British Embassy Bangkok Joins Forces With Ministry Of Tourism To Tackle Tourist Scams

[osiboy]

“This cooperation with the Ministry is a concrete example of the Embassy’s continuous effort to tackle the problems some Brits encounter when in Thailand."

​Absolute tosh man,speaking from the Embassy's flip-chart of well rehearsed nicey nicey responses....grow some balls and say what is really happening here....if they will let you that is! Ambassador my Arse!

have to agree , if anyone heard what the russian ambassador had to say to the thai authorities ??,.....now THAT IS how to get things done, .......no bumbling niceties , straight to the point ....IF YOU DON'T SORT YOUR ACT OUT AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL MUGGING OF RUSSIAN TOURISTS WE WILL,..........or words to that effect , no messing about , say it how it is, <deleted> diplomacy !

[evadgib]

The true art of diplomacy is to do exactly as described in post #31 & keep quiet about it!

[Lancelot]

Most tourists go home unscammed, none the wiser about being scammed or unhurt by the scams (i.e. getting ripped of a few hundred baht by tuktuk drivers/bar bills/etc - often which is still less than they are used to generally paying back home) - so mostly its easy to ignore. If it gets too bad - like the jet skii documentaries a few years back, then there is some noise, some temporary crack down - may be a few arrests (that often result in small fines) - then its back to business again.

W makes a good point- most of the people being scammed have no idea about local prices and think that the smiling tuk tuk driver is "such a lovely person" when in fact he is blatenly ripping them off. As long as foreigners visit Thailand, some of the locals will scam them. If there were no foreigners visiting Thailand (will never happen) the locals will just intesify the existing scams on each other. Just too much money to be made...

[PoodMaiDai]

He made a youtube video. That will teach 'em!

[ableguy]

I hope the Thai governnment will take the lead in showing a good example and abolishis its own dual pricing policy.

Not a chance 100 % they really do not give dam_n, money is the only thing that counts, scammed, stolen , ripped off all the same, to think anything some Brit from the embassy says will be taken note of is farcical in amazing Thailand

[ableguy]

The fact is millions of people come here for the prostitution check out Pattaya the largest brothel in the world, but hold it thats illegal, as is yaba, 9 year olds driving motor cycles with the police holding up traffic to allow them out of school on to the main roads, 4 kids per bike no helmets, why ? a future source of income.

Scams on torists are chid play compared to the grand scale of things

[Meetoo]

No doubt Mark has plenty of time on his hands as neither he or any of his staff actually do anything that a British Citizen expects of a British embassy......like issuing or renewing a British passport, we have to do that via Hong Kong.

Besides, if your office is only open for about 3 hours a day, then he won't have much time to do any thing else.

Same with the Australian Consulate here in Chiang Mai ... never answers his cell phone which is the number given when you call the consulates land line ... and when you call the cell no it says to leave a mesage to which you never, but never, get a reply...!! Then again I am not Australian and was calling in regards to getting a visa so that is probably why I never got a call back...So sent an e-mail asking why nobody answers the land line or even the cell no and Yes I did get a reply by e-mail.... nicely stating that I work as the consulate from 9 - 12 ( really???) but I also have a business to look after so of course I am not available at all hours of the day ... I have to say I was quite shocked by this reply ... The easy life here in Thailand for a lot of Farangs isn't it!

[easybullet3]

Tourist scams? = Government charging TWO prices for entrance to places??? and the Thai price is written in THAI, so that Tourists cant know they are being scammed!!

its not so hard to arrest and charge all the tourist scamers that hang around outside all the Major Shopping Centres and Hotels and Temples

[brianP]

The short sighted scammers are in need of re-education and relocation. They ruin it for everybody and are usually ass wipes set up with authorities help.

Punish these rats too. Get more expats and good cops with cameras and make a COPS type program to fund and perpetuate it! I would love to watch these frauds get busted wholesale every evening. Watch the problems shift to the prisons.

[johna]

Can’t agree with Henry that an ambassador is a gentleman, but the second part of his statement is true enough.

"An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country." Henry Wotton 1568-1639

Edited December 8, 2012 by johna

[Chupup]

The bigest joke is that THE BRITISH EMBASSY is one of the BIGGEST SCAMMERS in Thailand, ask ANY British pensioner ( Just What do they do here at the embassy apart from suplying letters or SIGNED forms at EXessive prices )anyone know ??

[OzMick]

No doubt Mark has plenty of time on his hands as neither he or any of his staff actually do anything that a British Citizen expects of a British embassy......like issuing or renewing a British passport, we have to do that via Hong Kong.

Besides, if your office is only open for about 3 hours a day, then he won't have much time to do any thing else.

Same with the Australian Consulate here in Chiang Mai ... never answers his cell phone which is the number given when you call the consulates land line ... and when you call the cell no it says to leave a mesage to which you never, but never, get a reply...!! Then again I am not Australian and was calling in regards to getting a visa so that is probably why I never got a call back...So sent an e-mail asking why nobody answers the land line or even the cell no and Yes I did get a reply by e-mail.... nicely stating that I work as the consulate from 9 - 12 ( really???) but I also have a business to look after so of course I am not available at all hours of the day ... I have to say I was quite shocked by this reply ... The easy life here in Thailand for a lot of Farangs isn't it!

Like the counterpart on Samui, the Chiang Mai Consulate is headed by an Honorary Consul - not a full-time, paid position.

For comparison, the thai consulate in brisbane is open 5 hours per day, Mon-Fri excluding all thai and oz public holidays.

[puck2]

I wonder if he really knows what he is doing in cooperating with Silpa-Archa the rape-excusing minister. To say the least this seems of doubtful worth.

... and the scammers will die ... for laughing

[sirchai]

What about a flyer for all Brits traveling and living in LOS, saying:

" Please do not rent big bikes at places like Pattyaya, when you'd never driven one before."

"Please do not get drunk and start a fight with people, you just underestimate."

"Please be aware that you'll have real glasses and bottles when leaving a pub, not plastic cups."

"Please don't think your penis's bigger than your girl friend's,"

Guess it's actually their behavior that kills some of them. It's pretty easy to avoid the jet ski guys etc...

But some Brits go out to fight, not to have fun. I could be wrong though.

Edited December 8, 2012 by sirchai

[nong38]

I guess the biggest scams are property and jet ski's. Dont go near a jet ski and dont buy any sort of property especially if you cant feel it or physically see it for starters! Why anyone but a dreamer would want to even buy a genuine condo is a mystery to me. You dont who your neighbours are going to be and it will be difficult to sell on, plus it ties to the same places all the time, better to have short time rent or hotel, keep your money and your options open. Keep em peeled and dont have nightmares.

The article is about tourist scams and "Tourists" I would suggest are less likely to buy a condo (real or unreal).

The subject however has been done to death in enough posts so I am not sure why you are raising it again here...

Anyhow different strokes for different folks

I raise it because people come for a holiday get out their rose coloured specs and get sucked in without knowing what is going on. a bit like time share was in the past. Edited December 8, 2012 by nong38

[simple1]

The bigest joke is that THE BRITISH EMBASSY is one of the BIGGEST SCAMMERS in Thailand, ask ANY British pensioner ( Just What do they do here at the embassy apart from suplying letters or SIGNED forms at EXessive prices )anyone know ??

It's certainly not the the Department for Work and Pensions. To educate yourself, go to http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/

[malcyx]

my thai is not as good as some of you guys..

what was said in that video..

is that video the attempt at tackling the tourist scams or is there more to it than that..

Take a brave man to tackle thai scams, are they starting at the bottom of society and working up

to the government or just stopping the scum on the streets...

maybe the corrupt politicians,army,police,mafia are accepted as normal and acceptable..

but the jet ski scammer,fake jewel seller,fake goods sellers are the main targets...lol...

anybody enlighten me on whats gonna be done....if anything....

[saroq]

No doubt Mark has plenty of time on his hands as neither he or any of his staff actually do anything that a British Citizen expects of a British embassy......like issuing or renewing a British passport, we have to do that via Hong Kong.

Besides, if your office is only open for about 3 hours a day, then he won't have much time to do any thing else.

Same with the Australian Consulate here in Chiang Mai ... never answers his cell phone which is the number given when you call the consulates land line ... and when you call the cell no it says to leave a mesage to which you never, but never, get a reply...!! Then again I am not Australian and was calling in regards to getting a visa so that is probably why I never got a call back...So sent an e-mail asking why nobody answers the land line or even the cell no and Yes I did get a reply by e-mail.... nicely stating that I work as the consulate from 9 - 12 ( really???) but I also have a business to look after so of course I am not available at all hours of the day ... I have to say I was quite shocked by this reply ... The easy life here in Thailand for a lot of Farangs isn't it!

I'm shocked that the Australian consulate in Chiang Mai is only staffed from 9-12. Guess if you're Australian and live in Chiang Mai you better plan when you're going to have trouble or an emergency.

[simple1]

No doubt Mark has plenty of time on his hands as neither he or any of his staff actually do anything that a British Citizen expects of a British embassy......like issuing or renewing a British passport, we have to do that via Hong Kong.

Besides, if your office is only open for about 3 hours a day, then he won't have much time to do any thing else.

Same with the Australian Consulate here in Chiang Mai ... never answers his cell phone which is the number given when you call the consulates land line ... and when you call the cell no it says to leave a mesage to which you never, but never, get a reply...!! Then again I am not Australian and was calling in regards to getting a visa so that is probably why I never got a call back...So sent an e-mail asking why nobody answers the land line or even the cell no and Yes I did get a reply by e-mail.... nicely stating that I work as the consulate from 9 - 12 ( really???) but I also have a business to look after so of course I am not available at all hours of the day ... I have to say I was quite shocked by this reply ... The easy life here in Thailand for a lot of Farangs isn't it!

I'm shocked that the Australian consulate in Chiang Mai is only staffed from 9-12. Guess if you're Australian and live in Chiang Mai you better plan when you're going to have trouble or an emergency.

Australia has a population of around 22 million, they are not going to be be providing full time paid staff in all the major Thai tourist locations. The staff at the embassy consular services in BKK are fairly good and you can contact them by phone if you have a problem.

If the Embassy is closed and you need emergency consular assistance the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) in Canberra is there to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact the CEC by calling the Embassy switchboard 02-3446300 and follow the prompts for emergency consular assistance. Alternatively, contact the CEC directly by dialling +61 2 62613305 (international call charges apply). The CEC is also an advisory line for concerned family members in Australia and can be called on 1300 555 135 (for the cost of a local call within Australia).

In Phuket, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui limited consular assistance is available through our Honorary Consuls. Honorary Consuls are not able to perform notarial services, or accept or process passport applications (with the exception of the Honorary Consul in Phuket who is able to accept applications for adult passport renewals only).

Edited December 8, 2012 by simple1