Bangkok Taxis

[Traxster]

Last weekend I went up to Bangkok for a couple of days.

On Sunday I stepped out of my Hotel waved down a taxi and asked if he would take me to MBK.

The driver indicated that he would.

After about five minutes he suddenly pulled up in front of a shop and said to me something along the lines of,'you go shop,I go get gasoline'.

I said 'no thanks I don't want to go into that shop I want to go to MBK'

Driver says..'no, no you go shop,I go get gasoline'

I said 'no I want to go to MBK'

driver says'ok but I get gasoline first,you go shop'.

At this point I exited the taxi nand started to walk away whereupon a man who was standing outside the shop took my arm and attempted to lead me into the aforementioned shop.

I pulled my arm away just as the Taxi driver jumped out of the cab and started yelling,that I hadn't paid him,or words to that affect.

I said 'there's 53 baht on the meter I'll pay you that much'

Driver says'no,no cost more to go to MBK'

I said 'but we're not at MBK,you wouldn't take me there.I want to go to MBK'.................

Just then a policeman arrives on the scene and at about the same time a lady came out of one of the other shops to see what all the yelling and screamimg was all about.

She said to me,'what happening'

I said'do you speak English ?'

She says 'yes'

So I asked her to tell the policeman what my problem was,which,I assume,she proceeded to do.

Policeman talks in Thai,with driver then talks ,in Thai, with the lady.

The lady turns to me and says,'policeman says you pay two hundred baht and driver take you to MBK'

I said 'but the meter isn't showing two hundred baht even yet and we've been standing here yelling for about five minutes,I'm not paying that driver any more than what the meter says'.

Lady says,'no not pay driver,pay policeman'

I say Pay policeman,what for?'

'Otherwise he will arrest you'

'arrest me what for ?'

'Insulting a Thai' say she...................................!!

But I haven't even spoken to him'say I

'never mind'says lady,'you pay policeman two hundred baht,him not arrest you'.

What can you do ?????

So I payed the policeman his graft but then everyone says that's good,now get back in the taxi and he'll take you to MBK........

Not effen likely says I and began to walk away when the driver starts complaining again.

I looked at the lady and she says 'driver say he lose money if you don't go in him taxi'

But by then I had had them all up to 'here'.

I just turned and with as much dignity as I could muster walked away.

Now I'm wondering if they weren't all in cahoots ???

Another dumb farang bites the dust...............

[britmaveric]

Call the BIB bluff and go to the police station. I quite imagine the BIB would have backed down.

[DoubtingThomas]

Call the BIB bluff and go to the police station. I quite imagine the BIB would have backed down.

In the purest sense, you are of course right BM, but anyone who has lived in Thailand MUST have gone through this "blackmail", especially with a cop, numerous times, usually for some imagined traffic offense. I have been tempted myself on occasion to "take it all the way" and see if he'll arrest me, but once that initial rush of blood to the head has subsided I have always concluded that at 100 or 200 baht it is easier and cheaper to just put it down to experience. The trouble with bill (police) is that once they have hold of you what might mysteriously appear in your pocket is out of your control. Just not worth the risk, I don't think.

[onnut]

Better to just pay the 200, it's really annoying but will probably be the cheapest option.

Some really bad taxi drivers in Bangkok but the police are a whole different level.

I think the OP did ok there considering his options.

[rfukata]

Crappy taxi drivers & rogue cigarette cops (naming a few), contribute into harming the tourist or visitors industry. Don't these people get it especially at a crucial point in Thailand's recovery?

[MSingh]

What can you do ?????

Pya the 200 THB, smile & walk away...

Look on the bright side, if those people have to do things like that in their Lives, you should feel pity more than anything else..

[Goshawk]

Call the BIB bluff and go to the police station. I quite imagine the BIB would have backed down.

......The trouble with bill (police) is that once they have hold of you what might mysteriously appear in your pocket is out of your control. Just not worth the risk, I don't think.

absolutely spot on there...

the BIB in question would not stand the loss of face if you happened to find his superior who was (unlikely) sympathetic to you.. but it wouldn't happen anyway because the police will always stick together..

better to pay up to the bent bobby & walk away...

[dantilley]

I stepped out of my Hotel

Which hotel was it?

[CarlBkk]

Absolutely no chance. Don't make it so dam easy for them. Take some photos of them with your mobile phone first, that will throw them off. Act very calm and say you will pay what's on the meter. Ask the policeman 3 times directly that he wants 200 baht from you for nothing, and then ask his name and station. Put this into your phone. Then tell him directly that you will call your Embassy to tell them of this situation and to get a lawyer, then the Tourist Police to come before you go back to the station to be arrested for nothing and asked for corrupt money.

You'll be sent on your way.

[SausageKing]

Absolutely no chance. Don't make it so dam easy for them. Take some photos of them with your mobile phone first, that will throw them off. Act very calm and say you will pay what's on the meter. Ask the policeman 3 times directly that he wants 200 baht from you for nothing, and then ask his name and station. Put this into your phone. Then tell him directly that you will call your Embassy to tell them of this situation and to get a lawyer, then the Tourist Police to come before you go back to the station to be arrested for nothing and asked for corrupt money.

You'll be sent on your way.

I wonder why Thailand is quiet and no tourist ummmmm ???

[britmaveric]

^carl has it spot on. Trust me - the BIB do not want the hassle at the end of the day. It creates problems and headaches. They are looking for those people who dont put up a fight and obviously they found one with the OP.

[Kilgore Trout]

Absolutely no chance. Don't make it so dam easy for them. Take some photos of them with your mobile phone first, that will throw them off. Act very calm and say you will pay what's on the meter. Ask the policeman 3 times directly that he wants 200 baht from you for nothing, and then ask his name and station. Put this into your phone. Then tell him directly that you will call your Embassy to tell them of this situation and to get a lawyer, then the Tourist Police to come bef

ore you go back to the station to be arrested for nothing and asked for corrupt money.

You'll be sent on your way.

I once was accosted by two cops on the street wanting to search me etc., of course being completely innocent of anything I went on the offensive as you suggest.

Now I have lived in thailand quite a long time and can read a situation pretty well, I could tell right from the look on their faces that they were having none of that, their body language instantly became aggressive and in a split second I could tell something really bad was about to happen to me.

I immediately changed my tone to ultra respectful, let them search me, said thank you (kop pom, kop pom) etc. and they let me go, no problem.

I don't get that feeling often but this was one of those times.

Be careful of the advice you give, bad things can and do happen here. You have to ask yourself "is it worth it?"

[dantilley]

There's a big difference between being searched and having money extorted from you. If you act defensively and agressively to a cop anywhere in the world to their request to search you, you can expect a reaction like the one you received, in fact you probably got off quite lightly.

[britmaveric]

Don't have to be disrespectful, and that is the worse thing to do. Ask name, station and supervisor. Take photo(s) and put a little heat on them. Least don't make it easy...

[Kilgore Trout]

There's a big difference between being searched and having money extorted from you. If you act defensively and agressively to a cop anywhere in the world to their request to search you, you can expect a reaction like the one you received, in fact you probably got off quite lightly.

I would agree if you said being searched with probable cause; giving police with no probable cause access to possibly drop something in your pocket in an effort to extort you is another.

btw, I was never aggressive or defensive in any way; I simply asked why they wanted to search me, what station they were from etc.

The situations are not exactly the same but not night and day.

[Kilgore Trout]

Don't have to be disrespectful, and that is the worse thing to do. Ask name, station and supervisor. Take photo(s) and put a little heat on them. Least don't make it easy...

In most cases I can think of you would probably have the camera slapped out of your hand before you could snap the photo.

In Thailand the act in itself of questioning them or in your words "put a little heat on them" is in itself extremely disrespectful (in the eyes of the bib, or any cop anywhere, some countries have accountability but not here) so it has nothing to do with how "polite" you are when doing it.

It all depends on how motivated the cop is to get what he wants, and then there is the loss of face.

[dantilley]

btw, I was never aggressive or defensive in any way;

Then why did you say this in your earlier post:

of course being completely innocent of anything I went on the offensive as you suggest.

[Kilgore Trout]

btw, I was never aggressive or defensive in any way;

Then why did you say this in your earlier post:

of course being completely innocent of anything I went on the offensive as you suggest.

I think you need to re-read CarlBkk's post. Offensive does not = aggressive.

Get your facts straight and stop quoting out of context.

[DoubtingThomas]

I'm sorry guys, but I have to maintain my line that it is best to just pay up and take it in your stride. It is a sweeping generalization to assume all BIB's will act the same. They won't, not because they're Thai but because they're people. The one thing you do know is that, almost to a man, they are corrupt. How much of a nutcase they are too, you just don't know. It's a bit like the Brits who come to the US and think they can give a cop here lip as you can in the UK. They find out pretty quickly, the hard way, that you cannot. Look, by all means push a BIB for lower tea money, I've done it myself, and in a strange way they almost respect it. But, just like the Art of War, don't corner them, it is just asking for trouble.

[theoldgit]

^^^^^

Yes, Doubting Thomas is absolutly correct, if a corrupt police officer wants to extort 200 Baht from you, you should pay up without question, prehaps adding "are you sure that 200 Baht is enough officer?", I mean it's only 200 Baht and it's far better to accept it allowing the officer to get on his way and find another victim.

It would be absolutly wrong to expect a man masquerading as a law enforcement officer to lose face whilst going about his corrupt business.

[phomthai]

Respectfully ask for a receipt for the police "fine" before you pay the copper...chances are he'll refuse a receipt so you just add "Ok let's go to the police station & sort it out there, I've got plenty of time on my hands" whilst looking at your watch....

Chances are he'll back down & look for another mug to mug!

[TCW]

Absolutely no chance. Don't make it so dam easy for them. Take some photos of them with your mobile phone first, that will throw them off. Act very calm and say you will pay what's on the meter. Ask the policeman 3 times directly that he wants 200 baht from you for nothing, and then ask his name and station. Put this into your phone. Then tell him directly that you will call your Embassy to tell them of this situation and to get a lawyer, then the Tourist Police to come bef

ore you go back to the station to be arrested for nothing and asked for corrupt money.

You'll be sent on your way.

I once was accosted by two cops on the street wanting to search me etc., of course being completely innocent of anything I went on the offensive as you suggest.

Now I have lived in thailand quite a long time and can read a situation pretty well, I could tell right from the look on their faces that they were having none of that, their body language instantly became aggressive and in a split second I could tell something really bad was about to happen to me.

I immediately changed my tone to ultra respectful, let them search me, said thank you (kop pom, kop pom) etc. and they let me go, no problem.

I don't get that feeling often but this was one of those times.

Be careful of the advice you give, bad things can and do happen here. You have to ask yourself "is it worth it?"

Very good post and I always give this advice to friends who come to visit me in Bangkok. Nothing is worth wasting a few hours in a police station over (if you are lucky), if the alternative is to pay a police extorter 200 baht. Outrageous yes, but pragmatic advice.

[JN45]

10 years in Thailand and my view is don' t fool around with anyone in a position of power for the sake 200 Baht.. You could just find the one who will make it his mission to cause you as big a problem as possible- and they do exist...

[FarangBuddha]

Call the BIB bluff and go to the police station. I quite imagine the BIB would have backed down.

I tend to agree. Because farangs fall for these shakedowns, the BIB continue to try them. The solution is for farangs who have genuinely done nothing wrong to calmly and politely refuse to comply...and explain the situation at the police station if necessary [and I agree it's not likely to be taken this far by the cop on the beat].

As for handling taxi drivers, this situation can be tricky...in this situation, handing over the B 53 or placing it on the front seat of the cab [if refused] would have been entirely appropriate and walking away or getting in another cab. However, if the driver becomes very agitated and reaches for the machete he keeps under his seat for protection...run like hel_l

[Murf]

10 years in Thailand and my view is don' t fool around with anyone in a position of power for the sake 200 Baht.. You could just find the one who will make it his mission to cause you as big a problem as possible- and they do exist...

It's hard to gauge the exact scenario with the Police Man, because we do not know what the girl told him. She maybe told him wrong, or like you say, they were all in it together. Also we do not know your "attitude" when all this happening, obviously got your back up (it would have mine) which brings out your aggressive side which could be deemed insulting.

But there is no way i would be paying 200baht out because i was the one getting scammed!

It's not the amount of money, it is the principle.

Sometimes learning to speak Thai is worth the effort and the money...

[dsprtliving]

I wonder if the shop you were taken to was on the Soi just down from the Siam@Siam hotel near MBK? There is one of those big "gem" factory stores just behind the hotel that definitely run a racket on whatever unsuspecting tourists they can coax into their store. And there are guys that hang out at the mouth of the soi that will happily shuffle you into a conveniently waiting taxi/tuk tuk for a bit of "free" sightseeing in exchange for a store visit later. I live down the Soi in question and see tourists getting hassled daily.

[swerver]

Crappy taxi drivers & rogue cigarette cops (naming a few), contribute into harming the tourist or visitors industry. Don't these people get it especially at a crucial point in Thailand's recovery?

In tourism Repeats (Come Thailand more than one time) are few and far between. So all this taxi drivers, shop keepers, Police hassles do nothing to tourim business.

[OxfordWill]

Its happened to me 3 times in 7 years, at a total cost of about 1300 baht and sum of about 20 minutes of my life.

Choose your battles wisely.

"it's the principle" is possibly the worst advice to give newcomers to this country. Principles can only be safely defended when you are operating under a regime which itself recognises them in some manner.

[britmaveric]

^most thai BIB are extremely lazy and I guaranteed they are counting on you not making your way down to the police station. Police Station = paperwork and hassle. They'd rather move on to the next tourist who will pay.

[ma91c1an]

Those who continue to pay the police are part of the problem.

Simply refuse, point at the cop and say the magic word "kee-gong," which means "cheater," and walk away.

Walk away from the taxi driver. Walk away from the shop owner.

Walk away from all of them.

Your money is yours, and you are under no compulsion to give it away to anybody.

Permitting anybody to intimidate you simply perpetuates the behavior.

Do not be intimidated.

What can they do? Arrest you? They will not do it. They cannot do it. At the police station, you can rightly demand an English translator, and you can lodge charges of corruption against the cop.

It is better for them to hassle lower hanging fruit, so to speak, meaning people who have no spine.

Stand up to them, ignore them, and walk away. They cannot do anything about it.