Pattaya Jetskis

[saintofsilence]

An aussie in phuket gets 7 days jail for allegedly stealing a pair of sunglasses and these guys can extort money , threaten lives daily on pattaya beach with police watching and no mafia jet ski operator is touched

with facebook sites http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001909826119&sk=wall

and youtube showing how corrupt and evil these people are when will enough be enough.

[gk10002000]

In all these posts I have not seen a lot of mention of the TAT. Have people called them? Have people called in the Expat Tourist police that are supposed to help tourists? Not sure I put a any faith or trust in those so-called volunteers but victims need to start calling everybody and airing this mess.

[gmac]

In all these posts I have not seen a lot of mention of the TAT. Have people called them? Have people called in the Expat Tourist police that are supposed to help tourists? Not sure I put a any faith or trust in those so-called volunteers but victims need to start calling everybody and airing this mess.

Not a victim but a concerned onlooker I wrote to TAT at the beginning of December and received the following response, since receiving this reply the silence has been deafening!

Dear XXXXX

Thank you for giving us your feedback. Your comments are invaluable to ensuring that our visitors receive the highest levels of customer service and the best quality products and facilities. You should receive a response to your inquiry from the Tourism Authority of Thailand within 1-3 working days.

Warmest regards,

www.tourismthailand.org

I have also sent e-mails to about a dozen tour operators in the UK referring them to this thread and suggesting that they warn visitors booking holidays to Thailand. The UK, however, provide but a small fraction of the total visitors to Thailand and whether they take any action anyway remains to be seen. A couple have at least responded, but then so did TAT!

[striderman]

i am in the resort at the moment and all i can say that the problem is much more widespead than i had originaly thought.

the other afternoon about 16.00 hrs i saw 3 scams by 3 groups going on at the same time from the area opposite the pattayalands and svensons icecream shop at royal garden plaza a distance of maybe 200 mtrs if that.

2 groups of indians 1 group of russians getting the treatment.

and be careful taking any pics these guys must have looking at that u tube vid (now over 45,000 hits) and they are jumpy.

still pulling the scams and the money but more aware of what other tourists are filming

Edited January 21, 2011 by striderman

[JWJ]

A lady at the TAT told me the Tourist Police are running many of the scams.

[saintofsilence]

A lady at the TAT told me the Tourist Police are running many of the scams.

Thats why this scam is so big it looks like there are to many corrupt officials involved and no one will try and stop this because the people we are complaining to are the ones involved.

They could be worried it will start a chain reaction and they are trying to stop naming and shaming and this could go high up the ladder.

Recently after the You tube clip came out exposing the scammers a tourist police youtube video was uploaded with no mentions of the jet ski scam .

There are still reports of the scam going on daily and knives being shown to jet ski customers to threaten them.

Edited January 22, 2011 by saintofsilence

[morrobay]

Stickman commented on a very recent readers submission titled : Culture of Corruption. That he thinks there has been a major increase in corruption in Thailand in the last 3 years. And it seems like this jetski BS is an example of that.

Does anyone have any theories as to why this major increase in the last several years.?

Especially since I read reports that theThai economy is doing good.

Edited January 22, 2011 by morrobay

[saintofsilence]

from a local news source late december but no mention of the scam or knife assaults

Commenting on crime against foreigners, Col Nanthawut said that it mainly involves accidents with jet skis. There are many and there are usually problems with liability. “I have called meetings with jet ski operators and told them that they should arrange insurance for their clients. I am not sure whether they follow my advice or not. So, when an accident or other problem happens, the injured party should come to Pattaya City police station and make a report. We will try to help. We have established a one-stop service where everyone will be attended without a long wait.

Edited January 22, 2011 by saintofsilence

[saintofsilence]

Due to forum rules I unable to post names of the paper but the jet ski operators have just made the headlines in Phuket again , scamming some aussies for 72500 baht and ruining there holiday the same as what they do in Pattaya ever day

The paper mentions these days, it's hard to find anyone who will even acknowledge that the rip-offs are still happening.

Edited January 22, 2011 by saintofsilence

[patrickinpattaya]

This scam isn't going to go away any time soon. Its been highlighted round the world through differant medias, the tat and local authorities would have hundreds of complaints and what's happened? Nothing apart from the scammers are being more careful. I am amazed though that tourist are still getting scammed its publicised every where. Trip advisor mention it as do several other travel sites. Some people just don't do their homework prior to travelling. Some people need to learn the hard

[striderman]

a brief stroll to the beach again today saw 3 more scams with a policeman i saw last year attending 2 scams, he was busy at another 2 today within 50 yards of each other.

it's open season right now and the falangs are being hunted big time.

[smedly]

If local police won't do something about this maybe someone should involve BKK police...........you never know

[Jingthing]

No, Bangkok wouldn't have any jurisdiction. One hope to go over the heads of the local corruption is at the Chonburi province level. There have been cases in the past when the Chonburi governor gets involved here to try to do things that for "mysterious" reasons aren't done locally.

[sharecropper]

Isn't that what the marine police are supposed to be doing down there? Otherwise why have them sitting around at all - or have they been told to not intervene?

[Rimmer]

Maybe THIS will help stop the problem

[johnh101]

No, Bangkok wouldn't have any jurisdiction. One hope to go over the heads of the local corruption is at the Chonburi province level. There have been cases in the past when the Chonburi governor gets involved here to try to do things that for "mysterious" reasons aren't done locally.

I doubt it would be healthy for him to go over the head of the Godfather's Son.

[saintofsilence]

sept 2009

This is an old report but just shows how widespread and dangerous it is

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2009/09/15/swiss-couple-flee-jet-ski-operator-in-terror-chaweng/

A Swiss couple were reported to have fled Koh Samui yesterday after telling local Embassy officials that they that the couple had been threatened with a beating and rape if they failed to pay 65,000 baht (2000 Swiss francs).

A source close to the Swiss Embassy said the couple were escorted to the airport by a consular representative and safely boarded a 3pm flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok after the threats by an operator on Chaweng Beach. “The woman was visibly shaking in the departure area.”

Officially the Swiss Embassy Consular department said they could not comment on individal cases and would neither confirm or deny the report. The couple could not be contacted to verify the report.

According to one Consular source, from data gathered together by foreign consular representatives between December and April this year there were in the region of 150 cases of tourists having to pay for damaged jet skis on Koh Samui, approximately one a day.

The controversial documentary series ’Big Trouble in Thailand’ is expected to highlight a jet ski problem in Chaweng in a later programme in the series.

Edited January 24, 2011 by saintofsilence

[saintofsilence]

There is page after page of jet ski scam reports at bangkokscams site.

Here is a frightening tale reported there in 2009.

"When me and my friends got a jet ski out in pattaya on our last two days there, our nightmare began. We gave the jet ski's back in after initially agreeing a price of 700 THB for 30 minutes each. What followed was a bill of 115,000 THB for "damage" we caused to the carbon fiber on the jet ski's, etc. We said no, and that's when things turned violent. Soon we were held captive at the beech and they started pulling knives out on us. They threatened to kill us at the beech if we did not pay. Eventually they let me go, it took 3 separate visits to the police station before an American volunteer came down to the beech, approximately 5 hours after the incident with my two friends held captive by around 12-15 angry Thai's. We went to the police station and were threatened to be killed. Eventually we came to an agreement of 50,000 THB in fear for our lives. These guys continued with the death threats, hands in the pockets, etc. It was a horrible experience and it doesn't suprise me about these stories. We spent all our remaining money and took extra overdrafts out of the bank to pay these crooks. 10 hours later and finally we escaped pattaya. they had been waiting outside our hotel after initially paying 33,000 THB with the agreement to pay 17,000 THB the day later. We paid the money three hours later after coming to an agreement with the bank, at 3am in the police station. We got back to the hotel, fled in a taxi to Bangkok (they had even bribed our receptionist with 1,000 THB to tell him if we left). I'm sure these guys are now very satisfied having pulled this scam off. "

skyscrapercity.com has a lot of reports also worth reading under tourist scam warning

Edited January 24, 2011 by saintofsilence

[Tokay]

Seen a lot of scams since I was last posting here. A few with knifes, 1 with a big pole, and a few more with fists. I've even seen several tourists WATCH others get scammed, laugh about it, rent the skis anyway and then get scammed themselves. What can you think about people who do this? This is another reason why it all continues.

Forget the scam for a moment, as it is clear the police and city hall do not care about this. Lets look at the other issue, which is, it is totally OK to threaten a tourist with violence and pull a weapon (knife / stick / gun) on them. THIS is where the police should focus, but they don't.

I'd also like to note that every square inch of the beach is under CCTV surveillance. There was even a press release about it. This means the police CAN SEE everything going on and STILL do nothing.

I've sent multiple mails to the TOT and I get their canned reply saying they are forwarding the mail, but it ends there.

Bottom line... this scam and the violence around it is not going anywhere. It's only getting worse and it's totally protected. And lets also face the fact that most tourists will KEEP RENTING because they don't think it will happen to them.

[striderman]

went out today about 17 00 hrs pattaya time to have a quick look at the beach.

between the best friend bar complex and pattaya city walk which is 50/60 mtrs at most another 3 scams were going on. 2 were so close to each other the guys getting scammed were swopping tales

2 of the groups were indian nationals and the other middle eastern.

all involved multiple ski units so the outcome was not going to be cheap.

i did spot a sikh guy an old boy with a turban trying to mediate. i am sure i have seen him before a few times on the beach and my best guess is he is involved in the scam and is not an independent mediator at all.

simply because any outsider poking his nose in all the time would be warned off good and proper.

[gmac]

went out today about 17 00 hrs pattaya time to have a quick look at the beach.

between the best friend bar complex and pattaya city walk which is 50/60 mtrs at most another 3 scams were going on. 2 were so close to each other the guys getting scammed were swopping tales

2 of the groups were indian nationals and the other middle eastern.

all involved multiple ski units so the outcome was not going to be cheap.

i did spot a sikh guy an old boy with a turban trying to mediate. i am sure i have seen him before a few times on the beach and my best guess is he is involved in the scam and is not an independent mediator at all.

simply because any outsider poking his nose in all the time would be warned off good and proper.

Around the same time there was a group of 8 Russians being scammed near to Mikes. 3 Police in attendance 'helping' the tourists all 3 had come on motorbikes and I noticed that 2 of them didn't have number plates. Obviously didn't want to be recognised from the registration plate and also a fair indication (new bikes) that they are profiting from the scams themselves. Everyone else has to have a red plate on their new bike why not the police?

[pipo1000]

Seen a lot of scams since I was last posting here. A few with knifes, 1 with a big pole, and a few more with fists. I've even seen several tourists WATCH others get scammed, laugh about it, rent the skis anyway and then get scammed themselves. What can you think about people who do this? This is another reason why it all continues.

Forget the scam for a moment, as it is clear the police and city hall do not care about this. Lets look at the other issue, which is, it is totally OK to threaten a tourist with violence and pull a weapon (knife / stick / gun) on them. THIS is where the police should focus, but they don't.

I'd also like to note that every square inch of the beach is under CCTV surveillance. There was even a press release about it. This means the police CAN SEE everything going on and STILL do nothing.

I've sent multiple mails to the TOT and I get their canned reply saying they are forwarding the mail, but it ends there.

Bottom line... this scam and the violence around it is not going anywhere. It's only getting worse and it's totally protected. And lets also face the fact that most tourists will KEEP RENTING because they don't think it will happen to them.

Maybe you better start sending mails to the Tourist Authority Thailand instead of to the Telecomunications Organisation of Thailand

[Jingthing]

This is really getting out of hand, from the sound of it. Sadly, the expected official Thai response is going to be that the problem is irresponsible tourists shirking damage claims. What's needed is some video documentation as damning as the Phuket series a while back.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Jingthing

[saintofsilence]

Seen a lot of scams since I was last posting here. A few with knifes, 1 with a big pole, and a few more with fists. I've even seen several tourists WATCH others get scammed, laugh about it, rent the skis anyway and then get scammed themselves. What can you think about people who do this? This is another reason why it all continues.

Forget the scam for a moment, as it is clear the police and city hall do not care about this. Lets look at the other issue, which is, it is totally OK to threaten a tourist with violence and pull a weapon (knife / stick / gun) on them. THIS is where the police should focus, but they don't.

I'd also like to note that every square inch of the beach is under CCTV surveillance. There was even a press release about it. This means the police CAN SEE everything going on and STILL do nothing.

I've sent multiple mails to the TOT and I get their canned reply saying they are forwarding the mail, but it ends there.

Bottom line... this scam and the violence around it is not going anywhere. It's only getting worse and it's totally protected. And lets also face the fact that most tourists will KEEP RENTING because they don't think it will happen to them.

welcome back Tokay

You are correct it is more than a scam it is theft at a minimum and then assaults and threats with weapons at times , evidence from many reports over the net that this scam big money and no one will stop it because there are to many people with their fingers in the pie, It is quite possible that officials have received money from this and they are all shutting up.

By police including tourist police and local officials not trying to stop this scam or even aknowledging that it is even happenning makes them all look very guilty they are giving no respect to any outside country by doing this.

This scam needs urgent attention and relying on local mayors and police is not the answer.

these guys are still are still operating 49000 hits on youtube and no response from authorities.

Edited January 24, 2011 by saintofsilence

[Jingthing]

Realistically, I think a method of WARNINGS is the best current hope. I don't believe most of those renting now would be renting if they knew the facts about these organized crime scams. These aren't people who read this site. The scammers are taking advantage of naive holidaymakers, making this crime even more shameful. I will compare to HIV, as yet there is no cure, only prevention, and the only prevention for jetski scams is not renting them! There is no such thing as safe jetski renting, there are no jetski condoms (though it may be amusing to imagine them)!

Edited January 24, 2011 by Jingthing

[saintofsilence]

a brief stroll to the beach again today saw 3 more scams with a policeman i saw last year attending 2 scams, he was busy at another 2 today within 50 yards of each other.

it's open season right now and the falangs are being hunted big time.

I saw your photos in the newbies sandbox on the secrets site some good photos but you need to be careful not getting to close with a camera some of those guys are crazy , I have seen them pick steel umbrella stake rods to threaten people while the tourist police are in attendance .

Edited January 24, 2011 by saintofsilence

[salty]

Having had some success sending a email to the Irish consulate I sent a email to the Indian Embassy in Bangkok on Friday respectfully suggesting that their travel advices should be updated to warn their citizens of the ongoing scams. I have not had a reply as yet.

While travel warnings will not stop jet ski scams I feel if enough countries were warning people of these scams it might force a reaction at National level as happened in the duty free scams.

[surangw]

it could be the scammers know their days ( of running this scam) are coming to an end soon and they are accelerating their efforts to get as much as they can before a real crack down

[Jingthing]

More like there will be a show crackdown at the end of the high season, and then back to business. Warning to future expats, you too can become this cynical!

Edited January 24, 2011 by Jingthing

[Tokay]

Maybe you better start sending mails to the Tourist Authority Thailand instead of to the Telecomunications Organisation of Thailand

Good catch. That's what I meant to say.

I've sent emails and complaints from several different email addresses, using different tones trying to get some sort of response. All ignored after their standard first tier reply.

What's needed is some video documentation as damning as the Phuket series a while back.

That didn't help Phuket. That same dirt bag is still pulling the same scam.

Fact is, this goes so high up the food chain that it is *almost* untouchable.

All you need to do is see who should be reacting to it but are not, and it will tell you who is being paid off.