Ripped off at Soi Cowboy

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Some of you brought up a good point about a disturbing trend in the gogo bars.  That is enticing customers with beautiful coyote girls and the soaking the customers for painfully expensive drinks then breaking the news that they don't go out.  What is left can be flabby grandmas.  I think the divide between what is asked and what one is willing to pay has never been greater.  Just keep cool and vote with your feet.

[petermik]

On 01/04/2017 at 1:16 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

Google "The Arab's bars".

 

On 01/04/2017 at 4:27 AM, petermik said:

This soi is well known for rip off,s at certain bars(same nationality of owners-non thai BTW) pity you did not discover beforehand....lesson (expensive) learned

There you go

[JimCrane]

On April 1, 2017 at 8:02 PM, anotheruser said:

Just say what places it is in between with out naming it. That way we know the locale without mentioning them directly.

there are plenty of ways to suggest without naming. use synonyms. thats not illegal.

 

on cowboy recently and there is a big police presence on either end of the soi which felt extremely safe. i think you could just take it to the officers there and it would be taken care of. i cant see them siding with the bar here.

 

in the future you always order off a menu with prices, and not just blurt out orders for drinks. this wont stop a scam but they will need to show a menu if the police become involved.

 

remember, this is not a criminal matter, its a civil dispute, but you will need to pay what was on the menu or normal price of the drinks and film with your phone paying and any menus.

 

if you can get out the door without paying its on them to call the police and the bar will need to take it to court if your around that long.

Edited April 2, 2017 by JimCrane

[metisdead]

Quote

The OP hasn't been edited to remove the name of the bar.

 

The name of the bar is not listed in the OP. 

 

Troll post removed. 

[bartender100]

Don't believe it, sorry. There has been nothing like this mentioned before about scam bars in SC to this extent, padding yes and big bar fines defiantly . Even the police would have sided with you on this and there are always plenty about around the street, on the whole SC has a good reputation for not scamming punters 

 

 

[steven100]

How long have you been in Thailand or coming to Thailand ? 

how many times to Soi Cowboy .........  ?

 

One would have thought you'd have learn't how Thailand operates.

Don't rack up a bar bill ...  pay as you order ...

Never give your credit card to anyone.

 

Expensive lesson .....   Forget it and move on ....   don't go to the police or anything, you'll make matters worse for yourself. 

Welcome to Thailand .....

[KIWIBATCH]

Rule 1...in any bar in Thailand......pay as you go...!!! (order 1 drink and pay for it there and then...order another...repeat....)

You then have the option of leaving the bar based on what they charge for the first drink...or continuing to enjoy yourself at the establishment.

8 drinks  14861baht + 2785b ..are you sure you didnt have "Walking ATM Sucker" written on your shirt or forehead?

And another thing...giving the bar your credit card..holy shit......you are asking for trouble and giving them an open ticket for scamming you.

Before you venture into these places withdraw sufficient cash from an ATM...and pay in cash.

 

All commonsense really.

 

You had better keep checking your a/c balance for withdrawals, for the next week, as the bar still have your credit card details...!!!

[taiping]

ALWAYS ask how much the drinks cost FIRST before ordering (unless you know the bar), particularly for the "lady's drink" because otherwise they will choose an expensive drink rather than local whisky and coke. NEVER pay by credit card. 

[little mary sunshine]

Trash area to begin with, known for ripoffs.

A credit card at a place  in this area....looking

for trouble

[eddie61]

On 4/1/2017 at 11:20 AM, Peterw42 said:

In the future pay as you go, and paying with a credit card is just asking for trouble.

It does seem beyond any normal padding of the bill. Most bars will put the dockets for the drinks you buy in the wooden cup at your table and provide an itemized account when paying, This was not the case ??

What were the drinks, 100 baht beers or 800 baht cocktails ?

This won't help much, but if I go to a new/unknown bar I pick the bill out of the bill jar, and look at the bill after the first round, when the waiter brings it. Secondly I add up the bill in my head. This usually makes the staff sit up, and realise that my whole nouse is there, and they may need to prey on another victim.

 

This has worked for me for the last 25 + years.

 

of course. there are always those times when my nouse has gone down the pi55hole, but i was lucky those times......

 

 

[Minnehaha]

On 4/1/2017 at 10:17 PM, RonniePickering22 said:

Contact your credit card company immediately and give them all of the details of this transaction.

 

They will chargeback the entire amount most likely.

 

Well, if the credit card is from a Thai bank, it is not always that straight forward. 

First, credit cards from Thai banks have nothing close to the liability and protection of Visa or other from a ... say ... usa bank. In the USA, you can contest charges easily, and are only ever liable for the first $50 of charges if card is lost or stolen. 

Not same here. If your card is lost/stolen you must prove it was not possible for you to have made the charges . True. I know a guy, was in Atlanta, used the card in ATM where it was ripped off and 20 minutes later started multiple charges on the card 2,000 miles away. Impossible physically? Not a problem for the imagination of the bank. Total loss to the friend was about $10,000. It took him 2 years to get it fixed and required contacting a friend of friend who worked at the bank (using a personal request to an exec at the bank). 

 

I am very careful with credit cards here and would not use them in streets like soi cowboy. 

Also, if I am mentally compromised (intoxicated) I always switch to pay as I go. Sometimes I lose my seat or they get annoyed. I figure small price to pay to reduce risk. 

[Peterw42]

1 minute ago, eddie61 said:

This won't help much, but if I go to a new/unknown bar I pick the bill out of the bill jar, and look at the bill after the first round, when the waiter brings it. Secondly I add up the bill in my head. This usually makes the staff sit up, and realise that my whole nouse is there, and they may need to prey on another victim.

 

This has worked for me for the last 25 + years.

 

of course. there are always those times when my nouse has gone down the pi55hole, but i was lucky those times......

 

 

Yes, most people do the same. There is usually a step prior to checking the bill jar, most bars will present you with a menu with the prices on it, given that there is often load music and a language barrier, its not uncommon to order by pointing to the menu.

The OP is long gone and hasnt responded. 

It would be good if some of these people posted the truth, "I got sh*tfaced drunk and somehow lost a large amount of money, I am responsible for my own actions".

[Peterw42]

16 minutes ago, Minnehaha said:

 

Well, if the credit card is from a Thai bank, it is not always that straight forward. 

First, credit cards from Thai banks have nothing close to the liability and protection of Visa or other from a ... say ... usa bank. In the USA, you can contest charges easily, and are only ever liable for the first $50 of charges if card is lost or stolen. 

Not same here. If your card is lost/stolen you must prove it was not possible for you to have made the charges . True. I know a guy, was in Atlanta, used the card in ATM where it was ripped off and 20 minutes later started multiple charges on the card 2,000 miles away. Impossible physically? Not a problem for the imagination of the bank. Total loss to the friend was about $10,000. It took him 2 years to get it fixed and required contacting a friend of friend who worked at the bank (using a personal request to an exec at the bank). 

 

I am very careful with credit cards here and would not use them in streets like soi cowboy. 

Also, if I am mentally compromised (intoxicated) I always switch to pay as I go. Sometimes I lose my seat or they get annoyed. I figure small price to pay to reduce risk. 

 

No matter what, You can only dispute charges you didnt make. If you signed/PIN for it, thats it, you are liable.

[pattayadon]

On 4/1/2017 at 8:02 PM, anotheruser said:

Just say what places it is in between with out naming it. That way we know the locale without mentioning them directly.

I'd like to know also!

[mstevens]

First post and mentioning a ripoff at Soi Cowboy that those who have been visiting for decades have never experienced nor ever heard of?  I don't wish to be a cynic or a disbeliever, but this does not sound right...  Patpong used to be known for ripoffs like this in what they call the upstairs bars but at Nana and Cowboy this sort of thing is basically unheard of, hence I am scratching my head about it all...

[sometimewoodworker]

7 minutes ago, mstevens said:

First post and mentioning a ripoff at Soi Cowboy that those who have been visiting for decades have never experienced nor ever heard of?  I don't wish to be a cynic or a disbeliever, but this does not sound right...  Patpong used to be known for ripoffs like this in what they call the upstairs bars but at Nana and Cowboy this sort of thing is basically unheard of, hence I am scratching my head about it all...

Just do a google search as mentioned.

 

You will find that some bars have changed to a single owner and nothing proposed will help. Pay as you go, but still get a demand for payment, try to refuse and find several Thai enforcers around you insisting on payment.

[ujayujay]

On 1.4.2017 at 11:20 AM, Peterw42 said:

In the future pay as you go, and paying with a credit card is just asking for trouble.

It does seem beyond any normal padding of the bill. Most bars will put the dockets for the drinks you buy in the wooden cup at your table and provide an itemized account when paying, This was not the case ??

What were the drinks, 100 baht beers or 800 baht cocktails ?

Wrong....the Best is do payment with Creditcard. Any Troubles report to your CC. In this Case they will reimburse the amount and this cheaters eventually  will have problems with CC provider. Dont know, this works with Thai CCs. With Visa, Masterc. etc. from Europe, USA, Aus. etc. it goes.

Edited April 3, 2017 by ujayujay

[Peterw42]

Just now, ujayujay said:

Wrong....the Best is do payment with Creditcard. Any Troubles report to your CC. In this Case they will reimburse the amount and this cheaters eventually  will have problems with CC provider.

You cant dispute a credit card transaction that you signed for, by signing you agreed to it. So I can go and buy a TV then contact the cc company and get reimbursed. 

[Fairynuff]

"It's a shame for places like this as they give the entire place a bad name!!"

 

Wasn't aware the place had a good to begin with!!

[Thaidream]

I have been going to Cowboy since it opened and have personally never been ripped off as I always ask the cost of my drink and a lady drink prior to ordering and then check the bill in the bin to make sure it matches. Speaking Thai helps.

However, in recent years I have noticed places that have changed owners and a different climate that leads me to believe that certain places would cheat customers when possible.  In addition, SC is a dying area and that means the owners are getting desperate for customers. I don't doubt the Ops report but the amount sounds very high. I do know the more that bars adopt these practices- the sooner they will drive all business away, The internet and Social Media are everywhere and word travels fast. It's too bad that defamation laws protect thieves

[toofarnorth]

50 comments but none I could see from the OP. All very odd. I went through SC once on a visit to BKK with my TW. If I had chosen to stop for a beer firstly  'er indoors would not be best pleased if I bought a lady drink and secondly if she saw a 14,861B check bin she would of gone ballistic . The Op says he has visited SC numerous times yet easily gets scammed . Maybe the checkbin was for 1,486B but was pi$$ed so threw his dummy out. 

[Thaidream]

No, I believe he was scammed. I just finished reading several articles on the internet which names the bars in question on Soi Cowboy and confirms the scams and prices charged.  Do the Google search and you will understand what happened to the OP.  Apparently, this has been going on for some time and I am quite surprised they continue to get away with. One of these days they will do it to the wrong person or group and it won't end well.

[Monkeyrobot]

You were in the bar no more than 15 min and had two drinks each and four lady drinks?? You must have been thirsty. The worst that has happened to me is you pay with a thousand they walk away to the cashier and come back with a hundred on the plate and say you only gave me a 100 . 

[hawker9000]

On 4/1/2017 at 1:26 PM, dddave said:

I expect that sort of scam on  Soi Patpong but not on Soi Cowboy; I'm surprised.  The worst Soi Cowboy scam I've encountered over the years was the "Vodka-Coke" rip-off. (Offer to buy a lady-drink, girl asks "Is vodka-coke ok?" you say "Sure". Her drink comes as a small glass of Coke and a shot of vodka...billed as 2 separate drinks)  

A lot more tourist couples seem to be strolling Soi Cowboy these days. Maybe some bar owners are thinking if Patpong can do it, so can we.

See #4.   There is a group of bars on Soi Cowboy absolutely notorious for this.  It's nothing new and well & openly & repeatedly documented elsewhere.  Use of a credit card in one of these places would be the perfect storm.  Refusal to pay would probably have been strike three.  Unless he can get his credit card company to perhaps cancel the charges on that second transaction as fraudulent, he's going to have to chalk it all up to penalties on failure to do one's homework.

Edited April 3, 2017 by hawker9000

[natway09]

Been drinking in Cowboy for 20 years. Never heard of rip off to this extent.

I think maybe a bit more to this story than we have been told.

What was your Thai wife doing ? Did she not keep an eye on the bill ?

[brewsterbudgen]

I'd like to know also!

Read the thread - there are clues!

[NoshowJones]

On 4/1/2017 at 3:32 PM, ukrules said:

What bar was it, could you please PM me the name so I can avoid it in future ?

Everyone reading this topic who is a regular, or even just sometimes go to Soi cowboy should ask the OP to name the bar in a PM. I am sure he would answer them.

I honestly believe that PMs are 100% private and there is no chance then of any defamation.

[buick]

33 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I just finished reading several articles on the internet which names the bars in question on Soi Cowboy and confirms the scams and prices charged.

 

are you saying you read something that supports a bill amount of 15,000thb ?  the bills that these bars present to patrons are generally accurate, it is just the menu prices that are high and then the drink trick where the 300thb drink is really 600thb because they order a whiskey/coke which is then presented as a wiskey AND a coke.  so it is 600thb plus 200thb for your drink.  so a round for a guy and girl can be 800 instead of something below 400 for all the other bars on cowboy.  that is the rip off that gets talked about on the internet and in the bars around sukhumvit.  let's face it, folks in bangkok complain over 30thb when it comes to drink prices !!!  it isn't a 15,000 bill. 

 

i've never read or heard anything approaching a 15,000 bill or attempt to collect such an amount.  these bars aren't even fun so it is almost impossible to order more than 2 rounds.  i go to these places every now and then just to see what is going on inside.  the 'rip off' is really just normal course of business.  i know in advance that it'll likely cost me 1,000thb but i try to avoid buying the lady drink but usually i have to as i succumb to all the pressure.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2017 by buick

[buick]

i don't know if this is allowed but can we say something like:

 

name of bars are:

 

think of a city in brazil (or brasil for some !!)

 

think of a time of day/night

 

another word for a 'peck' on the cheek

 

a desert in africa.

 

the last two are a bit tougher to get across like this.

 

but a real simple way to avoid them is this, if you walk in and the menu says a beer is 200thb.  you walk out.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2017 by buick

[Thaidream]

It is not I who are saying what is a rip off and what is not. It is the customers at these 6 bars  on soi Cowboy. As one of the posters stated- simply Google "Arab Bars on Soi Cowboy" and it all pops up and then read the comments made by the punters. They can't all be liars or exaggerate. There is plenty of stories on the Internet that leads me to believe the OP's bill was that large.  I never go to these type of bars on SC so I would have no firsthand knowledge of their activities.   If you want the names of the bars , the names are available on the internet. I found them easily.