Jet Ski Scams Yet Again

[spidermike007]

Why is it that Thais talk for ages, decide nothing and implement even less?

I see this constantly in condo committee meetings in my building. I often think that I could leave one month and come back a month later and they would still be discussing the same subject.

Thais are famous in business for their lack of decision making. Many foreign firms have problems with their local staff here.

Decision making requires one to take responsibility, and also to be responsible for that decision should things go belly up, upside down, or just sideways. Taking responsibility for ones actions is not something most Thais are taught, during their upbringing, and certainly not during their education, unless they have gone to university overseas, where it is a universally accepted premise in life, and in business, at least with mature, level headed, fair minded, and responsible people. It is worse with Thai men, due to the continued insistence on teaching them that they are special, when in reality, there is nothing special about them, due to the fact that they are male. Women essentially run this country. They are responsible for most of the stuff that goes on here. The women of Thailand are special. Without them, Thailand would fail overnight, in my opinion. They are the ones with their feet on the ground, and they are the one who are not afraid of hard work, and are not saddled by silly issues related to machismo.

And taking responsibility requires the ability to look within, for the source of the problem. Introspection, and self analysis, are also qualities that are not in abundance here. The Thais do have a lot of wonderful qualities. But, those are not amongst them.

[spidermike007]

What is a bit surprising about all this, as it pertains to the Indians that are getting scammed, is that they are typically very intelligent, and internet savvy. So, one would think that there would be posts all over the boards in India, about these scams. Why don't we all post something on trip advisor, about the jet ski scams in pattaya? I think the same is happening on samui, and in phuket, is that correct? I have heard of countless scams on Samui, with the jet ski scum.

[Adeeos]

Why is it that Thais talk for ages, decide nothing and implement even less?

I see this constantly in condo committee meetings in my building. I often think that I could leave one month and come back a month later and they would still be discussing the same subject.

Thais are famous in business for their lack of decision making. Many foreign firms have problems with their local staff here.

Decision making requires one to take responsibility, and also to be responsible for that decision should things go belly up, upside down, or just sideways. Taking responsibility for ones actions is not something most Thais are taught, during their upbringing, and certainly not during their education, unless they have gone to university overseas, where it is a universally accepted premise in life, and in business, at least with mature, level headed, fair minded, and responsible people. It is worse with Thai men, due to the continued insistence on teaching them that they are special, when in reality, there is nothing special about them, due to the fact that they are male. Women essentially run this country. They are responsible for most of the stuff that goes on here. The women of Thailand are special. Without them, Thailand would fail overnight, in my opinion. They are the ones with their feet on the ground, and they are the one who are not afraid of hard work, and are not saddled by silly issues related to machismo.

And taking responsibility requires the ability to look within, for the source of the problem. Introspection, and self analysis, are also qualities that are not in abundance here. The Thais do have a lot of wonderful qualities. But, those are not amongst them.

BINGO!,,,,, I've been saying this EXACT same thing to friends for years,,, I know quite a few, really GOOD Thai men that I consider, friends, and have more than once, earned my trust,,, They ALL have one thing in common,,, University in the States, The UK, Australia, or another similar, "Western" style mentality.... whereas the average Thai man has the mentality of,,, "Oh, you pregnant?, Give to your Mommy, Bye, bye",, Or are willing to let, girlfriends, wives, daughters,,, work as a bar-girl, so they can drink Thai wiskey at 10am, and drive a new scooter, etc, etc,,,

Edited August 11, 2015 by Adeeos

[Transporter]

It makes a change having Indians ripped off! I bet they never even saw it coming despite their wealth of knowledge of ripping people off. Som Nam Na!

[SheungWan]

There's n easy answer to this ... take pictures of all the damage on a JetSki before it is rented which can then be checked against a JetSki after it has been returned. A picture paints a thousand words.

There are reports of damage being covered prior to rental.

[impulse]

There's n easy answer to this ... take pictures of all the damage on a JetSki before it is rented which can then be checked against a JetSki after it has been returned. A picture paints a thousand words.

There are reports of damage being covered prior to rental.

There are also reports of the thugs shoving the cell phones up the butts of people who think a picture will get them off the hook. (Well, smashing the cell phone cameras anyway- the suppository comment was for effect)

This is brutal extortion. It's not a game of wit and brains and evidence. And the cops are in on it. The only sure way to prevent being extorted is to not rent a jet ski.

Edited August 11, 2015 by impulse

[bander]

"The Chonburi governor had set up a committee to control and manage the operators but the same old scams were still happening. The officials now intend to revise the law, deal with the insurance issues as all jet skis have no insurance, zone the operators and have a more stricter control on them."

Don't make me laugh, how many times have the Chonburi governor promised to clean up the jetski scams?

The thing is now when the Pattaya police cannot get their extortion money from bars and nightclubs they need to get it from somewhere else, so they hook up with jetski mafia and helping to extort Indians is the solution to their problem.

[jaywalker]

There is also another way to prevent these operators from getting away with this: make sure ALL tourists, especially Indians it seems, are warned about these scams before entering Thailand, perhaps with a video being shown on the plane, which states, quite categorically: "Do NOT under any circumstances rent a jetski in Thailand!"

I mean, if nobody rents a jetski anymore then the scammers won't have any opportunities to scam you anymore!

Simple!

My Thoughts 100% even a little Brochure Handed out warning Tourists of the many scams and what they should do

simple and easy if no one hired they be out of Business toot sweet

I agree that the airlines would be serving their customers better by passing out a little informative flyer about the numerous scams.

They used to have a sign at the US Embassy Citizen's Services office "DO NOT VISIT GEM SHOPS WITH TAXI DRIVERS" or something like that... Kinda like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

I guess fake gem rip-offs were a big thing once upon a time.

I bet that, 10 years from now, somebody in officialdom there (in their infinite wisdom) will post post a sign about jet-ski scams.

[ableguy]

this same scam has been going on since jet skies were first invented here decades ago. Outlaw Jet skies period. There is no way this will end otherwise.... Let the operators pay their own payments and whatever e;se the stealing money for....Ridiculous

agree .... just get rid of them then no more scamming !!

Too much money being shared around, do you think any of them give a damn because it's illegal, God that is a joke. Town of scams but never mind I read they want better quality tourists and families, another joke.

[spidermike007]

What this needs is a "Charitable Donation Scheme". Whereby, 30 to 40 large, fit, strong fallangs donate there time for free after collecting small change from all Thai Visa posters who are disgusted by this Scam.

Once they have enough money for them to all hire a Jet Ski on Pattaya beach they turn up at the same time all along the beach and set off from the beach at the same to all meet about 2 km offshore, whereby a kind fallang with a large cruiser is waiting to pick them up. The Jet Ski's have the fuel and oil syphoned off then get disposed off as part a submerged reef project after they have their hull bottoms smashed in by fire axes. Simple.....no more noise, pollution or scam unitl the next time...

Please let me know where I can make my donation.

[hawker9000]

There's n easy answer to this ... take pictures of all the damage on a JetSki before it is rented which can then be checked against a JetSki after it has been returned. A picture paints a thousand words.

There are reports of damage being covered prior to rental.

...also reports of operators taking exception to the taking of pictures before the rental (even violently so).

[AdamRich]

I went to my tailor's shop and his girlfriend told me he was at the beach. I'm thinking what the f is he doing at the beach. Later on another guy who I am a regular customer of told me that my tailor is in on the jetski scams now. He translates and gets 20% of whatever they can scam the Indian people out of.

[Howiehotspur]

I spend a lot of time on pattaya beach ". It's really not that bad , they also take pictures themselves before the tourist get on .. Sure they have issues with the Indians , but they don't help themselves by overstaying in their rides , as I said previously, with the Thais frantically waving them back in for what seems ages , so by the then they have the hump with them .. Normally say they have to pay more because of this reason and then an argument starts ..

No big deal , don't like ? , don't use simple .

[2fishin2]

I spend a lot of time on pattaya beach ". It's really not that bad , they also take pictures themselves before the tourist get on .. Sure they have issues with the Indians , but they don't help themselves by overstaying in their rides , as I said previously, with the Thais frantically waving them back in for what seems ages , so by the then they have the hump with them .. Normally say they have to pay more because of this reason and then an argument starts ..

No big deal , don't like ? , don't use simple .

Oh you have no clue brother none what so ever about which you speak!

[darksidedog]

There's n easy answer to this ... take pictures of all the damage on a JetSki before it is rented which can then be checked against a JetSki after it has been returned. A picture paints a thousand words.

There are reports of damage being covered prior to rental.

...also reports of operators taking exception to the taking of pictures before the rental (even violently so).

Don't rent from anyone who objects to you checking the pre existing damage. You are obviously going to get ripped off on return. You wouldn't do it with a rental car, so how could you be so stupid as to not do it with a bunch of people who have a reputation for being the best thieves in town.

I apologise in advance if the police feel that they actually deserve that reputation better.

[impulse]

Don't rent from anyone who objects to you checking the pre existing damage. You are obviously going to get ripped off on return. You wouldn't do it with a rental car, so how could you be so stupid as to not do it with a bunch of people who have a reputation for being the best thieves in town. I apologise in advance if the police feel that they actually deserve that reputation better.

Any advice that leads anyone to believe that there is a way to rent from a scammer without getting extorted is incorrect and irresponsible.

These guys don't operate on rules, or evidence, or polite debate. They are extorting thugs, and calling it a "scam" is too mild a word to convey what's going on. It's brutal violence, not a game of wits- not a "scam".

The only way to be sure to avoid getting extorted for a lot of money is to not rent from these guys. Inspections won't help, photos won't help, evidence won't help- because the very guys you'd turn all that over to---are in on it up to their eyeballs. So you don't check for pre-exisiting damage. That is an exercise in futility. You don't get anywhere near these guys.

That's not to say all jet ski guys are scammers. But I can't tell who is and who isn't and I'd bet 99% of the tourists coming to Thailand can't either. So if anyone asks, I just say it's not worth the risk of ruining your entire holiday for a little bit of hot rodding on a jet ski.

Edited August 18, 2015 by impulse

[darksidedog]

Don't rent from anyone who objects to you checking the pre existing damage. You are obviously going to get ripped off on return. You wouldn't do it with a rental car, so how could you be so stupid as to not do it with a bunch of people who have a reputation for being the best thieves in town. I apologise in advance if the police feel that they actually deserve that reputation better.

Any advice that leads anyone to believe that there is a way to rent from a scammer without getting extorted is incorrect and irresponsible.

These guys don't operate on rules, or evidence, or polite debate. They are extorting thugs, and calling it a "scam" is too mild a word to convey what's going on. It's brutal violence, not a game of wits- not a "scam".

The only way to be sure to avoid getting extorted for a lot of money is to not rent from these guys. Inspections won't help, photos won't help, evidence won't help- because the very guys you'd turn all that over to---are in on it up to their eyeballs. So you don't check for pre-exisiting damage. That is an exercise in futility. You don't get anywhere near these guys.

That's not to say all jet ski guys are scammers. But I can't tell who is and who isn't and I'd bet 99% of the tourists coming to Thailand can't either. So if anyone asks, I just say it's not worth the risk of ruining your entire holiday for a little bit of hot rodding on a jet ski.

yeah, that's true. They are not all out to rip you off, but if they are funny about you checking before you ride, probably better to go to somewhere that is cool with you checking. At the end of the day, if they are going to screw you, then you are screwed. jet skis are fun, but not worth ruining your holiday over. maybe when no one wants to use one, someone will wake up, but by then we will all have left anyway.

[fey]

Jet ski damage is a civil matter, not criminal. But I suppose you have gotta do whats asked if a cop forces you to. I cant see myself being strong armed to an atm, but that's just me.

Another good reason to not leave your passport anywhere.

[alocacoc]

Jet Ski Scam belongs to Pattaya. It's their culture. It's Tradition and first and foremost, it's real Thainess. Somehow it would be a shame to stop this scams. What would be Pattaya without it? Without annoying indian tailors? Without the chaotic traffic and without the useless corrupt police? Love it, or leave it.

[phycokiller]

the city officers that collect the scam money for city hall have lovely new white rope stuff on their shoulders now, just saw them attending a lunchtime scam at 13/3

[nuslodados]

If I was being extorted and I was alone, I would tell them to take me to my hotel. Dusit Thani or Marriott. Once inside, you're safe.

I do not recommend going to the police station. If the police station, you are safe but you'll be camping in there for a long long time before it's safe to emerge. My 2 baht.

[impulse]

Jet ski damage is a civil matter, not criminal. But I suppose you have gotta do whats asked if a cop forces you to. I cant see myself being strong armed to an atm, but that's just me.

Another good reason to not leave your passport anywhere.

You are making the rookie mistake of believing this will be handled in accordance with ANY laws, civil or criminal. It won't.

One guy with a machete, another with a club and the nearby cop smiling while it's happening? You'd go to the ATM. You'd be an idiot not to go to the ATM.

Though nuslodados has a decent plan. Tell them you need to go to your room to get the money. Then duck into a 5 Star hotel. Once you're inside a 5 Star hotel, you're fairly safe....until you decide to leave. In fact, I'd just check in and settle in for a while.

5 Star hotel is probably safer for longer than at the cop shop. Besides, they don't have ice cold beer on tap and a swimming pool full of cuties at the cop shop...

Edited August 20, 2015 by impulse

[nuslodados]

Jet ski damage is a civil matter, not criminal. But I suppose you have gotta do whats asked if a cop forces you to. I cant see myself being strong armed to an atm, but that's just me.

Another good reason to not leave your passport anywhere.

You are making the rookie mistake of believing this will be handled in accordance with ANY laws, civil or criminal. It won't.

One guy with a machete, another with a club and the nearby cop smiling while it's happening? You'd go to the ATM. You'd be an idiot not to go to the ATM.

Though nuslodados has a decent plan. Tell them you need to go to your room to get the money. Then duck into a 5 Star hotel. Once you're inside a 5 Star hotel, you're fairly safe....until you decide to leave. In fact, I'd just check in and settle in for a while.

5 Star hotel is probably safer for longer than at the cop shop. Besides, they don't have ice cold beer on tap and a swimming pool full of cuties at the cop shop...

For what it's worth, Marriott is connected to Royal Garden Plaza. Once you are in the hotel, the scammers cannot come in as well. There is simply no way management will allow this for the sake of the other customers and you, the customer. The Marriott even has signs warning people of the scam in their courtyard.

This gives you many opportunities to change your appearance and sneak out through Royal Garden or sleep there 1 night and check out at the crack of dawn.

The mistake most people make is believing the police are there to help you. I believe The Marriott would be more helpful than anyone in this entire city.

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed

[striderman]

my current total of scams i've taken pics of is 160.

rarely to the police show up to the beach, this does not mean they are going to be any help if you visit soi 9 cop shop.

almost always it is city hall guys who turn up to jet ski events and who while in uniform are not police.

my own opinion is the only way to put a stop to the problem is a complete ban on ski rental.

[Tolley]

Jet ski damage is a civil matter, not criminal. But I suppose you have gotta do whats asked if a cop forces you to. I cant see myself being strong armed to an atm, but that's just me.

Another good reason to not leave your passport anywhere.

You are making the rookie mistake of believing this will be handled in accordance with ANY laws, civil or criminal. It won't.

One guy with a machete, another with a club and the nearby cop smiling while it's happening? You'd go to the ATM. You'd be an idiot not to go to the ATM.

Though nuslodados has a decent plan. Tell them you need to go to your room to get the money. Then duck into a 5 Star hotel. Once you're inside a 5 Star hotel, you're fairly safe....until you decide to leave. In fact, I'd just check in and settle in for a while.

5 Star hotel is probably safer for longer than at the cop shop. Besides, they don't have ice cold beer on tap and a swimming pool full of cuties at the cop shop...

A couple of nights in a five star hotel may well end up costing just as much as the scammers want!