Racism Alive And Well In Chiangmai

[alant]

I went to the airport mall on sunday to collect my new mobile phone. when i ordered it i asked about payment methods and was told no credit card surcharge!

when it came to paying for it there was a 2% charge for using my credit card! i queried this reminding them of the clarification at the time of ordering to which i received the reply "no charge for Thai; farrang have to pay 2%"

so there you go

[danbradster]

In any other country this would be called bait and switch or a fraudulent charge.

Edited November 15, 2010 by danbradster

[thaimiller]

At least as a farang you can claim the VAT back though when you leave the country. So not too bad.

[Mestizo]

Why not just walk away from this transaction and buy elsewhere?

Surely walking away from the deal and depriving the vendor of profit would be several times more effective than a random thaivisa post.

-Mestizo

[uptheos]

Why not just walk away from this transaction and buy elsewhere?

Surely walking away from the deal and depriving the vendor of profit would be several times more effective than a random thaivisa post.

-Mestizo

I agree - if they have moved the goalpost's, just tell them you're not going to complete the deal. In fact you might be better off not completing with this shop even if they agree to do away with the 2%.....they will remember you and if anything goes wrong with the phone and you go back.......well, TIT.

[wimpy]

Maybe they meant there was no charge for a Thai credit card vs. a foreign card.

[mrclough]

Maybe they meant there was no charge for a Thai credit card vs. a foreign card.

That was what I thought when first reading this too. I wonder if the OP clarified this with the store?

[cmsally]

What the shop meant was that, there would be no charge for a Thai credit card. Whereas they obviously forgot to tell you in advance there was a charge for a foreign credit card.

The percentage the banks charge the merchant on a foreign credit card is approx. 2% more so that would make sense. So obviously they have calculated to absorb the charges on a Thai card but not foreign.

Its not racism, its just a case of how businesses have adapted to the merchant charge coupled with incomplete information to the customer.

[CMX]

Well, absent information about which credit card, it's not clear to me. Profiteering rather than racism would be my conclusion anyway.

But I thank the responsible gods that nobody in my nation of birth, the U.S.A, would ever try to hit up a foreign visitor for a bigger price. Where I come from, we're just so unprejudiced and honorable that a situation like OP's could never happen to an Oriental gentleman! Otherwise, people would think that Americans were greedy.

However, I'm here now, so I try to think of every parameter of any purchase, because my expectations may not be those of tradition here - no returns policies, as an example. And I have Thai Visa to explain it all.

Edited November 15, 2010 by CMX

[sbk]

As stated, this is the surcharge the banks charge the merchant for using the card, they are passing the charge on to you. Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless. It is not racism, it is profiteering.

[endure]

Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless.

Depends where your credit card comes from. It's a legal practice in the UK.

[sbk]

Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless.

Depends where your credit card comes from. It's a legal practice in the UK.

Op says hes American, I was told by my credit card company that they do not allow the charge to be passed on to the consumer and I could file with them to get it back if I wanted.

[canopus1969]

As stated, this is the surcharge the banks charge the merchant for using the card, they are passing the charge on to you. Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless. It is not racism, it is profiteering.

Please explain why you say this is profiteering ?

[DiamondKing]

As stated, this is the surcharge the banks charge the merchant for using the card, they are passing the charge on to you. Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless. It is not racism, it is profiteering.

Please explain why you say this is profiteering ?

If the charge is based on RACE which the girl clearly said farang pay thai do not

then it is clearly racism

If i said blacks have to pay but whites do not its exactly the same thing

Racism

the profit is just the added benefit

DK

Edited November 15, 2010 by DiamondKing

[IanForbes]

Thais operate on such a small profit margin that they wouldn't make anything on the transaction. There is very lttle mark-up on cel-phones.

[cmsally]

In the case of farang paying and Thais not, I think its more probably down to language skills.

Lets face it not every store worker speaks perfect English and you have to make allowances as such.

As for profit it depends how they have calculated the profit margin. A lot of businesses here don't work the credit card charge into the cost of the product as they have many cash customers.

Maybe helpful to remember that in many countries you are paying for the credit card charge already whether you like it or not.

[alant]

thanks for all the replies.

for info;

i don't get the vat back i live here

the credit card was Thai not oversea

when i clarified if i would be charged for using the card they checked the card and my thai driving licence prior to saying that i would not be charged

when i went to pay i specifically noted it was due entirely to being farrang and it would be no charge if i was kun thai

i did understand what was going on.

hope that helps etc

all the best

[thaimiller]

Technically, they are not allowed to do so but they all do it nonetheless.

Depends where your credit card comes from. It's a legal practice in the UK.

Op says hes American, I was told by my credit card company that they do not allow the charge to be passed on to the consumer and I could file with them to get it back if I wanted.

Where in the post does the OP say he's American??? He's from Burnley. In the north of England.

As you know Alan I live here also but I always claim the VAT back on things when I leave Swampy.

Edited November 15, 2010 by thaimiller

[shepsel]

When I use my foreign credit card for a larger purchase and the merchant insists on adding on a surcharge for the transaction, I have them list the amount of the surcharge on the slip, then I contact the credit card company and request them to deduct the amount of the surcharge added. The excess fees have been deducted every time without incident.

[wimpy]

thanks for all the replies.

for info;

i don't get the vat back i live here

the credit card was Thai not oversea

when i clarified if i would be charged for using the card they checked the card and my thai driving licence prior to saying that i would not be charged

when i went to pay i specifically noted it was due entirely to being farrang and it would be no charge if i was kun thai

i did understand what was going on.

hope that helps etc

all the best

So why didn't you walk away?

[richard_smith237]

Edit: Changed Opinion based on Ops Last Post:

I still don't believe this is racism... They were simply trying it on.

Only a couple of things to do in those situations:

Get Cash or tell them to get stuffed and find and alternative shop.

To help the rest of us who do not wish to endure a good old fashioned time wasting.... I think there is enough justification for a Name and Shame here...

Edited November 15, 2010 by richard_smith237

[sbk]

Confused OP with another poster, apologies, then since it was a Thai card the foreign charge is not applicable. Yes, they were trying it on. I hope you walked away and went to a store more friendly to making actual sales?

[DavidMavec]

Check out Fabric night club. 300 baht for foreigners, nothing for Thai people!!!

[uptheos]

Edit: Changed Opinion based on Ops Last Post:

I still don't believe this is racism... They were simply trying it on.

Only a couple of things to do in those situations:

Get Cash or tell them to get stuffed and find and alternative shop.

To help the rest of us who do not wish to endure a good old fashioned time wasting.... I think there is enough justification for a Name and Shame here...

I understand where you are coming from and it would be good if more con places should be named and shamed.

However, naming and shaming on a public forum (especially regarding being conned out of money), without actually producing evidence, can still be construed as libel,

If anyone wants the name perhaps they could pm the OP and I'm sure he'd oblige.

[chuang]

Most shops in Thailand charge 2% for VISA cards transcation except large departmental stores..I bought a 30,000 baht laptop at Airport Plaza, nil charges....whereas a 5000 baht handphone at another shop wants a 2% charges...well i paid in cash...

[thinkinofstayin]

Edit: Changed Opinion based on Ops Last Post:

I still don't believe this is racism... They were simply trying it on.

Only a couple of things to do in those situations:

Get Cash or tell them to get stuffed and find and alternative shop.

To help the rest of us who do not wish to endure a good old fashioned time wasting.... I think there is enough justification for a Name and Shame here...

I agree that it's not quite racism, since that implies hatred. Double-pricing based on the idea that farangs are wealthier, although not a good practice, is not exactly insulting. It could almost be seen as a compliment.

Name and shame? Not allowed (unfortunately) as per forum rules.

Cash is king.

Edited November 15, 2010 by thinkinofstayin

[Contractor]

I was recently told in a (big, downtown) Thai restaurant that my foreign credit card (US bank) was not accepted - only Thai credit cards were. Farang had to pay cash.

Obviously, the VISA and MC stickers that they had displayed were only for Thai credit card usage....

Edited November 15, 2010 by Contractor

[thaimiller]

Check out Fabric night club. 300 baht for foreigners, nothing for Thai people!!!

But you get 300 baht discount vouchers off your drinks so its free for foreigners also in effect. It just keeps out the tourists that want to go in to a club and buy 1 water between 5 of them and have a free nights clubbing.

[richard_smith237]

Check out Fabric night club. 300 baht for foreigners, nothing for Thai people!!!

I suspect this is simply a matter of the bar trying it on and getting what they can. Many Thai's would simply vote with their feet and go somewhere else. Many Westerners are likely to think oh well <deleted> just pay. Perhaps its the bars way of filtering out those foreigners who are going to take up space without spending ?

On the flip side, I'm a partner in a Bar/club where one of the topics of discussion was how to attract further customers (i.e. Foreigners). One of the ideas floated (by a couple of the Thai partners) was that foreigners get a BOGOF (buy one get one free). It was actually I (as westerner) who had to point out that many others (Thai's) would see this as unfair.

We can't have one rule for one and one for another. Everyone is welcome on an equal basis provided they behave well and don't cause trouble.

However, Perhaps a tad unfair but justifiable nonetheless: I had to point out that I didn't want our bar to be a place that catered specifically to foreigners as that may attract the wrong type of ladies which in turn would attract the wrong type of foreigner.

I'm guessing some will agree or disagree with that last point. Some will understand, others will think I'm being a snob, I'll probably agree with most comments on that matter - but the decision is what is it, I don't want hookers and sex tourists in our bar as that will have a detrimental effect on many of the existing core customers.

[MrBrad]

When I bought my motorcycle last spring I wanted to use my Bangkok Bank card for payment until they told me there would be a 2% surcharge which amounted to almost $45 for the convenience of using the card. Needless to say, I paid in cash.