'Defrauded by my wife and criminals in Thailand' - BBC special report

[slipperx]

"since their mother was jailed". The report made it sound like nothing was done at all on his behalf... I'm curious what happened to put her in jail. I feel there's a big part of this story missing.

I sued her in a private criminal case. I had her arrested myself after the court issued the arrest warrant and refused to pay the 45,000 baht the police demanded but eventually got her to court for judgement. There is the missing part for you.

[peterb17]

The same sort of thing goes on in Morocco so perhaps the BBC could do a programme over there? Someone that I know got involved with a Moroccan woman. EVERYONE except him could see what was going to happen but they do say that love is blind! Allegedly the man even paid a cleric to convert him to Islam so that he could get married but then his fiancee jilted him!

As he needed a car out there he bought a Peugeot 306 HDi (production of these ceased in about 2002 but in desert they don't rust much) The cost including new shock absorbers was the equivalent of £5000! As he is not Moroccan it was much simpler to put the car in his fiancee's name but legally this means that he has given it to her and then she jilted him!

He called me on a borrowed mobile from hospital. His medication had run out and he was in a very bad way with bleeding from the soles of his feet, in addition his visa only had a few days left so the prospects of becoming an Illegal Immigrant loomed large. As requested I called the Foreign Office who were absolutely brilliant. The officer said "I don't want to get his visa extended, I want him back in the UK where he can get proper treatment! The female Civil Servant added "I get this all the time!" (love-struck middle-aged men being taken to the cleaners and having a mid life crisis) so there you go, government confirmation of the MO out there. Often the gold-digger will be supporting an extended family so be warned!

Morocco- is that a province next to Loei ? Answers on a postcard please

[slipperx]

It's ridiculous.

This man might be a gangster himself, but nobody here asks how he actually made his money in UK.

Most posters here prefer to put the blame on his wife instead. It's maybe easier, and it serves all prejudices well. I would like to hear his wife's version, too.

But he prefers to misuse his son for an "appeal" on YouTube...

So now I am a gangster - my goodness. As to misuing my son you can take a hike - he is happy to do the videos and learns a lot for it and I am certainly not 'appealing' for anything. You really are a piece of work!

[peterb17]

invest in thailand, YOUR MONEY will be well spent, good investment

sadly for everybody, except you, the ATM

best advise : RENT RENT RENT

or you find a rich hi-so thai chinese that pays for it all

apparently he found the need , even broke, to bring another child into this world .... people never learn, do they ?

In a previous post- I explained it is ingrained in the British psyche to buy your home.

Rent Rent Rent is fine- if you wish to live your life with appalling decor, Buddha images on every wall, nylon curtains and the worst of all plastic sofas - a good friend of mine rents several properties- why plastic sofas ?

They are very cheap and you can wipe them down!

A. Home is important- it's where you bring your kids up .

[thaibeachlovers]

Absolutely Harley Clarkey.

It's the Thai way to play the long game when brought to justice. They just delay and postpone and push around hoping people will get bored and/or run out of money and the will to live - as well as often the threats and intimidation from the perpetrators.

I would go a bit further. Why is is acceptable to give many Thai ladies the temptation of a lifetime by having the set up of not being able to own land as a foreigner in the way we do. There could be zones where a limited landsize is able to be owned by a Foreigner or a handful of specialised Tourist Lawyers (like the Tourist Police) to hear cases of property fraud.

The system we have now is a state sponsored wealth transfer scheme when you put mind-numbing amounts of money in reach (or control) of comparitively poor Thais. What do you think the likely outcome will be in many instances and the fact that the state bodies, police, lawyers, officials, courts then all give the run-around only confirms the original intent as one which they are not displeased with!!

I listen to the Thai official and it makes my blood boil. They all just give out a smoke screen or bluff it out. You know right then that it's on to the next person ad infinitum and trying to pin it down is a frustration beyond belief as they skirt around the issue or seek to side-track(that old ploy of making you dispair and eventually give up in frustration at the logic and provaracation) - LIKE at lawyers office: what day did the transfer take place? You come to Police station tomorrow. What day did the transfer take place? I look your copy passport........... and on and on. We think it's a language problem, but it's also deliberate and called the run-a-round.

To have a law in place that puts such temptation of riches is asking for these outcomes to regularly occur and of course they do.

Or accept we cannot own houses that we buy n the traditional accepted and expected sense because we cannot own the land they sit on. Therefore and in that case it's about time the Eurozone block took reciprical action on Thai owned property and commercial land holdings in Europe!

We would only then get fair laws and treatment here.

There is a very simple solution to what you say- DO NOT BUY PROPERTY IN THAILAND. Common sense.

If you look at the west, who can afford to buy a house now with foreigners buying up everything at inflated prices.

Good on the Thais for protecting their citizens and not letting big buck farangs buy up anything, except condos.

With rents as cheap as they are, no need to buy anyway.

[warriorbangkok]

I feel sorry for Ian Rance and his family. They were royally screwed over, and even the Thai courts wouldn't give back what was rightly theirs.

My story is the opposite. I'm one of the lucky ones who met and married a decent Thai woman, around about the same age as me. I met her in the UK when she had finished her master's degree.

I couldn't ask for a more loving and decent wife.

I know I'm going to sound like a self-righteous pillock here, but my advice to all single men in Thailand when looking for a Thai girlfriend would be as follows:

1. Make sure she has a university education

2. Make sure she's working or running her own business. She should be earning her own money

3. Look for single women in the right places. Siam Paragon, CTW, Emporium, etc. Don't go to the go-go bars expecting to find anyone decent - it just won't happen.

4. This is going to sound terrible, but it's true: if you are an elderly man, then dating a woman who is less than half your age is just outright asking for trouble. Why the hell would she want to be with you, when she could have a younger, fitter man?

The vast majority of Thai women are decent, caring and very likable individuals. It makes me very sad when a few bad Thai women bring the reputation of Thailand down into the gutter with them.

Edited September 20, 2015 by warriorbangkok

[thaibeachlovers]

invest in thailand, YOUR MONEY will be well spent, good investment

sadly for everybody, except you, the ATM

best advise : RENT RENT RENT

or you find a rich hi-so thai chinese that pays for it all

apparently he found the need , even broke, to bring another child into this world .... people never learn, do they ?

In a previous post- I explained it is ingrained in the British psyche to buy your home.

Rent Rent Rent is fine- if you wish to live your life with appalling decor, Buddha images on every wall, nylon curtains and the worst of all plastic sofas - a good friend of mine rents several properties- why plastic sofas ?

They are very cheap and you can wipe them down!

A. Home is important- it's where you bring your kids up .

If you trust your wife enough to have children with you, you should trust her enough to use your money to buy a house. What can go wrong with that ?

If Thai women are half as bad as some say on here, they are just using the kids to trap the ATM, so just DON'T HAVE CHILDREN WITH THAI WOMEN HALF YOUR AGE, do you really think they "love" YOU?

[theguyfromanotherforum]

At the beginning of the video Ian says he wanted to retire in Thailand because it's warm and the laws were sound. At the end he claims the opposite.

He seems to be in denial like many posters here.

Not in denial. I cannot leave Thailand as I am being sued back by one of the criminals on the allegation that I knew all about the forged documents somehow. The case passd through the court as papers were knowingly sent to a wrong address. Given these cases will likely take many years to complete and in that time I am stuck here with responsibility for my four children what would people suggest. Have no life, run away or just cease to exist? Most people here seem to think only of what is in front of their face and don't take even a moment to think a little beyond that. The kids deserve a life and so do I and that is what I will work towards despite the disgusting and abusive commenters on here. Thank you to those who have shown a little humanity and sensitivity.

Where did you get I was talking about you?

I am talking about the uglies here who think the 20 year younger women is with them because of love.

Ian thought laws here were solid - denial.

Old people think young girls love them true - denial.

[thaibeachlovers]

I feel sorry for Ian Rance and his family. They were royally screwed over, and even the Thai courts wouldn't give back what was rightly theirs.

My story is the opposite. I'm one of the lucky ones who met and married a decent Thai woman, around about the same age as me. I met her in the UK when she had finished her master's degree.

I couldn't ask for a more loving and decent wife.

I know I'm going to sound like a self-righteous pillock here, but my advice to all single men in Thailand when looking for a Thai girlfriend would be as follows:

1. Make sure she has a university education

2. Make sure she's working or running her own business. She should be earning her own money

3. Look for single women in the right places. Siam Paragon, CTW, Emporium, etc. Don't go to the go-go bars expecting to find anyone decent - it just won't happen.

4. This is going to sound terrible, but it's true: if you are an elderly man, then dating a woman who is less than half your age is just outright asking for trouble. Why the hell would she want to be with you, when she could have a younger, fitter man?

The vast majority of Thai women are decent, caring and very likable individuals. It makes me very sad when a few bad Thai women bring the reputation of Thailand down into the gutter with them.

You just used the code words "around your own age". Sensible if looking for real love.

However, nothing wrong with an old fella marrying a young girl half his age so long as, he doesn't buy property in her name and he doesn't have children with her.

Whether he trusts her or not, it's insurance that if it does go to poo, he can walk away without losing everything, plus, she knows that if she blows it she has to start over again looking for an ATM, and she will be neither be as young, nor as good looking as before.

[villagefarang]

There are a lot of us in very successful relationships with age differences of 20 years or more. My wife was 23 and I was 43 when we met and now at 41 and 61 we are as happy as we have ever been. It is all about the people involved, not the résumé or some checklist.

[Havrum]

All these comments about "Ian should have seen this coming" are unfair in my opinion.

The moral of the story here is never invest anything in Thailand that you aren't prepared to lose.

Because if the worst does happen and you find your self in the same situation as this Ian guy and Colin Vard then you ain't got a hope in hell of ever getting anything back.

Police aren't going to help you. Lawyers aren't going to help you. Courts aren't going to help you.

A long time expat I know, once told me that investing in Thailand is like putting money into a black hole. At the time I laughed at him for being so negative but the longer I stay here, the more I think that never have truer words been spoken.

really? you think his wife grew up dreaming about marring a man who looks like Ian?

You think Ian's wife is like "can't wait to have a sex with this man! he is way hotter than my Thai boyfriend from school!"

You ever see a man like Ian in a Thai music video? in a romance film? in a fashion magazine?

WAKE UP!

It is all a lie. The nicer, more naive you are, the faster you are eaten alive here.

Please. Men who come here to Thailand, retain control over your money. Live month to month. Be worth more alive than dead.

The best you can say is Ian had seven years of a really nice illusion. It cost him everything but his life. so far.

This is ridiculous. Ian looks okay for his age. Woman in general are far less hung up on looks and age than men and the woman in question was a very ordinary looking Thai woman.

[lostoday]

There are a lot of us in very successful relationships with age differences of 20 years or more. My wife was 23 and I was 43 when we met and now at 41 and 61 we are as happy as we have ever been. It is all about the people involved, not the résumé or some checklist.

Even though the age haters try and convince I really don't think there are different legal statues for stealing money from men older than the woman.

[MaeJoMTB]

This is ridiculous. Ian looks okay for his age. Woman in general are far less hung up on looks and age than men and the woman in question was a very ordinary looking Thai woman.

Yep, I agree, with poor women money trumps looks .......... until they aren't poor and you are.

[Havrum]

All I can say is be careful. There are a lot of older "gentlemen" on this very forum who like to preach to mostly younger crowd how Thailand is not cheap and how you need a lot of money to live here. The truth is Thailand is extremely cheap and anyone telling you otherwise is probably being ripped off by their wife and family.

I am a 34 year old guy and have yet to find anywhere in the world with a better cost of living/quality of life ratio than Thailand and I've been to over 50 countries.

[Nemesis7]

Amazing Thailand.

[metisdead]

Troll posts have been removed.

[DrTuner]

It's always the ones with the slightly puffy under-eyes. Menacing, I tell ya.

[JoopJoop]

At the beginning of the video Ian says he wanted to retire in Thailand because it's warm and the laws were sound. At the end he claims the opposite.

He seems to be in denial like many posters here.

Not in denial. I cannot leave Thailand as I am being sued back by one of the criminals on the allegation that I knew all about the forged documents somehow. The case passd through the court as papers were knowingly sent to a wrong address. Given these cases will likely take many years to complete and in that time I am stuck here with responsibility for my four children what would people suggest. Have no life, run away or just cease to exist? Most people here seem to think only of what is in front of their face and don't take even a moment to think a little beyond that. The kids deserve a life and so do I and that is what I will work towards despite the disgusting and abusive commenters on here. Thank you to those who have shown a little humanity and sensitivity.

Is your consulate supporting you in any way?

Do you have adequate legal representation?

Is there anyone within Thai bureaucracy that has assisted you to date to help resolve your problem? Have you had any positive indicator?

[Havrum]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

She had three kids with him and was with him for 10 years. Who are you to say who she loved or did not love? It sounds like she was as much of a victim of the criminal gangs and corrupt system as the husband (and now she is in jail for four years, at least the husband retained his freedom).

A poor average looking Thai woman who is getting on in age (which in Asia means after mid-twenties) usually doesn't have much choice in who they get to marry. At best with a Thai man she would get a broke unattractive guy working a dead end job in his late thirties or forties who might have any one or multiple of the following bad habits: alcoholism, gambling, drugs, abusive, philanderer. Many farangs have some of these bad habits as well but if a stand up gentleman (which on the face of it this man seemed to be) were to present themselves to a poor, average Thai woman, she would be counting her blessings and hardly concerned about his looks.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Havrum

[Havrum]

It's always the ones with the slightly puffy under-eyes. Menacing, I tell ya.

Sign of adrenal fatigue (I have it right now) which can be caused by many things.

[thaibeachlovers]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

She had three kids with him and was with him for 10 years. Who are you to say who she loved or did not love? It sounds like she was as much of a victim of the criminal gangs and corrupt system as the husband (and now she is in jail for four years, at least the husband retained his freedom).

A poor average looking Thai woman who is getting on in age (which in Asia means after mid-twenties) usually doesn't have much choice in who they get to marry. At best with a Thai man she would get a broke unattractive guy working a dead end job in his late thirties or forties who might have any one or multiple of the following bad habits: alcoholism, gambling, drugs, abusive, philanderer. Many farangs have some of these bad habits as well but if a stand up gentleman (which on the face of it this man seemed to be) were to present themselves to a poor, average Thai woman, she would be counting her blessings and hardly concerned about his looks.

If she actually loved him, we wouldn't be on here discussing this. People that truly love don't stab the beloved in the back.

[Havrum]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

She had three kids with him and was with him for 10 years. Who are you to say who she loved or did not love? It sounds like she was as much of a victim of the criminal gangs and corrupt system as the husband (and now she is in jail for four years, at least the husband retained his freedom).

A poor average looking Thai woman who is getting on in age (which in Asia means after mid-twenties) usually doesn't have much choice in who they get to marry. At best with a Thai man she would get a broke unattractive guy working a dead end job in his late thirties or forties who might have any one or multiple of the following bad habits: alcoholism, gambling, drugs, abusive, philanderer. Many farangs have some of these bad habits as well but if a stand up gentleman (which on the face of it this man seemed to be) were to present themselves to a poor, average Thai woman, she would be counting her blessings and hardly concerned about his looks.

If she actually loved him, we wouldn't be on here discussing this. People that truly love don't stab the beloved in the back.

People make mistakes and we don't know the whole story and situation as not much was said about it. Also people can fall out of love. But it seems mighty odd behavior for someone to birth three children for a man and live with him for 10 years if she did not have some feelings for him. While money may play a part, I refuse to believe that people are as cold and calculating to do this only for money, even the worst among the girls. We generally think of Thai women as living in the moment, so it would take a particular ruthless snake to live out of the moment 10 years for some expected windfall. I just don't see it and it sounds like she was scammed and got in over her head with the wrong people.

Thai people in general give their love out quite easily, even the soi dogs are beloved by many. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Bad in that the love doesn't mean as much as someone who guards it and can be withdrawn just as easily.

I'm reminded of a great movie from the 90s called Fresh about orphan kids in the ghetto who lived with a nun who took care of them. The one teenage girl was turning to drugs and prostitution. Her biological younger brother was trying to convince her to turn her life around, and that Aunt Frances loved her. She replied that Aunt is an angel, she'd love any dog in the street as much as me.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Havrum

[steven100]

21 pages of conversation about a thai woman scamming a farang ..........

like I said earlier ....... there are many farangs here that have a good life and good home.

This sort of thing happens all over the world .... !! nothing new !!

[thaibeachlovers]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

She had three kids with him and was with him for 10 years. Who are you to say who she loved or did not love? It sounds like she was as much of a victim of the criminal gangs and corrupt system as the husband (and now she is in jail for four years, at least the husband retained his freedom).

A poor average looking Thai woman who is getting on in age (which in Asia means after mid-twenties) usually doesn't have much choice in who they get to marry. At best with a Thai man she would get a broke unattractive guy working a dead end job in his late thirties or forties who might have any one or multiple of the following bad habits: alcoholism, gambling, drugs, abusive, philanderer. Many farangs have some of these bad habits as well but if a stand up gentleman (which on the face of it this man seemed to be) were to present themselves to a poor, average Thai woman, she would be counting her blessings and hardly concerned about his looks.

If she actually loved him, we wouldn't be on here discussing this. People that truly love don't stab the beloved in the back.

People make mistakes and we don't know the whole story and situation as not much was said about it. Also people can fall out of love. But it seems mighty odd behavior for someone to birth three children of a man and live with him for 10 years if she did not have some feelings for him.

Thai people in general give their love out quite easily, even the soi dogs are beloved by many. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Bad in that the love doesn't mean as much as someone who guards it and can be withdrawn just as easily.

I'm reminded of a great movie from the 90s called Fresh about orphan kids in the ghetto who lived with a nun who took care of them. The one teenage girl was turning to drugs and prostitution. Her biological younger brother was trying to convince her to turn her life around, and that Aunt Frances loved her. She replied that Aunt is an angel, she'd love any dog in the street as much as me.

IMO odd only to someone from a western culture brought up with fanciful notions of everlasting love and romance.

[Havrum]

IMO odd only to someone from a western culture brought up with fanciful notions of everlasting love and romance.

You may want to reread the post, your reading comprehension fails you at the moment.

[salty14]

What so she can legally take 50% of all your assets no matter how long you've had them.. 75% if you have kids together!!! (In the case of Australia at least) that's possibly the worst advice I've ever heard on here!!!

[slipperx]

At the beginning of the video Ian says he wanted to retire in Thailand because it's warm and the laws were sound. At the end he claims the opposite.

He seems to be in denial like many posters here.

Not in denial. I cannot leave Thailand as I am being sued back by one of the criminals on the allegation that I knew all about the forged documents somehow. The case passd through the court as papers were knowingly sent to a wrong address. Given these cases will likely take many years to complete and in that time I am stuck here with responsibility for my four children what would people suggest. Have no life, run away or just cease to exist? Most people here seem to think only of what is in front of their face and don't take even a moment to think a little beyond that. The kids deserve a life and so do I and that is what I will work towards despite the disgusting and abusive commenters on here. Thank you to those who have shown a little humanity and sensitivity.

Is your consulate supporting you in any way?

Do you have adequate legal representation?

Is there anyone within Thai bureaucracy that has assisted you to date to help resolve your problem? Have you had any positive indicator?

I have legal representation yes. I'd the consulate supporting me - well no but they have graciously 'registered an interest' in my cases at the court, whatever that means. After an awful lot of trying I have some contacts in the bureaucracy but as to what they are doing to help - I am not really sure as there is no feedback

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VIPinthailand]

here the video, why no link on first page? TIT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p032t97v

Edited September 20, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[JoopJoop]

I can only wish you the best where people in high places lack fibre and ownership.

They are just brilliant at passing the buck and will not assume individual responsibility.

I hope there is someone high up that can resolve this for you and your children.

[springheeled jack]

he looks a decent chap , I feel quite sorry for him , it must have been quite a shock for him to discover his wife for nine years had taken him to the cleaners with the aid of other people, nasty unfortunately he is just another statistic .