My rights as a buyer of faulty 2nd hand electric appliances

[lopburi3]

As he has returned repeatedly to re-supply the gas you have let escape am sure he feels he is meeting his obligation.

So if no joy next week I would be inclined to just call another service to have a look. There is likely at least a leak which could probably be easily fixed at little cost and one made operative quickly. This might be the case with both. Even if not it is likely one part is still fine (two part systems can be replaced individually at lower cost).

[khunPer]

»Anyone know where I stand with the consumer goods act in this country, is it worth escalating or should i just cut my losses and put it down to bad judgement.«

OP, I’m afraid you shall just count your loss and move on, that may be cheaper in the long run rather than starting a case or taking legal action, as you probably can expect no further service from your supplier; you can even get into more troubles.

Perhaps you can sell the 2-second hand units in question to some other second hand dealer who will repair and resell and that way cut some loss. Or ask another company to quote a repair and compare the cost with buying new stuff.

In my opinion and from experience, the best way to buy electronics in Thailand is to buy new and use a major brand supplier for back up in warrantee situations, for example HomePro or like.

[catweazle]

You tried to save a few bucks, bought second hand $#!TE and there you have it! Cut your losses and stop whining!

[Upset]

Never! never buy anything second hand in Thailand and please avoid craiglists etc...all crooks!

[Pompey50]

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say cannot and will not be understood.

You have the right to hire an attorney at a cost of 4 times the damages you are seeking to recover.

If you win your case, good luck actually collecting damages.

Caveat emptor, friend, caveat emptor.

i am sure this is fairly true, i would rather spend 200k THB on legal than letting someone like this get away with it.

I think he should be exposed publicly for what he is, reducing the number of victims in the future.

Be VERY careful making public accusations. Defamation is a criminal offence in Thailand and is used frequently to shut people up. Look at what is happening to Andy Hall, could face years in prison for exposing labour abuses by a fruit company! The truth in Thailand can be bought and foreigners are targeted for these misused defamation laws.

[tx22cb]

I empathise with you and your plight - would drive me insane too.

Re-filling with coolant so many times does not make business sense - it costs a lot of money. If there is a leak, the workers should have identified and patched the lines first.

As for hanging up 100 times - absurd behaviour.

How would I be able to avoid this cowboy in future? Can you name him/the company? I don't buy 2nd hand, but I do not want to buy new from crooks.

[thairastawoman]

Buying second hand and complaining....

[Beetlejuice]

For my 2 satangs worth I would just bite the bullet as a lesson learnt. It is obviously working you up and is going to do so even more if you start getting lawyers involved. add to it the extra costs of the lawyers etc and even if you do win you are going to lose if you get me. Either find another 2 second hand units from someone who has recommended them and offer to let them have the 2 dodgy units in exchange for free installation ?

Before you do anything though I would get another AC engineer to have a look at them as if the guys he sent are as clueless as they sound it may just be a quick, cheap fix to get them running as they should.

Good luck whatever

Sure i think that's sound advice. But I think im probably going down the whole massively stressful and painfully expensive route of suing the <deleted> just to prove a point.

I have sent him notice that I am now arranging for removal of the units as he has failed to do so. i just need them replaced and will be buying new .

Firstly, I would avoid buying anything second hand in Thailand, as usually the Thais will run these items into the ground and then try to gain another 5 years out of them before parting with these items. In other words your aircon units were probably well clapped out before you bought them and my guess is that there is little hope for your units that don`t work.

I am guessing that your home was purchased, probably in your Thai wife`s name. If you have not purchased your home strictly according to Thai law, meaning that the property was not financed exclusively with your wife`s money, than that may cause you problems if the said case goes to court and awkward questions are asked. It also means that under Thai law you have no jurisdiction over the property, which means the person who has to take the legal action is your wife.

I have no idea why you had contacted the police because I can assure you the police will not be interested, as this is a civil not a criminal case, meaning you will need to hire the services of a lawyer and take this matter to the civil court.

My advice is; to shallow your pride, take this matter no further and put it down to experience. Otherwise if you do decide to take this matter further, you do so at your own risk and discretion.

[sdanielmcev]

One of the problems you will have is his warranty is probably only good for the installation, not the 2nd hand air-cons. any times over the years I have had complaints about this or that not working, but it isn't the installation, it's the product that is defective or broken. If I am correct, if legal action is taken, he will only be responsible for the labor, not the product. And you will have the burden of proof to show he knowingly sold you a defective product.

[dotpoom]

"sorry about your dilemma but please tread carefully,if his place is that big you might find out the hard way who you might be dealing with,if you get my meaning.so yes i hate to get taken for a ride,but as this is thailand i have learnt when to keep my mouth shut[very hard] and walk away while i can.so please for your sake forget it.you will never win."

I never thought I'd hear myself say this but in this case I would go along with the above. I am normally one hell of a stubborn b - - - - - - and would take something like this to the end of the earth. But on quite reflection is it worth it? I doubt if it will damage his reputation.....he has none...you have seen that, do you not think others have also seen it. The above point I take on board in all situations where it might be lightly to apply since seeing how things operate here in Thailand. Try to put it behind you and I guarantee in a few months it will have faded in your brain and be just a story to share with your friends over a cuppa (I gave up the drink) rather than bringing more stress into your home by worrying about the consequences of some action you are about to take.

On any given occasion that interferes with my peace of mind, the one question I keep coming back to is.........

DO I WANT TO BE RIGHT OR DO I WANT TO BE HAPPY?

[jacko45k]

Take them out, and put new Daikin units in. persuade yourself that you will save money on the electricity bills.

As to the two defective units, load them onto a truck and personally take them back to the guy who sold them to you and see what he will offer.

Lesson learned, guarantees come with new items only, and even those sometimes don't work out.

[meatboy]

@arnold40844: First off: Everything you say is right. You're right, it's totally unacceptable to let somebody come through with such a scam and it'd only be your right to warn other people about this crook. Certainly you weren't the only one who fell for him.

And there comes the but. I don't know how many years you've been living here now, but I'm quite sure you also found out that a life in this country is not the most valuable thing and that Thai people can react - how do I put this nicely - a bit illogical towards direct accusastions, even if they're 100% right. Sometimes it's better to let things be, especially when talking about a relatively little amount of money.

It's a thin line: On one side you want to keep your integrety, on the other side you want to keep your dignity and show others that they can't treat you like this. Keeping the balance is probably one of the most difficult things for me while living in this country. But whatever you do, don't forget that there are enough people in this country who were killed because of a lot less (a 51 Baht taxi fare, a broken tablet, unfinished homework, .... the list is long).

i have told him more or less the same thing.

if he keeps it up he might find out the hard way.

and the might is mighteir than the sword

[HaleySabai]

Going to court in a country with no democratic rule of law is setting yourself up for a royal fleecing that will lead only to a very bitter end result.

Like others have suggested - "cut your loss".....and try your luck again.

Sometimes this place leaves little to desire, but rest assured Thais get ripped just the same.

[armadillo215]

Arnold,

I have been an A/C/commercial refrigeration tech and manager for 45 years before I retired. You must get a QUALIFIED tech to look at the two you are having problems with. The one that has been recharged multiple times obviously has a leak which is simple to find if the tech (is a tech) has the right tools and knowledge. The one making noise could be something as simple as a fan blade hitting something or as serious as a broken rod in the compressor. It has been my experience here very few service persons have a clue what they are doing. Have the units repaired and send the bill by registered mail with a copy of your warranty the the original contractor. Of course send a copy of the bill and keep the original.

I don't know what the law is here as it may relate to a small claims court like we have in the US. You have all related proof to present to the court and argue your own case. Just a thought. But get a qualified tech to find and fix the leak and if the compressor is OK on the other unit you

re in business.

Good Luck

Jody

[mike324]

AC's are one of the worse things to buy second hand in Thailand, they are usually junk or put together with junk parts. Of course you may occasionally come by good units, consider that as lucky. Like many have said, suck up the loss and move on. No need to waste your time trying to defame the company and post negative reviews, Mr. Somchai doesn't care.

[fabphil]

you know the rules, once u give a thai money never expect to get it back

[willyumiii]

You have the right to buy as many faulty 2nd hand electric appliances as you can afford.

Just like I have the right to buy as many brand new faulty electric appliances as I can afford.

It's hard to believe anyone would expect a 2nd hand electric appliance to function at all!

The quality of new electric appliances in Thailand is so poor, a friend recommends buying three of anything you need.

If you are lucky, one of the three will work and the other two can be used for parts when you need to repair the working one!

The same friend is convinced that many companies send their merchandise that does not pass quality control inspections to Thailand since they know very few Thais will ever try to return a faulty item.

The laws in Thailand protect the seller, not the consumer.

And don't even think about starting a boycott against a business that sell faulty merchandise...that is against the law!

[arnold40844]

Well I appreciate all the comments.

As I mentioned in a previous post he said he would come today to remove them and refund the money, this is after the promise from last Tuesday that he would come on Saturday and the promise on Saturday that he would come on Sunday.

Its 16:37 and still no sign of him, just tried to call him and he hung up. I officially give up, I will not pursue it anymore.

If anyone is considering buying second hand air conditioning units in this country, i wish you the best of luck. You will surely need it!

[kandi]

Well I appreciate all the comments.

As I mentioned in a previous post he said he would come today to remove them and refund the money, this is after the promise from last Tuesday that he would come on Saturday and the promise on Saturday that he would come on Sunday.

Its 16:37 and still no sign of him, just tried to call him and he hung up. I officially give up, I will not pursue it anymore.

If anyone is considering buying second hand air conditioning units in this country, i wish you the best of luck. You will surely need it!

What a surprise

[namdocmai]

I had many issues like this and everything i buy is brand new and good brands.

This is thailand, they don't care for good service or long term business.

I had 4 powerbuy installers to install my new aircon. It didn't work after all was installed. My electrics were the problem they said so i went to get the electrician who built it but then suddenly my wife flicked a switch at the other side of the room and guess what? It worked! 4 engineers together didn't know that in new houses they built an extra headswitch for every aircon. They are so professional!

Or try calling the Samsung helpdesk if you have problems with the topmodel fridge that they sell. They even can't speak english!

They really need technical schools in Thailand!

[ableguy]

I take it these are room/window units? Doubtful you'll have much in the way of rights as they are second-hand. In any country. If you signed a contract, then you at least have that. But, yeah. Cut your losses, especially if lawyers get involved.

Also, not to be demeaning, but they are pretty simple to DIY.( Notice I didn't say easy.)

One is an 18000 BTU the other is a 12000 BTU. I have a receipt saying that I have 12 warranty, surely that means I have some level of protection. I would never have gone with them if that was not the case.

The gas is leaking of one of the units, they have come to re-gas it 5 times in 2 months. i do not understand this at all. The other one is just making an awful banging noise at the compressor after more than 30 minutes of operation. i dont want to start getting other engineers involved or trying to repair myself as they are supposed to be under warranty.

You keep telling us they are under warranty, which he ignores so face up to reality, bite the bullet and get another engineer to check them, or keep moaning on here for the next six month.

[arnold40844]

I did not mean for it to come across as moaning as you so bluntly put it. I was genuinely asking for advice, i have taken that advice and will just forget the whole thing.

I do like the idea of buying things second hand though, i would much rather recycle something that someone no longer has a need for rather than buying new. I suppose the old saying "they dont make them like they used too" doesn't work for everything, electronics probably more so than anything else.