How To Deal With Loan Sharks In Thailand?

[tomjerry]

If you think you have to go to a beer bar to find a conniving'money gruber.You are wrong!

[krisb]

Doc bia the scum of Thailand.

Edited May 6, 2013 by krisb

[Trembly]

Yes, it sounds like you are being targetted as a Farang because loan sharks do not wait that long for their money. It is not in their interest to wait so long.

Look at it this way......

A loan of 5000 Baht is given to the customer. The customer either hands over the papers to their motorbike, car or even a house or land. No security, no loan.

When the Thai does not pay, the loan shark moves in and takes the property, often getting a nice fat profit on selling the product they now own the papers for. (From what I recall, it is actually illegal for them to keep the profit - but that is another matter altogether).

The 5000 Baht loan has increased to 100,000 Baht? That is illegal here in Thailand. Any good lawyer will tell you what the accepted % rate is and they can sort it out in the courts if you really want them to.

Problem being that when you start using lawyers against these people there are often going to be consequences for doing so and you need to be aware of that.

IF there are papers - I would ask to see the papers and have them verified by a trusted 3rd party, to try and verify the genuine date they were signed - then you can work out the interest yourself.

On the whole, I'd say you are being targetted and an attempted scam is underway.

Good luck in sorting this whatever you do.

Physically hanging on to the deed doesn't give the loan shark the legal right to sell it. If you don't have the deed but are the owner as stated on the deed all you have to do is go to the land department office and report the deed as lost.

You can't report a deed as lost if you know someone else holds it,

For one thing it's fraud and another you can get in a whole lotta trouble.

The point I was making was more about the fact that the loan sharks do not have the legal right to sell anything unless they have your written consent. By law, any one buying property from a loan shark without the written consent of the legal owner can be charged with handling illegal proceeds and may have to appear in court.

However, as I'm sure we all know, the primary law in Thailand is the law of relationships and recourse, not 'the law of the land'.

Obviously, everyone working in the land office knows what goes on with deeds as they deal with the public on matters concerning deeds day-in-day-out. They'd probably advise you to go and sort it out yourself or take it up with a civil court or something, rather than slap a fraud case on you.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Trembly

[Khun Watchaporn]

How To Deal With Loan Sharks In Thailand?

Simple.

Never get a loan from them.

If any Thais do, leave it up to them to sort without you getting involved in any way. Thailand is for the Thais, let them sort out their own problems.

[utalkin2me]

I had a few too...

1st case. MIL requested i paid off UIL debt of ฿40'000 with interest, i ask if she would do the same for me when I'm in debt. She said no whilst shaking her head...

2nd case. BIL wants to buy a new truck that needed a minimum ฿250'000 down payment, intend to trade in his old truck but still short of ฿100'000. I agreed to help after my wife sincerely begged. Then we saw him driving the new Toyota Vigo along the soi and into his house, we look at each other and she knew what i was thinking. Minutes later, the BIL rang her up to pass bank information so that she could transfer the ฿100'000 that was needed for the down payment. Wife asked how is it possible that he can get the new truck before we could transfer the money ? He was dumbstruck, wife scolded him for being too dumb to scam. The truth was that he wanted the ฿100'000 to finance the monthly installment and some cash to use as he please.

3rd case. AIL burrow ฿30'000 through my wife, i told her interest free and pay me back when she ready. No courtesy call at all to let us know that she remember that she indebted. As if never happened, year on year off, i reminded her of the debt she owes me and she could pay me by installment if she prefer. She brushed it off by saying next year...Don't worry I'll pay you next year. I went hard ball with her last year, made her lose face infront of others and got my ฿30'000 back after 6 years. To savage some little face that she had left she cockily ask if i want interest too, I whispered loudly, "...If you're willing to paid, i shall collect it 6 years later. But then again, I really don't think you could afford to pay. Even at a compounded 12% per year... so it's ok." Everybody laught.

4th case.... hmm, never mind...

My brother in laws are the worst for me. The only really lousy people in the whole bunch. I have had similar experiences with them. The truck example I had almost identical...... he asked us, threw a stupid idiotic, childish fit when we refused, then we heard he had the truck not too far down the line.... I guess he didn't need us too bad. Then there is the fact that he is buying a brand new truck and making 16k baht a month. It is just endlessly stupid and selfish. I don't have enough bad things to say about some Thais, and not enough good things to say about others. I guess that is true anywhere in the world

[mrtoad]

There is now a law that prohibits this practice.

There are lots of laws in Thailand - but the BIB only enforce them if there is money to be made for themselves.

[Chittychangchang]

I've had no reply or a thankyou for offering a thai lawyer to help. It's all gone quite for now. For the record this is the first incident like this to happen in 10 years.

[rene123]

Loan sharks? I deal with them the same way I deal with regular sharks. I stick a hook in them and play them awhile. Then I hang them out to bake in the sun after removing their teeth and other useful parts. I think banks come under the same category.

[Judecalling]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

[HoudiniXLogic]

Oh man, those of you with Thai wives should probably do what my dad did. Basically raised me full well knowing how parasitic the Thai side of my family is. I guess my mom only got less parasitic when the old man passed away when she realised that she now had to take care of me, and the fact that I got the better share of the will also. Well she dealt with that pretty fine and didnt flip out, and we had a mutual understanding of each other. She started using money more wisely now that there was a limit to it (even though it was up there in the million baht mark), and I started having to deal with BS. Luckily for my dad, mom, and me, my half brother (from thai moms marriage) is more independent and not lazy, and the only thing my dad payed for him was his tuition to university. Well the grandma's, the uncle, the "distant" relative, those are the leechers.

Grandma just leaches from the whole family. Makes everybody feel bad and forces them to give some money to her. She doesnt use it for anything. The uncle's got a good job, working in a managerial position for a reputable company, except for the fact that him and his son are trying to get into the golf clique, and have spent a good portion on golf equipment....hi-so wannabes. As for the cousin's and distant relatives in the upcountry...everytime I visit there with my mom, I'm always confronted with them. When I was a kid, they'd tease me for being a farangs kid and not being full Thai. Well times have changed, I've grown up with an education, while they're pretending to be fixing motorbikes. So these days If they ask me to pay for something, I'll remind them of what they did and make them apologise in public, and I'll give the ultimate disrespect and pat their head.

It makes you question your ownself when you do this, but it does get fun at times.

[candypants]

there are two remarkably effective ways to deal with a loan shark anywhere.

1. avoid them like the plague and don't borrow money

2. if it is too late for option 1, pay them the money they are owed at the terms the borrower agreed to, or forfeit the collateral provided.

it is rather simple really

[candypants]

Loan sharks? I deal with them the same way I deal with regular sharks. I stick a hook in them and play them awhile. Then I hang them out to bake in the sun after removing their teeth and other useful parts. I think banks come under the same category.

yes Ms Mitty.

[TexasRanger]

Interest is indeed calculated daily on some loans. I know someone who took one recently. Depends on the loan shark and amount.

Edited May 8, 2013 by TexasRanger

[pattayadingo]

I've had no reply or a thankyou for offering a thai lawyer to help. It's all gone quite for now. For the record this is the first incident like this to happen in 10 years.

If it has gone quiet after your offer, say nothing more until they say something. It may well be they are considering what response to make. You may well find this now goes away quietly after your offer. If it does, then I think you have the answer.

[jackinbkk]

I had a few too...

1st case. MIL requested i paid off UIL debt of ฿40'000 with interest, i ask if she would do the same for me when I'm in debt. She said no whilst shaking her head...

2nd case. BIL wants to buy a new truck that needed a minimum ฿250'000 down payment, intend to trade in his old truck but still short of ฿100'000. I agreed to help after my wife sincerely begged. Then we saw him driving the new Toyota Vigo along the soi and into his house, we look at each other and she knew what i was thinking. Minutes later, the BIL rang her up to pass bank information so that she could transfer the ฿100'000 that was needed for the down payment. Wife asked how is it possible that he can get the new truck before we could transfer the money ? He was dumbstruck, wife scolded him for being too dumb to scam. The truth was that he wanted the ฿100'000 to finance the monthly installment and some cash to use as he please.

3rd case. AIL burrow ฿30'000 through my wife, i told her interest free and pay me back when she ready. No courtesy call at all to let us know that she remember that she indebted. As if never happened, year on year off, i reminded her of the debt she owes me and she could pay me by installment if she prefer. She brushed it off by saying next year...Don't worry I'll pay you next year. I went hard ball with her last year, made her lose face infront of others and got my ฿30'000 back after 6 years. To savage some little face that she had left she cockily ask if i want interest too, I whispered loudly, "...If you're willing to paid, i shall collect it 6 years later. But then again, I really don't think you could afford to pay. Even at a compounded 12% per year... so it's ok." Everybody laught.

4th case.... hmm, never mind...

My brother in laws are the worst for me. The only really lousy people in the whole bunch. I have had similar experiences with them. The truck example I had almost identical...... he asked us, threw a stupid idiotic, childish fit when we refused, then we heard he had the truck not too far down the line.... I guess he didn't need us too bad. Then there is the fact that he is buying a brand new truck and making 16k baht a month. It is just endlessly stupid and selfish. I don't have enough bad things to say about some Thais, and not enough good things to say about others. I guess that is true anywhere in the world

Well exactly. Why pay for something when you can get it for free....

Little parasites!

[jackinbkk]

Yes, it sounds like you are being targetted as a Farang because loan sharks do not wait that long for their money. It is not in their interest to wait so long.

Look at it this way......

A loan of 5000 Baht is given to the customer. The customer either hands over the papers to their motorbike, car or even a house or land. No security, no loan.

When the Thai does not pay, the loan shark moves in and takes the property, often getting a nice fat profit on selling the product they now own the papers for. (From what I recall, it is actually illegal for them to keep the profit - but that is another matter altogether).

The 5000 Baht loan has increased to 100,000 Baht? That is illegal here in Thailand. Any good lawyer will tell you what the accepted % rate is and they can sort it out in the courts if you really want them to.

Problem being that when you start using lawyers against these people there are often going to be consequences for doing so and you need to be aware of that.

IF there are papers - I would ask to see the papers and have them verified by a trusted 3rd party, to try and verify the genuine date they were signed - then you can work out the interest yourself.

On the whole, I'd say you are being targetted and an attempted scam is underway.

Good luck in sorting this whatever you do.

I agree with part about seeing the papers.

when I lived in Denmark I met a girl from the Philapinnes. We only dated a few days when she came crying to me tha the police had taken her passport some unknown reason and wanted 5000 Dkr to give it back to her. I offered to go with her to the police station but of course she refused. To cut a long story short I never saw her again.

My first few experiences with Thai girls were the same. Met a few times and suddenly "mum is sick, needs 50,000+ Baht for operation tomorrow or she die".

"Ok I'll go to the hospital with you and pay"

"Oh no can do because bla. bla bla."

Another girl came up with a similar story to the OP. Her family owned 1 million baht. About to be beaten up, lose house etc. etc.. I offered to go and pay if I saw all the papers (no way would i pay a million) but the same old story... no can do.. I'm still in contact with her and she leads a happy life with a new farang bf. God knows if he paid.

I think many many Thais see dollars when they meet farangs. They have the idea that farangs have unlimited money supplies and try to get as much as possible from them.

Now my wife (we're not really married but live together) earns much more than me. All her brothers and sisters are millionaires, but i don't borrow from them.

And, of course, the ladies do talk amongst themselves and say what they got their fool Farang to do for them, so they try it on also. sometimes in different formats.

In all honesty, I've had more than my fair share of attempted scams in the village life than I ever had in the likes of Pattaya. From the simple phone does not work scam to sick family.

Often it is peer / family pressure that is laid at the door of the g/f to try it on. If they fail, they have lost nothing but if they succeed they can gain 10's of thousands + of Baht in a short time.

Yes, proof, proof, proof is the way to go forward, as you say. And in the past I have used a trusted friend as an independent advisor when not too sure. He was threatened more than once, but still advised me honestly.

God my wife was back in Isaan for the new year. We live together in England. I'd have gone but I needed to go to the US for a while (Work).

She came back telling me all the neighbours, friends etc were asking why the husband hasn't started building a house yet? <deleted>! She told me they look down on her because of this. It's such a petty childish mindset over there. So much for Buddhists with their enlightenment and non material teachings.

It would be nice to have a home but the prospect of not being able to own it par se is a concern. Then I can imagine the family jumping in there and living in my home for free. I've even read the stories of debts being made against assets etc. My wife is happy to work and is now looking for a job to start earning money for a house herself. I earn fairly good money and I pay for everything so I'm happy for her to keep all the money she earns and to do with it as she pleases. I think it will be wiser to get properties in the UK (as excessively overpriced as they are!) and to draw an income from tenants. Then we can use the money on trips back to Thailand. It'd certainly be safer for me.

[jackinbkk]

btw when I was in Thailand my wife had dealing with these slimey loan sharkers. She pawned her gold to some local rat which she later got back when I paid the bill. When I heard about the 300 baht per month or whatever it was it made my blood boil! This was 5 years ago when I was a lot more naive and unemployed for a while.

[delgarcon]

post cancelled

Edited May 8, 2013 by delgarcon

[Chittychangchang]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

Compassion for ones own immediate family comes first!

The in-laws have resources and a large family that all work. This makes the debt seem bizarre. Apparently this particular shark is well known for collecting a couple of payments then nothing for years, then turns up out of the blue with the police demanding massive instant repayment, hence forcing people into homelessness and more debt etc.

Regards

ccc

[jbrain]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

Compassion for ones own immediate family comes first!

The in-laws have resources and a large family that all work. This makes the debt seem bizarre. Apparently this particular shark is well known for collecting a couple of payments then nothing for years, then turns up out of the blue with the police demanding massive instant repayment, hence forcing people into homelessness and more debt etc.

Regards

ccc

CCC, I can understand from your latest post that you are more and more leaning towards clearing the debt.

Keep in mind that Thai people have been building up debt at a very fast pace in the past year as inflation has risen so fast and the wage increases are only a fictitous thing in most areas since they get an increase in salary but get cut at other points.

However most Thais still think they are better off and spend more. So keep in mind that the 12 year old debt might be a very recent created debt and that it may accelerate as long as these populist governing policy's are in force.

[GuestHouse]

I make it a habit of collecting those loan shark sticker often found plastering ATM machines and throwing them in the trash can.

I regard a small contribution to reducing their business.

[KarenBravo]

I don't really sympathize with people that take a loan from a shark.

I have yet to come across a Thai who has a plan on how money will be paid back, before the loan is taken out.

[Judecalling]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

Compassion for ones own immediate family comes first!

The in-laws have resources and a large family that all work. This makes the debt seem bizarre. Apparently this particular shark is well known for collecting a couple of payments then nothing for years, then turns up out of the blue with the police demanding massive instant repayment, hence forcing people into homelessness and more debt etc.

Regards

ccc

Regards.

[Judecalling]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

Compassion for ones own immediate family comes first!

The in-laws have resources and a large family that all work. This makes the debt seem bizarre. Apparently this particular shark is well known for collecting a couple of payments then nothing for years, then turns up out of the blue with the police demanding massive instant repayment, hence forcing people into homelessness and more debt etc.

Regards

ccc

Regards.

Oh ... and don't go near him ... nearly forgot that. : ) About that 5 ....

[varun]

Guess I'm a little late to the party, but shouldn't the OP's title be rephrased as 'How to deal with a potentially scamming MIL? '

[Judecalling]

Guess I'm a little late to the party, but shouldn't the OP's title be rephrased as 'How to deal with a potentially scamming MIL? '

No - it shouldn't ....next. ?

Edited May 9, 2013 by Judecalling

[Judecalling]

I am desperately and really trying to understand things like this. Compassion ... i think they call it. ? I am not dismissing or belittling the situation (that is not my way) ... we can all get stuck - whatever the circumstances.

Phew ... wish you the best and that you get through it. It's not your debt kiddo .... do not get 'weighed down' by this. Do not engage.

There speaketh i - 7th Imp and 'just gotta boss everyone around when bored and home' LOL : )

Compassion for ones own immediate family comes first!

The in-laws have resources and a large family that all work. This makes the debt seem bizarre. Apparently this particular shark is well known for collecting a couple of payments then nothing for years, then turns up out of the blue with the police demanding massive instant repayment, hence forcing people into homelessness and more debt etc.

Regards

ccc

Regards.

Bit 'hastey of me'- apologies.Ok ... yep absolutely right family first - every time.(Sometimes you have got to save yourself first to save the rest) - I'm 'with you' on the debt sounding bizarre - please would you define it. ? Do not panic ... it is simply about problem solving.

Where is your thought about what to do - go from there. ? I'll help ... with my excellent 'brain' .. ; )

[krisb]

btw when I was in Thailand my wife had dealing with these slimey loan sharkers. She pawned her gold to some local rat which she later got back when I paid the bill. When I heard about the 300 baht per month or whatever it was it made my blood boil! This was 5 years ago when I was a lot more naive and unemployed for a while.

Would have boiled my blood to if my wife did something stupid like that as well.

[jackinbkk]

I make it a habit of collecting those loan shark sticker often found plastering ATM machines and throwing them in the trash can.

I regard a small contribution to reducing their business.

I've never seen one, but guess they are in Thai which I don't understand. Good for you sir! I hope others follow your lead.

[jackinbkk]

So I believe the loan sharking practice is actually illegal? Yet it's clear and in the open like other things in Thailand. You see the loan sharks going customer to customer with the obligatory gold jewellery that appeals to them like shiny things to a magpie. Your not wealthy unless you can show you are. It seems to be as if it's a school playground. I imagine there are kick backs that allow it to keep going on.

I ask this because I'm sure many expats could bankroll their wives to start similar enterprises (I don't condone it) but I bet these would catch the eye of certain people and soon be stopped along with all the hassles of dealing with we know who.