Warning: visa service fraud

[BestB]

25 minutes ago, visarunner said:

Received the follow up Email from OP too: "Okay then I will proceed my lawyer. I will also make sure this story is known well among the expat community in Thailand via social media and make sure the police and tourist police are aware of your companies indiscretions and illegal behaviour. 

 

Thank you for your concern. I will send you the evidence of your driver, so that you can believe me, fire him, and save lives of future people on your trips. You will also be hearing from others from the trip shortly who share the same concerns.

 

Kind Regards" NAME REMOVED

Ignore and do not bother , anyone with half a brain can see how silly this story is and anyone who can not , you do not want them as customers anyway ????????

[mstevens]

Cannot comment on this agency or this particular story, but one time many years ago I went on one of these organised visa runs and it was a total disaster. The driving was ok, but everything else about it was a disaster.

 

The website of that firm which no longer exists promised all sorts of assistance but none was offered.

 

Some people who were on the visa run had never done a visa run before and didn't know what to do. I mean they were totally clueless! They were completely lost and had to helped and told what they had to do.

 

It should be remember that not everyone who goes on these organised visa runs is a member of ThaiVisa or has been on a visa run before. Crossing borders in a part of the world you're not familiar with can be confusing for those who haven't travelled widely.

 

I do think that in some cases, these visa run companies don't take their duty of care seriously - I mean this generally and not necessarily to which ever visa run company this fellow went with.

[Prince77]

OP has no funds to organise his trip but places a threat to involve a lawyer? Welcome to Thailand, learn your lesson and proceed with your life.

[rumak]

28 minutes ago, mstevens said:

I do think that in some cases, these visa run companies don't take their duty of care seriously - I mean this generally and not necessarily to which ever visa run company this fellow went with.

obviously you were a lawyer at one time   haha    good post and always smart to use a disclaimer.

 

Mine is :  Warning: Any advice is given with the best of intentions and is based on actual experience or just plain common sense. In the event said advice is determined incorrect, you are entitled to a full refund of exactly what you paid for it!  

[Toosetinmyways]

I would normally not bother replying to a post like this but I have used this visa company approximately 15 times in the last 3 years and have never had a problem regarding their service for border hops or visas.

Basic service but adequate.

[Nong Khai Man]

13 hours ago, elviajero said:

The only question is why you didn’t, once you knew what was going on, leave the van on route or once you got to Vientiane!

Because They were being taken to SAVANAKHET !!

[watcharacters]

5 hours ago, visarunner said:

as the owner of said agency, I can guarantee that said driver does not drink or drive dangerously. If you feel or have evidence you are welcome to meet me in ON NUT or at Phrakanong Police Station. Said person will attend too. 

 

Congratulations.    You must  have extraordinary vetting skills!

 

Your company  employs the only safe commercial van driver in all of Thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

[billd766]

13 hours ago, elviajero said:

You got to the capital city of Laos. You could have gone anywhere.

 

I only used a van service from Bangkok to Vientiane once, and it was years ago. The driver was sober, but drove like a maniac, so I left the van once I’d got my visa and took the train back.

There aren't that many trains out Mukdahan/Savannakhet way.

 

The OP could have gone from Mukdahan in a proper bus or even stayed overnight and flown down to BKK in the morning. However he did comment the he was running a bit low on cash.

 

As a newbie I do feel sorry for him.

 

I have been a newbie in quite a few countries and it is not easy if you cannot speak the language, are part of a small group with a minibus driver who had a death wish.

 

Sadly OP you have seen the last of your money refunded. Not every Thai is like the bus driver and not every travel agency is like this in Thailand, though the good ones are harder to find.

[sanemax]

5 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

Sadly OP you have seen the last of your money refunded. Not every Thai is like the bus driver and not every travel agency is like this in Thailand, though the good ones are harder to find.

It may be a good idea to read the whole thread and hear what the agency has to say about it?

[buick]

what an exciting thread we have here !!! 

 

as one member has mentioned, the OP must be referring to police checkpoints.  i'm not on the roads all that much here in thailand but i think it is pretty rare to get pulled over by a police officer.  the thai system seems to prefer checkpoints to regular patrols along the highways like we see in other countries.  i'm under the impression that many reckless drivers are caught via CCTV, not caught by a patrol and pulled over.

 

the petrol stations along the roads provide cheap food and drink.  referring to them as 'expensive' erodes the credibility of the OP's story even further.

 

i made a border crossing near buriram/surin (o'smach in cambodia) back in 2008 (my GF at the time drove me there from buriram).  i gambled for a couple hours and walked up to the border checkpoint and it turned out to be the thai outpost and i was redirected to the cambo outpost so i could get stamped out of cambo.  it wasn't much of a problem or inconvenience, just a learning experience for a 'newbie' to border runs.  one of those things that can happen to you once, but a second time is unlikely.

 

for future visa runners, i'd advise taking your own food and water with you.  you never know what can happen.

 

this whole thing about getting a lawyer to resolve the issue reminds me of myself in my late teens, early 20's before i fully understood certain things in life (i still don't know everything but have figured out when to use a lawyer for assistance).

[JackThompson]

We have no way to know if this story is true, because we were not there.  But I would say the following, IF the account is accurate.

 

13 hours ago, BestB said:

Yes its all their fault, they should be holding your hand and feeding you by hand.

Yes - Exactly  - that is what he Paid For.   It is often recommended that newbies use such services to learn how it all works.  A taxi service does not handle all the hops, include a hotel, etc.

 

How much extra work would it take, just to do a "heads up - make sure you got X ..." on each step for the newbies?  A visual check of the passport-stamps of each would be ideal. 

 

"Counting heads" at each stop is the bare-minimum - hard to believe the empty spaces on the van were not noticed.  Sounds like they were just "blown off" by the driver at the consulate - twice.

 

12 hours ago, sanemax said:

No "fraud" took place though , they got you there and back , which was the agreement 

They were supposed to take him to the border, then to the consulate, then to the hotel, etc - walking him through the process.  According to this account, they didn't even get all their folks on the bus from the consulate - twice.

 

And I am not sure what good meeting the business-owner at some location or police-station would do.  We can guess how the law will deal with foreigners vs locals in a "he said, she said" situation.

[billd766]

3 minutes ago, sanemax said:

It may be a good idea to read the whole thread and hear what the agency has to say about it?

 

I am still reading the thread and I am now on the last page.

[steven100]

16 minutes ago, billd766 said:

However he did comment the he was running a bit low on cash.

 

As a newbie I do feel sorry for him.

I don't ....  he's saying he's low on cash but threatens the Visa run company with getting a lawyer which will cost him thousands of baht for 1 hours work.  I'm calling BS on this one.

[JackThompson]

11 minutes ago, steven100 said:

I don't ....  he's saying he's low on cash but threatens the Visa run company with getting a lawyer which will cost him thousands of baht for 1 hours work.  I'm calling BS on this one.

He may be assuming he could get one on contingency - which is not possible.  It might be a waste of time here, even if the lawyer was free, and even if every word of the story were accurate and recounted by multiple witnesses.

[seancbk]

15 hours ago, madmen said:

I have to question your sanity. Why didn't you jump out after first alcohol stop? was it to inconvenient for you, surely your life is worth more?

Do you really believe his story that a pickup truck drove all the way to Nong Khai and back, acting as a lookout and a mobile bar for the van driver!

 

[darrendsd]

20 minutes ago, seancbk said:

Do you really believe his story that a pickup truck drove all the way to Nong Khai and back, acting as a lookout and a mobile bar for the van driver!

 

Agreed - The first van is the lookout who let's the other vans know of any checkpoints

 

They certainly don't have a leader truck for this - what would be the point?

 

A chancer farang trying to get some funds back - nothing more

 

 

[natway09]

Yep, Mini van driver drunk,,,,,,,,Im outa here visa overstay or not

[RJRS1301]

1. I have to say some of the posts on this subject are pretty brutal for the guy making the post.

Surely some support, as it seems like he made some mistakes, but may have been his first run, as opposed to those who know how it happens

Did you all know it the first time, or did someone with more experience assist you through it?

 

[orchis]

I understand there is no English-spoken assistance on these trips? ????

[darrendsd]

Just now, orchis said:

I understand there is no English-spoken assistance on these trips? ????

There is plenty

[ubonjoe]

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

And now some more off topic inflammatory posts and replies to them have been removed.

No further notice of removals will be given from now on.  

After removing some more this topic is getting real close to being closed.

[sanemax]

16 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

1. I have to say some of the posts on this subject are pretty brutal for the guy making the post.

Surely some support, as it seems like he made some mistakes, but may have been his first run, as opposed to those who know how it happens

Did you all know it the first time, or did someone with more experience assist you through it?

 

Its very straight forward .

You get on a bus , drive to the border , cross the border , then go to the Embassy , apply for a visa and then collect it the next day and then drive back home again .

  You are in a group , so , just follow the group .

The OP seemed to have made the mistake of not getting his PP stamped on the way out.

I am not being "brutal" , I just think that was his own fault  .

  It is also quite clear that he has exaggerated some parts of the story and possibly madefalse accusations or maybe he was just mistaken .

[Goo61]

21 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

1. I have to say some of the posts on this subject are pretty brutal for the guy making the post.

Surely some support, as it seems like he made some mistakes, but may have been his first run, as opposed to those who know how it happens

Did you all know it the first time, or did someone with more experience assist you through it?

 

It was my first run and I didn’t know what to expect, that’s why I paid for the service so that my first time I could learn how it works and unfortunately that didn’t happen. I’m just asking for some advice, and to forward other travellers to be better prepared and maybe do more research on agencies or going without an agency. we are all travellers here and in my past experience living in other countries travellers helped other travellers, I don’t know why some people on here are so rude. We are all in the same boat when it comes to these things so let’s try to help each other out.

[Toosetinmyways]

As the OP appears to be unlucky, perhaps nobody else on the trip had done it before and he was the only English speaker.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Goo61 said:

It was my first run and I didn’t know what to expect, that’s why I paid for the service so that my first time I could learn how it works and unfortunately that didn’t happen. I’m just asking for some advice, and to forward other travellers to be better prepared and maybe do more research on agencies or going without an agency. we are all travellers here and in my past experience living in other countries travellers helped other travellers, I don’t know why some people on here are so rude. We are all in the same boat when it comes to these things so let’s try to help each other out.

Whilst all the other passengers were getting stamped out at Thai immigration , didnt it occur to you to do likewise ? 

  All the problems stem from yourself having to go back and get stamped out .

Yes, the driver could have waited for you , but he also needed to get to the consulate with the other passengers

You should accept that you made a mistake and move on 

[Just Weird]

This is the title of your thread, "Warning: visa service fraud", which has no detail whatsoever about this particular service provider that you describe as fraudulent.  How is that a warning to us to avoid this particular company?  

 

"My girlfriend had to phone your agency to let them know because none of us had reception in Laos".

If you had no phone service in Laos how did you manage to contact your girlfriend in Thailand to tell her to contact the company?

 

"I would like to ask for the full cost of my trip to be reimbursed to me for my troubles".

Why do you expect your money back, you got your visa, didn't you?

 

"I was left in limbo between Laos and Thailand with no agency representative to help me. In the end, the agency representative who, after 30 minutes, finally came to assist me".

Make you mind up, did you have the services of a rep or not, you can't have it both ways.

 

"This is an absolute atrocity..."

This sounds as though it may have been very inconvenient but, no, it was nowhere near to being an "absolute atrocity"!

[sanemax]

8 minutes ago, Goo61 said:

It was my first run and I didn’t know what to expect, that’s why I paid for the service so that my first time I could learn how it works and unfortunately that didn’t happen. .

What did you actually pay for though ?

I do recall you said that you paid 3500 Baht .

That would be about the cost of a return trip and the hotel .

Another company charges 5000 Baht a day , if you want personal assistance with immigration .

   Maybe you just paid for the trip and expected personal assistance ?

[nightfox]

Hope you got your moneys worth........Why wouldn't you just do the visa run yourself like most people???. Its not difficult at all, You can get the overnight direct NON STOP comfortable buses from Bangkok Mochit bust terminal to Mukdahan for under 600bht one way and pay the 50bhht bus just like everyone else to cross to Savannakhet in the morning. 

[EricTh]

You should upload into Youtube. Then more people will know about it.

 

A video is worth a million words.

[leeedwards]

In future just get a flight to udon thani, take mini van to the border( only 50 mins in a van ), get across  border, do the visa yourself. 

Take border bus from Vientiane bus station to udon bus station and a tuk tuk to the airport. Done this last 3 times. Get 12.50 flight to udon and 9.40 pm back next day so no rush. 

Just 50 minute van on way and 1 hour bus back. Less chance to die on the road.