Scams In Thailand

[petedk]

I realise that there have been many postings here about the various scams and ways of cheating foreigners here in Thailand but I feel I have to write about 2 experiences that I had recently.

I don't often go to Pattaya but last week my friend persuaded me to go there. We sat on the beach drinking beers and watching people enjoying themselves on the jet scooters. We saw a couple of foreigners inquiring about the jet scooters and obviously they decided to have a go. I saw them checking the scooters and pointing to some small dents at the front. Anyway off they went and enjoyed themselves.

Some time later they came back and handed over the scooters. The Thai owner stood and pointed to the dent and I heard him ask for 5000 Baht. The foreigner said that he had pointed out the dent before he hired the scooter. Within seconds there were about 10 Thai people including one huge woman surrounding the foreigners and shouting at them.

Anyway the argument went on for 45 minutes or more and someone had in the meantime called the police. When they arrived all I could hear was this fat woman shouting "Farang gohok, farang gohok" (The foreigner is lieing).

It all ended with the foregners being arrested and taken away.

A good 20 minutes later a couple of other foreigners came and inquired about the jet scooters. They were told that it cost 500 baht and a Thai guy jumped on one of the scooters, started it up and drove around in a small circle. The foreigner decided he was too scared to try the scooter and started to walk away. He was immediately stopped by 3 or 4 Thais who appeared from nowhere and they demanded the 500 Baht for starting the scooter. He argued a bit but intimidated into giving them 100 baht.

Seeing these two episodes we decided to move along and asked for the bill for the beers and deckchairs. We paid the guy (who also owned the jet scooters) and as soon as we paid he asked for a "big tip". We just walked away and luckily nothing happened.

I have another story I experienced at Wat Praegaew a few days later. I overheard the usual remark " Oh it's 11 am. Wat closed for lunch. I take you shopping".

Nothing unusual about that except for the fact that the guy saying that was talking to a tourist police officer and just turned around to talk to the tourists. After the tourists refused to go with him he carried on talkiing to the cop who must have heard the whole conversation.

How long will it be before Thai people scare the tourists away? I know that there are millions of tourists out there but surely on day the numbers will drop.

[Simbo]

A very interesting post. I have lived near Pattaya for 4 years. it's always been paradise for ripoff merchants, but recently, with the decline in tourism, these sort of incidents are occuring more and more. I tend to keep clear of the beach rd and that area, especially at night

Your experience is as blatant as you can get. I wonder if they paid out in the end.

[britmaveric]

When pigs fly - if one can be taken advantage there will be those who will do so. (this applies world wide btw)

[Davey]

When pigs fly - if one can be taken advantage there will be those who will do so. (this applies world wide btw)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I very much agree ...if there is a market for these people, they will no doubt exploit it for all it is worth. It is also not just confined to Thailand as pointed out

[Buff-horns]

The gem scam has been going on for decades without any government action apart from warnings at the airport.

Bike rentals must be dodgy ,with theft a problem ,maybe by the renters themselves.

You could get hit for a new relacement bike costing serious money if its a big bike.it happens.

[ProfessorFart]

Scams and tourism go hand in hand. Strangers in a strange land have always been and always will be easy prey. Its not just a Thai thing!

Scams like the gem scam I couldn't care less about. People who fall for them are victims of their own greed and lack of research. The gem scam is in every guidebook and on virtually every Thai Tourism related website. If people can't be bothered to even do the simplest research beofre they travel then I have no sympathy for them.

Events like the OP described are more sinister. I wouldn't call them scams. I would say this is more like violent crime and a police matter.

I have experienced similar in the past in a few places. I don't think its anything new. I'd wager the coppers just picked up the guys and got them away from the scene to avoid any hassle and dropped them elsewhere.

[loong]

I did post about this scam some time ago, it has been going on for years.

A friend told me about 3 years ago, he was sitting on the beach at Jomtien and saw a farang hire a jetski.

When he returned the owner told him that he had dented the jetski and had to pay for the damage.

Not hoards of people same as OP, but Man in Brown arrives and farang had to pay.

A little later on, new farang, same story, same policeman

[sriracha john]

Similiar experience on Koh Samet with a "damaged" sea canoe wanting B2,000....

the difference being it was the German owner of the guesthouse demanding payment...

simply refuted his claim and dismissed him summarily...

[awarrumbungle]

Oh Pete, these kinds of things aren't restricted to unsuspecting tourists, it happens at every level of Thai society, and quite frankly after 2 long years in Thailand I'm really close to boycoting the country altogether and taking my business elsewhere. Heres my story.

I drew the line a few weeks ago at the school which I teach in after exposing a scandle that I was caught in the middle.

About 2 months ago I was kindly asked by one of my co-English teachers to (assist) her in organising a 2 week English study abroad program to Australia for our October school holidays. After weeks of emails back and forth to the many accommodating and helpful schools in Australia, I came up with a great package for our kids at a very reasonable cost. They even chucked in special discounts for any teachers that would like to join the tour.

As you all know, Thais being Thais can not organise the simplist of tasks , I ended up organising the whole ###### lot, study tour, visa costs, group discount flights and the price of the whole package etc. After a lot of work I gave the package to the so called "organiser" of the trip to offer to the students.

She in turn translated the whole lot into a Thai document and proceeded let the kids at school know the details, and in my stupidity, let her get on with it.

She then asked if I would be kind enough to help and join the tour. Her precise words were, " This will be a non-profit trip to keep the price down so you will need to pay your own way. You will be voluteering your time, your only 2 weeks holiday for the year, and your money at your discretion, think of it as doing it for the kids. All of the teachers who attend will have to pay too". I gave it a lot of thought and thought why not. A great experience and I do love my kids!

Weeks later after more than several kids and 4 teachers had registered, I by chance caught the Thai document for the tour on her desk. As it was in Thai I couldn't read it, but I did catch the price at the bottom of the page. For some reason 5000 baht per student more than the cost I gave her.

I spoke with my English coodinator (not the organiser of the trip, and a very lovely honest Thai), who told me the teacher organising the trip added the 5000 baht per student to fund her and the other 3 teachers trips.

I confonted her innocently and asked her about the extra money. Our conversation was as follows:

" I have added the extra money so we ( the Thai teachers) can supervise the students. As were Thai and not rich like you, it will help us to pay for our trip", She said.

"But they have 24/7 supervision anyway, you don't need to supervise them. It's a study tour" I explained. " They have homestay and boarding accomodation at a school".

"Yes but we (4 teachers) need to make sure everything is ok", she said.

"So why did you tell me this was a non-profit trip, all teachers will need to fund themselves, and why do I have to pay and you don't. After all I have organised the whole thing. Can't you give me something towards my expenses too?". I asked.

"Why?", she said all confused. "Surely you can afford 65,000 baht. Your a farang".

It was at that point I quite bluntly told her the trip was cancelled. I had had enough of her corruption, and that the only reason she had wanted to organise a study tour in the first place was so her and a few teachers could get a free trip to OZ.

We live and we learn!

Thailand, the land of smiles..........oh sorry, I meant Lieland, the land of lies and deception.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

Pay for the jet ski rental and ride it all the way to Ko Samet and never give it back - then see who has the last laugh.

[AsiaWolfie]

if such scam thing happens in Pattaya, Phuket or Chiang Mai, you can report to the english-language-newspapers there (Pattaya Today, Pattaya Mail, Phuket Ghazette, Chiang Mai Mail). they will hopefully publish the case in their next issue and then there is at least a little chance the authorities will have to take some action against it..... its not a guarantee that the scam will stop, but it will be made visible to the Farang community (so they can avoid doing business with the scammers) but not reporting to anyone means, supporting it.... give it a try next time..... doesnt hurt.....

[sanook2me]

This is not so much a scam but a beware because this is Thai style.

After living in an apartment block for over a year I decided to move rooms to the biggest studio they let in the block, I had been paying B5,500 baht per month and was moving too the biggest B8,500 studio per month in the same block.

The scam/problem arose when the lady manager was checking the old room for any problems. The fridge in there apparently was rented to me at B500 per month but the fridge in the new room was included in the cost of the room. So after living there for over a year she wanted to charge me a whole years back rent for the fridge!!!!!!!!! even though I was a great customer paid all my bills on time and was moving into the biggest rooms available. I told her to stuff it, as it was her fault and new fridges only cost B5,000. Her reply 'I forget, you pay or go' this was so maddening there was no business acumen from her at all.

My style, was to sit with her, with all of my Thai dictionaries as she couldn't speak English and try to reason with her. Eventually she caved in and said 'I headache' and we settled on half the bill B2,500. I moved out of there after the 6 month period into a much better place.

Big tip. Get a Thai person to find a property to rent and go for privately owned so all the utility bills come direct too you! my bills were halved instantly I moved from the old apartment and into my privately owned room.

Now after 4 years in Bkk I'm back home in blighty and the cheapest houses/flats to rent are 450 squid per month with no swimming pool, gym, security, beautiful ladies, free food delivery, maid service, laundry etc..... but fridges included in most of them

[Ricardo]

Life in LOS would be a lot less fun, without the dying water-buffalo, sick mother-in-law, dented brother-in-law's car, and so on.

Relax & enjoy the joke

[loong]

Life in LOS would be a lot less fun, without the dying water-buffalo, sick mother-in-law, dented brother-in-law's car, and so on.

Relax & enjoy the joke 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are referring to sob stories.

The scams mentioned in this thread where you could be forced to pay by intimidation or by the police are no joke!

[Ricardo]

Life in LOS would be a lot less fun, without the dying water-buffalo, sick mother-in-law, dented brother-in-law's car, and so on.

Relax & enjoy the joke  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are referring to sob stories.

The scams mentioned in this thread where you could be forced to pay by intimidation or by the police are no joke!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True. This reminds me of the time I fell for the Patpong bg-show scam, all drinks 100B, in my green and tender days. The heavies on the exit were definitely an off-putting experience, especially for 1st-time tourists, happily the LOS-experience got better as it went along.

[BaanOz]

Yep I was stung maybe 12 years ago in Phuket with a jetski (yeah, yeah they even had 'em back then ). Lesson learnt with a relatively small loss.

Anyway, since that episode I have been wary about hiring anything in Thailand! Hiring a car make sure ever nick and scratch is noted on documents etc etc.

They **** it for all the other legitimate businesses.

BaanOz

[The_Moog]

At Bumrungrad Hospital, premier surgeons will frequently ask for an extra cash sum to be quietly paid directly to them, over and above the rates quoted by the Hospital.

[yuyi]

Life in LOS would be a lot less fun, without the dying water-buffalo, sick mother-in-law, dented brother-in-law's car, and so on.

Relax & enjoy the joke  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are referring to sob stories.

The scams mentioned in this thread where you could be forced to pay by intimidation or by the police are no joke!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes, absolutely no joke. If a group of people stand around you and try to intimidate you, and the usual boy in brown joins them, to get his part too, this is not a joke, not at all.

I had a similar story once in Pukhet, with a rented motorbike, and it took me 2 hours and a simulated "getting money with my credit card" show to eventually grab my passport again, and then use a determined and angry physical look to scare the last 2 helpers of the intimidators away. It was interesting, the people in the local dive shop there (farangs) had been scared, they did not want to help...

I learned my lesson, nobody ever gets my passport again. And I look at the people carefully from whom I rent a motorbike. Surely not on a beach road anywhere.

[BaanOz]

At Bumrungrad Hospital, premier surgeons will frequently ask for an extra cash sum to be quietly paid directly to them, over and above the rates quoted by the Hospital.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jeez your joking arn't you? I guess not.

You'd think a with a "top notch", top price International Hospital the doctors would be paid well already.

BaanOz

[ArtfulD]

Reading time and again posts like these is making me feel jaded about the place with out even being there! Rather than relaxing and enjoying yourself out there it reads like a constant battle of the wits(witless), lies, scams and "legalised robbery". Only solution to not be in contact with anyone if you can help it!

[think_too_mut]

Reading time and again posts like these is making me feel jaded about the place with out even being there! Rather than relaxing and enjoying yourself out there it reads like a constant battle of the wits(witless), lies, scams and "legalised robbery". Only solution to not be in contact with anyone if you can help it! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can't see how it can be the truth.

Many thigs in Thai are not on par with Japan (where I live) or Australia(where I used to live) but no tensions.

[think_too_mut]

At Bumrungrad Hospital, premier surgeons will frequently ask for an extra cash sum to be quietly paid directly to them, over and above the rates quoted by the Hospital.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Been there many times, my wife and the baby also, have never had that experience. No "premier surgeons" but still.

The place is expensive, if someone was to ask for more I would be up to their throats and summon their managers.

Sorry, hard to believe what you posted.

[The_Moog]

Been there many times, my wife and the baby also, have never had that experience. No "premier surgeons" but still.

The place is expensive, if someone was to ask for more I would be up to their throats and summon their managers.

Sorry, hard to believe what you posted.

Gynaecology Department.

I can introduce you to the person who had to pay 'under the table' fees to secure the services of one of the top Doctors there

I mean, really, i'm not going to lie about it am I? Why be so sceptical?

[Pattaya_Fox]

Another scam to watch out for.

If you rent a motorcycle don`t be surprised if it disappears from outside your hotel/apartment....it`s probably been `nicked` by the owner who you rented it from with a duplicate set of keys.

Of course the insurance doesn`t cover you for theft and you`ll have to pay for the cost of the bike.

If the boys in brown are involved they`ll usually want their cut as well and that will be added on top.

[AmeriThai]

Been there many times, my wife and the baby also, have never had that experience. No "premier surgeons" but still.

The place is expensive, if someone was to ask for more I would be up to their throats and summon their managers.

Sorry, hard to believe what you posted.

Gynaecology Department.

I can introduce you to the person who had to pay 'under the table' fees to secure the services of one of the top Doctors there

I mean, really, i'm not going to lie about it am I? Why be so sceptical?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't doubt things like that happen there, but I've always been treated fair at Bum Hosp. I saw one of the top neurologists there and never had to pay anything under the table. I also received 1st rate service. Went in a couple of times later for follow up and never paid anything extra. Maybe it depends on the department, who you see, and how they perceive you.

[think_too_mut]

Been there many times, my wife and the baby also, have never had that experience. No "premier surgeons" but still.

The place is expensive, if someone was to ask for more I would be up to their throats and summon their managers.

Sorry, hard to believe what you posted.

Gynaecology Department.

I can introduce you to the person who had to pay 'under the table' fees to secure the services of one of the top Doctors there

I mean, really, i'm not going to lie about it am I? Why be so sceptical?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't doubt things like that happen there, but I've always been treated fair at Bum Hosp. I saw one of the top neurologists there and never had to pay anything under the table. I also received 1st rate service. Went in a couple of times later for follow up and never paid anything extra. Maybe it depends on the department, who you see, and how they perceive you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I doubt there is any corruption within Bumrungrad and Samitivej hospitals. They are already very expensive. Just 10% chepaer than top Tokyo venues. Unaffordable for regular Thais.

I have no idea what their doctors are paid but cash under the table is unthinkable for me.

[The_Moog]

I'm not debating this with you any further " Think Too Mut" . You've told me twice that i'm lying.

You obviously know best, you always do.

[petedk]

Pay for the jet ski rental and ride it all the way to Ko Samet and never give it back - then see who has the last laugh. 

Yes, that was our first reaction. Go to the beach, rent a scooter, take it out somewhere and sink it somehow, swim ashore and disappear. Pity we never got round to it.

[Totster]

Pay for the jet ski rental and ride it all the way to Ko Samet and never give it back - then see who has the last laugh. 

Yes, that was our first reaction. Go to the beach, rent a scooter, take it out somewhere and sink it somehow, swim ashore and disappear. Pity we never got round to it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Asking for trouble IMO... just don't use them, stay out of the way

totster

[mike_l]

At Bumrungrad Hospital, premier surgeons will frequently ask for an extra cash sum to be quietly paid directly to them, over and above the rates quoted by the Hospital.

Could you elaborate on that a bit The Moog? Did they just demand you pay the extra in cash at a consultation, or what? It's not that I don't believe you, but I am surprised. I'd imagine if the Bumrungrad management found out about that it wouldn't be tolerated, and it seems strange a 'premier surgeon' would risk a (presumably) highly paid job and professional reputation for the sake of a few thousand baht under the table.

FWIW, my experience at Bumrungrad has been fine and I was even given an (unasked for) 10,000B discount !