Postman decided he'd borrow our money!

[Kenny202]

Jesus I thought I seen it all here. Live in an Isaan village. Missus paid the local postie here for our electricity last month. Not a big amount 1500 THB and admittedly she didn't get a receipt. I since found out you can pay at any 7 shop. Local service turned up this morning to cut our electricity and we had to pay again. Missus goes to the post office and he says he paid them and he'll get our money back. I called bullsht which i know is bad form here. Youre meant to all smile and happy even tho you know someone is lying to your face. Turns out he's "forgot" to pass the money on and now hell have it back to us in 3 days? I was initially annoyed that as he is their agent to collect money why weren't they chasing him. According to them he does it all the time! The monies clearly been gambled or drunk. Funny thing is in all of this ill be the bad guy as "I make big proprem"

[dutchisaan]

If this postman was their agent, than he would give you a receipt.

[Kenny202]

No it doesn't work like that here. He takes the money back to service, they give him a receipt and he brings it back. Would I have given him the money without getting a receipt? No. My wife has paid this way many times before with no problems as her bills never exceeded 400 baht. We just put air cons and an oven in hence the large hike and I guess it was too much temptation for him.We've since found out 5 others have complained he's done the same thing to them this month. Obviously in debt and he'll be paying us in three days when he collects the money due this month from other poor suckers.

Its not about the money. I wont die if the monies lost but how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

[Mr Somtam]

LOL, but really it's sad. In a real country he would havebeen fired, fined and had to return all the STOLEN money...

[Kenny202]

It is sad. The guy isn't even from the local area. Everyone is saying he always pays it back the next month like it's all ok. If we were away for a few days this morning and our electric cut would have lost the fridge, freezer, alarm. He doesn't even deliver the post. Had to go and get 2 things this morning from his office (2 km away) which I know have been sitting there a week and he has lost 2 visa report receipts in three months

[tifino]

It will be always your farang fault for not already knowing he doesn't follow on the payment

[ericthai]

No it doesn't work like that here. He takes the money back to service, they give him a receipt and he brings it back. Would I have given him the money without getting a receipt? No. My wife has paid this way many times before with no problems as her bills never exceeded 400 baht. We just put air cons and an oven in hence the large hike and I guess it was too much temptation for him.We've since found out 5 others have complained he's done the same thing to them this month. Obviously in debt and he'll be paying us in three days when he collects the money due this month from other poor suckers.

Its not about the money. I wont die if the monies lost but how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

Aren't electricity bills below 600Bht paid by the King?

It was when I lived on a rural supply.

No under 200B you dont have to pay.

Op It's been you can pay at 7-11 to pay for as long a i can recall at least 15 years. Dont know where in issan you are as it's a big place, but even going to the electric company is not bad, quick in and out which is much better than in BKK. It is so easy to pay dont know why your wife wouldn't just pay herself.

Seems you have not been in Thailand that long. Nobody that works for the govt ever gets fired, they get moved or put in inactive positions, happens all the time. Seen it happen many times. I recall several years ago the toll collectors in BKK where stealing money from their collections, nobody lost their job all moved to different positions. Read the paper and see how many times police are moved to inactive positions, it's just how things are here. Welcome to Thailand!

[shirtless]

Its ok as it is only a farangs money they know you have a money tree

[Mr Somtam]

Too lazy to go to 7-11, unbelievable...

[Kenny202]

Who said she's too lazy? She's always paid the post man. Before she met me she lived 50ks from a 7 shop without a motorbike.

[ezzra]

Be careful of the next time you got to pay your bills coz the postman always steal twice....

[klauskunkel]

how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

this sort of behavior is a requirement to get a government position in the first place.

[janpharma]

...Thainess...

[biplanebluey]

Who said she's too lazy? She's always paid the post man. Before she met me she lived 50ks from a 7 shop without a motorbike.

Well I live in Isaan and I doubt there is anywhere thats 50k from a 7/11--------- 50k !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SOTIRIOS]

....you should know better by now.....

[joebrown]

Who said she's too lazy? She's always paid the post man. Before she met me she lived 50ks from a 7 shop without a motorbike.

Well I live in Isaan and I doubt there is anywhere thats 50k from a 7/11--------- 50k !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having lived in several districts in LOS I'm no longer surprised by the continual stories of theft and embezzlement by so-called agents and trustworthy people. Sadly, those that 'borrow' your money will more than likely only suffer a reprimand and have to repay the loss. I now observe the golden rule that when a bill has to be paid I go direct to the issuing office, or failing this go to 7/11, and never leave before I have checked the accuracy of the receipt.

[Old Croc]

No it doesn't work like that here. He takes the money back to service, they give him a receipt and he brings it back. Would I have given him the money without getting a receipt? No. My wife has paid this way many times before with no problems as her bills never exceeded 400 baht. We just put air cons and an oven in hence the large hike and I guess it was too much temptation for him.We've since found out 5 others have complained he's done the same thing to them this month. Obviously in debt and he'll be paying us in three days when he collects the money due this month from other poor suckers.

Its not about the money. I wont die if the monies lost but how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

Aren't electricity bills below 600Bht paid by the King?

It was when I lived on a rural supply.

No under 200B you dont have to pay.

Op It's been you can pay at 7-11 to pay for as long a i can recall at least 15 years. Dont know where in issan you are as it's a big place, but even going to the electric company is not bad, quick in and out which is much better than in BKK. It is so easy to pay dont know why your wife wouldn't just pay herself.

Seems you have not been in Thailand that long. Nobody that works for the govt ever gets fired, they get moved or put in inactive positions, happens all the time. Seen it happen many times. I recall several years ago the toll collectors in BKK where stealing money from their collections, nobody lost their job all moved to different positions. Read the paper and see how many times police are moved to inactive positions, it's just how things are here. Welcome to Thailand!

This is a country where people in power can kidnap, enslave, torture, rape and murder fellow human beings and be punished with job transfer.

Why would any one care about petty theft?

[Kenny202]

I'm not surprised by the theft or fraud. I'm surprised by local people's acceptance of it

[LivinLOS]

No it doesn't work like that here. He takes the money back to service, they give him a receipt and he brings it back. Would I have given him the money without getting a receipt? No. My wife has paid this way many times before with no problems as her bills never exceeded 400 baht. We just put air cons and an oven in hence the large hike and I guess it was too much temptation for him.We've since found out 5 others have complained he's done the same thing to them this month. Obviously in debt and he'll be paying us in three days when he collects the money due this month from other poor suckers.

Its not about the money. I wont die if the monies lost but how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

He isnt the agent..

Hes just a guy who sidelines as paying bills, same as you can get the mocyc taxi to do it, etc etc.. Theres nothing official or formal about it, its simply a higher risk way to save legwork.

[realenglish1]

He gets away with it because this is Thailand and he is Thai

[maidee]

its not the postman that give you the bill, but a totally other person that comes to check your meter and print your bill that you can pay in 7/11

[Kenny202]

He's doing it mostly to Thais. 5 others apparently and all with substantial electronic bills.

[Johnny S]

Thai Postal for you, dont even send anything - it will never get to the receiver ...

[AlQaholic]

The Postman is in no way officially any agent for any company. He is doing it as a personal favour to your missus. Therefore, becuase he has been doing this for so long without any rewards or minimal rewards he thought he could "borrow" some moneys just this one time, especially since Husband is "vely lich Falang".

[asdecas]

That's what is so remarkable about ThaiVisa: less than a handful of posts and already the OP, with a perfectly legitimate grouse to vent, is virtually being labelled a mass-murdering pederast with a penchant for postmen.

[nongsangcity]

Funny all my mail from the uk was always opened before it was delivered to our house...then the enverlope was stuck back together with blue sticky tape....some times the enverlope was delivered and no letter inside...strange most thais carnt read English I wonder what they were hoping to find inside my mail ????......when I called into my local post office...they said my mail had come from the main sorting office already with blue sticky tape all over it....when I questioned the local sorting office they said it must be your local post office doing it..........things have improved over the years now 1 in 4 of my mail is pre opened....

[louse1953]

No it doesn't work like that here. He takes the money back to service, they give him a receipt and he brings it back. Would I have given him the money without getting a receipt? No. My wife has paid this way many times before with no problems as her bills never exceeded 400 baht. We just put air cons and an oven in hence the large hike and I guess it was too much temptation for him.We've since found out 5 others have complained he's done the same thing to them this month. Obviously in debt and he'll be paying us in three days when he collects the money due this month from other poor suckers.

Its not about the money. I wont die if the monies lost but how does someone in a government position here do this and get away with it?

Aren't electricity bills below 600Bht paid by the King?

It was when I lived on a rural supply.

No under 200B you dont have to pay.

Op It's been you can pay at 7-11 to pay for as long a i can recall at least 15 years. Dont know where in issan you are as it's a big place, but even going to the electric company is not bad, quick in and out which is much better than in BKK. It is so easy to pay dont know why your wife wouldn't just pay herself.

Seems you have not been in Thailand that long. Nobody that works for the govt ever gets fired, they get moved or put in inactive positions, happens all the time. Seen it happen many times. I recall several years ago the toll collectors in BKK where stealing money from their collections, nobody lost their job all moved to different positions. Read the paper and see how many times police are moved to inactive positions, it's just how things are here. Welcome to Thailand!

Direct debit,way to go,mad if you don't.

[louse1953]

Thai Postal for you, dont even send anything - it will never get to the receiver ...

Rubbish.

[SantiSuk]

In the last year:

• the village electricity collector ran off with the money (I keep bills and surprisingly they give you a different format of the bill if you have paid cash to the collector than the bill they give you if you want to go to a PEA office later - so we were able to prove we had paid: others in the village who threw away such useless bits of paper regretted it!)
• the village water man ran off with cash collections. The pooyai baan decided that noone would pay twice so one month's water remained uncollected for a lucky few
• at my condo in Bangkok the condo manager ran off with the float for water charges. The new management asked me to fill out a police report and I would get the money back. 2 months later they reneged on that promise.

My previous 6 years had seen nothing of this ilk.

It makes you wonder whether this last decade of political lies and deceit and military lies and deceit (taking over the country under a guise of public interest) has rotted the fabric of Thai society even beyond the traditional Asian corruption culture. Either that or the current economic impact on ordinary working people are much harder than the figures portray.

[Kenny202]

That's what is so remarkable about ThaiVisa: less than a handful of posts and already the OP, with a perfectly legitimate grouse to vent, is virtually being labelled a mass-murdering pederast with a penchant for postmen.

Yes you'd think the farang pub wud be somewhere you could vent with some feel of comradarie but oh well. I think in most of these things the experience of living in country Thailand as opposed to living in a major city may as well be 2 different countries....

Anyway my ending is we went to the main Amphur post office today to get a PO Box. The little so and so hapenned to be there so we reamed him. My missus totally got stuck into him and called him a liar for again telling us he had handed the money on and it was the electrical companies fault. (We checked with the electrical company yesterday and the said they have had many similar reports about him). So then I give him a spray and he smiled and said he didn't understand English. I held out my hand and said POLICE. He got it then.

His boss was a nice man however and tore the bloke a new one and explained the integrity of the post office can't be smeared by a little grub like him