When a Loan Shark Destroys a Family

[peterb17]

Wow divorces seem to come very easily . You seem happy with the person who " serves and takes care " of you.

Yet ( if anybody actually believes this story) when your wife makes a mistake you don't seem to look for a way to sort things out: dump her- divorce.

[xtof2]

"Married 1 year. Know her 2 years. Thai."

So, you don't really know her.

[Rumblecat]

Just pay the debt and chalk it up to one of life's painful lessons. It's not that much money, not worth risking bodily harm over.

[SteveB2]

I'm sad to hear this story - I have been party to picking up the pieces of several good friends family breakups caused by just such calamities. There's always a 'Buffalo's died' story to make us feel sympathy, and for being drawn into helping sort out someone else's financial mess caused by their own incompetence/ludicrous behavior...with our hard earned cash.

So, assuming she really has borrowed the 200K on the usual loan-shark 'hok-bon-ha' interest scheme (though I've to tell ya, that this sounds like weapons-grade B.S. ) The question is what to do and the reasons why, so your heart can sleep easy with the difficult decisions you must make right now, if you intend to stay here in LOS.

The most important thing to understand is:-

If your wife borrows money from loan sharks or is involved with drugs, it can potentially destroy your life and freedom here in Thailand. You will be 'Guilty by Association' and subject to a brutal evilness by dark influences you can't imagine

Don't think you can hide or make war with loan sharks - they will quickly find out where you or your wife are staying - then things will get very messy indeed...

They will have a lot more experience of making war with bad payers(years and years of it) than you have with deciding to make war with them now.

So (if you intend to remain here in LOS) then she has to go - meaning that you need to divorce her as soon as possible - likely under grounds of 'misconduct' or 'breaking the bond of good behaviour'. Your lawyer can advise accordingly.

But divorcing her may not be enough - the loan sharks may still deem you responsible (especially if they can find you and not find your wife, and ... that the debt occurred while you were still married) - thus you may still end up having egress LOS.

I BTW, don't buy this being the loan sharks fault. Man up! its your wife's fault, not the loan shark's. I guess I should add that I also lend cash to people in hard up circumstances - and I will laugh in the face of any idiot who blames me for lending the money to them as an excuse for non-payment - that's pathetic. Sorry and all that, but that's the way it is.

[MaeJoMTB]

It's a scam, she is trying to scam you.

There is no loan shark, she didn't go to the casino.

I know plenty of foreigner guys and Thai women where they patiently waited 5 years to pull the scam and planned it from day one.

PS.loan sharks don't lend 200k without house or car papers in their hand.

Easy way to grab 200k off a gullible foreigner.

PPS. If you do pay, there'll be another 200k 'emergency' a month later, once they start, they never stop.

Edited July 18, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[offset]

A few things from my perspective:

1) loan sharks provide small loans, anywhere 5000 - 20,000 baht. Interest rate is somewhere 2-5% per day. They don't give larger amounts like what you mentioned.

2) for larger amounts you need to give some collateral, usually land or a car/truck. Interest rate for that is approx 3-5% per month. Normally a proper contract is established, so if you don't pay the interest or don't pay back the debt, you will loose the collateral. A repossession of the collateral will take place by order of court.

So personally I think this story is not true. Also the problem is your wife who comes up with some crazy story to get your money and certainly not somebody else.

If a proper contract is established, showing 3/5% a month, then it is an illegal contract.

A court will order the loan to be repaid using a maximm 15% pa interest rate, and only authorise the shark to have the collaterl if the loan and reduced interest cannot be paid. I have heard that in some cases, because charging a high interest rate at the outset, the shark gets no interest,. and only gets back the loan (or collateral) as per the court instruction.

There is very rarely a % put on the contract which I would guess would make it illegal but once the land title as been signed at the land office who do not need to see a contract a date is added to the land title that if the debt is not paid by that certain date the land can be transferred to the loan shark and I was told this in the Land Office 3 days ago

You forget it is no good going to court if you not have the money to pay back the original loan even if a judge reduces the interest to 15% a year

[MaeJoMTB]

Loan Sharks are not stupid & I find it difficult to digest, that they would loan this considerable sum on the basis of 'Farang are rich'.

I think you've been decieved by her because she has a Gambling Addiction - but this doesn't make her a bad person.

The money she owes has probably been borrowed over a long period of time, in different amounts. But now, they want their money back.

However, I would worry alot about these guys turning up.

Either repay them, or disappear, by your hand...or theirs.

I know a loan shark lent out 1.5 million on a land paper and did not bother to find out that the land was in the mother's son's name and he is only 6 years old so what collateral have they got, and I do know that this is true

he doesn't give a hoot on who's name it is, you wil sell the land to repay or have a problem

The land cannot be sold without an order from the Family Court and two things I know is that the Court will not allow the land to be sold to pay off his mother's debt and the loan people would not want to go to the court either to explain why the land has to be sold

Dead children own no land.

[gemguy]

Just pay the debt and chalk it up to one of life's painful lessons. It's not that much money, not worth risking bodily harm over.

That is based on the assumption that woman's story is true...that is ......if the story is true.

Unfortunately that kind of well meaning advice can all too often get the OP into further and further debt and or money based scams perpetrated by an ever growing circle of friends and family made up of liars and cheats, thieves and bandits and a few pirates thrown in for good measure along with the usual / standard hard luck, desperately in need of help and money for a dozen different reasons.

If it is a scam ( and probably is ) then they will work him over, again and again, in a number of clever ways while taking liberal advantage of his good nature...... or his gullibility ...and or...... his generosity with money.

In this case, I would say...... tough love is the answer ......and let her pay off the supposed...."loan shark loan" ..... on her own.

Cheers

[LivinLOS]

I spent 13 years in Thailand learning about women and being very choosy,

I have explained to her often that playing the lottery is as good as throwing money away. "would you ever bet on the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or 5 5 5 5 5 5 5?"(or how ever many digits it is). I would ask her. She would reply' Of course not! How could anyone win on such an unlikely number!" I would respond, " Absolutely correct! But any combination of numbers has an equally high improbability! I have studied statistics and probablity math in college, and know that the odds are exactly equal. It is simple math. But this concept just didn't sink in.

13 years and your trying to have that conversation ??

[Oil Baron]

Thai girls and their gambling..

It never ends well.

Never.

[MockingJay]

Your thread should have "if stupidity destroys a family" as headline. No more to say to that.

[MockingJay]

Right, blame everyone but your wife for what really happened, and good luck with your war.

I assume that you're smart enough yourself so that I don't have to tell you who's gonna bite the dust.

Spot on, bro! Spot on!

Edited July 18, 2015 by MockingJay

[Monkeyrobot]

Is the loan shark her Gik and there both stitching you up.? Is she that stupid to borrow that amount? Something not right here do you smell a rat . And when you went away for 3 weeks you only left here a 1000B .

[F4UCorsair]

I agree with your troll suspicion.^

Trolls generally don't have 320 posts up.

Troll story though.

[louse1953]

The money was borrowed and will have to be repaid. However in law the maximum interest rate is 15% per annum. No doubt the shark will be charging anything from 5% a month to 5% a day!

When you have decided to repay, calculate the interest at 15%pa, offer him the capital plus pro rata interest, or offer him a meeting in court.

I rather think he will accept the 15% per annum interest based on the number of days/weeks the loan was for.

200,000baht at 15%pa works out at 30,000baht interest per year. (2,500baht/month or approx 82baht oper day).

When dealing with loan sharks,you either pay or get very,very good protection,which will cost.1st of all your dog will be baited and the harrassment will continue til you pay.You have 2 choices,pay up or leave the wife and dont come back.

[louse1953]

Wow divorces seem to come very easily . You seem happy with the person who " serves and takes care " of you.

Yet ( if anybody actually believes this story) when your wife makes a mistake you don't seem to look for a way to sort things out: dump her- divorce.

That's if its a mistake,i smell stichup.

[FritsSikkink]

The money was borrowed and will have to be repaid. However in law the maximum interest rate is 15% per annum. No doubt the shark will be charging anything from 5% a month to 5% a day!

When you have decided to repay, calculate the interest at 15%pa, offer him the capital plus pro rata interest, or offer him a meeting in court.

I rather think he will accept the 15% per annum interest based on the number of days/weeks the loan was for.

200,000baht at 15%pa works out at 30,000baht interest per year. (2,500baht/month or approx 82baht oper day).

doesn't work like that

[billd766]

Stop your silly talk about a war with the loansharks. Do you even know the interest rate?

Stop blaming the neighbourhs. The one and only to blame is your wife without a brain who thinks she can beat the casino.

Like said before half the debt is yours when you divorce. You borrow , you pay or do a runner and face the results of that.

You are probably the next on lifesupport if you run (what are the odds on that). Good luck

Better change the title in : How my silly gambling wife ruined my happiness.

Many years ago when I lived in BKK some of the bargirls used to b orrow money from the loan sharks.

The interest rate then about 15 years ago was 20 baht per 1,000 baht borrowed PER DAY.

If that is still the going rate the OP is looking at 4,000 baht per dayjust on the principal alone PLUS 80 baht extra per day, Starting from day 01 multiply the principal by 1.02 and then do the same with that total for every day that the money is outstanding,

A word of warning! Sit down and relax BEFORE you start and be prepared to cry,

[FritsSikkink]

no more OP, troll

[catman20]

another farang thought his one was different

[billd766]

I have heard stories like this for the past 12 years I've lived here. My conclusion is this: RUN AWAY. Either pay off her debt or not. But if you are on the loan sharks list, they will find you. They will have friends working at Immigration. They will find you. So never return here, or pay off the debt. Make sure it is paid IN FULL. And then divorce your 'perfect' wife. She's imperfect, just as all Thais are. Better to cut and run now while you still can. I favor not returning at all for you. Good luck, and stop trusting ANY Thais.

I have been living here for 19 years, married for 16 of them and my conclusion is that some of what ehs818 is good advice, at least the payment of the debt is.

As for quote "And then divorce your 'perfect' wife. She's imperfect, just as all Thais are. Better to cut and run now while you still can. I favor not returning at all for you. Good luck, and stop trusting ANY Thais."

I would hazard a guess that ehs818 has been caught in the same trap as you.

He seems to be a very bitter person.

For myself I would rather trust the many Thais that I know than 80% of the farangs that I know.

[billd766]

One thing you are all forget thai woman are very good at playing the long game with western man that is why she has come up with this BS story after time with the op , all thai woman ask western men for money one day .

1 I can't believe that a man can live in thailand for 13 years and can't see through a thai woman.

If I were you I would piss her off A S A P but it is your life and your money good luck.

One thing that YOU don't understand is that not all Thai women are the same anymore than all farang women or men for that matter are all the same.

[steven100]

The hardest part about the story will be how to figure out who's the liar and who is straight.

I find that's the most difficult thing in Thailand.

She could be telling BS.

You have to figure that out.

[Vogele123]

Sorry to hear about your problems, but lets face it, the neighbours borrow 15K and 40K and your wife goes out and borrows 200K? It has nothing to do with "Loan Sharks" it is entirely due to your wife borrowing 200K she couldn't afford! If the interest was 0% or 1000000% it makes no difference, she is in the mess because she borrowed what she could not pay back. Why go after the loan sharks? She borrowed the money, no one made her do it.

[DiDiChok]

What a sad tale from the OP. This is a scam and the scam works in definite stages. Having said that, the OP may well want to go along with the scam by paying up, regarding it as 'sin sot' or bride price if he likes the lady and wants to keep her. He could then let them know that he knows or even keep quiet. It could even be a 'test' by the lady's family to see how gullible he is.

Very simply, he's got to do one of three things. (a) He's got to walk away from it all, ignore them and find a new lady, ( tell them it's just not going to work, they're getting no money and you're registering a complaint with the Police and whoever else you can think of, © he'll pay and then grin and bear any consequence.

If the Thai family are respectable, they'll help him as secrecy is never good concerning money. If they're all crooks, it should be obvious straight away. Thai families like talking about money and who's got what, which is why we find it disconcerting when they ask how much we earn. They want to know our status and how much 'face' or 'greng jai' us farang should be given. Remember that if you don't trust the family, they'll never trust you or help you.

Only the OP will be able to make the final decision and he's right to ask for help in making that decision.

As far as scams go, the 'mark' is the person who is the source of the money you want and the project is to get the money. Here's a ten point plan as how it's done from a scammer's viewpoint!

(1) Very carefully work out how much you think is practical for the mark to lay his hands on including any further credit they can get their hands on. It's best if the figure can be substantial but reasonable enough in case you only get one chance to make a hit.

(2) Tie the mark into the project emotionally in as many ways that you can think of, and keep on pushing the effect of breaking those ties to heighten anxiety. Involve third parties whenever possible, particularly relations.

(3) It is even better if the scam can be organised to require payments in stages, known as the drip. That way, a point can be reached when the mark may well feel obliged to continue paying and therefore feels unable to bail out.

(4) The possibility of using the drip should not be revealed up front in case the mark is unable to meet the initial payment. So called 'Discounts' on payments can be offered when the initial estimate was inaccurate to achieve part payment so that time and effort was not wasted on the project.

(5) If the drip can be started, do whatever you can to try to get those payments increased either in size or in frequency before the mark reaches a breakpoint.

(6) Urgency is a must. Do everything possible to find substantial reasons why payments have to start immediately and when necessary, have to continue to be made. It doesn't matter if these payments bankrupt the mark or he disappears, because then you will know for certain that there is no more money to be had.

(7) Never start the project by making the initial demand unless the mark is involved in doing something else that cannot be interrupted and preferably keeps him separated from the project by distance. This invented urgency and feeling of helplessness heightens stress on the mark by rendering him unable to discover the truth. This is a good time to throw in some more emotional pressures to ensure that the mark does not start thinking clearly.

(8) Invent credible reasons as to why the project must be kept secret and no Police or other authority must be involved. Cajole, threaten and use all deceptions known to back up the assertion that secrecy is vital. Enhance the assertion for secrecy by hinting that investigatory powers are already involved and will shortly pounce, to delay any possibility of discovery of the project. The mark must be made loyal to the project and obtaining outside help is abhorrent.

(9) Introduce misunderstood cultural differences when possible to back up reasons why payment is necessary and urgent. Involve ghosts, medical problems and perceived corruption of and by officials to enhance stress on the mark.

(10) Find reasons as to why payment must either be made in cash or by another untraceable method to cover your tracks. If possible, mystify the payment process by going through a third party that the mark thinks he can trust.

Simples!

[tancred]

I would do a runner,seems like a well worked scam,it's been done many times(variation on a theme) The nicer they are to you the bigger the scam,it's all about what they can screw you for.

[ttthailand]

A friend lost his Business, truck and house because his Thai wife ran up a gambling debt. She had lost before some major money and he had paid and she promised to never do again. Basically don't get involved with any woman who gambles.

I would think if you checked her past you would find similar behavior. She can not be trusted and who wants to chance having someone like that to possibly bring you down.

Not your fault, move on .

[neeray]

The loan sharks aren't doing anything wrong.

Whilst I agree with this post is general, I strongly disagree with the above statement. Loan Sharks are the lowest form of life on the planet who prey on the vulnerable and break the law.

That said, a mute point I think as the o/p s post being so implausible and failure to comeback stinks of a troll to me anyway.

This story does seem to have troll characteristics but it is awfully long to be a troll. But why not, a troll must have little else to do except finger tap on a keyboard. There are definitely many holes in the strange story. As others have noted, 200k is an awfully big loan to extend as a first-time-loan without security. Loan sharks may be bottom feeders but they are not stupid or quite that careless.

[ALFREDO]

My mother was a gambling addict, she was 2 million baht in debt. Some days I come home from school and leave 20-40 baht on my desk, the next day, they're gone; of course, my mom stole them. I told my dad if he didn't divorce and leave her to rot in the streets I'll leave both of them and live on my own. Since I was the one giving my dad a visa, and everything he owned was under my name, I had nothing to lose and he had everything to lose.

So how did Dad react and how are his and your connection with your mother today?

She still playing?

[asdecas]

Cut her loose, bro. Cut her loose.