xandreu Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'm staying in a room in an apartment building and due to leave in the morning. For the last few days I've been hearing a dripping sound from my bathroom. It was barely noticeable to begin with and I assumed it was just coming from the drains from the room above and didn't take too much notice. By this morning however, it had got quite loud so I went in the bathroom to investigate and it was coming from my toilet so I turned the water off from the main tap underneath it and planned to go down and let them know a bit later. I got a call to my room shortly after and they said my water meter was reading extremely high and wanted to send an engineer up to take a look. When he came I told him about the leak and that I'd turned the water off. I didn't think too much more about it until I went down to remind them I was leaving early in the morning. They asked me about the leak and I told them that it wasn't until this morning that I realised it was coming from my toilet. They've just called my room and told me that my water bill for this month is 2600 Baht. (Last month it was 200 Baht) But because it was due to the leak, they were prepared to pay 50% for me and I would have to pay the other 50% (1300 Baht) I told them I didn't see why I should pay for their leaky toilet. They told me that I should have informed them when I first heard the water leaking, but I said I didn't know it was my bathroom until this morning. I asked them that if I had not been staying in the room at all for the past few days (which I frequently do) and therefore would have had no idea about it at all, would they still be charging me? She didn't give me an answer. I asked to speak to someone higher than her and she said the only person higher than her was the owner and there was a good chance that if he knew, he would charge me the full price without any discount. I said I wasn't happy about it and thought they were being very unfair, but considering they have 12000 Baht deposit of mine and are going to deduct it from that, what can I do? Although she was polite about it, she clearly wasn't going to budge and even tried to make out that she was doing me a favour by letting me know now rather than me finding out when I go down to check out in the morning. Am I over-reacting? Is this normal in Thailand? Seems very unfair but what can I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuestHouse Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Take the deal before it gets worse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Personally think they are doing you a favour with a 50/50 split, I assume in terms of your contract you are responsible for utilities 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew55 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 As you said x, they're holding 12,000. Wear it. Must go and listen to my toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 a deposit in thailand is a gift to the owner/manager that enables you to move in dont have high expectations of getting it back likely it will be used to paint and decorate the room when you leave for the next patron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaos Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I woud like to say stand your ground, but you will not win and could end up losing your deposit. Pay up and put it down to experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x5david Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Have to agree regarding deposits in Thailand. Every place where such has been given it has been a battle to see how much I get back. Of course I would also want to see the bill representing such high usage. Odd they know before the water meter has been read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtjforyou Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Water for a big house costs 500 Thb/month, how could it be 2600 ? impossible without flooding the full building... And about deposit cheating, it seems to always happen to the same buffalos... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletchsmile Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) Even with a leak that's a very large water bill, especially considering the time it's been leaking, and there's a good chance they have just bumped it up. You could ask to go and read the meter with them, and compare it to last month's reading which they should have a record of, even if you don't. At least then you can check that the calculation is correct. After that, if it's correct, I don't see there's much you can do, and paying half seems a reasonable offer in the circumstances. BTW Expect to get screwed on deposits in Thailand by private owners. That way if you get your money back you're pleasantly surprised. On the other hand if you expect the deposit back in full, there's a good chance of disappointment. Edited March 15, 2012 by fletchsmile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Your charge is the equivalent of a hose pipe left on for a month. You are being ripped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletchsmile Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) deleted double post Edited March 15, 2012 by fletchsmile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Water for a big house costs 500 Thb/month, how could it be 2600 ? impossible without flooding the full building... And about deposit cheating, it seems to always happen to the same buffalos... Well, when living in a "big house" one normally pay less for the water compared to a condo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave111223 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 2600 is absolutely ridiculous. Go and check the meter units yourself. There is no way you could run up a water bill that high from a dripping toilet. Even if you left the taps on full blast for a full month I doubt the bill would even reach that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandreu Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I just went down to ask to see the meter and low and behold the manageress has gone home and the girls behind the front desk won't let me see the meters without her there. She won't be back today and I'm checking out at 7am in the morning. How convenient. I'm starting to wonder if 100% of the bill is in fact 1300 Baht and they've decided to double it so that they can say they're doing me a favour by only making me pay half, when the bill was 1300 Baht all along? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattayadingo Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would ask to see the meter readings to try and clarify the amount used to query their estimation of the cost. At the end of the day they do have your deposit - a large one too I might add and they might simply deduct the cost. A bit of a Catch 22 situation for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wana Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 building owners pay very little for water and eectricity and internet connection + phone they are sold on to tennants at a much higher price why doesnt everybody already know this ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 You are talking about 8 tanks (cubic meters) of water per day for a month at normal Bangkok water price. No way a dripping used anything near that amount. My home with 8 persons uses about 2 tanks per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isanbirder Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 If it's your side of the meter, you pay. In Chiangmai, my water supply system collapsed one day, and there was a fountain covering the whole road. This went on for two days; I can't guess how many gallons. But it was outside my meter, so i didn't have to pay for it. I guess condos work on roughly the same system (except that the condo owner is going to be made liable for everything possible; what's the use of owning a condo building otherwise?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave111223 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I just went down to ask to see the meter and low and behold the manageress has gone home and the girls behind the front desk won't let me see the meters without her there. She won't be back today and I'm checking out at 7am in the morning. How convenient. I'm starting to wonder if 100% of the bill is in fact 1300 Baht and they've decided to double it so that they can say they're doing me a favour by only making me pay half, when the bill was 1300 Baht all along? More like the bill is 200 and they are going to pocket everything you give to them. They probably try the same thing with everyone they know is leaving. That's strange that the meters are in a locked area with denied access? Is this the norm? In our condo the water meter is in the bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandreu Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 building owners pay very little for water and eectricity and internet connection + phone they are sold on to tennants at a much higher price why doesnt everybody already know this ?? I did already know that. It's not about the money they charge per unit of water that I actually use. I knew that when I signed the contract. It's about the extortionate profit they're making out of me for water that I haven't technically used because of one of their poorly maintained facilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) all of you "water experts" seem to possess a wealth of no idea. two years ago we had a leaking toilet (in a bathroom that was not used) and our water bill jumped from an average of 400-500 Baht to 6,078 Baht and 67 Satang! Edited March 15, 2012 by Naam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave111223 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 all of you "water experts" seem to possess a wealth of no idea. two years ago we had a leaking toilet (in a bathroom that was not used) and our water bill jumped from an average of 400-500 Baht to 6,079 Baht! We have a townhouse building and refurbished it, the plumber was rubbish and there were at least 3 or 4 pipes leaking in the walls. It drained the water tank on the roof every 3 days or so. Took us a month to get a decent plumber in to fix all the leaks. The bill only reached around 900 THB. Normally we pay about 150-250. You must have had one hell of a "leak" to reach 6000 (aka water pouring out onto the floor). Not what i would consider a "dripping sound" that the OP described in his situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 all of you "water experts" seem to possess a wealth of no idea. two years ago we had a leaking toilet (in a bathroom that was not used) and our water bill jumped from an average of 400-500 Baht to 6,079 Baht! We have a townhouse building and refurbished it, the plumber was rubbish and there were at least 3 or 4 pipes leaking in the walls. It drained the water tank on the roof every 3 days or so. Took us a month to get a decent plumber in to fix all the leaks. The bill only reached around 900 THB. Normally we pay about 150-250. You must have had one hell of a "leak" to reach 6000 (aka water pouring out onto the floor). Not what i would consider a "dripping sound" that the OP described in his situation. no such think like water on the floor. one could hardly hear the water in the toilet flowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 building owners pay very little for water and eectricity and internet connection + phone they are sold on to tennants at a much higher price why doesnt everybody already know this ?? Post #12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave111223 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) no such think like water on the floor. one could hardly hear the water in the toilet flowing. You used 249,000 liters of water in one month and didn't notice any sound? Did you happen to fill up your swimming pool in the same month? Edited March 15, 2012 by dave111223 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 no such think like water on the floor. one could hardly hear the water in the toilet flowing. You used 249,000 liters of water in one month and didn't notice any sound? Did you happen to fill up your swimming pool in the same month? i play loud music 24 hours a day and my dogs are continously barking. that's why i caused last year's flooding in Thailand with the water i used two years earlier. any other intelligent questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandreu Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Have to agree regarding deposits in Thailand. Every place where such has been given it has been a battle to see how much I get back. This is only the second apartment I've rented in Thailand. I rented one in Chiang Mai for six months from a Canadian who held 24000B deposit and gave me every baht of it back without a problem. I've also rented cars and motorbikes here and not had a problem getting deposits back. I may have just been lucky but I find a good trick I always use is to make out I plan to use them again in the near future. With my condo in Chiang Mai I told them I had to go to Bangkok just for a month but would be returning to Chiang Mai and hoped he would have a condo available I could rent again. Same with cars and motorbikes. Always make out your returning it reluctantly because something has come up but will be back soon to hire it again. Like I said, I may have just been lucky but up until now (which is the the only time I haven't used that trick) it's always worked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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