Yeah, at the end of the day I got what I wanted. I see your point of view and it's the same point of view that you're forced to accept here in Thailand. Given the choice, I'm guessing you wouldn't pay. Even if it was a 3 day service, given the choice, I wouldn't pay. That's just me though

You're right, we're on the same page with regard to paying for anything that should be a free service.

I'm out in the sticks a bit, so a trip to Udon immigration is about an hours drive each way. I would pay for the express service to save the hassle of 2 trips.

If I was local to immigration, paying would p i s s me off.

In your case it makes sense. I'm not against paying for the service at all. They could make the charge official and I'd gladly pay it. I just wasn't expecting getting ripped off by a government official, that's all. The amount isn't the issue

I paid 1000 baht in Sakon. Did I get ripped, of course I did.

What can you do, absolutely nothing.

You can actually speak up about it. You probably won't get your money back but it might help others in the future. Also, if you need the same service again, you know you're well within your rights to refuse to pay. They have to give you the letter for free. In fact it's not free. You paid for your visa, right? Where does that money go? You're paying vat etc on everything you buy here. It goes to the government, which in turn pay for government services. That's reality

Edited March 20, 201511 yr by jonaz