Foreigners. Do You Get Scammed And Overcharged?

[NamKangMan]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

Crock.. My wife gets continually ripped of and scammed here.. And shes Thai !!

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

If the farang is standing next to the Thai wife, at the time of purchase, she, and therefore you, pay more. If she is on her own, shw pays the Thai price. It all comes down to if a farang is involved. Many times, the Thai wife goes in alone and does the haggling and when a price is agreed upon, she walks out and gets the farang hubby and he comes in an pays. Very very common, but, a distasteful way of having to live.

[LivinLOS]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

Crock.. My wife gets continually ripped of and scammed here.. And shes Thai !!

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

Well in the last few months.

Local restaurant woman, someone shes known for years and thought of as a friend.. Asked to borrow 1000 baht for a day or two with some excuse, wife did, that evening her restaurant closed and shes run upcountry.. Has debts all over the village it turns out.

She wins the lucky numbers (street lottery).. But for reasons untranslatable the multi 1000 baht win due was 800 baht paid, checking with her mates that do the same they all maintain she was due the bigger win. She doesnt play those anymore.

long terrible saga with a shop in Patong, too long to list but the shop was shockingly out of order, 'accidentally' sold her gold in for repair, then expected her to pay them the by sell markup to exchange the other part of the set and screwed her over about 800 baht by my calc.. No sorry, no taking responsibility for their ####p, and when the suggestion the police might be called tried to destroy the evidence that they even had the gold on deposit.

Lately shes become very unhappy with our life here so ultimately we may have to move to a more community minded area..

[sarahsbloke]

so if a Local buys a coke for 20 baht and you go and get one and they charge you 30 baht and you tell them you will only pay 20 baht the same as the local before you did, and they say no its 30 baht! so you can walk off and go elsewhere and still be charged 30 baht, so in that case it is better to pay the 30 baht because you are thirsty. thats a scam!

they are only asking for 30 because they think you can afford it, which most cases is true but not the point.

7/11 always charge the same price, 15bht for a can, why not just shop there?

Small bottles of Coke actually cost 6bht each, bottles of Chang Soda 4bht each (sold in crates of 24 from the bulk sales shop)

@LivinginLOS

Everyone should know by now not to lend money, you can only give.

(same rules for Thai and foreigner)

Edited September 29, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[petercallen]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

Crock.. My wife gets continually ripped of and scammed here.. And shes Thai !!

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

If the farang is standing next to the Thai wife, at the time of purchase, she, and therefore you, pay more. If she is on her own, shw pays the Thai price. It all comes down to if a farang is involved. Many times, the Thai wife goes in alone and does the haggling and when a price is agreed upon, she walks out and gets the farang hubby and he comes in an pays. Very very common, but, a distasteful way of having to live.

My wife never has to ask me to pay, she always has money in her purse.

Whether i am with her or not if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere even for a small amount.

If its only a small amount of money i will pay rather than waste my time going elsewhere.

[naiharn]

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

...

Whether i am with her or not if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere even for a small amount.

"My wife never gets ripped of(f)"

...

"if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere"

Sorry there's a contradiction here... which story do you want us to believe?

Or perhaps you mean, if the overcharging attempt doesn't actually succeed, then it doesn't count as a ripoff?

[stevenl]

Are Phuket tuktuks's a scam, overcharging or simply expensive?

I would say a tuktuk driver claiming the Grand Palace is closed but he will take you elsewhere is a scam (never heard of that happening on Phuket though), a tuktuk asking 600 baht for Patong-Kata is overcharging, and a tuktuk asking 400 baht for Patong-Kata is simply expensive.

[petercallen]

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

...

Whether i am with her or not if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere even for a small amount.

"My wife never gets ripped of(f)"

...

"if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere"

Sorry there's a contradiction here... which story do you want us to believe?

Or perhaps you mean, if the overcharging attempt doesn't actually succeed, then it doesn't count as a ripoff?

OK to make simple for you, if she does not purchase the item and goes elsewhere to purchase it she has not been ripped of.

Do you understand now.

[Jimi007]

This is a crazy poll.

There is a big difference between a scam and an overcharge. You are being asked to answer 2 questions with a one choice answer.

I went to buy a bag of ice. I was told that it was 12 baht. I said that it is normally 6 baht. I was told that as a foreigner I could afford 12! Left the shop and bought one next door for 6 baht.

Overcharge

Take a taxi from Samui airport to my house. 10 minutes maybe 5 kilometers. Told that it is 600 baht. Person next me asks for the same - 600 baht. Thai person asks for the same - 600 baht. No choice - totally illegal (meter taxis).

To me this is a scam.

Catch a tuk-tuk in Bangkok to go to Chatuchak market. Get taken to a jeweler and a tailor first.

That is a scam (possibly - a waste of time at worse.)

As someone earlier said - anyone who comes to Thailand and says that they have NOT been scammed OR overcharged is on medication.

But this is probably true of most other countries with tourists.

(Except for Andorra. I went there as well and I wasn't scammed or overcharged. Mind you, I was only going through on my way to somewhere else. Just wanted to show the wife some snow!)

You are contradicting yourself.

What is the shop next door also said 12 baht for ice? So, you go to a third shop and it's also 12 baht for ice. It's called COLLUSION. Give it time and the ice vendors will do as the taxis and you will have no choice but to pay 12 baht for the ice, all over the island, because you are farang.

This collusion is expanding, not shrinking, across many industries. Soon, the idea of "going elsewhere" will be of no benefit because it will be an inflated farang price everywhere. What will you do then. You will have no choice but to pay.

You can chose to move...

Funny you mention ice, I just go to Crystal Diamond Ice, their plant isn't far from my house and get a 10 kilogram bag for 20 Baht. It took me a while to figure it out, but once you know where to find things at the best price I just shop at those places... Like for alcohol, I go where all the bars buy wholesale, it's 50 Baht a bottle less than the local shops, both have marked prices. There is still some competition left around, but there is also a lot collusion... As the Baht has been rising, have you seen any imported items go down in price?

[LivinLOS]

Are Phuket tuktuks's a scam, overcharging or simply expensive?

I would say a tuktuk driver claiming the Grand Palace is closed but he will take you elsewhere is a scam (never heard of that happening on Phuket though), a tuktuk asking 600 baht for Patong-Kata is overcharging, and a tuktuk asking 400 baht for Patong-Kata is simply expensive.

Yes and as happened to a buddy this week.. A tuktuk booked to take them to the top of sun hill.. Clarified and repeated multiple times before they got on board that it was to the top of the hill.. Then he stopped at the bottom of the hill demanding more money produced a large knife / sword and robbed them of 400 baht ??

Thats just a little free enterprise at work ??

[stevenl]

Strange answer: yes to a question with 3 choices. I think I've heard this story before from you LOS, and everytime it happened last week.

But that would be scamming IMO in the first place, and after that robbery.

[naiharn]

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

...

Whether i am with her or not if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere even for a small amount.

"My wife never gets ripped of(f)"

...

"if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere"

Sorry there's a contradiction here... which story do you want us to believe?

Or perhaps you mean, if the overcharging attempt doesn't actually succeed, then it doesn't count as a ripoff?

OK to make simple for you, if she does not purchase the item and goes elsewhere to purchase it she has not been ripped of.

Do you understand now.

So to sum up, while your wife never gets ripped off, it's only because she is super-vigilant, and always notices the attempt (or alternatively doesn't notice it and never realises she has been ripped-off).

Most people would have difficulty seeing the distinction between someone who attempts to cheat you and someone who gets away with it. They are both cheats.

[steelepulse]

>>it's 50 Baht a bottle less than the local shops

I know where the ice shop is,but where can I buy these beers?

[pmgthailand]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

I totally agree, you may be ripped off here by a Thai person for a couple hundred baht, but the farangs here are the real ones to watch out for. They will rip you off for $1000's dollars. I have just been reading a UK paper and seems that the whole world is a SCAM and you should always take care of yourself when purchasing anything or entering into any agreement with anyone, regardless of their nationality.

[KarenBravo]

I know where the ice shop is,but where can I buy these beers?

If you live near Chalong.

Coming from Hayaek Circle, just past the PTT petrol station on the left that is being renovated is a Thai style double shop painted in eye-catching mauve.

Half of the double unit is devoted to beer storage. Cheapest I've found yet.

[ExpatJ]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

I totally agree, you may be ripped off here by a Thai person for a couple hundred baht, but the farangs here are the real ones to watch out for. They will rip you off for $1000's dollars. I have just been reading a UK paper and seems that the whole world is a SCAM and you should always take care of yourself when purchasing anything or entering into any agreement with anyone, regardless of their nationality.

Agreed- the real scam danger in thailand is from farangs not thais.

[barka]

If you get scammed once it their fault......if you get scammed twice its YOUR fault....it costs you to learn....

[Jimi007]

>>it's 50 Baht a bottle less than the local shops

I know where the ice shop is,but where can I buy these beers?

I don't drink beer! I guess I should have clarified that it's for Cuban Rum... 510 Baht there, 560 for the same bottle in Rawai. But i'm sure the beer is less as well. I know dog food, juice and other things are less there. It's called Promphan... Before Central on the left. It has a big Johnny Walker sign out in front, a pharmacy and pet hospital next door. A big green sign that says Home (something, that I can't remember) is just before it as you come from Chalong on Chao Fah west road...

[KarenBravo]

A big green sign that says Home (something, that I can't remember) is just before it as you come from Chalong on Chao Fah west road...

Promphan supermarket. Cheapest place for spirits, but, not beer.

[petercallen]

A big green sign that says Home (something, that I can't remember) is just before it as you come from Chalong on Chao Fah west road...

Promphan supermarket. Cheapest place for spirits, but, not beer.

Drinking water is cheap there also 52 baht a pack for the nestles small bottles the last three times we have bought it when passing the shop.

[GarryP]

I can't believe that out of the 60 voters, 2 can claim to have never been scammed. I think those two people must be scamming themselves if they believe that.

I do not care if you speak fluent Thai, as a number of TV posters do, the very fact that you have a foreign face will result in a scam being tried on by someone or other who thinks they call pull a fast one. You just never realize it at the time. Thais are also being scammed all the time so how a foreigner can go through life here without being scammed I do not know.

[schlog]

You forgot the answer : Pay less then the average thai.

This is also possible!

Only one small example: Pay with the right credit card, collect points= miles, and fly for free.

[Peterocket]

Someone trying a scam on you doesnt mean you have been scammed.

Overcharged? Yeah in London...not in Phuket...

[NamKangMan]

Well in the last few months.

Local restaurant woman, someone shes known for years and thought of as a friend.. Asked to borrow 1000 baht for a day or two with some excuse, wife did, that evening her restaurant closed and shes run upcountry.. Has debts all over the village it turns out.

She wins the lucky numbers (street lottery).. But for reasons untranslatable the multi 1000 baht win due was 800 baht paid, checking with her mates that do the same they all maintain she was due the bigger win. She doesnt play those anymore.

long terrible saga with a shop in Patong, too long to list but the shop was shockingly out of order, 'accidentally' sold her gold in for repair, then expected her to pay them the by sell markup to exchange the other part of the set and screwed her over about 800 baht by my calc.. No sorry, no taking responsibility for their ####p, and when the suggestion the police might be called tried to destroy the evidence that they even had the gold on deposit.

Lately shes become very unhappy with our life here so ultimately we may have to move to a more community minded area..

Sorry to hear that mate. Do you think the area you live in have "put 2 and 2 together" and worked out she is with you and they now have the attitude that money to her is nothing because she is with a farang and it's farang money?

[NamKangMan]

so if a Local buys a coke for 20 baht and you go and get one and they charge you 30 baht and you tell them you will only pay 20 baht the same as the local before you did, and they say no its 30 baht! so you can walk off and go elsewhere and still be charged 30 baht, so in that case it is better to pay the 30 baht because you are thirsty. thats a scam!

they are only asking for 30 because they think you can afford it, which most cases is true but not the point.

7/11 always charge the same price, 15bht for a can, why not just shop there?

Small bottles of Coke actually cost 6bht each, bottles of Chang Soda 4bht each (sold in crates of 24 from the bulk sales shop)

@LivinginLOS

Everyone should know by now not to lend money, you can only give.

(same rules for Thai and foreigner)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, i seem to be using non-Thai companies, just to avoid getting ripped off. Eg. Carrefour - marked prices. If expats and tourists all did this, well, we would have a mini globalisation problem here and that would be sad, however, the Thai's would only have themselves to blame.

[NamKangMan]

If you speak a little Thai you almost never get scammed. I have no sympathy for farangs who make no effort to learn the language.

The worst scammers in Thailand are Farangs in the Real Estate Business.

Crock.. My wife gets continually ripped of and scammed here.. And shes Thai !!

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

If the farang is standing next to the Thai wife, at the time of purchase, she, and therefore you, pay more. If she is on her own, shw pays the Thai price. It all comes down to if a farang is involved. Many times, the Thai wife goes in alone and does the haggling and when a price is agreed upon, she walks out and gets the farang hubby and he comes in an pays. Very very common, but, a distasteful way of having to live.

My wife never has to ask me to pay, she always has money in her purse.

Whether i am with her or not if she is being over charged she just goes elsewhere even for a small amount.

If its only a small amount of money i will pay rather than waste my time going elsewhere.

NamKangMan:

And you don't think they know that you couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere???????? Especially in the hot sun, or the pouring rain. Once again, everyones financial situation is different, but, that's not what this thread is about. You have freely admitted to being overcharged and paying it, due to the fact you couldn't be bothered to go elsewhere. So, what do you think happens to the next farang who walk into the place?

Your missus probably could have got a cheaper price if you were not there - their attitude is, the money that come out of her purse is farang money - so, charge more.

Edited September 29, 2010 by NamKangMan

[NamKangMan]

Are Phuket tuktuks's a scam, overcharging or simply expensive?

I would say a tuktuk driver claiming the Grand Palace is closed but he will take you elsewhere is a scam (never heard of that happening on Phuket though), a tuktuk asking 600 baht for Patong-Kata is overcharging, and a tuktuk asking 400 baht for Patong-Kata is simply expensive.

It's called "COLLUSION." Thus doing away with competition, in this case, with threats of violence etc. Look the word up in the dictionary. It's what makes the tuk-tuks a scam.

Maybe you can relate to all the dive shops get together on the island and set a minimum price for an open water dive of 10,000 baht. Every shop. However, the difference is, diving is a leisure activity. Transport is an essential service. Eg. you have to get to and from the airport to your hotel.

[MAJIC]

You forgot the answer : Pay less then the average thai.

This is also possible!

Only one small example: Pay with the right credit card, collect points= miles, and fly for free.

Highly unlikely! and would it not be difficult to prove?

Edited September 29, 2010 by MAJIC

[BangTaoBoy]

My wife never gets ripped of or scammed and she is Thai also

Ditto

When you are new tourist to Phuket of course you will get scammed. The more savvy and well travelled you are, the better you will be, but everyone will be overcharged at some point. Quite simply because you don't know how much things should be and lets face it, you're on holiday so who cares about a few quid here and there.

After you have spent any amount of time here it takes very little intelligence to avoid being scammed. The people who live here and still complain about being riped off crack me up, they're just high lighting the fact that they're not very bright.

Rubbish. Look at the tuk-tuks. They will take the piss out of a first time tourist, and a farang who has lived here for 10 years. It's called COLLUSION.

Your argument is, someone who lives here knows to avoid the tuk-tuks, however, the expat has had to modify his/her behaviour to accommodate the tuk-tuk rip off.

For me Tuk Tuk have always been for tourists anyway, so not using them isn't modifying my behaviour at all. I haven't used them since I was a tourist, and back then I was happy to pay tourist prices. Anyway avoiding things that don't suit you is just a normal part of life, no big deal.

Lately shes become very unhappy with our life here so ultimately we may have to move to a more community minded area..

I've been reading this forum for a long time and you've been threatening to leave for just as long, but you're still here, so how bad can it be?

[NamKangMan]

You can chose to move...

Funny you mention ice, I just go to Crystal Diamond Ice, their plant isn't far from my house and get a 10 kilogram bag for 20 Baht. It took me a while to figure it out, but once you know where to find things at the best price I just shop at those places... Like for alcohol, I go where all the bars buy wholesale, it's 50 Baht a bottle less than the local shops, both have marked prices. There is still some competition left around, but there is also a lot collusion... As the Baht has been rising, have you seen any imported items go down in price?

I'm happy here and haven't considered moving, at this stage. I can also afford to live here, despite the two teir price system and rip offs. I'm simply stating that it's rife, and spreading.

Interesting that you say "there is still SOME competition" and there is also a LOT of collusion." Seems like collusion is winning the battle and not free market trade.

[BangTaoBoy]

Are Phuket tuktuks's a scam, overcharging or simply expensive?

I would say a tuktuk driver claiming the Grand Palace is closed but he will take you elsewhere is a scam (never heard of that happening on Phuket though), a tuktuk asking 600 baht for Patong-Kata is overcharging, and a tuktuk asking 400 baht for Patong-Kata is simply expensive.

As always a very good answer from one of the best posters on this forum. Common sense and logic a plenty.

Are Phuket tuktuks's a scam, overcharging or simply expensive?

I would say a tuktuk driver claiming the Grand Palace is closed but he will take you elsewhere is a scam (never heard of that happening on Phuket though), a tuktuk asking 600 baht for Patong-Kata is overcharging, and a tuktuk asking 400 baht for Patong-Kata is simply expensive.

Yes and as happened to a buddy this week.. A tuktuk booked to take them to the top of sun hill.. Clarified and repeated multiple times before they got on board that it was to the top of the hill.. Then he stopped at the bottom of the hill demanding more money produced a large knife / sword and robbed them of 400 baht ??

Thats just a little free enterprise at work ??

Sorry to say this but I simply don't believe you. This very week, your mate got mugged by a tuk tuk driver with a sword??

EDIT: Wasn't it your friends that got mugged at gun point a while back? What is it with your friends?

Edited September 29, 2010 by BangTaoBoy