Jet Ski Scams Yet Again

[catman20]

all tourist should vote with there feet, boycott the jet ski people

[HerbalEd]

Uh huh. Looks like the town officials are taking care of this jet ski rip-off problem .... yet again. Practice makes perfect.

[JRinPDX]

Whenever someone comes to me and says (with stars in their eyes) that they're coming to Thailand.. I tell them about the jet-ski scams (and the tuk tuk jewelry shop scams, etc. etc.). I'm always amazed at how trusting people are.. how little research they've done. A couple weeks ago, I had someone tell me it happened to him...in Europe! It must be a part of the jet-ski mafia culture, worldwide.

[Stevemercer]

Surely there must be more honest than dishonest operators? I've hired jet skis at Pattaya/Jomtien half a dozen times without any problems. Usually I take Thai relatives/friends out because they have never been.

[terminatorchiangmai]

best vid about jestski scam ! for who don't know yet what does it means...

Wow , lets have another meeting !!

i wonder if this police guy form the video is still at work .

Most likely he will be but in an not active position.

[mikemac]

I doubt if any insurance company in SE Asia would touch them with a 10 foot pole.

[Cereal]

Everyone has a smart phone these days. Take a video covering every inch of the jet ski with the Thai guy pointing out every defect. When you bring it back there is video evidence which proves whether a scratch or something is new. Why wouldn't this work. Do the Thais not allow a video?

[dean008]

jet ski warning, taxi warning, rickshaw warning, friendly man in the street that offers help warning, warning about the police, warning about the dangers of driving motorcycles, warning they should carry their passport at all times, it would be a rather long video, and might insight a mutiny with the passengers demanding the pilot turns around

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!

[Alwyn]

Dodge City Pattayais and always has been, outside of the law. Even the courageous mighty leader with his Colt 44 is frightened to say anything or do anything about the place. Look at the way he's bulldozed every (except the big money clubs like Nikki beach) beach bar/restaurant to the ground in Phuket then compare the beaches (if you can call them that) in Pattaya...Nope, anything to do with Pattaya or the southern insurgents he put's his bright silk jacket on and declares war on the lottery ticket sellers

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Cool beach clubs, part owned and managed by foreigners who pay their taxes and have their paper work in order get destroyed without compensation and on the other hand, the officials let those Thai jet ski punks have it their way, scamming millions out of clueless tourists and destroying Thailand's already cracked image further and further... So what do all these "noble" words of Mr. Prayuth, saying that he will root out corruption and all bad guys, really mean? Correct - nothing!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me sick to the stomach, all this hypocrisy and maipenrainess...

Edited August 10, 2015 by Blitzkrieg Bob

[hawker9000]

What's actually stopping tourists from renting the jet skies in the first place? Don't they read the news about places they intend to visit while on vacation in Thailand?

You'd think, but nope. Even in the age of the internet, there continues to be one born every minute ...

[Equalizer]

president of business and tourism in Pattaya- revealed that Ministry of Sport and tourism need to sort this problem because the targeted tourists who are mainly Indian are one of the largest tourists groups coming to Pattaya who generate a large amount of revenue for the city.

Right of the bat this official is exercising the Thai thought process problem of singling out preferential treatment for one branch of the scammed and no mention of another. Do these people have not one single idea that they are continuously discriminating with their verbal horse shit?

[AlQaholic]

One must understand Thai culture....There has never actually existed any legitimate "Police" in Thailand as we in the west understand the concept. The "Police" in Thailand is just another power faction like every other faction in Thai society. They kind of emerged as the official Police over the years. Their only goal is self interest and nothing else.

Sent from my Generic Laptop using just another generic browser.

Edited August 10, 2015 by AlQaholic

[realenglish1]

This is an easy one. Force Jet ski operators to have insurance for damage, Then have the government post rules and safety with regard the the jet ski's on a letter board with a direct

phone number to the authorities if there is a problem. The rules should state that "Tourists are not responsible for for damages and or what the deductible is if there is a problem.

[Jim walker]

To many hands out with the jet ski scams police government officials and making too much money, the obvious thing to do would be force renters to have insurance but if they did this who would make up for the missing scam money. Junta could just come along and lift all the jet skis where a dispute had taken place regarding damage and crush them and if they are insured the owners can claim from their insurance if not back to the rice fields once again.

[NoshowJones]

It seems Thai people just want money for nothing all the time. Recently my young dog escaped and a man from the nearby village found it on the road and took it in his pick up. He went and tried to sell it. The man he tried to sell it to called us so we went to get it. The man charged us 300 baht to give it back. So a dog thief gets away with 300 baht!

Recently a friend rode his moped near to another moped ridden by a Thai man who stopped him saying he nearly hit him so he wanted money.

I had a Thai driver hit the back of my pick up last year. The driver was the employee of a man who rang me saying he wanted the car repaired, a hired replacement pick up and 50,000 baht because his wife was upset when she saw the damage. The repair was 7000 baht which was done through insurance and I told him to get lost! He later sent his driver round the villages trying to find me. Ahole!

My wife's friend who sort of introduced us to each other later demanded 1 baht of gold saying if it wasnt for her we would not be together and if we didnt pay she would tell people bad things about us.

Welcome to Thailand folks! Jet ski hire is not any different. If you didnt like being ripped off in your own country then you wont be any better off here!

There are rip offs in every country, only in different ways. In Western countries, the people are more educated, and are more sneaky in how they do their rip offs.

In Thailand and other third world countries, their rip offs are more obvious to everyone, because they are not clever enough to hide it.

[Emster23]

I saw only two police in that photo. Perhaps should have been 50-50: police owners and their hireling operators. None of this could happen without the police being an integral part of the scam. None.

[ronthai]

What's actually stopping tourists from renting the jet skies in the first place? Don't they read the news about places they intend to visit while on vacation in Thailand?

They should not have to be looking for scams this is up to the police to protect the community and its visitors from thieves. As far as im concerned they are nothing but mafia. And thugs. Who threaten and intimidate visitors to the city. One bad story stops thousands of visitors from coming to Thailand....

There are thousand and thousand of stories. So you say 1 bad story stops thousands of tourists, well say 3000 tourist per story.

1000 bad stories will be 3.000.000 tourists.

Check the social media now maybe 5000-10000 bad stories = 30 million tourists

All the above is BS. People/tourist are stupid in nature and will always be scammed everywhere in life

[ersl]

This really says it all: LOS - Land Of Scams, since 2008! Before then it was great! (accidental rhyme).

If Thais are doing these scams to outsiders, imagine what they are doing to each other.

I was in Pattaya once in 2009 and they all tried to scam me but you got to choose your vendor; are they are they able to chase you if you run? What I always did was go out with about 500Baht on me. I'd stash the rest with my CCs. If I needed more I'd have to get back to my stash which was always further then Thais are willing to walk. It is the same in Cambodia and Vietnam. Another way I found works is that if you know you HAVE to pay, then you just throw notes down, as many as there are people and they all dive for them, and you are gone and into your quick change of clothes. Easy to do on a crowded beach.

[1BADDAT]

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!

The simple thing would be to stop it at the source.

Showing a video to everyone on a plane (tourist or not) is a terrible idea. I think I watch enough videos on a plane showing me how to put my seatbelt on for the 128th time. Also the negative outcome of showing the video which shows that the thai government can't control scamming would have a terrible impact on tourism.

[CapeThai]

Fantastic, F$$k Up the Complete Tourist industry even more....rip off more tourist. You only believe in today and not tomorrow

[elgordo38]

If they wanted to resolve these jet ski scams, they would have years ago. It is quite obvious what is going on. And there is too much money being made on the fleecing of tourists. Meetings, meetings, meetings. Does anything get done? Do any of the jet skis get confiscated? Do any of these operators get arrested and convicted? Or, is that entire industry above the law?

Ah the beauties of advanced age. To old for that nonsense. I am really surprised after all the bad publicity on jet ski's that they still find suckers to rent them. Usually the person to person telegraph works good. I guess W.C. Fields was right.

[spidermike007]

Nobody in a position of power wants the jet ski scammers to stop their work. Too much money is being made. Condos are being bought. Millionaires are being made. It is just too profitable. And guess who is NOT serious about fixing this?

Edited August 10, 2015 by spidermike007

[spidermike007]

jets ski are forbidden by the law in thailand, so no possible to get insurrance for something illegal , so simple is that !

a meeting for what ???? put them in jail !

Funny line. Forbidden by law. What law? Who's law? Who will enforce that law? In most civilized nations the police enforce the law. Here? That revenue generating organization does minimal law enforcement.

[spidermike007]

To many hands out with the jet ski scams police government officials and making too much money, the obvious thing to do would be force renters to have insurance but if they did this who would make up for the missing scam money. Junta could just come along and lift all the jet skis where a dispute had taken place regarding damage and crush them and if they are insured the owners can claim from their insurance if not back to the rice fields once again.

That would be fun. And in addition to crushing them, remove the index fingers of all perpetrators. That way they cannot point in your face, while they are lying through their teeth about the damage. Harder to point without an index finger. And fun to witness.

[fred Kubasa]

If the same 200 + officers were ordered to swoop down and raid the operators carting some off to jail, others would notice or suffer the same fate but ,those officers are busy taking urine samples at Go- Gos , destroying vendors booths, and locking up housewives wagering 20 Baht bets at harmless card games. There is some well hidden money in this racket, apparently so much and controlled by such hi ranking people, no one will interfere. The UPSIDE is catering firms reaping benefits by supplying their meetings,meetings, meetings, ( lunch included) for large, hungry, groups with nothing better to do.A capable commander could end this racket, permanently, in one day or, a capable Mayor/Governor could end the commander's career !

[smotherb]

The police must have the full control. Remove all present police.

Please let us know your plan for the removal of all present police and the ordaining of full power to their replacements. How would you recruit these new police? What sort of timetable would you place on your plan? Perhaps more importantly, how would you ensure their conscientiousness and avoid other schemes, or their own predetermination, to corrupt them?

[balo]

Actually the jet ski vendors do need a license to operate compared with 2 years ago so I guess that's a progress. The question remains if the police will follow up on the scams and give them heavy fines as they promised.

[silent]

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!

Simple yes but probably another 20 years until that kind of logic gets translated.

[sammygood]

LOS = land of scams

nobody warned the indians ?

thaivisa, time to start an indian version