consumer protection - faulty products - where is a complaint form?

[boomerangutang]

Five years ago, there was a thread started here on T.Visa. It's closed now, otherwise I would have added this post. Anyhow, I did some online searching this morning and found very little re; consumer protection in Thailand. Most related to financial and property issues. My issue is with some everyday items, examples:

>>> TOA sells white glue in tubs. When you open the tub and pour the glue out of the plastic bag, it fills the tub only about 46%. In other words, you buy a particular quantity of the stuff, and when you get home, you find you're only getting half as much.

>>> Similarly for yogurt. The little containers in 7-11 type shops, gives only about 55% of the container size.

Both examples above (and there are dozens of others) are hoodwinking the public. They're giving half of what an average consumer assumes is a full helping.

Hypothetical: If you go to a fast food place and buy a hamburger to go. You get home and open the wrapper, the hamburger has been cut in half and the other half is a styrofoam shape. Not much different. If the trickster corporation mentions 'settling of contents' it's 100% bogus. Breakfast cereals can settle. Liquids don't.

[beachproperty]

Never seen a box of cereal FULL! Huge box with bag inside only 50% full...BUT on the box they do tell you how many ounces (or grams) it is.

Hey.... its corporate marketing ....and its done all over the world...

I stopped years ago at looking at the packaging and started comparing content (ie ...ounces/grams)

Good luck on your crusade to reform corporated marketing!

[boomerangutang]

Years ago, I wrote to several Thai official-looking website complaining about teflon tape - used for plumbing.

The black spools had 8 mm spacers on the insides, so the consumer was getting about 1/4 the length of tape - compared to what he thought he was buying from appearances. I don't know if my bellyaching had any effect, but now, when you go to a hardware store, the teflon tape rolls have less false spool filler space.

Translated: you used to pay 40 baht for 5 baht's of tape. Now you get about 30 baht's worth. An improvement.

Also: I bought some plywood last week. It looked good on each side. However, when I cut it down, the inside layers were crap - shreds of wood-like filler - mostly air.

[seajae]

come on guys, this is Thailand after all and profits rule, do you honestly expect them to give you what you pay for. When you buy any drink they fill the container with ice then only put in a small amount of fluid, if you ask them for less ice they still only give you the same small amount of fluid as it is in their profit margin to rip you off. Unfortunately Thailand does not take care of the consumer, you are open game for all the businesses to rip off, ever tried to get good back up service when you get faulty goods?. We bought 8 tv's for the units plus 8 bedroom settings, one tv stopped working after 4 hours(top brand not a cheapie), they refused to replace and sent it off to be looked at, took almost 3 months before they sent it back fixed. Then 2 bed bases broke(again not cheapies), we waited for almost 4 months(kept making excuses) with no action so we ended up fixing them ourselves. It will not change. making profits is simply too important to bother with doing the right thing for the customers.

[dBrown]

[Kwasaki]

That video from the film is something you shouldn't show the OP.

[h90]

you buy per weight not per package size......

Some glue need air inside to keep fluid.

[rbkk]

Try here.....http://www.ocpb.go.th/ewtadmin/ewt/ocpb_eng/main.php?filename=index___EN

[Crossy]

you buy per weight not per package size......

Agreed, now if the contents were less than the labelling, that is a valid complaint.

[meatboy]

never mind whats in the packet eg[crisps] the bottle[pop] the meat sold as fresh but its been frozen,go to the local markets, now they will rip you off on weight the bigest culprits are the ones selling prawns,go and complain and they will tell you to f-off with a cleaver in their hand.T.I.T.

[giddyup]

I have noticed the Dutchie brand yoghurt sold in 7 Eleven is not even 75% full and they are pretty small tubs to start with. There is absolutely no reason (other than profiteering) why the tubs can't be filled, there doesn't have to be space for air.

[boomerangutang]

you buy per weight not per package size......

Some glue need air inside to keep fluid.

I don't get it. The glue is in a bag, with no air. Air makes it dry and harden. There's only one reason the bag is put in the larger container: to make it appear that you (the customer) is getting a volume of glue - twice what he's actually paying for.

Here are two true stories which took place at two different stores in Burma:

>>> I bought a large packet of almonds, in a clear plastic package bag. After getting to my hotel and eating a few, I realized they had a lot of MSG. I, like most farang, have bad effects from MSG. The next morning, I took the bag back to the store. The moment they understood my issue (all was very civil) they gave me a refund, and took back the opened package with 98% of the nuts.

>>> A very small shop had a display which showed new thumb drives with corporate-looking packaging. The price was so good (Bt.60) I bought all six they had. I tried one, nothing. I tried another, nothing again. I took back the 4 unopened and 2 opened packages. The lady gave me a full refund right there and then. Again, all very civil, no raised voices or dramatics.

Besides both shops being in Burma, both products were very likely from China. There are deductions here, I'll let the reader figure out what they are. Could those 2 scenarios have happened in Thailand? You tell me.