I was going to just write it off as a learning experience but it has been gnawing at me all along, why people like that should get away with ripping off unsuspecting Farangs.

Another incident involving outright fraud.

Back in June of 2004 I was involved in an accident with my car and a motorbike in Phuket driven by a guy who had an illegal side car attached to it, no insurance as well as no driver's license (what else is new). Well the man had a badly injured knee. The hospital they had taken him to, wanted to amputate his leg, therefore I had him transferred to the International Hospital in Phuket. Since the hospital did not trust my insurance company (I found out why later on) I paid the daily charges, such as private room, ICU, surgery etc. All in all it came to around 260,000 Baht. I did visit the man at the hospital several times and remember when I first met his family right after the accident. Instead of a grieving wife and daughter I found smiling faces. "Hot dog, we are in fat city now. A Falang and looks like one with money" !!!!! The fact is, it cost me over halve a Million Baht to settle the case out of court. Then.......

Around the middle of October I received a check from the insurance company for 240,000 Baht to reimburse me for the hospital expenses. It promptly bounced., citing insufficient funds. A trip to their office in Phuket revealed that they had closed their doors and disappeared. I had also paid 25,000 Baht in advance for the repair of the motor bike, because it was fixed at an "unauthorized" (per insurance) repair shop. I never received a single Baht for that.

People like that put a sour taste in everybody’s mouth about Thailand. I am sure that I was not the first or will be the last one this gang will rip off.

Otherwise I really love it in Thailand and working on a non-O retirement visa.

I had invested 750,000 Baht in the transportation company of my Thai friend Suwan who owns a transport and travel compnay. He operated 10 minibuses. Business was booming until December 26th 2004. Out of the 10 vehicles, only 2 survived. We also lost one driver and 4 tourists. The insurance company balked at paying, citing something like "act of nature" He finally received 500,000 Baht last week for one brand new bus which had cost 1,6 Million. Suwan promised to repay me as soon as he can get back on his feet but I explained to him that it was an investment and not his fault the money was lost. I told him "Hey, it's only money. At least we survived". He now thinks I am the greatest thing since sliced bread, since most of his Thai investors are hounding him.

How to spend almost a Million Baht in one short year without really trying ??? Go to Thailand.

I wonder if you can contact me as soon as possible as I have some excellent business ideas I would like to put to you.

[chuchok]

I posted this recently in the Phuket forum.

Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004  I contracted with  ABLE CARGO

2445 Morena Blvd

SAN DIEGO CA. 92110,

an American shipping company to have a 1 Cubic meter container, weighing 227 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Khao Lak Thailand. Everything went as planned. About 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a Mr. Kittipung who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. He informed me that my container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you.  "You must be kidding.” I replied. “ I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing.  Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What  ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee:            3,500 Baht

Handling:          4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees:  12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous:  5,200 Baht

Grand total:    52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight stays, meals etc 14,000 Baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. As it turned out the container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it off.  It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand:  I don’t know if ABLE CARGO  is in cahoots with this creep.

I was going to just write it off as a learning experience but it has been gnawing at me all along, why people like that should get away with ripping off unsuspecting Farangs.

You got tucked good and proper here.Did Able Cargo give you a quotation before you shipped your goods and were the destination charges mentioned? Many freight forwarders will get a kick back from their overseas agents. If you can give me some more information, I might be able to come up with some ideas to help you.

Also the creep you are dealing with here is charging you for work that was not done.I would suggest seeing a lawyer.

[aviador88]

I posted this recently in the Phuket forum.

Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004 I contracted with ABLE CARGO

2445 Morena Blvd

SAN DIEGO CA. 92110,

an American shipping company to have a 1 Cubic meter container, weighing 227 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Khao Lak Thailand. Everything went as planned. About 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a Mr. Kittipung who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. He informed me that my container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you. "You must be kidding.” I replied. “ I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing. Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee: 3,500 Baht

Handling: 4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees: 12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous: 5,200 Baht

Grand total: 52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight stays, meals etc 14,000 Baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. As it turned out the container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it off. It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand: I don’t know if ABLE CARGO is in cahoots with this creep.

I was going to just write it off as a learning experience but it has been gnawing at me all along, why people like that should get away with ripping off unsuspecting Farangs.

Another incident involving outright fraud.

Back in June of 2004 I was involved in an accident with my car and a motorbike in Phuket driven by a guy who had an illegal side car attached to it, no insurance as well as no driver's license (what else is new). Well the man had a badly injured knee. The hospital they had taken him to, wanted to amputate his leg, therefore I had him transferred to the International Hospital in Phuket. Since the hospital did not trust my insurance company (I found out why later on) I paid the daily charges, such as private room, ICU, surgery etc. All in all it came to around 260,000 Baht. I did visit the man at the hospital several times and remember when I first met his family right after the accident. Instead of a grieving wife and daughter I found smiling faces. "Hot dog, we are in fat city now. A Falang and looks like one with money" !!!!! The fact is, it cost me over halve a Million Baht to settle the case out of court. Then.......

Around the middle of October I received a check from the insurance company for 240,000 Baht to reimburse me for the hospital expenses. It promptly bounced., citing insufficient funds. A trip to their office in Phuket revealed that they had closed their doors and disappeared. I had also paid 25,000 Baht in advance for the repair of the motor bike, because it was fixed at an "unauthorized" (per insurance) repair shop. I never received a single Baht for that.

People like that put a sour taste in everybody’s mouth about Thailand. I am sure that I was not the first or will be the last one this gang will rip off.

Otherwise I really love it in Thailand and working on a non-O retirement visa.

I had invested 750,000 Baht in the transportation company of my Thai friend Suwan who owns a transport and travel compnay. He operated 10 minibuses. Business was booming until December 26th 2004. Out of the 10 vehicles, only 2 survived. We also lost one driver and 4 tourists. The insurance company balked at paying, citing something like "act of nature" He finally received 500,000 Baht last week for one brand new bus which had cost 1,6 Million. Suwan promised to repay me as soon as he can get back on his feet but I explained to him that it was an investment and not his fault the money was lost. I told him "Hey, it's only money. At least we survived". He now thinks I am the greatest thing since sliced bread, since most of his Thai investors are hounding him.

How to spend almost a Million Baht in one short year without really trying ??? Go to Thailand.

I wonder if you can contact me as soon as possible as I have some excellent business ideas I would like to put to you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, but I bought the Brooklyn bridge a long time ago

[aviador88]

I posted this recently in the Phuket forum.

Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004  I contracted with  ABLE CARGO

2445 Morena Blvd

SAN DIEGO CA. 92110,

an American shipping company to have a 1 Cubic meter container, weighing 227 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Khao Lak Thailand. Everything went as planned. About 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a Mr. Kittipung who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. He informed me that my container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you.  "You must be kidding.” I replied. “ I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing.  Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What  ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee:             3,500 Baht

Handling:           4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees:  12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous:   5,200 Baht

Grand total:     52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight stays, meals etc 14,000 Baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. As it turned out the container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it off.  It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand:  I don’t know if ABLE CARGO  is in cahoots with this creep.

I was going to just write it off as a learning experience but it has been gnawing at me all along, why people like that should get away with ripping off unsuspecting Farangs.

You got tucked good and proper here.Did Able Cargo give you a quotation before you shipped your goods and were the destination charges mentioned? Many freight forwarders will get a kick back from their overseas agents. If you can give me some more information, I might be able to come up with some ideas to help you.

Also the creep you are dealing with here is charging you for work that was not done.I would suggest seeing a lawyer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi.

Well, I just checked the shipping papers. It listed only: New York (port Newark) LAX- BKK. With a note that: "Our agent in Bangkok will contact you regarding the transport of said goods to Khao lak". I did write to the US Embassy as well as the tourist police, without success.

Yous live and loin, as they say in New Joisy

I did try the lawer bit. But, like everything here is always "preung nee" and preung nee never comes.

I am building a house here. The "architekt" was supposed to be here Friday evening, then yesterday, and now today. But here it is almost 6 PM and I am sitting here. I should go shopping (alsmost out of "beer chang") which I think is cheap, as well as good regardless what one poster wrote.

[ThaiPauly]

If I lived nearer I would bring round the Chang's now, you need to get pi##ed and quickly.

I like Chang too!!

[aviador88]

If I lived nearer I would bring round the Chang's now, you need to get pi##ed and quickly.

I like Chang too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, "Elephant piss" as it is known is just as good as any beer (I grew up in Bavaria Germany I should know) with the exception of Guinisses Stout they always kept for me under the counter at the hotel in Shannon after a long trans atlantic trip with the bars already closed. (That was before before the jets arrived on the scene)

But to come back to the thread.

Not all screwing falangs is done deliberately.

When I moved here I needed internet access. There was no telephone anywhere near here. I paid TOT 24,000 Baht to have a 1,5 km phone line strung to my home. The word "preung nee" was mentioned several times which I understood to mean "tomorrow". I have a feeling though that it means more like "some other day", because it took 22 preung nees to get the line installed . Even then, the line was full, of knots mounted on top and only about 2 cm from the electric lines. A magnet for lightning bolts which cost me 2 modems, including one DSL modem.

I had purchased a used Mitsubishi sedan when I arrived which turned out to be a disaster mainly because of the condition of the road leading to my jungle hide away. Suddenly the air conditioning quit working, because the belt had snapped. I drove to Mitsubishi in Kokloy where I was informed that: "No have" belt. (In the US every hick town service station has an array of belts hanging off the ceiling.) OK, they sent some guy to Phuket to get one, a task that took care of most of the afternoon. A few days later the car bucked and stalled. When I returned to Mitsubishi, while I had the “mechanics” looked at it, my eyes caught a brand new fully equipped pickup in their showroom. A deal was made on the spot. I paid 700,000 Baht cash and thought, well with a 100,000 km guarantee I would never have to worry about any repairs. Wishful thinking. I really don't drive much, in fact I hate to drive here. Most drivers in this country are suicidal or "nuts" anyway. I own the truck now for about 14 months and have less than 10,000 km on it. At around 3000 km I noticed that the vehicle was smoking at any speed and burned about 11 to 12 liters Diesel/100km. I took it back to Mitsubishi where the "mechanic" told me: You drive too fast, she smoke". At 40 km/hr ???? (Don’t forget I am an old fart and not speedy Gonzales.) I found a fellow farang an Austrian, again at the pier in Tap Lamu who works on ship diesels. He adjusted the injection timing. 600 baht and I was on my way. Around 5000 km the electric passenger side window refused to go up and after several tries the carrier came up but the glass fell into the door. When I had Mitsu check it I was told, that "I ABUSED" the window, therefore there would be a charge . The right windshield wiper mounting had been loose and wobbling. They checked it and told me "no have part" must be ordered from Mitsubishi. OK order it and let me know when it comes in. That was last October, I still don't have it. 2 weeks ago, the air conditioner was weak and at idle blew only like warm air.. The genius at Mitsu pulled the drain hose off the bottom and said: See, is dripping, is OK, no problem. No shit Sherlock!!! . With this heat it should be running like a faucet and not just drip. Take a look at the receiver dryer. There are bubbles in it. Also the suction line is hand warm. It leaks somewhere and needs freon. (I used to repair air conditioners for a living years ago ) Then came the stock answer:" NO HAVE." You mean to tell me that a certified Mitsubishi service center has no means to repair the air conditioning on their product when every damned car around here has AC ? I found some Schmo in Baniang who was supposed to be an expert. He added a few pounds of freon (500 baht) which got me going (for a week) After that, it went dead again. I stopped at the same guy telling him to please check for leaks. He looked at me like I just came from Mars. His only test equipment was a manifold set with the high pressure gage minus the glass and a bent pointer, which he tried to coax into moving by bending the needle while racing the engine until I thought it would come apart.

I also bought a washing machine last June in Phuket. I opted for the 2 year warrantee, at the suggestion of the sales person. In October it quit. I was told to bring it back (to Phuket ?) So I called a local guy who took it to his shop. 4 days later he called and told me it needed a micro chip which had to ordered from Japan. Well it was still waiting for the chip December 26th when the Tsunami confiscated it and took it into the Andaman sea . Lucky for me I had bought another less high tech washer in November which quit about 6 weeks ago. I am still waiting for a service person. The local dealer I purchase it from, sadly died when the tsunami hit.

Naturally I also lost my telephone service December 26th and received a temporary number around the middle of March. TOT had the gall to bill me for services rendered, including DSL, for January, February and March 2,200 baht. I am waiting for some Satellite Internet service, then they can stick their telephone up their respective &lt;deleted&gt;. Sunday night before Songkran the line wend dead again. I called TOT and was told: You know many people go to temple and many travel to visit relatives far away. Sooo? The world stands still meanwhile ??? :

The phone was dead for 10 days.

What a country But I still like it here.

Regards the ol' Captain, retired at last.

[Thaicoon]

Nearly ripped off, asked for a taxi in the hotel i was staying to go to suan lam night bazzar, he told me 100 Baht, i thought what the ######, got in his taxi and he started going the wrong way, about 15 mins he pulled up outside a big gem store, you come buy some gems he said, i told him more than twice, not interested, he was persistant, so i got out the taxi, and walked towards the heighway, hailed a yellow green cab, and on my way, he was shouting where my 100 baht, i told him to get lost, and got to my destination with the metred cab,

When i went back to the hotel the driver was in the lobby, still been a pain in the ass about this 100 baht, i told him, if he had done his job right first time i may of given him a good tip, but when trying to rip people off, go and sing for your 100 baht, never used the guy again.

[xyz]

If I lived nearer I would bring round the Chang's now, you need to get pi##ed and quickly.

I like Chang too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, "Elephant piss" as it is known is just as good as any beer (I grew up in Bavaria Germany I should know) with the exception of Guinisses Stout they always kept for me under the counter at the hotel in Shannon after a long trans atlantic trip with the bars already closed. (That was before before the jets arrived on the scene)

But to come back to the thread.

Not all screwing falangs is done deliberately.

When I moved here I needed internet access. There was no telephone anywhere near here. I paid TOT 24,000 Baht to have a 1,5 km phone line strung to my home. The word "preung nee" was mentioned several times which I understood to mean "tomorrow". I have a feeling though that it means more like "some other day", because it took 22 preung nees to get the line installed . Even then, the line was full, of knots mounted on top and only about 2 cm from the electric lines. A magnet for lightning bolts which cost me 2 modems, including one DSL modem.

I had purchased a used Mitsubishi sedan when I arrived which turned out to be a disaster mainly because of the condition of the road leading to my jungle hide away. Suddenly the air conditioning quit working, because the belt had snapped. I drove to Mitsubishi in Kokloy where I was informed that: "No have" belt. (In the US every hick town service station has an array of belts hanging off the ceiling.) OK, they sent some guy to Phuket to get one, a task that took care of most of the afternoon. A few days later the car bucked and stalled. When I returned to Mitsubishi, while I had the “mechanics” looked at it, my eyes caught a brand new fully equipped pickup in their showroom. A deal was made on the spot. I paid 700,000 Baht cash and thought, well with a 100,000 km guarantee I would never have to worry about any repairs. Wishful thinking. I really don't drive much, in fact I hate to drive here. Most drivers in this country are suicidal or "nuts" anyway. I own the truck now for about 14 months and have less than 10,000 km on it. At around 3000 km I noticed that the vehicle was smoking at any speed and burned about 11 to 12 liters Diesel/100km. I took it back to Mitsubishi where the "mechanic" told me: You drive too fast, she smoke". At 40 km/hr ???? (Don’t forget I am an old fart and not speedy Gonzales.) I found a fellow farang an Austrian, again at the pier in Tap Lamu who works on ship diesels. He adjusted the injection timing. 600 baht and I was on my way. Around 5000 km the electric passenger side window refused to go up and after several tries the carrier came up but the glass fell into the door. When I had Mitsu check it I was told, that "I ABUSED" the window, therefore there would be a charge . The right windshield wiper mounting had been loose and wobbling. They checked it and told me "no have part" must be ordered from Mitsubishi. OK order it and let me know when it comes in. That was last October, I still don't have it. 2 weeks ago, the air conditioner was weak and at idle blew only like warm air.. The genius at Mitsu pulled the drain hose off the bottom and said: See, is dripping, is OK, no problem. No shit Sherlock!!! . With this heat it should be running like a faucet and not just drip. Take a look at the receiver dryer. There are bubbles in it. Also the suction line is hand warm. It leaks somewhere and needs freon. (I used to repair air conditioners for a living years ago ) Then came the stock answer:" NO HAVE." You mean to tell me that a certified Mitsubishi service center has no means to repair the air conditioning on their product when every damned car around here has AC ? I found some Schmo in Baniang who was supposed to be an expert. He added a few pounds of freon (500 baht) which got me going (for a week) After that, it went dead again. I stopped at the same guy telling him to please check for leaks. He looked at me like I just came from Mars. His only test equipment was a manifold set with the high pressure gage minus the glass and a bent pointer, which he tried to coax into moving by bending the needle while racing the engine until I thought it would come apart.

I also bought a washing machine last June in Phuket. I opted for the 2 year warrantee, at the suggestion of the sales person. In October it quit. I was told to bring it back (to Phuket ?) So I called a local guy who took it to his shop. 4 days later he called and told me it needed a micro chip which had to ordered from Japan. Well it was still waiting for the chip December 26th when the Tsunami confiscated it and took it into the Andaman sea . Lucky for me I had bought another less high tech washer in November which quit about 6 weeks ago. I am still waiting for a service person. The local dealer I purchase it from, sadly died when the tsunami hit.

Naturally I also lost my telephone service December 26th and received a temporary number around the middle of March. TOT had the gall to bill me for services rendered, including DSL, for January, February and March 2,200 baht. I am waiting for some Satellite Internet service, then they can stick their telephone up their respective &lt;deleted&gt;. Sunday night before Songkran the line wend dead again. I called TOT and was told: You know many people go to temple and many travel to visit relatives far away. Sooo? The world stands still meanwhile ??? :

The phone was dead for 10 days.

What a country But I still like it here.

Regards the ol' Captain, retired at last.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

After reading your post, my dream of retiring in LOS is not as rosey. Problems like that would raise my blood pressure to no end.

[aviador88]

If I lived nearer I would bring round the Chang's now, you need to get pi##ed and quickly.

I like Chang too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, "Elephant piss" as it is known is just as good as any beer (I grew up in Bavaria Germany I should know) with the exception of Guinisses Stout they always kept for me under the counter at the hotel in Shannon after a long trans atlantic trip with the bars already closed. (That was before before the jets arrived on the scene)

But to come back to the thread.

Not all screwing falangs is done deliberately.

When I moved here I needed internet access. There was no telephone anywhere near here. I paid TOT 24,000 Baht to have a 1,5 km phone line strung to my home. The word "preung nee" was mentioned several times which I understood to mean "tomorrow". I have a feeling though that it means more like "some other day", because it took 22 preung nees to get the line installed . Even then, the line was full, of knots mounted on top and only about 2 cm from the electric lines. A magnet for lightning bolts which cost me 2 modems, including one DSL modem.

I had purchased a used Mitsubishi sedan when I arrived which turned out to be a disaster mainly because of the condition of the road leading to my jungle hide away. Suddenly the air conditioning quit working, because the belt had snapped. I drove to Mitsubishi in Kokloy where I was informed that: "No have" belt. (In the US every hick town service station has an array of belts hanging off the ceiling.) OK, they sent some guy to Phuket to get one, a task that took care of most of the afternoon. A few days later the car bucked and stalled. When I returned to Mitsubishi, while I had the “mechanics” looked at it, my eyes caught a brand new fully equipped pickup in their showroom. A deal was made on the spot. I paid 700,000 Baht cash and thought, well with a 100,000 km guarantee I would never have to worry about any repairs. Wishful thinking. I really don't drive much, in fact I hate to drive here. Most drivers in this country are suicidal or "nuts" anyway. I own the truck now for about 14 months and have less than 10,000 km on it. At around 3000 km I noticed that the vehicle was smoking at any speed and burned about 11 to 12 liters Diesel/100km. I took it back to Mitsubishi where the "mechanic" told me: You drive too fast, she smoke". At 40 km/hr ???? (Don’t forget I am an old fart and not speedy Gonzales.) I found a fellow farang an Austrian, again at the pier in Tap Lamu who works on ship diesels. He adjusted the injection timing. 600 baht and I was on my way. Around 5000 km the electric passenger side window refused to go up and after several tries the carrier came up but the glass fell into the door. When I had Mitsu check it I was told, that "I ABUSED" the window, therefore there would be a charge . The right windshield wiper mounting had been loose and wobbling. They checked it and told me "no have part" must be ordered from Mitsubishi. OK order it and let me know when it comes in. That was last October, I still don't have it. 2 weeks ago, the air conditioner was weak and at idle blew only like warm air.. The genius at Mitsu pulled the drain hose off the bottom and said: See, is dripping, is OK, no problem. No shit Sherlock!!! . With this heat it should be running like a faucet and not just drip. Take a look at the receiver dryer. There are bubbles in it. Also the suction line is hand warm. It leaks somewhere and needs freon. (I used to repair air conditioners for a living years ago ) Then came the stock answer:" NO HAVE." You mean to tell me that a certified Mitsubishi service center has no means to repair the air conditioning on their product when every damned car around here has AC ? I found some Schmo in Baniang who was supposed to be an expert. He added a few pounds of freon (500 baht) which got me going (for a week) After that, it went dead again. I stopped at the same guy telling him to please check for leaks. He looked at me like I just came from Mars. His only test equipment was a manifold set with the high pressure gage minus the glass and a bent pointer, which he tried to coax into moving by bending the needle while racing the engine until I thought it would come apart.

I also bought a washing machine last June in Phuket. I opted for the 2 year warrantee, at the suggestion of the sales person. In October it quit. I was told to bring it back (to Phuket ?) So I called a local guy who took it to his shop. 4 days later he called and told me it needed a micro chip which had to ordered from Japan. Well it was still waiting for the chip December 26th when the Tsunami confiscated it and took it into the Andaman sea . Lucky for me I had bought another less high tech washer in November which quit about 6 weeks ago. I am still waiting for a service person. The local dealer I purchase it from, sadly died when the tsunami hit.

Naturally I also lost my telephone service December 26th and received a temporary number around the middle of March. TOT had the gall to bill me for services rendered, including DSL, for January, February and March 2,200 baht. I am waiting for some Satellite Internet service, then they can stick their telephone up their respective &lt;deleted&gt;. Sunday night before Songkran the line wend dead again. I called TOT and was told: You know many people go to temple and many travel to visit relatives far away. Sooo? The world stands still meanwhile ??? :

The phone was dead for 10 days.

What a country But I still like it here.

Regards the ol' Captain, retired at last.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

After reading your post, my dream of retiring in LOS is not as rosey. Problems like that would raise my blood pressure to no end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well xyz that's the reason I take blood pressure pills . (Just kidding. This was one reason I had to retire from flying because of hypertention which runs in the family)

But really, I am learning to adjust to a culture where people seem to be in perpetual fog, reacting to something that would drive me up a wall with just a shrug of the shoulder and c'est la vie attitude.

Like the following.

I sent one of our out of work drivers and paid him for the day to Mitsubishi in Phuket with my Pickup to have the air conditoner taken care of. According to him they too are not equipped to take on the work. (unbelievable but true ) He then took it to one of his "friend's" shop who in his words was another "expert". Sure enough the guy discovered that the shop who had repaired the truck after the accident had used the old bent high pressure line to the condensor and patched a hole in it with Superglue. However it needed a new receiver dryer which was, as he said "full of water ?" OK, change it. On the way home yesterday my Mitsu pickup picked Thaimuang as the place to scare halve the town to death when the compressor jammed, the fan belt smoked and finally snapped. (Everybody thought the car was on fire But directly in front of a place called THAI MUANG AUTOSOUND AND AIR. Why didn't anybody tell me about this place ? My driver told me that they are the best equipped shop within 200 km. I was told that the "expert" in Phucket overcharged the system, lost most of the oil causing the compressor to jam. (sounds logical). End of story. Great service though. The car was ready the very next day. Replaced Compressor, dryer, belt, recharged with Freon. (probably not the right stuff but who cares ) 22,750 Baht. (No wonder we yankees have to prove an income of 60,000 Baht per months or more to live here. Back in the US I could probably sue the guy as well as Mitsubishi for not living up to their warrantee, but who cares at this point. The air conditioner works, (for now anyway).

Internet access is another sore point.

I have in the past tried several alternates to TOT‘s shitty and intermittent service. Appropriately TOT means "dead" in German which is the case, especially if it rains. Anywhere in the world a question "Why is the phone dead ?" is answered by "is it raining"? would be hillarious, but not in Thailand. Last year one satellite provider tried to sell me a system which involved a huge dish antenna. It looked like a tracking station used to contact space aliens. The price was right but then DSL came into town (and went with the arrival of the tsunami. ) Recently I found out about another satellite provider for “supposedly” 1200 Baht per month, unlimited service. The only stipulation was that I must purchase the dish antenna as well as the converter for 13,500 Baht. No problem, I just spent twice that much to get air-conditioning back on my truck which is still under warrantee. I sent my trusty Thai representative to Phuket to buy the thing. Done deal. To have it hooked up involved contacting an authorized installer. A very nice English speaking lady answered my query, but her first question to me was: “Are you familiar with the monthly charges?” “Sure sweetheart, 1200 Baht a month”. “Oh no” she purred, “It is 12,000 Baht per month”. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat ?? I screamed.

“I don’t want to buy your company, just your service” I said softly trying not to scare the sweet sounding thing at the other end .

You gotta love it

The ol’ Capt.

Btw. The washing machine guy hasn't shown up as yet

[jackr]

If I lived nearer I would bring round the Chang's now, you need to get pi##ed and quickly.

I like Chang too!!

Yes, "Elephant piss" as it is known is just as good as any beer (I grew up in Bavaria Germany I should know) with the exception of Guinisses Stout they always kept for me under the counter at the hotel in Shannon after a long trans atlantic trip with the bars already closed. (That was before before the jets arrived on the scene)

But to come back to the thread.

Not all screwing falangs is done deliberately.

When I moved here I needed internet access. There was no telephone anywhere near here. I paid TOT 24,000 Baht to have a 1,5 km phone line strung to my home. The word "preung nee" was mentioned several times which I understood to mean "tomorrow". I have a feeling though that it means more like "some other day", because it took 22 preung nees to get the line installed . Even then, the line was full, of knots mounted on top and only about 2 cm from the electric lines. A magnet for lightning bolts which cost me 2 modems, including one DSL modem.

I had purchased a used Mitsubishi sedan when I arrived which turned out to be a disaster mainly because of the condition of the road leading to my jungle hide away. Suddenly the air conditioning quit working, because the belt had snapped. I drove to Mitsubishi in Kokloy where I was informed that: "No have" belt. (In the US every hick town service station has an array of belts hanging off the ceiling.) OK, they sent some guy to Phuket to get one, a task that took care of most of the afternoon. A few days later the car bucked and stalled. When I returned to Mitsubishi, while I had the “mechanics” looked at it, my eyes caught a brand new fully equipped pickup in their showroom. A deal was made on the spot. I paid 700,000 Baht cash and thought, well with a 100,000 km guarantee I would never have to worry about any repairs. Wishful thinking. I really don't drive much, in fact I hate to drive here. Most drivers in this country are suicidal or "nuts" anyway. I own the truck now for about 14 months and have less than 10,000 km on it. At around 3000 km I noticed that the vehicle was smoking at any speed and burned about 11 to 12 liters Diesel/100km. I took it back to Mitsubishi where the "mechanic" told me: You drive too fast, she smoke". At 40 km/hr ???? (Don’t forget I am an old fart and not speedy Gonzales.) I found a fellow farang an Austrian, again at the pier in Tap Lamu who works on ship diesels. He adjusted the injection timing. 600 baht and I was on my way. Around 5000 km the electric passenger side window refused to go up and after several tries the carrier came up but the glass fell into the door. When I had Mitsu check it I was told, that "I ABUSED" the window, therefore there would be a charge . The right windshield wiper mounting had been loose and wobbling. They checked it and told me "no have part" must be ordered from Mitsubishi. OK order it and let me know when it comes in. That was last October, I still don't have it. 2 weeks ago, the air conditioner was weak and at idle blew only like warm air.. The genius at Mitsu pulled the drain hose off the bottom and said: See, is dripping, is OK, no problem. No shit Sherlock!!! . With this heat it should be running like a faucet and not just drip. Take a look at the receiver dryer. There are bubbles in it. Also the suction line is hand warm. It leaks somewhere and needs freon. (I used to repair air conditioners for a living years ago ) Then came the stock answer:" NO HAVE." You mean to tell me that a certified Mitsubishi service center has no means to repair the air conditioning on their product when every damned car around here has AC ? I found some Schmo in Baniang who was supposed to be an expert. He added a few pounds of freon (500 baht) which got me going (for a week) After that, it went dead again. I stopped at the same guy telling him to please check for leaks. He looked at me like I just came from Mars. His only test equipment was a manifold set with the high pressure gage minus the glass and a bent pointer, which he tried to coax into moving by bending the needle while racing the engine until I thought it would come apart.

I also bought a washing machine last June in Phuket. I opted for the 2 year warrantee, at the suggestion of the sales person. In October it quit. I was told to bring it back (to Phuket ?) So I called a local guy who took it to his shop. 4 days later he called and told me it needed a micro chip which had to ordered from Japan. Well it was still waiting for the chip December 26th when the Tsunami confiscated it and took it into the Andaman sea . Lucky for me I had bought another less high tech washer in November which quit about 6 weeks ago. I am still waiting for a service person. The local dealer I purchase it from, sadly died when the tsunami hit.

Naturally I also lost my telephone service December 26th and received a temporary number around the middle of March. TOT had the gall to bill me for services rendered, including DSL, for January, February and March 2,200 baht. I am waiting for some Satellite Internet service, then they can stick their telephone up their respective &lt;deleted&gt;. Sunday night before Songkran the line wend dead again. I called TOT and was told: You know many people go to temple and many travel to visit relatives far away. Sooo? The world stands still meanwhile ??? :

The phone was dead for 10 days.

What a country But I still like it here.

Regards the ol' Captain, retired at last.

After reading your post, my dream of retiring in LOS is not as rosey. Problems like that would raise my blood pressure to no end.

Well xyz that's the reason I take blood pressure pills . (Just kidding. This was one reason I had to retire from flying because of hypertention which runs in the family)

But really, I am learning to adjust to a culture where people seem to be in perpetual fog, reacting to something that would drive me up a wall with just a shrug of the shoulder and c'est la vie attitude.

Like the following.

I sent one of our out of work drivers and paid him for the day to Mitsubishi in Phuket with my Pickup to have the air conditoner taken care of. According to him they too are not equipped to take on the work. (unbelievable but true ) He then took it to one of his "friend's" shop who in his words was another "expert". Sure enough the guy discovered that the shop who had repaired the truck after the accident had used the old bent high pressure line to the condensor and patched a hole in it with Superglue. However it needed a new receiver dryer which was, as he said "full of water ?" OK, change it. On the way home yesterday my Mitsu pickup picked Thaimuang as the place to scare halve the town to death when the compressor jammed, the fan belt smoked and finally snapped. (Everybody thought the car was on fire But directly in front of a place called THAI MUANG AUTOSOUND AND AIR. Why didn't anybody tell me about this place ? My driver told me that they are the best equipped shop within 200 km. I was told that the "expert" in Phucket overcharged the system, lost most of the oil causing the compressor to jam. (sounds logical). End of story. Great service though. The car was ready the very next day. Replaced Compressor, dryer, belt, recharged with Freon. (probably not the right stuff but who cares ) 22,750 Baht. (No wonder we yankees have to prove an income of 60,000 Baht per months or more to live here. Back in the US I could probably sue the guy as well as Mitsubishi for not living up to their warrantee, but who cares at this point. The air conditioner works, (for now anyway).

Internet access is another sore point.

I have in the past tried several alternates to TOT‘s shitty and intermittent service. Appropriately TOT means "dead" in German which is the case, especially if it rains. Anywhere in the world a question "Why is the phone dead ?" is answered by "is it raining"? would be hillarious, but not in Thailand. Last year one satellite provider tried to sell me a system which involved a huge dish antenna. It looked like a tracking station used to contact space aliens. The price was right but then DSL came into town (and went with the arrival of the tsunami. ) Recently I found out about another satellite provider for “supposedly” 1200 Baht per month, unlimited service. The only stipulation was that I must purchase the dish antenna as well as the converter for 13,500 Baht. No problem, I just spent twice that much to get air-conditioning back on my truck which is still under warrantee. I sent my trusty Thai representative to Phuket to buy the thing. Done deal. To have it hooked up involved contacting an authorized installer. A very nice English speaking lady answered my query, but her first question to me was: “Are you familiar with the monthly charges?” “Sure sweetheart, 1200 Baht a month”. “Oh no” she purred, “It is 12,000 Baht per month”. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat ?? I screamed.

“I don’t want to buy your company, just your service” I said softly trying not to scare the sweet sounding thing at the other end .

You gotta love it

The ol’ Capt.

Btw. The washing machine guy hasn't shown up as yet

Holy sh1t Aviator you're getting through some Baht. You must be loaded, or rather, were Going by your well natured rantings you seem to not let it worry you too much though, which is the main thing I spose. BTW, Mitsubishi isn't well loved here I believe, and it's not hard to see why. Stick with Toyota or Isuzu, buy a Zanussi front loader washer and tell TOT to &lt;deleted&gt; off! They're about as much use as tits on a kipper. Regards the old boy and the bike incident, if you'd have flattened him you'd only have to have paid out 100,000 to the family and they'd be happy. Next time I get ripped off by a tuk, tuk driver I shall think about your misfortunes and it will make we feel a lot better.

Take it easy

[RDN]

... TOT means "dead"  in German ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

- dtot (ตด) means "fart" in Thai.

[billyboy]

I must admit i thought i had problems until i read aviatodors posting!

Thats why i tend to only have short holidays 3 to 4 times a year in Thailand as i start to get pissed off with Thais after a while.

I never bother using Tuk Tuks anymore but they really started to piss me off when they use to stop when i was at traffic lights asking me "You want massage"?

After a while them asking if i want massage and taxis asking this i started to say yes "Yes darling,would you massage me"?

After working out that i wanted them to massage me they would usually drive off in shock or not mention massage in the cab anymore.

But i have to admit i have met more bangkok good cabbies than bad.The tuk tuk drivers are all bad,but the cabbies are pretty good.

I met a few who were uni students,another who owned his green/yellow cab who had just spent 10 years in new zealand and a few others.Only one bad one who had one tooth who threatened,well pratically threatened me that it was 100 baht to turn right from suringwongse rd into rama 4 road and stop outside lumpini park but anyway i never get those ones who are outside hotels.

Edited June 12, 2005 by billyboy

[cobra]

All in all Boy you've been pretty lucky as some of the posts illustrates,

Every foreigner to a new country gets scammed a little, call it a right of passage, there's nothing unique to the game in Bangkok, be it New York, Rio, San Hose, if someone can make a buck on another's ignorance, generosity or unfamiliarity they will.

You say you still return frequently to the LOS so you enjoy it here,

BKK as well as the country in general is a wonderful place, little scams and all.

[aviador88]

All in all Boy you've been pretty lucky as some of the posts illustrates,

Every foreigner to a new country gets scammed a little, call it a right of passage, there's nothing unique to the game in Bangkok, be it New York, Rio, San Hose, if someone can make a buck on another's ignorance, generosity or unfamiliarity they will.

You say you still return frequently to the LOS so you enjoy it here,

BKK as well as the country in general is a wonderful place, little scams and all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I completely forgot the "very first rip offs".

Iinitially I had rented a bunglow which had a small kitchen. The water was supplied by a pipe, way up the mountain. Good enough for washing dishes, showering etc.

Drinking water needed to be via the usual 10 gallon 10 baht plastic bottle. First of all, too heavy for me to negotiate and second I wanted cold water. I purchased a "water cooler", standard equipment in probably every office of every civilized country. One full year warrantee, I was assured.

2 weeks later, this thing stopped humming, dispensing only tepid HO2. I had just purchased the truck so I schlepped it to the fellow's store where I had bought it.

"Savasdee crap, you have problem" ? Yes, it doesn't work any more. "OK, did you send in warrantee card "? "I don't know, but here are all the papers, ( in Thai) you gave me when I bought it." "Oh, we have problem now, you never sent in card". "Look, you know I bought it here". "Chai, chai, you good customer, buy many things here"."Hey, it still looks new, can't you just put it back in stock and tell the company you tried to sell it and found out it was defective?". Oh no, no can do, that would be dishonest." So, screwing a Farang is quite legit but bending the rule a little with the company that sells inferior merchandise is not Allah's way. (He was Muslim.) Scratch one.

Not too far after the above experience I needed to solder something. Just a wire on a remote control car I bought for one of the kids around here. I purschased a, I admit cheap looking 200 Watt electric soldering iron. (220 baht I think it cost). Plugged it in, soldered one wire and as I reached for the iron again, there was loud "pufff", the entire thing turned glowing read and gave up it's ghost. Returning to the store, I presented the dead corpus delecti including my receipt to the cashier who even recognized me as the guy who bought it about 30 minutes ago. After a lengthy conference amongst the managing staff, I was in formed that I "abused the item" and therefore am not entitle to a relacement.

How can I abuse something that gets plugged into a wall outlet, used for 10 minutes, then rolls over and dies ?

This should have given me a clue of things to come.

Greetings, the ol' Capt.

[camerata]

After a lengthy conference amongst the managing staff, I was in formed that I "abused the item" and therefore am not entitle to a relacement.

How can I abuse something that gets plugged into a wall outlet, used for 10 minutes, then rolls over and dies ?

Heh, heh. Well, you're a farang so you probably held it tighter than a Thai would! But, seriously, all of this bad service regarding the replacement of faulty things comes down to the very low margin that Thais sell at. Everyone wants to buy at the cheapest cost, regardless of the quality, which anyway can't be ascertained at the time of purchase. So there is never enough margin to pay even for the process of replacing something.

Thais get screwed over these things too. When my landlord changed my air-con unit (without informing me first), I got a locally assembled piece of junk that stopped pushing out cool air and started gasping every night at 2am. After 9 months of complaining and visits from the vendor during which the problem never occurred (he claimed I was pushing the wrong buttons on the remote!), I finally left it on for 24 hours and when he opened the cover it was a block of ice inside.

He took it away and after it was reinstalled it was hardly cool at all and the monthly electricity bill shot up from 1800 baht to 6000 baht. Plus a fuse kept blowing and the remote kept failing. My landlord paid 4000 baht of the power bill for me and agreed to pay half if I bought a brand-name air-con myself. But he never complained to the vendor at all, and the faulty unit is still lying downstairs in a shed.

[udon]

Cap'n, I've got this Norwegian Blue Parrot, a great talker.

Money back guarantee if it doesn't talk.

Only 75000bt..... cheap.

Interested?

[daleyboy]

On a positive note i have bought a stereo/cd player from jusco, when i got back to my apartment it broke within 30 minutes, my wife said i wouldnt get a replacement but i took it back anyway the staff were very apologetic and gave me a replacement there and then, that was 4 years ago and it is still going strong, so i guess you get what you pay for

[kreon]

After a lengthy conference amongst the managing staff, I was in formed that I "abused the item" and therefore am not entitle to a relacement.

How can I abuse something that gets plugged into a wall outlet, used for 10 minutes, then rolls over and dies ?

Heh, heh. Well, you're a farang so you probably held it tighter than a Thai would! But, seriously, all of this bad service regarding the replacement of faulty things comes down to the very low margin that Thais sell at. Everyone wants to buy at the cheapest cost, regardless of the quality, which anyway can't be ascertained at the time of purchase. So there is never enough margin to pay even for the process of replacing something.

Thais get screwed over these things too. When my landlord changed my air-con unit (without informing me first), I got a locally assembled piece of junk that stopped pushing out cool air and started gasping every night at 2am. After 9 months of complaining and visits from the vendor during which the problem never occurred (he claimed I was pushing the wrong buttons on the remote!), I finally left it on for 24 hours and when he opened the cover it was a block of ice inside.

He took it away and after it was reinstalled it was hardly cool at all and the monthly electricity bill shot up from 1800 baht to 6000 baht. Plus a fuse kept blowing and the remote kept failing. My landlord paid 4000 baht of the power bill for me and agreed to pay half if I bought a brand-name air-con myself. But he never complained to the vendor at all, and the faulty unit is still lying downstairs in a shed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i always buy at carrefour, lotus, central and emporium, once my tv(sony) went after 3 months of usage, emporium brought me a new one as replacement

yeah, maybe pay alittle more, so what, its service that you're after

[udon]

The Cap is a long way from dept stores.

[camerata]

i always buy at carrefour, lotus, central and emporium, once my tv(sony) went after 3 months of usage, emporium brought me a new one as replacement

yeah, maybe pay alittle more, so what, its service that you're after

Right. I bought my National air-con from Central Powerbuy. It started leaking water after a week, and after videotaping it in action National said it was a manufacturing fault and replaced it. The replacement made a weird beeping noise when the compressor switched on and although they were never able to fix it before the warranty ran out they did replace a PCB and come out several times without giving me any lame excuses.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Cap'n, I've got this Norwegian Blue Parrot, a great talker.

Money back guarantee if it doesn't talk.

Only 75000bt..... cheap.

Interested?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is that a brother of the one I got from you Saturday Udon ?

[aviador88]

The Cap is a long way from dept stores.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Udon, I was and in a way still am and more so after Dec 26th. Back then nobody ever heard of Khao Lak. The tsunami put the town on the map in a macabre way I shopped in Phuket for furniture as well as the first washer at the time, not because I was looking for bargains but the selection. If I liked something, I bought it. I had sold my home in New Jersey for which I paid $ 26.900, 35 years ago for $ 300,000.oo, so I wan't exactly a pauper arriving here. (I am trying to spend my children's inhertitance, hoping to have nothing left they could be fighting over after my demise. ) Since my only transportation at the time was that little Mitsu salon car the delivery charges alone were over 2000 baht (I live about 120 km north of Phuket city) which would have negated any kind of savings on the purchase anyway.

The TV, DVC/CD player, stereo, flat panel monitor, refrigerator, water cooler vacuum cleaner etc. were all purchased locally, as was the UBC satellite system. As my luck would have it, all the establishments I bought the items from were wiped out by the tsunami. I also still get sick thinking about all the stuff I had to throw out, or give away back in the states, beause everything was 110 V . One computer as well as the laptop were dual voltage and can be used here.

Believe me, I had my problems with warrantees back in the US as well. In 1965, I bought a Chrysler Crown Imperial, next to Cadillac then the most expensive luxury car available. I paid just over $ 8,000.oo when a Ford or Chevy wa selling for under $ 2,000.oo at the time. It was the worst piece of junk I ever owned. It spent more time in the shop, than in my garage and the dealer treated me like I had purchased a used Plymouth. Even a law suit only made the lawyer rich.

I always had a very positive outlook on life as it is. How can anything get better, when it hasn't been bad before ?

Greets the ol Capt, happily retired.