My first stand-up argument in Thailand when shopping

[Liquorice]

Had a similar thing in Smith's in the UK. Full price was £2 reduced to £1.35. Check out said it was a mistake so I pointed out the trades dscription act to them and I got the product for the reduced price. Unfortunately Thailand doesnt have the equivalent of the Trades Description Act

Yes it does.

The Consumer Protection Act.

Consumer Protection Laws in Thailand are intended to protect consumers against false labelling, unfair advertising and other types of consumer protection, which would cover most if not all the situations in this thread.

http://www.thailawforum.com/database1/ConsumerProtecting-law.html

[Mr Somtam]

Went to slowball house once. Needed 15 meters of electrical wire for my welding machine. The guy seriously asked if I could buy 22 meters because the 7 meters left on the roll were so difficult to sell. Just smiled and said mai aow khrab... Moron...

[gandalf12]

Had a similar thing in Smith's in the UK. Full price was £2 reduced to £1.35. Check out said it was a mistake so I pointed out the trades dscription act to them and I got the product for the reduced price. Unfortunately Thailand doesnt have the equivalent of the Trades Description Act

Yes it does.

The Consumer Protection Act.

Consumer Protection Laws in Thailand are intended to protect consumers against false labelling, unfair advertising and other types of consumer protection, which would cover most if not all the situations in this thread.

http://www.thailawforum.com/database1/ConsumerProtecting-law.html

Lets re-phrase it, they are very rarely if ever used

[thailandforumaddict]

Good to give them lessons ! Thank you for acting for the community !

[Liquorice]

Had a similar thing in Smith's in the UK. Full price was £2 reduced to £1.35. Check out said it was a mistake so I pointed out the trades dscription act to them and I got the product for the reduced price. Unfortunately Thailand doesnt have the equivalent of the Trades Description Act

Yes it does.

The Consumer Protection Act.

Consumer Protection Laws in Thailand are intended to protect consumers against false labelling, unfair advertising and other types of consumer protection, which would cover most if not all the situations in this thread.

http://www.thailawforum.com/database1/ConsumerProtecting-law.html

Lets re-phrase it, they are very rarely if ever used

Casually mention it if your locked in a disagreement, especially in bigger stores........puts the willies up em.

[nithisa78]

i saw the jaffa cakes reduced in M&S myself..good you stood your ground...nothing pisses me off more than being ripped off again and again!

It is the getting pissed on that torques me.

Think we took ojt with you guys, 1966 RVN. 9th I.D.

[wolfmanjack]

I really should check marked prices against actual more often when I go shopping, but I honestly can't be bothered. I saw a news piece years ago about retailers in the USA and random check of marked prices against actual price rung up at the reg revealed huge discrepancies. I don't recall exactly, but it was something like 20-30% incorrect (always higher, of course). I do check occasionally when something is marked down significantly and it's almost always correct. But I confess that I'm not nearly as vigilant as the OP.

The grocery store i shopped at in the USA gave the item for free if you caught the register ringing up the wrong price so I got in the habit of doing it there. I see it on occasion here but if it is only a few baht I don't say anything. One time at makro it rang up 1,000 baht instead of 100 baht. Now I keep track of everything a I shop so I catch mistakes right away when the total amount does not match what I have figured out in advance.

[Mr Somtam]

I really should check marked prices against actual more often when I go shopping, but I honestly can't be bothered. I saw a news piece years ago about retailers in the USA and random check of marked prices against actual price rung up at the reg revealed huge discrepancies. I don't recall exactly, but it was something like 20-30% incorrect (always higher, of course). I do check occasionally when something is marked down significantly and it's almost always correct. But I confess that I'm not nearly as vigilant as the OP.

The grocery store i shopped at in the USA gave the item for free if you caught the register ringing up the wrong price so I got in the habit of doing it there. I see it on occasion here but if it is only a few baht I don't say anything. One time at makro it rang up 1,000 baht instead of 100 baht. Now I keep track of everything a I shop so I catch mistakes right away when the total amount does not match what I have figured out in advance.

I should do that but most of the time I'm just too lazy...

[Konini]

Had a similar thing in Smith's in the UK. Full price was £2 reduced to £1.35. Check out said it was a mistake so I pointed out the trades dscription act to them and I got the product for the reduced price. Unfortunately Thailand doesnt have the equivalent of the Trades Description Act

In Australia pretty much all good retailers are part of some agreement that if the goods come up at the wrong price you get them free. I copped it once by proxy, I threw a Mars bar onto the conveyor at the end of my shopping and because I was in a hurry I didn't even look at the price. The nosey old lady behind me shouted up - hey, that went through for $1.05 instead of 75 cents. Look, the label is here. I really was in a hurry, I just shook my head and told the checkout chick not to worry about it, but this woman kept going on and got the attention of a supervisor. I told her not to worry, I needed to go but I lucked out (HA)and got a very diligent employee who kept telling me how Woolworth's took this kind of thing very seriously and she would have to put in a report about it and she would sort it all out for me. I told her it's not worth it for 30 cents - I was at the point of losing it, so I said OK, I won't have it. Just reverse to cancel it out it and let me pay. The old bag behind me started bleating again and the employee of the year was being very efficient - I gambled that it would be quicker to just go along with it instead of arguing against it. There were 2 forms to be filled in, I had to hand over my driving licence and it was taken away and photocopied. I was pulling my hair out. I ended up losing almost 15 minutes (plus close to 5 minutes extra at the cash register), caught the school coming out and was 10 minutes late for an appointment. The dentist was running late, but that's not the point; it's the only time I've been late for an appointment.

But hey, I got my 30 cents back.

[junglechef]

My issue with this kind of thing as well, they take a huge amount of time asking you the same question over and over and saying the same thing each time you answer them. These broken record conversations are a waste of time. Today at BKK Hospital it took an hour to discuss my incorrect bill as I had to go thru it all with four different employees whom all admitted they had no authority to change it. I think since they are there anyway and don't want to lose or don't know how to fix it they just try to wear you out by repeating themselves or other nonsense until you just say it's not worth the time and frustration and give in. Matters of principles and respect for one's own word I find is not high on the list of priorities here often.

[Jonmarleesco]

Something the Thais often seem to try on. Villa have tried it in the past, as has Carrefour in R4. I now watch the till and if the wrong price goes up, I walk back to the display, remove the price label and take it back to the cashier.

[gemguy]

OK...good for you.

But you know what....if you tell a Thai person or several Thais at a the same time the story you posted, they would not appreciate the story.

First of all they would think you are a Cheap Charlie for demanding the price that you did while all of them would say: they would not have argued and simply paid the price...if it was them ..rather than make a scene and create a loss of face.

That is what they would say just because it is a foreigner who is telling them how he had his way relative to a money issue.

They will make like they would never do that just to gain face by saying so....although they are lying because if there is one thing that Thais will do and often do..... is fight with one another over the money.

I have experienced it myself several times when you tell a Thai person(s) about how a foreigner that you know well or yourself had a dispute about money with Thai people and the Thai person(s) involved had to given in and except the lower price or return money or sell or supply something for the real price or a much lower price or they were legally obligated to comply in a court case, if that be the case....then their mood turns all sour and they immediately take the side of the Thais....as if the foreigner cheated the Thais out of their money...when actually it was the Thais trying to cheat the foreigner or get one over on the foreigner.

They resent you for telling them that story and do not want to hear anymore...saying things like: Thai People do not like cheap Charlie foreigners or that person is a bad person for arguing over the price and not just accepting the higher price.

So now I never tell them such stories..... but..... I notice that when you tell them a story about how a Thai person or a Thai company pulled off a scam of sorts or supplied and or sold over priced products or something to that effect they seldom if ever say the Thai person or persons involved are no good and or how they feel sorry for the foreigner that was done wrong.

In their minds such incidents are perfectly acceptable and not to be concerned about at all.

Many of you may have experienced it with a Thai wife or GF that will not stand her ground along side you when the husband or BF has been done wrong in any number of ways, rather they will tell you to never mind and let it go ....AND ...just pay the money ......because it is your money...not theirs to lose and you are in effect embarrassing her in front of Thai people.....while that is the mentality that they practice all too often.....but they will not let themselves be cheated outright and would make a scene or do try to do something about it.

Not all of them , of course , but all too many.

They do not like to hear any stories about how a foreigner won, so to speak, in a dispute ...especially when it involves money.

Cheers

[Chiengmaijoe]

Having bought a fan at Big C Extra I was dissapointed when the plastic ring that keeps the fan cover together just wouldn't fit when I was trying to assemble it. I tried to be careful, but finally it broke, so having figured that it was just too small and gave way with not too much pressure, I decided to return it. Expecting to have diffuculties I ran through in my mind all the reasons they would have to not refund or replace the product I'd bought the day before.

Naturally, I had rehearsed a reply to every possible argument they would put forward, and I was determined to succeed. I was as ready as anyone could possibly be for a stand up argument. So I made my way to 'customer service' fully prepared, and stated my case ... " I bought this fan yesterday and it broke when I was assembling it", I said, confidently. The reply was "do you have the receipt?", which I promptly produced with quite an air of satisfaction. Having checked the receipt the next move was quite unexpected. Not having even opened the box to check my story she said .......... "Would you like to replace it, or do you want a refund?".

I was shocked and dissapointed. I wanted to say, " I want a refund, but not until we've had an argument", but instead muttered " refund please". What a huge dissapointment! There I was armed with every counter-argument to every attempt they might make to refuse a refund and they went and spoiled it all by being nice and courteous and doing the right thing. I think they did it out of spite. I now buy my small electricals at Warrorot or small shops where I know that if I have a problem, at least I can have a decent stand up argument, without any of that smarmy "would you like a refund" nonsense.

[MrBrad]

[MrBrad]

But if they do offer a refund, and if you've paid with your bank debit card, it will be some six weeks before the credit appears in your account. Interesting that they can have immediate transfer of funds from your account and into their account, but the reverse takes a month and a half as I found out at Home Pro.

[sprq]

If you want to have some fun, look at some of the offers on reductions based on quantity.

I quite often point out that their reduced offer of 2,3 or 4 is more expensive than buying 2,3,or 4 of the items singularly.

It's usually met with a blank stare as if I'm a 'numpty' followed by "yes, but it's on offer"

The other week it was washing up liquid. 36 baht a bottle, or 'reduced' pack of 3 for 110 baht?

Again blank looks when I pointed out the error.

It wasn't until I wrote the maths down on a piece of paper that it suddenly twigged....then the manager checking my figures.....then chaos as they scurry around checking price lists etc. It's quite amusing to watch

Meanwhile having put the one bottle, which is all I wanted, in my trolley, I slip through the checkout leaving the chaos behind.

Good move! People who can't do simple mental arithmetic (i.e. everybody) are a part of the problem, of course, as well as people who resolutely refuse to admit a mistake. It's often best to cut and run, rather than expect any resolution. But there are cases like this where they do recognise a mistake or an anomaly and try to do something about it.

[sprq]

Having bought a fan at Big C Extra I was dissapointed when the plastic ring that keeps the fan cover together just wouldn't fit when I was trying to assemble it. I tried to be careful, but finally it broke, so having figured that it was just too small and gave way with not too much pressure, I decided to return it. Expecting to have diffuculties I ran through in my mind all the reasons they would have to not refund or replace the product I'd bought the day before.

Naturally, I had rehearsed a reply to every possible argument they would put forward, and I was determined to succeed. I was as ready as anyone could possibly be for a stand up argument. So I made my way to 'customer service' fully prepared, and stated my case ... " I bought this fan yesterday and it broke when I was assembling it", I said, confidently. The reply was "do you have the receipt?", which I promptly produced with quite an air of satisfaction. Having checked the receipt the next move was quite unexpected. Not having even opened the box to check my story she said .......... "Would you like to replace it, or do you want a refund?".

I was shocked and dissapointed. I wanted to say, " I want a refund, but not until we've had an argument", but instead muttered " refund please". What a huge dissapointment! There I was armed with every counter-argument to every attempt they might make to refuse a refund and they went and spoiled it all by being nice and courteous and doing the right thing. I think they did it out of spite. I now buy my small electricals at Warrorot or small shops where I know that if I have a problem, at least I can have a decent stand up argument, without any of that smarmy "would you like a refund" nonsense.

LOL

[NeverSure]

Another factor is that I left my high horse back in the UK.

That was your biggest mistake. It's amazing how the 7-11 staff and other customers come to attention when the horse you are riding is bumping up against the counter, LOL.

[catman20]

well done mate but I could not have done with all the crap, I've have told then them to stick them where the sun don't shine.

[Dante99]

But if they do offer a refund, and if you've paid with your bank debit card, it will be some six weeks before the credit appears in your account. Interesting that they can have immediate transfer of funds from your account and into their account, but the reverse takes a month and a half as I found out at Home Pro.

Life is tough all over, amazing that so many manage to survive. You got to be like Chiangmaijoe to figure out how to get what you want but you need to be persistant and clever. Congrats to cmjoe, good one.

[mascarabertha]

In index where I have furnished 11 homes in the past I recently ordered a number of items one was a set of drawers that had a sign sitting on it saying 19,900 baht sale. When I went to pay they said the sale ended two weeks ago. I said cancel my order. They said for the sale item, I said on everything went to loft form and bought everything there. I'm no longer shocked, upset or disappointed.

[MrBrad]

[LarryBird]

The fact that they changed it after putting up a fuss makes it so much worse, because if it was actually supposed to be full price, they never ever would have given you the half off deal.

I had an experience at Rimping where I bought cheese that was marked at 199 baht, but it got ringed up at 205 baht. I went back, took a picture.. Then the clerk handed the cheese to some other loser who took his time to go and verify what I showed them was accurate. Never an apology for overcharging me, never an apology for the turd taking his time... I just looked at him and said 'Oh, mai pen rai'..

LAME CITY. It's so rare to find a competent employee at a shop like that, because no one can ever be a decent employee here, unless they are the actual owner of the shop.

[Naam]

criminals who fraudulently charge 206 instead of 199 Baht should be sentenced to six years hard labour, one year for every Baht to teach them a lesson!

[LarryBird]

criminals who fraudulently charge 206 instead of 199 Baht should be sentenced to six years hard labour, one year for every Baht to teach them a lesson!

I'm curious, if I came up 50 satang short on the bill, do you think they'd look the other way?

In Massachusetts, if a supermarket does this, you get the item for free, and they give you twice what they charged you in cash.... Nevermind acting like you are insulting them, or causing them to lose face. It's rimping's fault for having the price wrong, not mine.

[Gonzo the Face]

Maybe someone should mention this to Makro.... Hardly a visit goes by that there is not an incorrect price on the printout vs what is on the wall sticker. ...... and its never a lower price charged. This is the case since the buyout of Makro last year..... The Makro experience has really gone done in the past year.

[LarryBird]

Thanks for the heads up there, Gonzo, I never check my receipt there..

[FolkGuitar]

The fact that they changed it after putting up a fuss makes it so much worse, because if it was actually supposed to be full price, they never ever would have given you the half off deal.

I had an experience at Rimping where I bought cheese that was marked at 199 baht, but it got ringed up at 205 baht. I went back, took a picture.. Then the clerk handed the cheese to some other loser who took his time to go and verify what I showed them was accurate. Never an apology for overcharging me, never an apology for the turd taking his time... I just looked at him and said 'Oh, mai pen rai'..

LAME CITY. It's so rare to find a competent employee at a shop like that, because no one can ever be a decent employee here, unless they are the actual owner of the shop.

Your actions probably made the day for the clerks involved. I'm sure they told and re-told the event to every member of their social circles, who in turn told every member of their social circles, all laughing hysterically at the Farang who worked up a sizable ulcer over six baht.

Certainly, in principle, your actions were correct. In reality, it's often wise to choose which battle are worth fighting.

[LarryBird]

Folk guitar, are you one of these people that goes around being overly concerned with what Thais think of you? I hope they laugh at me. Oh ha ha ha, kii niaow they say to the person buying them lunch.

I had one item, i stared at the price of 199 baht, they charged me 205 baht. Only a ThaiVisa poster can find fault in wanting to be charged the right amount. There is ZERO percent chance that a Thai would have done differently. Not sure why you imply that I caused a scene... I showed them the price, they changed it. The only part that aggravated me was the lack of an apology, and the fact the floor boy was a primadonna that didn't want to be bothered in assisting me, when he wasn't doing anything to begin with.

FWIW , folk guitar, I am quite well liked by the people I come in contact with here. I think it's because they sense I am not an outcast in my own country, and that I am a regular guy, that happens to be living in Thailand. Let me guess, you go around wearing one of those Thai traditional shirts for men, improperly wai every person you come in contact with, know about 4 words of Thai, and try to explain 'everything Thai' to any farang you don't deem knowledgeable enough about the local customs and traditions.

[worgeordie]

I make sure no one overcharges me,i set out for shopping with a list of the things

i want to buy at Makro,Tesco.Yoke, and Rimping,i write down the price against the

item on the list,also write down other stuff i may pick ,add everything up,and if it

comes to say THB 1,267 ,i make sure that is all i pay.

You would really be surprised at the amount of times,they try to overcharge,happens

just about every week at one store or another,at Makro its mostly when the lady scans

something twice,others overcharging,it might just be 20,30,but the most was 189 THB

at the then Carrefour, NEVER undercharge but.so you folks with plenty money,just hand

over what they ask for,and walk away,you will never know you have been O/C,so why worry.

Its not too much exertion to do this,and adding a column of numbers in your head helps

keep your mind sharp,if you have had to work hard for your money,you value it more.

regards worgeordie