Phuket tour company 'cheated of more than B1m'

[webfact]

Phuket tour company 'cheated of more than B1m'
Nattapat Tuarob


Arinrada Sirirak (right) with her mother, who is a partner in her company.

PHUKET: -- The owner of a Phuket tour company has filed an embezzlement report with local police after a freelance sales representative acting on behalf of the company allegedly diverted more than B1 million in tour fees into his own pocket.

Thirty Thai tourists had complained to Diamond Tours and to the Tourist Assistance Centre at Phuket International Airport after they arrived in Phuket to find that tours they had booked and paid for apparently did not exist.

Arinrada Sirirak, the owner of Diamond Tours, in turn complained to the Director of the Phuket Tourism and Sports Office (TSO), Santi Pawai, on Wednesday (March 25).

Ms Arinrada told The Phuket News that she had hired the freelancer to sell tours to islands such as Tachai and Phi Phi on behalf of the Diamond Tours, receiving commission on any sales he made.

When the freelancer first started selling the tours he did so in line with their agreement. However, after some time Ms Arinrada discovered that the freelancer had been soliciting customers through Facebook. Payments would come in by bank transfers into his own account.

Customers would be told they would be picked up from Phuket International Airport but when they arrived, this did not happen.

They tried to contact the freelancer directly but to no avail.

Ms Arinrada said that the freelancer also ran a different scam, using fake vouchers in the name of Diamond Tour. He would sell tours to tourists, then pay part of the money received to a variety of operators – boat owners, guides and so on – and keep a profit for himself.

He told customers not to contact Diamond direct, as he had organised a “special price” for them.

After a while, one tour company contacted Diamond to say that the freelancer had not paid them. It was at that time that Diamond realised they were being ripped off.

By that time, Ms Arinrada said, she figured that the freelancer had pocketed at least B1 million of money that should have come to Diamond.

Ms Arinrada said that the freelancer had admitted to cheating her but could not confirm exactly how much because he had also been “dealing” with other tour companies.

Ms Arinrada told The Phuket News that what the freelancer had done had nothing to do with Diamond Tours, which was blameless.

However, the company will help those customers cheated by the freelancer by offering them free transfers and also tours at contract rate if they re-book the trips directly with Diamond Tours.

Some customers have been willing to accept the offer, she said, but others have rejected it. Those people, she said, will have to wait until the completion of court action before they can expect refunds.

The police have issued a summons for the freelancer and are currently waiting for him to visit them.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tour-company-cheated-of-more-than-b1m-51645.php

-- Phuket News 2015-03-30

[lee b]

Yeah like hes going to go and visit the BiB after scamming ove B1m ! I wonder if hes in a tuktuk on the way there now?

[toonsai]

Thirsty Thai Scam Tourism

[Yahooka]

I`ve always been warned against using "freelancers" .......................

[Valentine]

So the only way the tourists can get something back is by spending more money on something they have already paid for. In other words Diamond is not accepting any responsibility & those who do not take up their offer will have to wait until the completion of the court case which in this country can take forever. I wonder how long he was acting on their behalf as 1 million is a lot of tours & they never thought to check?

[soalbundy]

Things are getting bad, Thais scamming Thais, they are obviously running out of westerners.

[madmitch]

BIB are awaiting a visit? Are they too lazy to get off their fat <deleted> and go and find and arrest the guy?

I have no sympathy for Diamond. They obviously have no idea how to run a business.

The real losers are the tourists who have been scammed.

[meatboy]

who the hell is doing their books?that they couldnt spot a missing million.

[steelepulse]

There must be some really fat margins if this freelancer can pay the buses, boats etc. and still pocket a nice tidy sum being the middleman of the middleman.

[stevenl]

There must be some really fat margins if this freelancer can pay the buses, boats etc. and still pocket a nice tidy sum being the middleman of the middleman.

Uhm, no. He did not pay 'the boat' because they complained about not getting paid, he obviously only paid 'some'. And he was not the middleman of the middleman anymore, he was pretending to be a big player himself.

[maidee]

good personell is hard to find, qualified one's even harder

[exbikey]

+ USD 30 mill. That's a lot of cash.

[stevenl]

+ USD 30 mill. That's a lot of cash.

B1m means 1 million Baht.

[stevenl]

So the only way the tourists can get something back is by spending more money on something they have already paid for. In other words Diamond is not accepting any responsibility & those who do not take up their offer will have to wait until the completion of the court case which in this country can take forever. I wonder how long he was acting on their behalf as 1 million is a lot of tours & they never thought to check?

Yes, there is something fishy about that, I cam't imagine a company like this not noticing straight away something is amiss.

I think their TAT required deposit would compensate the tourists, but in a case like this where they apparently did not book with the company I'm not 100% sure about that. On top of that, the deposit will very, very likely be far less than 1 million Baht.

[steelepulse]

There must be some really fat margins if this freelancer can pay the buses, boats etc. and still pocket a nice tidy sum being the middleman of the middleman.

Uhm, no. He did not pay 'the boat' because they complained about not getting paid, he obviously only paid 'some'. And he was not the middleman of the middleman anymore, he was pretending to be a big player himself.

Sure about that sport?

>>He would sell tours to tourists, then pay part of the money received to a variety of operators – boat owners, guides and so on – and keep a profit for himself.

He paid the operators and kept the money that was supposed to go to his employers, thus middlemanning the middleman.

[stevenl]

There must be some really fat margins if this freelancer can pay the buses, boats etc. and still pocket a nice tidy sum being the middleman of the middleman.

Uhm, no. He did not pay 'the boat' because they complained about not getting paid, he obviously only paid 'some'. And he was not the middleman of the middleman anymore, he was pretending to be a big player himself.

Sure about that sport?

>>He would sell tours to tourists, then pay part of the money received to a variety of operators boat owners, guides and so on and keep a profit for himself.

He paid the operators and kept the money that was supposed to go to his employers, thus middlemanning the middleman.

Yes, sure. I read the whole article, you're just picking out a few pieces to make some comments and speculations, while omitting other pieces like "After a while, one tour company contacted Diamond to say that the freelancer had not paid them." Did you e.g. consider he stopped paying the boats and buses because he was not making 'a nice tidy sum'?

[lvr181]

"The police have issued a summons for the freelancer and are currently waiting for him to visit them." Huh? Do they think he is silly? Go and arrest him!

My best wishes for a positive outcome for the travel company.

[NamKangMan]

The "freelancer" is in on the scam with the tour company.

He'll take a red card for the team, and the money will be split between him and the tour company.

Next time the tour company struggles for cash flow, and I sure in the present Phuket tourism climate they will, they will just get in another "freelancer."

Just a quick capital raising exercise.

[Daniel Ingalls]

.........She hired the freelancer.......that right there shows responsibility. Diamond Tours is responsible for what their employes do on behalf of the companies name. There seems to be a lack of supervisory as to what the employees are doing or selling to tourist on line. Who knows, Diamond Tours might be getting a cut on the side lines. After all, this is the scam capital of Southeast Asia!