Rip off the farang

[mortiboy]

Experience of being ripped off seeing the farang?
One has to be so careful when shopping I think.Espesially Tools, motor parts ect.
An example,last week, I went to buy new tyre,and inner tube for my M/C.went to one shop, ..".No hab, only inner tube." How much" I said. 272 baht! I said bye bye.
Went to another shop,bought tyre and inner tube 400 baht.The inner tube was 60 baht!The genuine one was 80 baht.

[747man]

Morti, Why don't you Name & Shame " The Rip-Off Place " & Tell ALL where the Good shop is...I Might need tyres for my 4x4 Soon, And will look around Nong Khai first checking ALL the Tyre Shops...& I will Name & Shame " The Baddies "

[Prenders88]

Went in Top Charoen (Robinsons branch), last week.
The screw fell out of my specs, and they have another year to run on the warranty.
Went in handed them to the guy in the white coat, who took one look at them and said.
"Cannot repair, broken, you need new frames @5000 baht." Exit with Mrs Prenders and found another branch in town who replaced the screw, no problem, sat down and waited and a beautiful assistant with legs right up to her bum gave us a glass of ice cold orange juice.

[Juan Kosoff]

Exit with mrs prenders ?

[BKKSTAN]

Morti, Why don't you Name & Shame " The Rip-Off Place " & Tell ALL where the Good shop is...I Might need tyres for my 4x4 Soon, And will look around Nong Khai first checking ALL the Tyre Shops...& I will Name & Shame " The Baddies "

I like the guy that owns the Cockpit in NK,speaks very good English and has been very helpful in the past!

[laphanphon]

good spec place in big c, downstairs, across from escalator by far front door before turning back to parking lot. had a couple pair for few years now, needed touch up, no problem, no charge, cute smile.

last time there, within a year, they gave Ree a free exam, eyes good, no sale, but the way to do it.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Why should anyone be surprised that this takes place in Thailand or anywhere else around the globe?

Some of us might remember that Canadians, Americans, English, Scots, Welsh, Australians and other farangs are pretty good at doing this to one another, and to foreigners as well.

Who cannot remember at some point in their life hearing someone in farangland saying, or thinking, I can take advantage of this guy because he/she is a foreigner and does not know our customs. Subsequently, the buyer is conned into buying an inferior product at an inflated price.

This morning the Greek cook at the high school where I work mentioned how the Greeks will cheat the tourists left and right. She gave the example of restaurants selling food at two to three times to foreigners that it would normally cost Greeks.

I am sure that I have been cheated in Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Denmark, as well as in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Burma, and yes, Thailand. It comes with the territory of being a foreigner in a foreign land.

So, no surprise here. Long-term residents, and those who can get by in the language, will (should) survive the pitfalls better.

[Khun Paul]

Yes K am sure that in many places rip of the farang is the norm, however I would like to point out it is only here that you deliberatly see signs that say Thais 20 baht Tourists 100 or more baht, that is rip off, run by the government, that I and I am sure many others will not like.

[saint]

Yes K am sure that in many places rip of the farang is the norm, however I would like to point out it is only here that you deliberatly see signs that say Thais 20 baht Tourists 100 or more baht, that is rip off, run by the government, that I and I am sure many others will not like.

if you are refering to the national parks or monuments with this statement , do you not think that most thais contribute to the upkeep of these places with thier taxes ? so logic would say that yes they should enjoy a discount over foriegners who pay no taxes here and have never contributed to them in any way . i never have a problem paying more than my wife when i visit these places , and appreciate that thailand is blessed with so many good national parks , and that they are maintained to such a good standard , which of course costs money !!!!!

[mortiboy]

Yes Totally agree! I go along with The two tier system,as long as its not blatantly abused.Based on tourist, who are here to enjoy the wonderful sites and well upkept parks.Why not pay a little bit more
After all most tourists are in a better financial position than most locals.Also we dont pay tax here.(YET)
These places need upkeep and the money has to come from somewhere!The minimal tax here hardly covers the cost.
I think ,concidering the amount of funds available,The government/council do a good job

[cali4995]

Maybe it would be easier to reward honest places who give good service at a fair price
with a little recognition. People with smiles who seem interested in running a good
business should receive more customers even if only from word of mouth or forum. I
need a new pair of specs and know I have a better idea of where to go shopping.

[BobHelm]

Will agree with LA about the place in Big C.
One of the 'nose pieces' fell off my reading glasses then one of the retaining screws vanished.
Took them there & was told it would be 200 baht to repair - which I thought was fair. The technician then took the glasses completely apart, cleaned the inside of the frames (embarrassed with the amount of filth he removed from there ), replaced both nose pieces & both retaining screws - with a drop of the Thai equivalent of "lock tight" on every screw. He had also re-polished both lenses.
I would certainly try them first if & when I need replacements...

[Prenders88]

I'd like to add that the branch of Top Charoen in Posri Road sorted me out, and gave the wife a free eye test.
=D> =D> =D>

[TFP]

Saint said:

if you are refering to the national parks or monuments with this statement , do you not think that most thais contribute to the upkeep of these places with thier taxes ? so logic would say that yes they should enjoy a discount over foriegners who pay no taxes here and have never contributed to them in any way . i never have a problem paying more than my wife when i visit these places , and appreciate that thailand is blessed with so many good national parks , and that they are maintained to such a good standard , which of course costs money !!!!!

Well, I DO pay taxes here, as do all my colleagues, but it doesn't save us from the two-tier system. And it is not only the national parks that operate it. Many privately-owned 'attractions', like the crocodile park in Samut Prakan, have one price for Thais and another for farang, despite being privately funded. I've heard the 'tax' argument from several locals, but it just doesn't fly.

However, at the end of the day, it is the individual's choice whether to pay to enter or not, or whether to buy an overpriced product / service or not. It is the belief that it is acceptable to gouge people based on their lack of local knowledge that I object to, and I find it equally objectionable whether it is a London cabbie taking the 'long route' with an unsuspecting Japanese tourist or a fruit vendor in the market deciding that a foreigner can pay a little more just because they can probably afford it.

If they are going to operate a double price, they should make it explicitly clear to the customer, so that s/he can make an informed choice. It all comes down to respecting one another as equals, not expoliting one another as resources.

[saint]

sorry to hear you pay taxes , but the majority of us farangs do not , except for VAT of course . its all well and good having eutopian principles , where everyone should be treated equal , but im afraid here in the real world , it just does not happen . at the end of the day its up to the individual to pay or not pay for whatever service they require . do you consider two bars charging differant prices for the same bottle of beer as unfair or unjust . i doubt it . but then if a thai bought that beer for a couple of baht less , you would be on your soap box , shouting discrimination . who cares .from what i can gather its also a two way street !!!! farang teachers get better pay than thai teachers . the original poster thought he was being ripped off and took his trade elsewhere . simple really , dont you think ?

[Juan Kosoff]

sorry to hear you pay taxes , but the majority of us farangs do not , except for VAT of course . its all well and good having eutopian principles , where everyone should be treated equal , but im afraid here in the real world , it just does not happen . at the end of the day its up to the individual to pay or not pay for whatever service they require . do you consider two bars charging differant prices for the same bottle of beer as unfair or unjust . i doubt it . but then if a thai bought that beer for a couple of baht less , you would be on your soap box , shouting discrimination . who cares .from what i can gather its also a two way street !!!! farang teachers get better pay than thai teachers . the original poster thought he was being ripped off and took his trade elsewhere . simple really , dont you think ?

Bloody good point, spouting about it wont change it, as it has been said on this forum before the best way is vote with your feet and give someone else your business. Good point about teachers Saint.

[rufus]

Yes K am sure that in many places rip of the farang is the norm, however I would like to point out it is only here that you deliberatly see signs that say Thais 20 baht Tourists 100 or more baht, that is rip off, run by the government, that I and I am sure many others will not like.

if you are refering to the national parks or monuments with this statement , do you not think that most thais contribute to the upkeep of these places with thier taxes ? so logic would say that yes they should enjoy a discount over foriegners who pay no taxes here and have never contributed to them in any way . i never have a problem paying more than my wife when i visit these places , and appreciate that thailand is blessed with so many good national parks , and that they are maintained to such a good standard , which of course costs money !!!!!

This comment is nonsensical. When I lived in Thailand I paid taxes, probably more than 90% of Thais. Still had to pay the western price. This is racism, pure and simple. The comment regarding farang teachers is a red herring. Farang teachers in most cases are better qualified and are native speakers. As such they do a better job than Thai teachers. you get paid for the quality of your work.

[laphanphon]

considering a retired person pays vat tax on 800 k income a year, which, not sure what is tax exempt, but that 56000 baht a year if no exemption, not counting the tax on car, motorbike and other big ticket items, i'd say we all paid our fair share of taxes. more than the majority of the population makes a year.

i really have no problem with 2 tier system, i just prefer to vote with my feet. some things i wanted to see, i paid for, not many, but the rest aren't worth the thai price. an -0- visa discount would be nice, as i wouldn't really pay to see anything again, that would be an incentive. such as the opium museum at the golden triangle, 50 % surcharge for being farang, so passed the 2nd time there. if same price, i probably would of went in. same with grand palace, one of the must sees, did it, took others to see, but doubt if i would return to pay full price again. they offer no incentive, so why bother.

[Michael C]

Most state enterprises, most temples that charge admission and many tourist venues do not have a two tier price system if you live here (year visa, not tourists), at least in the places I have visited, this includes the National Parks mentioned earlier.

So much complaining on this topic and other topics! If you don't like the price, move on! If you don't like the country, move out! One of the few things I do not like in Thailand is listening to all the foreigners complaining about the country, the people and the culture, when those that do the most complaining know the least about the country, people and culture, so I just avoid talking to most foreigners (problem solved). These are most likely the same foreigners that in their own country curse the foreigners there for not learning English and adhering to their culture.

[laphanphon]

so I just avoid talking to most foreigners (problem solved)