Foreigners. Do You Get Scammed And Overcharged?

[NamKangMan]

[

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.

So, you were ripped off years ago as a tourist. I hope your vote on the poll reflected this. Welcome to the club. It's a big club and growing by the day. No need to be ashamed of it. :) :) It's Thailand - LOS (Land of Scams).

[BangTaoBoy]

So, you were ripped off years ago as a tourist. I hope your vote on the poll reflected this. Welcome to the club. It's a big club and growing by the day. No need to be ashamed of it. :) :) It's Thailand - LOS (Land of Scams).

You're missing the point. I didn't get ripped off. I knew how much they were. I knew they were quite expensive, but I was a tourist with pockets full of money so I didn't let a £5 taxi ride ruin a fantastic holiday. I happily paid it and, found the drivers very friendly. When I started to spend more time here they were too expensive so I made other arrangements, no dramas what so ever.

[schlog]

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

Easy to prove. You only have to beat the laziness and you will buy the things cheaper than the average Somchai.

Next example: Last year i bought the same car as my thai friend, same time, but i bought it 5% cheaper than him. Why? Because i was not lazy to compare and so bought the car not on Phuket.

So for what should i complaint about it if they overcharge me 3 times a year buying ice. Lose on one side 50 Bath and gain on the another side sure each year more than 80.000 Bath.

[onnut]

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)

are you kidding me? I dont have a clue what a can of coke costs in a shop, I just used the 20 baht and 30 baht as an example.

[stevenl]

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.

You can see a scam in anything if you want. And you're doing a good, sorry marvelous, job with that.

[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.

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

Thanks, glad to hear that.

[BangTaoBoy]

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.

You can see a scam in anything if you want. And you're doing a good, sorry marvelous, job with that.

That's what it comes down to. If you spend all day everyday looking for the scams, or thinking the next scammer is just around the corner then you will undoubtedly get your wish. I'm sure people just assume they've been ripped off and walk away moaning about it when they haven't at all, if they were more clued up about the correct prices of products they would be in much more control of the situation, know when they were being over charged and act accordingly.

The fact of the matter is there are more shops on Phuket that are happy to charge you the same price as Thai people, than there are that will automatically try and over charge you. It's a major misconception that people think it's the other way round.

If you can't manage to shop in the majority of shops, and always find yourself in the minority of unscrupulous ones, then the phrase, 'A fool and is money are easily parted' comes to mind.

[MAJIC]

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

Easy to prove. You only have to beat the laziness and you will buy the things cheaper than the average Somchai.

Next example: Last year i bought the same car as my thai friend, same time, but i bought it 5% cheaper than him. Why? Because i was not lazy to compare and so bought the car not on Phuket.

So for what should i complaint about it if they overcharge me 3 times a year buying ice. Lose on one side 50 Bath and gain on the another side sure each year more than 80.000 Bath.

Whilst I agree it is possible to buy a car cheaper in some parts of Thailand,which is not quite like for like! to start with!

A further clarification of the variables of purchase is also necessary:

1.Was yours a special Promotion Price?

2.Was there a PX car deal by either of you?

3.Did you both Pay Cash,or was there Finance involved?

4.Did you both buy at the same time or weeks apart?

Edited September 29, 2010 by MAJIC

[schlog]

Whilst I agree it is possible to buy a car cheaper in some parts of Thailand,which is not quite like for like! to start with!

A further clarification of the variables of purchase is also necessary:

1.Was yours a special Promotion Price?

2.Was there a PX car deal by either of you?

3.Did you both Pay Cash,or was there Finance involved?

4.Did you both buy at the same time or weeks apart?

Everything was same, same model, same color..........., no differences in purchase.

1.Was yours a special Promotion Price? NO

2.Was there a PX car deal by either of you? NO

3.Did you both Pay Cash,or was there Finance involved? BOTH CASH

4.Did you both buy at the same time or weeks apart? SAME TIME

Try it and you will see it is worth to invest a little bit of time.

[schlog]

Everything was same, same model, same color..........., no differences in purchase.

1.Was yours a special Promotion Price? NO

2.Was there a PX car deal by either of you? NO

3.Did you both Pay Cash,or was there Finance involved? BOTH CASH

4.Did you both buy at the same time or weeks apart? SAME TIME

Try it and you will see it is worth to invest a little bit of time.

Sometimes the better deal is really near. Like my car i bought in Khog Kloi.

[LivinLOS]

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?

They hang out at 2 - 4 in the morning around Patong.. The story posted on Phuket - info also.. Tho I dont know if its the guest / low poster areas. And yes this is common enough kind of conflict that these stories are a near weekly. Like the expat shot in the stomach a month or two back at baanzaan, the ex offshore bar owner who had someone break in and hold him at gunpoint calmly clearing out the whole house when he had a nap on his sofa in the daytime.. These are just the laundry list of this summer.

And yes it was 2 of my good mates who had an attempted highway robber at gunpoint, they managed to fight them off tho. Thats going back 3 or so years now tho ??

EDIT

Posted 25-09 on P-I by an ozzie mate of mine.

I put him and his guest in a tuk-tuk out the front of Taipan at 4.30am, I negotiated the price, 250B, in Thai with the driver and another guy who got involved, I also specified not only was it in Soi Sunhill but it was up the hill, both in Thai, English and with hand gestures, the driver understood and reasoned this is why he wanted the extra 50B over my 200B offer.

I returned into Taipan to continue and he was then shuffeled to another tuktuk 2 away from the original for the ride,with a differnt driver, when they got to the bottom of the Soi the driver stopped and a discussion commenced, him saying that was where they get out, mate saying no we organised to go up the hill to the appartment, after this went back and forth a few time the guy got enrage instantly, yelled at him in Thai and pulled out a knife, he came around the side of the tuk-tuk in an attempt to slash at the mate, so mate jumped to the other side out of reach, the guy lunged at him with the knife through the open side of the tuk-tuk which he deflected with his hand, it nicked a finger slighly, mate then jumped out the back onto the street and the driver demanded 400B, he gave it to him rathr than go on. He said he felt the guy was on something as he was way to edgey / wired. Hes hired a bike for the rest of his stay! 555

This isnt unusual practice, I lived on top of the same hill for years and they would pull this stunt a good %age of the time.. Its 4 in the morning, you have a bunch of people, and its a 400 or 500m walk up a steep steep hill..

Edited September 29, 2010 by LivinLOS

[LivinLOS]

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?

Maybe ?? We dont live lavish.. old car.. old bikes.. Not in a big villa.. But of course its possible.

I just think they screw each other over almost as much as they screw us over. Its not like this in other parts of the country, theres more of a sense of community, but I have zero interest in living in rural Thailand.

[LivinLOS]

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?

Its not easy when you have other things on the go.. Not so simple to work without an office set up etc.

But I have spent 2 months in the last few up north.. Only got back a few weeks ago and have had a litany of problems since returning.. So with luck I will be back there by end of next week for another month and will run 2 homes for a while.

[leon1503]

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.

i must be one of the lucky ones . i never got scammed and catch in any traps in phuket and i was there for a year . i owe it all to my girlfriend who i met in the airport on day 1 . lucky me . she taugh me everything about thailand . if not for her i,m sure i would have be sucked dry of every last penny i had . i mean come on before i visted thailand i never really ever heard of it . to me it was just some place in asia . i would have forked out any amount of money . but i met the best thai lady . never lost anything . and she only asked me for money 2 times in 4 years . which was not so much . just 1000euros in 4 years .

[ericthai]

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

Same here, my wife never gets ripped off. If the price is too high she says no and leaves.

[LivinLOS]

And it happens from the highest institutions too.. Anyone been following the CMU scene.. >300 farang students all paid for tuition and 4 days into the year, with all the promised visas not coming.. The courses are cancelled and no refunds !! Because the new director is xenophobic and just doesnt want farangs in his college.

From one of the most prestigious unis in the country.

[antony77]

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 !!

She is probably to polite to argue, like my Thai wife . I was actually referring to Farangs who speak Thai.

[BangTaoBoy]

She is probably to polite to argue, like my Thai wife . I was actually referring to Farangs who speak Thai.

If you are a Farang who speaks a little Thai and someone tries to over charge you, you can simply tell the shop keeper that you can get them somewhere else for cheaper, give him a chance to drop the price and if he's not interested you politely say thanks but no thanks and leave. The shop keeper will understand why you left and because you did it calmly and politely there was no loss of face on his part and no need for the Farang to feel bitter and twisted and like the whole world is out to get him. You then repeat this process until you find a shop that asks for a price that you are happy with, you then have found the shop to use in the future when buying that product. Couldn't be easier.

Shop keepers will charge whatever someone is willing to pay, instead of feeling so hard done by and like everyone's out to fleece you, learn how much things cost, and more importantly what you are willing to pay for them, learn a bit of Thai, negotiate, calmly and politely and get the price you are happy with.

Most importantly of all, stop it with the poor me, I'm such a victim routine, it's quite pathetic!!

.

[MAJIC]

Everything was same, same model, same color..........., no differences in purchase.

1.Was yours a special Promotion Price? NO

2.Was there a PX car deal by either of you? NO

3.Did you both Pay Cash,or was there Finance involved? BOTH CASH

4.Did you both buy at the same time or weeks apart? SAME TIME

Try it and you will see it is worth to invest a little bit of time.

Sometimes the better deal is really near. Like my car i bought in Khog Kloi.

Did Thaiman say:well done Farang?

[richard_smith237]

I voted... Pay the same as Thai's do.

But really it's impossible to tell. In the past my Thai Wife (then GF) has been quoted for and / charged more than I in a similar situation. Being a westerner can sometimes work in our favor and sometimes not, but I believe that to be besides the point. Sometimes we just catch someone who likes the look of us, someone who is having a good day and sometimes we get the 'greedy git' and so would the Thai. It just so happens that there are more of these 'greedy gits' in the tourist locations where there are more Westerners.

It's 'swings and roundabouts' with regards to being overcharged. Sometimes a little here or there, but no more than occurs to the average Thai.

[BangTaoBoy]

I voted... Pay the same as Thai's do.

But really it's impossible to tell. In the past my Thai Wife (then GF) has been quoted for and / charged more than I in a similar situation. Being a westerner can sometimes work in our favor and sometimes not, but I believe that to be besides the point. Sometimes we just catch someone who likes the look of us, someone who is having a good day and sometimes we get the 'greedy git' and so would the Thai. It just so happens that there are more of these 'greedy gits' in the tourist locations where there are more Westerners.

It's 'swings and roundabouts' with regards to being overcharged. Sometimes a little here or there, but no more than occurs to the average Thai.

Nice balanced, and I believe accurate view of the situation. Lets stop getting our knickers in a twist people, it's just not that bad.

[LivinLOS]

She is probably to polite to argue, like my Thai wife . I was actually referring to Farangs who speak Thai.

If you are a Farang who speaks a little Thai and someone tries to over charge you, you can simply tell the shop keeper that you can get them somewhere else for cheaper, give him a chance to drop the price and if he's not interested you politely say thanks but no thanks and leave. The shop keeper will understand why you left and because you did it calmly and politely there was no loss of face on his part and no need for the Farang to feel bitter and twisted and like the whole world is out to get him. You then repeat this process until you find a shop that asks for a price that you are happy with, you then have found the shop to use in the future when buying that product. Couldn't be easier.

Shop keepers will charge whatever someone is willing to pay, instead of feeling so hard done by and like everyone's out to fleece you, learn how much things cost, and more importantly what you are willing to pay for them, learn a bit of Thai, negotiate, calmly and politely and get the price you are happy with.

Most importantly of all, stop it with the poor me, I'm such a victim routine, it's quite pathetic!!

.

First I notice no comment after calling me a liar and being proven wrong.. Nice..

Second your talking about one specific issue, the issue of dual pricing in a place where you check the price first. In many customer interactions your not asking how much is this, how much is this, you go with the flow and get the bill at the end.. Secondly dual pricing is annoying, and doubly so for me when practiced by government institutions, but isnt the worst of it.

What this doesnt in any way address the kind of scamming which is 'as soon as I have your money I am unlikely to do the service required' the builder who needs some upfront cash to buy materials and never shows up again, or vanishes after a stage payment. It doesnt cover the 'mai mee wallanty' which is so prevalent even with large chain stores, the concept that all customer service ends the moment the money is paid. It doesnt cover the claiming to be able to do a job they have no hope of finishing (I once had to go and take a motorbike away in boxes cos he couldnt even put it back together let alone get it running) or the dangerous corner cutting (the guy who put a piece of plate glass in instead of a windscreen when I had him refurb a jeep, resulting in it imploding at speed, lacerating my face, cutting me and the missus elsewhere so he could save a couple hundred baht over a real windscreen.. Could have killed or maimed us both for him to pocket 500b). It doesnt cover the outright theft of anything not nailed down. The house deposits never returned, or or or or...

The saddest part is over the years it then destroys the trust, makes you guarded, means you have to treat everyone in a way I would far rather not to, but anytime I do extend trust I seem to be taken advantage of.

[Peterocket]

First I notice no comment after calling me a liar and being proven wrong.. Nice..

Second your talking about one specific issue, the issue of dual pricing in a place where you check the price first. In many customer interactions your not asking how much is this, how much is this, you go with the flow and get the bill at the end.. Secondly dual pricing is annoying, and doubly so for me when practiced by government institutions, but isnt the worst of it.

What this doesnt in any way address the kind of scamming which is 'as soon as I have your money I am unlikely to do the service required' the builder who needs some upfront cash to buy materials and never shows up again, or vanishes after a stage payment. It doesnt cover the 'mai mee wallanty' which is so prevalent even with large chain stores, the concept that all customer service ends the moment the money is paid. It doesnt cover the claiming to be able to do a job they have no hope of finishing (I once had to go and take a motorbike away in boxes cos he couldnt even put it back together let alone get it running) or the dangerous corner cutting (the guy who put a piece of plate glass in instead of a windscreen when I had him refurb a jeep, resulting in it imploding at speed, lacerating my face, cutting me and the missus elsewhere so he could save a couple hundred baht over a real windscreen.. Could have killed or maimed us both for him to pocket 500b). It doesnt cover the outright theft of anything not nailed down. The house deposits never returned, or or or or...

The saddest part is over the years it then destroys the trust, makes you guarded, means you have to treat everyone in a way I would far rather not to, but anytime I do extend trust I seem to be taken advantage of.

Bar your incident with the windscreen everything you have written about happens the same in every other country I have lived/been to....

[LivinLOS]

Bar your incident with the windscreen everything you have written about happens the same in every other country I have lived/been to....

Well we will have to agree to disagree.. I have lived all over EU, US, even a stint in North Africa.. And the issues I mention havent come close to the level of how they are done here. The way contractors and tradesmen operate, the kind of issues that come up.

The results of the poll are so far, agreeing with me.

Is it a scam that I have to pay under the table to get the tessabaan to do anything ?? Or that bribes need to be paid to make sure an imported bike gets passed for the road, or or or.. The corruption is to the core, and that colors everything else.

[LivinLOS]

Other thoughts..

Case 1

Is it a scam when a Thai mother demands huge ransom money to allow the farang father to see his own child ?? Even when the guy is fully prepared to support the child and mother ??

Case 2 (different people)

Is it a scam after being paid a large sum to take the kids to the west for the summer she contacts the police, says he kidnapped them, and the man now cannot return to where he owns property and business without threat of imprisonment ??

Would we call those kind of action scams or just plain nasty ??

[Peterocket]

I dont think corruption and scams are not the same thing.

• If I pay someone in customs a small amount so he clears my items twice as fast and it costs me less I dont class that as a scam either.
• If a Tuk-Tuk driver asks me for 400 baht to go to Patong and I have a choice whether to pay it I dont class that as a scam.
• If I can pay a police officer 2000 baht to get away with something that usually would result in me having to go to the police station and then paying a higher fine then I dont class that as a scam.
• If one shop is selling items for 200 baht to tourists/farangs but the shop next door has everything half the price I dont class that as a scam. I just walk next door.

In England this week a house of mine had the bailiffs visit because they had been sending letters (which they hadnt) then charged 120 quid to put a letter through the door...that is a scam. The 3 year warranty on my boiler the english company wouldnt honour...another scam. The housing benefit the government wont pay for the tenants in my house...another scam. More used to scams back home than I am here...

These posts about supposed scams have been discussed pretty much on a weekly basis, I thought repeat/duplicate threads werent allowed on TV?

[stevenl]

Other thoughts..

Case 1

Is it a scam when a Thai mother demands huge ransom money to allow the farang father to see his own child ?? Even when the guy is fully prepared to support the child and mother ??

Case 2 (different people)

Is it a scam after being paid a large sum to take the kids to the west for the summer she contacts the police, says he kidnapped them, and the man now cannot return to where he owns property and business without threat of imprisonment ??

Would we call those kind of action scams or just plain nasty ??

Those things are just nasty. For case # 2, to avoid this he should have gone to the Amphur with her and get a consent form. Where are the kids now?

[LivinLOS]

Other thoughts..

Case 1

Is it a scam when a Thai mother demands huge ransom money to allow the farang father to see his own child ?? Even when the guy is fully prepared to support the child and mother ??

Case 2 (different people)

Is it a scam after being paid a large sum to take the kids to the west for the summer she contacts the police, says he kidnapped them, and the man now cannot return to where he owns property and business without threat of imprisonment ??

Would we call those kind of action scams or just plain nasty ??

Those things are just nasty. For case # 2, to avoid this he should have gone to the Amphur with her and get a consent form. Where are the kids now?

Its a horrible story but its not mine so wont go into the details.

But over the years I have seen a few of these, and the way the law is (as I understand it) if your not married when you have the kid, even being the father on the birth cert counts for little.. A friend had to go through a lot of work to become the legal guardian of his own boy after the mother went super nasty (paying off duty cops to come threaten him with guns and tell him he would die if he stayed on Phuket). He did in the end succeed tho.

[LivinLOS]

I dont think corruption and scams are not the same thing.

• [*]If I pay someone in customs a small amount so he clears my items twice as fast and it costs me less I dont class that as a scam either.

But what if without the payment he wont clear them at all ?? Or if the laws / categories are so vague that without the payment he will slap on a 30% luxury goods tax, that isnt normally due, but you cant do anything about if he does ??

Or taking everyones high value motorbikes (like they did last year) and demanding money (excise tax) that sometimes wasnt legally due, to give them back ?? And then when the back taxes were paid, never made a record of the payment in the book so that the same scam can be done again at a later date ??

I would think those are pretty 'scammy' myself.

[NamKangMan]

So, you were ripped off years ago as a tourist. I hope your vote on the poll reflected this. Welcome to the club. It's a big club and growing by the day. No need to be ashamed of it. :) :) It's Thailand - LOS (Land of Scams).

You're missing the point. I didn't get ripped off. I knew how much they were. I knew they were quite expensive, but I was a tourist with pockets full of money so I didn't let a £5 taxi ride ruin a fantastic holiday. I happily paid it and, found the drivers very friendly. When I started to spend more time here they were too expensive so I made other arrangements, no dramas what so ever.

No. You are missing the point.

"they were too expensive so I made other arrangements" - but you never modified your behaviour???????????????????? What do you call "made other arrangements then?"

The question is WHY are they expensive? It's because they collude to create a monopoly and that is the scam.

It's the 5 quid that the tourist are still paying, as you did, that still makes it a scam. In comparison, you can go north, south, east or west in Pattaya on 10 baht - baht buses, however, Phuket is still stuck with a lack of affordable transport due to the reasons mentioned above.