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Posted

I have been ripped off by a Bangkok travel agent and want to know what legal steps to take in response. The agent, XXXXXXX Travel LTD, operating from an office in the Ambassador Plaza on Sukhimvit Soi 11, owes me for a refund for two round trip tickets to the US that I had to cancel. The agent claimed for four months that he was waiting for a refund from his wholesaler. I finally told him that it had been too long and that I was going to take action. He then admitted that he had received the refund but claimed that he didn't have the money to give me a refund. This agent has done nothing but lie about this for over four months. How should I deal with this in Bangkok?

Thank you,

Wayne

EDIT Sorry Wayne, I've had to remove the name of the travel company, naming and shaming is not permitted for legal reasons.

Posted

Wow...that sucks. Did you use a credit card? If not, this is a tough lesson to learn. Always use a credit card for purchases like this. I had the same problem with Turkish Airlines. They would not refund my money...but my credit card company sorted it out.

Do you have a wife or GF who is Thai? If so, get them involved and contact either the tourist police or go to the local police station. You can for sure file a report there. After that...good luck...

Posted

Did you use a credit card? If not, this is a tough lesson to learn. Always use a credit card for purchases like this. I had the same problem with Turkish Airlines. They would not refund my money...but my credit card company sorted it out.

you can add air asia , to the list .

they specialise in flight cancellation . :jap:

Posted

Did you use a credit card? If not, this is a tough lesson to learn. Always use a credit card for purchases like this. I had the same problem with Turkish Airlines. They would not refund my money...but my credit card company sorted it out.

you can add air asia , to the list .

they specialise in flight cancellation . :jap:

Yeah, I had problems with them also...they cancelled a flight and I had to wait 10 hours in Penang for the next one. No fun for sure. But, I guess you get what you pay for with AirAsia...usually! :(

Posted

They SHOULD be authorized through TAT to sell travel tickets. IF they are, speak to them again stating you will contact TAT, might get a result. TAT license number should be clearly displayed on their premises and paperwork.

Posted

SP Thaiconnections has a website, www.thaiconnections.com When you go to the site click on FAQ and they will give you the tel number for TAT and suggest you contact them about dishonest agents!

Posted

sadly your options are very limited

Option 1. Get a lawyer and file a law suit.Most likely you will win, but it will cost you 50000-100000. and even if you win and he does not have the money, you then have to go to court again t get an order to take things from him.

Option 2, Contact and file a case with police. there is a chance that there are other people who have been conned by him, so possibly police will act. You can also contribute some donation and get them to act.

Option 3. File a claim with Consumer Board protection http://www.ocpb.go.th/ This option is free, but will take time.

Good luck.

PS. If you did pay with credit card, then you can file a chargeback with your bank.

Posted

That’s a costly lesson for you. As in such kind of cases all you need to do is pay via credit card. So if such kind of scenario is there, your money will be in your reach only as you can direct your bank to cancel that very transaction.

Posted

The problems with paying by credit card is that the the Travel Agents often Charge 3%....

On an economy ticket that adds approximately B1200... On a business Class ticket thats an extra B6000 if traveling as a couple...

Going in to see the guy and requesting his TAT number appears the best option for now. This may trigger him into paying you back.

Failing that, file a complaint with the Police and ask them to accompany you to visit the Travel Agent. You will most likely have to pay for their time.

Posted

Did you use a credit card? If not, this is a tough lesson to learn. Always use a credit card for purchases like this. I had the same problem with Turkish Airlines. They would not refund my money...but my credit card company sorted it out.

you can add air asia , to the list .

they specialise in flight cancellation . :jap:

But Air Asia do refund. Even if only by a credit shell.

Posted

My answer does not help the OP, i know.....

But other future victims are reading this.

I always buy my airtickets from european websites or direct from the airlines, and - as a bonus..... usually they charge little or nothing for paying with credit card.

I would NEVER consider going through a thai travel agent.

Sometimes, government regulations and controls can be usefull......

Posted

The agent charges 3.5% for credit card payments so I paid cash. The travel agent is English (he has a Thai wife who is a partner) so I trusted him, stupid me.

Posted

Obviously 3.5% now seems a small amount to pay for peace of mind !

If you have the time you could stand outside the shop and warn every customer entering his shop. I am sure that would soon get him either paying up or out of business.

As a further step you could post the information on all travel forums without naming but making it clear exactly which premises you are referring to.

Posted

The agent charges 3.5% for credit card payments so I paid cash. The travel agent is English (he has a Thai wife who is a partner) so I trusted him, stupid me.

Any up-date concerning your refund?

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

UPDATE:

I contacted TAT through their web site and was advised to submit a complaint to [email protected]. I did so but didn't even receive an acknowledgment. Going back to that email for the email address, I just noticed that I put their email address in the subject line, not to, so apparently I didn't actually send it to them. I did cc the travel agent though so perhaps that helped.

Next I went to the police. The Lumpini police station has jurisdiction for Sukhumvit Soi 11 so my wife and I went there. We submitted a complaint which was taken. The police wouldn't go with us to confront the travel agent but advised us to go there and demand a statement acknowledging how much we were owed and with a specific date of when the agency would repay us. The police were very professional and advised us that if we could get that statement and the agency didn't give the refund by the promised date that we should return to the police who would then take action. This seemed reasonable so I went to the travel agent's office. I demanded the written statement and stated my opinion of the agent loudly. Much to my surprise the agent gave me the statement, promising payment by 12 November. This was not soon enough for me, I wanted to break his nose and wreck the office but my wife was with me and I decided I didn't need to see the police again that day.

I took no further action, waiting for the promised date. Much to my surprise the agent called me the evening of the 11th telling me that the money had been transferred to my bank account. I checked and it was there.

I still caution against dealing with this travel agent. If he's playing games with my refund this month there's a good chance that he'll be taking money and not booking tickets in the future, leaving people stranded at airports.

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