Hotel dumped my laundry, how to deal with them

[blorg]

OK, so I left some laundry with a hotel while I went to do a visa run to. Didn't say when I'd be back, but I ended up getting sick in Myanmar and so it was two weeks.

So, I come back, and they can't find it, talk to owner on the phone and he says, I didn't think you were coming back so I dumped it in the river. He also seemed to be laughing, but that could honestly have just been the phone.

Now most of the laundry I couldn't give two shits about but it also included a pair of bike shorts and jersey that will cost me around 5,000B to replace. And I'll probably have to order at least the shorts from Europe (that's where they came from after I couldn't find anything I knew here.) And I was sort of planning to ride down to Singapore and on to Bali for which I need bike shorts.

He's coming back tonight to "have another look" so all hope is not lost but the staff working at the hotel after looking some more have already found the 300B worth of laundry I don't care about so given his statement about throwing something in the river I'm not optimistic. I've already had to change my plans to spend a night here as a result of this.

Now obviously I was pissed off as hell about this but I've also been here long enough to know that that will do me absolutely no good whatsoever, so I've calmed down entirely and am just looking for suggestions as how best to handle it. As in material recompense if he can't find them. Or is that just completely unrealistic, do I just have to shrug and go, oh well? I'd even forget about the jersey as it's old anyway and easier to replace here, it's the shorts which were new, around 3,000B and will be hard to replace that I'm really annoyed about.

The hotel is a cheap shithole that I chose for price not ambiance; he's not going to be concerned about TripAdvisor reviews.

[moe666]

Sorry about your loss but you get what you pay for saved a few bucks on a room to eat a pair of expensive bike shorts. Unless you left a room reservation and room deposit, how do they know you are coming back.

[ShopBoy]

at least you could give him a call and ask them to keep your laundry

100 baht phone call vs 5000 baht

[theblether]

He's not dumped it in the river, he's either kept it for himself or he's sold it.

[Jingthing]

Two weeks isn't a year but it is rather a long time not to pick up laundry if they weren't warned in advance.

I would say sorry about that, but the best they'll probably do (if you're lucky) is offer you a free laundry service for some new clothes, but serious cash, forget about it. They won't appreciate the tales about how expensive the items were either.

[Totster]

IMHO you should have tried to contact the hotel when you were away

totster

[ava15]

"Didnt think you were coming back so I dumped it in the river." WHAT?! The hotel owner must be having a laugh. Who does that? Hope you get your stuff back.

[blorg]

Yeah, I completely realise I'm not blameless and that two weeks is long enough, probably should have called although my phone ran out of credit, I didn't know the number and just honestly didn't think he'd dump it in that time. And he hasn't dumped all of it either, as I say, the staff found my 300B civvies that I don't care about.

As to kept/sold, I doubt it, the jersey was old and the average Thai wouldn't have a clue about expensive bike shorts. And TBH second hand bike shorts don't really have a big secondhand market, you wear them without underwear If anything he dumped the bike stuff because he thought it was useless but kept the 300B worth of civvies.

As to how he knew I'm coming back, I specifically told him when I gave him the laundry that I was going over to Myanmar and would be staying there for a period and coming back. The way the Myanmar visa run works, you leave your passport with immigration and get a 14 day pass to enter. There is absolutely no way you can go on somewhere else or whatever, you MUST go back out the way you came in to pick up your passport, and within at most 14 days. His hotel is within 100m of the border crossing, he knows this.

As to the "that's what you get for saving a few baht" comment, I've stayed in plenty of cheap places and never had a problem, to be honest I think it makes little difference for a scenario like this unless you are getting into a 5 star hotel doing it, and very possibly not even then. The mid range places are often the most impersonal, I don't think I'd get any better out of a 1,000B/night hotel. I'm on the road three years so I have to keep the budget tight.

He seemed a nice guy when I was here before and was helpful, I'm sure whatever he did it wasn't malicious, just really sucks for me.

Yeah, if it's gone I guess I'll just have to suck it up, but I guess I knew that even before I posted.

[asdecas]

The fundamental assumption in cases like this in Thailand should be that people are opportunists - give them an inch they will take a mile. It may not always happen but when you think it won't, it probably will. I doubt your shorts are in the river.

[scorecard]

Yeah, I completely realise I'm not blameless and that two weeks is long enough, probably should have called although my phone ran out of credit, I didn't know the number and just honestly didn't think he'd dump it in that time. And he hasn't dumped all of it either, as I say, the staff found my 300B civvies that I don't care about.

As to kept/sold, I doubt it, the jersey was old and the average Thai wouldn't have a clue about expensive bike shorts. And TBH second hand bike shorts don't really have a big secondhand market, you wear them without underwear If anything he dumped the bike stuff because he thought it was useless but kept the 300B worth of civvies.

As to how he knew I'm coming back, I specifically told him when I gave him the laundry that I was going over to Myanmar and would be staying there for a period and coming back. The way the Myanmar visa run works, you leave your passport with immigration and get a 14 day pass to enter. There is absolutely no way you can go on somewhere else or whatever, you MUST go back out the way you came in to pick up your passport, and within at most 14 days. His hotel is within 100m of the border crossing, he knows this.

As to the "that's what you get for saving a few baht" comment, I've stayed in plenty of cheap places and never had a problem, to be honest I think it makes little difference for a scenario like this unless you are getting into a 5 star hotel doing it, and very possibly not even then. The mid range places are often the most impersonal, I don't think I'd get any better out of a 1,000B/night hotel. I'm on the road three years so I have to keep the budget tight.

He seemed a nice guy when I was here before and was helpful, I'm sure whatever he did it wasn't malicious, just really sucks for me.

Yeah, if it's gone I guess I'll just have to suck it up, but I guess I knew that even before I posted.

In many places in Thailand there are second hand clothing markets, often with huge stock and with good turnover, and often the clothes near new and depending on age often not dirt cheap.

Where do they get their continuous supply of second hand clothes? My understanding is:

1. Buying vast quantities of clothes forgotten and or deliberately abandoned at hotels, all stars and guesthouses.

2. Buying vast quantities of clothes forgotten and or deliberately abandoned at laundry shops.

[kurnell]

You sure he didn't say he took a dump in the river? Perhaps your clothes are still there?

[blorg]

The thing is, though, he actually still has the pretty new good condition civvies that *could* potentially have be sold on.

Honestly, I've never seen bike shorts in a Thai market and I've been to plenty, that's where all my other clothes come from! They are a real speciality item. And the cycling jersey was WELL worn, with holes, honestly there is no way anyone would buy it, but at the same time that's what it's going to cost me to replace it.

If he doesn't have them I imagine he dumped the bike stuff as worthless and kept the other stuff as possibly worth something. As I say, the guy was not malicious, he was friendly, gave me a discount without me asking and volunteered a few other things he didn't have to.

TBH I don't take that sort of negative view of Thai people at all, my experience with them has been quite the opposite, including them going well above and beyond. Such as the guesthouse owner who drove me to hospital, filled out all the registration forms for me and after waiting around an hour to make sure I was being seen to told me to call him when I was discharged and he'd pick me up. And didn't ask for a penny for it. That was a 250B a night guesthouse and to be honest you actually do often get that sort of service in the cheaper places when the owner is there, they take it personally.

[blorg]

OK, went back and they had found all my cycling stuff. Crisis averted, all I've lost is an afternoon of my time and I'm not exactly short of that. Thank Buddha.

[theblether]

blorg, do you mind!! You're supposed to come back on and say that you went. had a stand up row, got beaten up by 3 Thais, bitten by a rabid dog, and sexually assaulted by a random Ladyboy, and when you complained to the police they charged you 20,000 baht for wasting their time.

We don't like happy endings here, ( well sometimes ), and we demand that you cease and desist from this undesirable trait immediately.

Okay?

[theblether]

ps. Told you he hadn't dumped it in the river.

[AloisAmrein]

Report it to TAT and the Tourist police. What they do is inacceptable. Every hotel in the Western world is responsable for the loss of the laundry in such a case and has to replace it or pay for the caused damage.

[Jingthing]

Would a Thai call the police and try to make a deal?

[smokie36]

I had a pair of expensive jeans "disappear" at the laundry once. Thankfully the hotel I was staying at is my regular place and after a phone call was made they miraculously appeared after a couple of days.

In your situation OP I would just forget it....you won't get anywhere.

Many of us have lost stuff at laundries here....and your lack of a phone call didn't help matters for you.

Bummer though....tough luck.

[Jingthing]

I had a friend leave her laundry too long at a place here (she had told them she would be delayed) and they just closed shop! Total loss of garments. Oh well.

[wooloomooloo]

I paid a laundry near Thonglor to do a sack of washing with the obligatory stray pair of red socks and all my lights were ruined. I couldn't be bothered arguing about it. Move on.

[stoli]

What is your rule for finding something in your front yard? How long do you hold it in case someone comes looking for it? 1 day? 4 days? 1 week? Forever? After owning a restaurant, many items were left. If no one claimed them with 1 week, we tossed them. We were not a storage facility. No one ever came after a week looking for their item. Where does you patience lie? When would you give up, being in his shoes? Buy yourself some new shorts and move on with your life.

[jackr]

As an aside, laundry workers here are masters at making clothes disappear. Just has a pair of quality sports socks half-inched... what sort of nutcase goes through someone's washing to steal and, presumably, wear a man's old socks?

[nosatisfaction]

Sorry about your loss but you get what you pay for saved a few bucks on a room to eat a pair of expensive bike shorts. Unless you left a room reservation and room deposit, how do they know you are coming back.

Pay with peanuts, get the monkeys

[monkeycountry]

:-)

[harrry]

ps. Told you he hadn't dumped it in the river.

He misundersood. The guy said he had dumped in the river.

[Kananga]

Of course he was laughing. Its an instinctive reaction here after lying to your face. Cultural nuances and all that.

[wombat]

As an aside, laundry workers here are masters at making clothes disappear. Just has a pair of quality sports socks half-inched... what sort of nutcase goes through someone's washing to steal and, presumably, wear a man's old socks?

certainly not one without any feet

[Frank James]

Write it off. Fuhgeddabouttit!

[Dr Strange]

blorg, do you mind!! You're supposed to come back on and say that you went. had a stand up row, got beaten up by 3 Thais, bitten by a rabid dog, and sexually assaulted by a random Ladyboy, and when you complained to the police they charged you 20,000 baht for wasting their time.

Ah, the bitter voice of experience...,

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

blorg, do you mind!! You're supposed to come back on and say that you went. had a stand up row, got beaten up by 3 Thais, bitten by a rabid dog, and sexually assaulted by a random Ladyboy, and when you complained to the police they charged you 20,000 baht for wasting their time.

We don't like happy endings here, ( well sometimes ), and we demand that you cease and desist from this undesirable trait immediately.

Okay?

funny i was under the impression that for many here between changs at 7 and the 4000 baht per month hong dio the happy ending was one of the very few things that made life tolerable.