LPG Station credit card payments WARNING

[raro]

Must be careful not to name and shame here, but a word of warning:

There is an LPG station in Pattaya where you can pay by Credit Card. Now it happened to me for the third time that they put 100 Baht more on the CC than the actual bill was. Everytime it is a Uh-oh, sorry sir and you get your 100 Baht in cash. As I do not believe in a coincidence anymore a public warning here.

[chris2004]

I would never pay for gas with a credit card in Thailand, just asking for trouble. I always pay in cash and if possible with the exact change.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

For this reason and many other vulnerabilities, I quit my KBank credit card after one month. My home country CC stays at home and it's only used online for airline and hotel bookings. I know some people use a CC for "convenience" but I wouldn't even use one in the big retailers here. You just never know. Cash is king.

[raro]

I use the Credit Card whenever possible and have about 50 transactions a month. Never really any issues with it. I am much more reluctant carrying more than 1,000 Baht of cash on me.

[mataleo]

Not suprised.

[Likener1]

I use the Credit Card whenever possible and have about 50 transactions a month. Never really any issues with it. I am much more reluctant carrying more than 1,000 Baht of cash on me.

I'm surprised by that as I only ever use CCs here for very large purchases and only take them out to make predetermined ones.

Never had any problems or concerns about carrying cash, I just keep it in more than one pocket so I'm not pulling a bunch of thousands out.

Sorry to go off topic about caution with LPG stations but I'm perplexed as to why people would use non chipped ones or systems where a foreign chipped card make no use of the chip.

Skimmers and scammers abound where as muggers do not, well not so in my experience and as for pick pockets I've never fallen victim - zipped pockets (internal zipped pockets on trousers and shorts) and self-awareness of my surroundings and of those who are near has not let me down so far at least - but even if it does one day I will only lose what I'm carrying in cash rather that a potentially far larger amount.

[KittenKong]

Normally I dont carry more than 1000B but when I know I need diesel I take an extra 2000B with me. I pull up in front of a pump that does more than one type of fuel and dont tell the assistant which I want until I am standing in front of the pump and can see that it is zeroed. Then I ask for 2000B worth of the fuel I want. I check the final reading and hand over the 2000B. Never been scammed yet, as far as I know (and I regularly use a station that is renowned for employing scammers).

I avoid using cards but do use them for large one-off purchases and bills. The card never leaves my sight.

[thairastawoman]

Hey guys, you really are scare to loose 1000 thb ? I never leave home without 10000 cash in my bag and never fear anything.

You must be very weak.

[thaibry]

I use the Credit Card whenever possible and have about 50 transactions a month. Never really any issues with it. I am much more reluctant carrying more than 1,000 Baht of cash on me.

Same same. Why spend cash when you can get 40 day credit and cash back?

[shirtless]

always check your bill at point of sale ,sounds like a good earner for this business.

[KittenKong]

Hey guys, you really are scare to loose 1000 thb ? I never leave home without 10000 cash in my bag and never fear anything.

You must be very weak.

It's not a question of being scared. It's a question of preferring to keep the 1000B rather than possibly lose it. I see no point exposing myself to a risk of loss for no reason. In the same way I have insurance on my car: not because I expect to have an accident or am frightened of having one, but because I would rather someone else paid if I do have one.

As for always carrying 10,000B with me: what on earth for? I hardly ever spend more than a few hundred Baht when I go out unless I have gone out with the express intention of spending more, such as when I know I will be buying diesel, and in that case I just take more with me.

[doggie888888]

A warning about one service station becomes a tirade against credit cards in general. Lol.

[craigt3365]

I use the Credit Card whenever possible and have about 50 transactions a month. Never really any issues with it. I am much more reluctant carrying more than 1,000 Baht of cash on me.

I'd hate to think of how many times I've had problems with credit cards...in the US! One time, had $10,000 put on it. I didn't have to pay, but my card was locked and I was stuck in an airport trying to get my rental car. Another time my neighbor got my mail, got my credit card number, and bought a scooter! The police got involved and it was ugly. And I've had numerous purchases charged twice. Now this is over a course of 25 years and at times I was charging $5,000/month or more.

My brother just had $5,000 put on his. Luckily, with US banks, if you are in possession of your card, you are not obligated. Here? Good luck.

I'll take my chances with 1,000B any day...I never use a credit card here unless absolutely necessary.

[KittenKong]

I'd hate to think of how many times I've had problems with credit cards...in the US! One time, had $10,000 put on it. I didn't have to pay, but my card was locked and I was stuck in an airport trying to get my rental car. Another time my neighbor got my mail, got my credit card number, and bought a scooter! The police got involved and it was ugly. And I've had numerous purchases charged twice. Now this is over a course of 25 years and at times I was charging $5,000/month or more.

My brother just had $5,000 put on his. Luckily, with US banks, if you are in possession of your card, you are not obligated. Here? Good luck.

I have a UK credit card that I dont worry much about using (or losing) as the issuing bank covers all fraudulent use anyway. But as you say a big problem can be if they block it for security reasons at some inconvenient time, and depending on the issuing bank there may be extra foreign use charges that can add up.

As for Thai cards, the banks here seem to think that everything that happens to your card is your business and your problem. I know several people here who have lost money (one lost many hundreds of thousands) through card fraud and had no joy getting refunds from their Thai banks, even after court action.

Certainly the shops seem to be perfectly happy to accept card payments without checking the ID or signature of the person presenting it, and of course you dont even have the modest protection of chip and PIN here. Bad news all around.

I make sure that my Thai card is linked to a bank account that only has a few tens of thousands of Baht in it at most, to limit any possible loss. I have other Thai accounts that I use to feed this smaller account.

[siam2007]

one reason why many people use Credit cards a lot is the fact that they can earn airline miles.

This thing helped me to fly business class only on 4 flights up to 7 hrs each within Central- and South America during my recent trip to the Americas. Had I not had the miles from credit card purchases, I would have had to buy additional miles, and it would have cost me 600 Euro or so......

BTW, raro, if what you have experienced is REAL, why can not actually "name" the culprit" ?

[craigt3365]

one reason why many people use Credit cards a lot is the fact that they can earn airline miles.

This thing helped me to fly business class only on 4 flights up to 7 hrs each within Central- and South America during my recent trip to the Americas. Had I not had the miles from credit card purchases, I would have had to buy additional miles, and it would have cost me 600 Euro or so......

BTW, raro, if what you have experienced is REAL, why can not actually "name" the culprit" ?

First, it's against forum rules. Second, as an FYI, the defamation rules here are draconian. Even if what you say is true, you could still be sued and lose a lot of money. Very strange laws here.