Pattaya faces Indian boycott over failure to end jet ski scams

[spidermike007]

This is really beautiful news. The Indians should rise up and completely boycott the city and for sure, none of them should patronize the Jet ski insects. These quotes are quite amusing:

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh chaired an emergency meeting called Aug. 7 after government ministries forwarded letters from India and other countries complaining of continued extortion and intimidation by jet ski vendors who Pattaya City Hall repeatedly has failed to regulate.

The Ministry of Interior in India has reported that their nationals have been ripped off and scammed by Thai jet ski operators. Officials there urged Pattaya to cooperate with a Thai-Indian bilateral committee and disclose which, if any, of the many promised regulations actually have been enacted or enforced.

City Councilman Sanit Boonmachai said tourists who encounter jet ski scams should file a report with police and then city hall officials will become involved to mediate a solution.

Is this clown Sanit joking? Could he possibly be that ignorant or naive, or does he think we are that ignorant? The police ARE the problem. There is no doubt many of them own the jet skis, or have an interest in them. Call the police? That is what the scum want you to do.

He said tourists should not pay any vendor on the spot, although he admitted some have threatened violence against those who try to take the issue to police.

Is he for real? Has he seen any of these videos? What is a tourist supposed to do when the police show up, play buddy buddy, and get them down to half price? Say no, and walk away? What a buffoon.

But taking matters to Pattaya Police at the Soi 9 headquarters may not be help, said Pol. Maj. Piyapong Ensarn, head of the Tourist Police Division in Pattaya. He said victims that have come to the Tourist Police have complained they first went to Soi 9 and were ignored.

Finally, a voice of reason.

As far back as 2011, Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said Pattaya’s police are part of the problem, with corrupt officers assisting scammers in extorting money from tourists and earning some of the profits.

And even the mayor knows, and appears powerless to stop it. Why doesn't the general get involved? Is this somehow beneath him? Is he unconcerned? It is impossible he does not know about this horrendous and long running problem. Impossible.

[Oziex1]

Ok boycott jet skis by all means lets boycott all you illegal tailors and you know who you are.

tailors can be a little annoying at times but are not in the same league as the criminal jet ski scammers

[welsh wizard]

Well i have seen quite a few scams from jet ski operators and police, in Pattaya. In the beginning of July I watched 4 that looked like Indian origin renting jet skis, video's were taken with a mobile phone to show the condition of the jet ski's. The one guy could't even control it so they screamed at him to get off and he was given his money back, as the other 3 went to enjoy themselves. Upon return the one had a hole in it about 15cms long and quite deep another one was damaged on the nose. Waiting for all hell to break loose i watched in anticipation but nothing happened no gang of thai's no police. All was sorted out and everybody went their own way . What is happening .

[tropo]

Anybody willing to rent a jet ski in Thailand should be scammed. This is not new.

And besides, jet skis are annoying and loud.

It's new for people who don't read Thaivisa everyday. Do you think that the people who are renting Jet skis know they are going to be scammed? Of course not. When I first came here I rented them out too and didn't learn about the scams until years later when I read of them on here... I was just lucky.

If we banned everything that was annoying and loud, the roads would be empty too.

Perhaps a system like they use in Australia could work. If you wanted to rent a jetski, you take a boat out to an isolated area that is sectioned off and follow a set, clearly marked course. No rocks, no sand - no way to scam.

[hawthorne]

Simple solution either ban the jet ski operations. OR erect massive signs saying no damage caused by the user will be charged regardless of the claim. Have police stationed on the beach with this proclamation. The risk should be solely born by the jet ski owner as a risk of doing business. If the courts and police abided by this then the owners will get pay back.

[shadowmaster1971]

I do not know if all jet-ski rental business are scams, I assume that some must be genuine people just trying to earn a living.

The problem with mandatory insurance is that no insurance company will provide insurance to these beach operators, so the answer is to either ban all jet skis or work out some solution that does not require the impossible insurance.

If you ban all jet-skis then that's not really fair on the honest vendors. Its never fair when the criminal minority mess things up for everyone.

Perhaps a system of licensed operators with instant removal and destruction of any jet-skis offered for rent by an unlicenced opearator would be ideal, but that opens the door for even more corruption.

Mmm wasn't there an article on TV stating something like the Marine department saying JetSkis weren't a legal water vehicle for Thai waters and in essence illegal to operate one on thai waters. Hence maybe why insurance cannot be obtain! Anyone remember this?

[Travelman868]

The solution is easy, either ban Jet Ski's or make a law that says the operators must have insurance. Then all the pilice have to do is

visit these operators once a week and check the paperwork.

If a tourist is asked for money then it's automatically a rip off.

Same should happen with motorcycle hire. At the moment most motorbikes are not insured,, so when the operator steals the hired bike the

tourist may have to pay.

[northernphil]

Ok boycott jet skis by all means lets boycott all you illegal tailors and you know who you are.

This could cause a problem . The jet ski operators will stop buying fake armani suits from the Indians.

[newnative]

So City Hall has known about the problem and the police involvement since 2011. Why haven't they done anything about it? All they ever do is convene yet another useless meeting--this time an EMERGENCY meeting. For those uninformed, an emergency meeting means they will VERY SERIOUSLY do nothing at all about the problem but in a very public fashion; this in contrast to a regular meeting regarding a problem in which case the problem will just be ignored in the regular fashion.

[Friendly Stranger]

It would be interesting if it was China boycotting how high up the ladder this would go.

Make it known to your nationals of the scam, so they don't partake in it. Why boycott the entire place.

[sabaii69]

I can't see how the jet ski operators can charge to get the curry smell off the machines

[phantomfiddler]

Indians boycotting Pattaya ? Oh my God, tell me this can,t be true

[gemguy]

I think it would be funny if someone or some people rent the jet skies, using false ID, and then take the jet ski boat way down the beach ..like 10 kilometers away.... and then load them up and take them away and sell them on the black market....yuk, yuk.... ha, ha .

I know, I know....... dream on, but sometimes dreams become true...lol

Cheers

[toenail]

I am confused, the junta controlled government has the power to say Pattaya Beach is to be free of beach chair/umbrella rentals on Wednesdays & demand areas to be natural, remove illegal buildings constructed on the beaches in Phuket, enforce no alcohol zones in BKK & they have no power to kick these jet-ski Thai mafia baboons (& worthless police) off the planet??????

[biggles45]

They can't get insurance because under Thai law these craft are illegal. Shouldn't be too hard to ban them if that is the case surely

[MAJIC]

The Jet ski scam has been around so long the crooks think its their right to do business in this manner,there are so many people including bent officials involved, it's an industry in it's own right!......blatant in your face stop us if you can! Theft!

[dictater]

I'm sure with the influx of Jet Ski's on the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi we will soon be seeing this kind of thing here. Jet Ski's are a very good marker for the end of an era, saw it happen in Hua Hin and CHa- am, next thing stores will have double pricing schemes and Tranny hookers will be stabbing people for watches, yay.

[philipines]

Why ban the Jet Ski peddlers?

Leave them alone and make it 1st page news all over the world NOT TO do business with them. India travel and tour dealers and all media, should inform it's citizens NEVER DO BUSINESS with anyone on the BLACKLIST published on some public service website operated by some public service agency.

Every Indian owned business remotely near Pattaya should have a sign on their walls and in their language warning to NEVER DO BUSINESS with those on the BLACKLIST.

Some wealthy Indian corporation could easily buy a suitable domain and get this started. Also those change.org petitions could offer to assist getting some people involved. All online sites in India could be encouraged to post a link to the BLACKLIST as a public service to it's citizens. The Indian PM could ask his country to participate. Complain about him if he refuses to cooperate.

Not only Indians but other countries could join in the fun. Posting in their language and promoting additional lists also linked to the BLACKLIST. As tourists it's up to US, not to depend upon some alleged Government office obviously incapable or otherwise unwilling to do what is right. Complaining is one thing but who is willing to DO SOMETHING to quickly end this mess?

[Rimmer]

A number of off topic, troll, inflammatory and libellous posts have been removed also the quoted replies to them

[sammygood]

the beautifull thing is: it all happens right in front of the police box / officers

[tropo]

Simple solution either ban the jet ski operations. OR erect massive signs saying no damage caused by the user will be charged regardless of the claim. Have police stationed on the beach with this proclamation. The risk should be solely born by the jet ski owner as a risk of doing business. If the courts and police abided by this then the owners will get pay back.

Banning jet skis is no solution as they are a popular tourist activity.

I don't believe jet ski scams have much to do with damage or insurance companies, because in most cases there is no damage. If there is old damage, they don't want it to be repaired as it aids in their efforts to extort tourists.

[lvr181]

And the Deputy Mayor promises YET ANOTHER talkfest. City Councilman Sanit Boonmachai says file report with Police and city hall will deal with it. Yeah Yeah Yeah - what a joke!

Many Thai authorities will talk problems to death but never carry out any action to eliminate the problems. Is city hall blind and deaf? They do not want to STOP the scams. Only pretend that they do. Nothing will happen - mai pen rai all over again. The scam will stop when hell freezes over, and that ain't going to happen anytime soon

[Time Traveller]

I agree with the Indians. These operators should be banned. They only hurting the country with their mafia business tactics. They have been doing this since jet skis were invented. Ban them all forever

The military government has sucessfully implemented martial law and banned many activities and prosecuted many people for crimes.

Can you guess why the Jetskis are still scamming tourists?

[sscsamui]

Same old poo... It will never Stop... Mafia, police, jet ski operators, their all the same.... Unless Pattaya Bans Jet ski's altogether it will continue

[Jimlove]

JetSki scams are a part of the real Thainess just like being taking for a ride with crazy minvan driver from the airport or the nice policeman that want to extort you for some tea-money or the LB that knock you down on the Beach when you take an evening walk ...

Its all part of the Thai Experience ... Now its my turn to say it : If you dont like it stay away ....

[Anthony5]

City Councilman Sanit Boonmachai said tourists who encounter jet ski scams should file a report with police and then city hall officials will become involved to mediate a solution.

Yeah right.

I had friends come here for the first, and last time, a few years ago.

On their last day they rented 2 jetskis, however I had advised them against the night before, so when I called them that evening for our goodbye meeting they were negotiating with the jet ski mafia at their hotel.

They had touched each other with the jetskis and one had a little scratch and the while the other one had a 10 cm cut on the shock rubber.

They had negotiated down to 40.000 Nht from 80.000 already, and had a signed receipt.

I called the president of the Jetski federation on Jomtien, who talked with them on the phone for a while, after which he advised me to go to soi 9.

That was the biggest mistake ever, since one foreign volunteer and a Thai volunteer who were clearly involved, playing the good and the bad cop

There was also another foreigner in plain clothes outside the police station, who also was involved, offering his "help".

The Jetski scum threatened to kill me inside the police station, and none of the police officers responded.

Later he went outside and refused to talk again, but he upped his offer from 40K to 51K, regardless of the signed agreement my friends had in hand.

They were ordered to hand in their passports, as the police knew they had a flight to catch at midnight, and finally agreed to pay the 51K .

[fgmr]

I do not know if all jet-ski rental business are scams, I assume that some must be genuine people just trying to earn a living.

The problem with mandatory insurance is that no insurance company will provide insurance to these beach operators, so the answer is to either ban all jet skis or work out some solution that does not require the impossible insurance.

If you ban all jet-skis then that's not really fair on the honest vendors. Its never fair when the criminal minority mess things up for everyone.

Perhaps a system of licensed operators with instant removal and destruction of any jet-skis offered for rent by an unlicenced opearator would be ideal, but that opens the door for even more corruption.

Put the legitimate operators on some remote beach and let TAT do the requisite marketing. Ban all jet-skis from the main tourist resorts. The tourists involved in this sport are a minority. Lead them by the nose or anchor or flyopflops to their noisy intrusive sport. They can then enjoy their sport without a care and let the majority have a relatively peaceful snooze on the beach.

Persistant beach hawkers next. "nice amulet, good luck charm, long life necklace, buy now, cheap, cheep ,cheep". Thanks but I know a nice quiet swimming pool.

Mai pen rai.

[soalbundy]

If they cannot enforce their own laws they obviously need pressure from foreigners to help, what can Thailand do right, nothing it seems.

[Rimmer]

Further off topic posts also posts talking about rapes and microsoft India have been removed. Please stay on topic.

[Broeno]

All actions, all promisses, all laws, means nothing. Hit them there where it hurts the most. In their pocket. Best action India can do is give a negative travel advise to Pattaya. And to be followed by many other countries. Only way to stop this discutinge ripping off tourist.