Who Foots the Bill?

[Asiaphile]

A few months ago the mains water pipe that runs in front of our house burst. The guys that the water company sent to do the repairs dug it out, replaced the broken pipe, and then filled up the hole with a concrete mixture.

It now appears that this concrete layer was not thick enough because the hole caved in right in front of our gate.

I told my wife to call Amphur to report the damage but she said that it would be no use because they wouldn’t do anything about it. According to her it is up to us to contract somebody to come and repair the road like anybody else does. I don’t understand why we have to do that since it is a public road and we didn’t cause the damage. She told me that’s the way things work in Thailand.

I find this hard to swallow. Is it true?

[jai yen yen]

I asked my Thai wife and she said the city should take care of it as long as you did not cause the damage and it is not on your property.

[semperfiguy]

A few months ago the mains water pipe that runs in front of our house burst. The guys that the water company sent to do the repairs dug it out, replaced the broken pipe, and then filled up the hole with a concrete mixture.

It now appears that this concrete layer was not thick enough because the hole caved in right in front of our gate.

I told my wife to call Amphur to report the damage but she said that it would be no use because they wouldn’t do anything about it. According to her it is up to us to contract somebody to come and repair the road like anybody else does. I don’t understand why we have to do that since it is a public road and we didn’t cause the damage. She told me that’s the way things work in Thailand.

I find this hard to swallow. Is it true?

Asiapile, I get the same sort of responses from my wife. It seems to be ingrained in the Thai psyche that if one doesn't know the answer it's okay just to guess or assume rather than pick up a phone and inconvenience somebody on the other end. Or God forbid walk into a government office and actually confront someone with the problem. Very frustrating to say the least!

[parrot]

A few months ago the mains water pipe that runs in front of our house burst. The guys that the water company sent to do the repairs dug it out, replaced the broken pipe, and then filled up the hole with a concrete mixture.

It now appears that this concrete layer was not thick enough because the hole caved in right in front of our gate.

I told my wife to call Amphur to report the damage but she said that it would be no use because they wouldn’t do anything about it. According to her it is up to us to contract somebody to come and repair the road like anybody else does. I don’t understand why we have to do that since it is a public road and we didn’t cause the damage. She told me that’s the way things work in Thailand.

I find this hard to swallow. Is it true?

Asiapile, I get the same sort of responses from my wife. It seems to be ingrained in the Thai psyche that if one doesn't know the answer it's okay just to guess or assume rather than pick up a phone and inconvenience somebody on the other end. Or God forbid walk into a government office and actually confront someone with the problem. Very frustrating to say the least!

Reason #1092 to learn Thai.

[Stantheman]

Talked to my wife. she said if you know someone at the govt office that handles strret repairs or maybe the water dept, you can possibly get it done. But if you don't and contact govt yourself goodluck getting it done in timely manner if at all. Tht is why if hole is problem most Thais just pay to get it done themselves.

[FrazeeDK]

of course, the local village chief (PhuYai Ban) is a resource if he happens to be community oriented (ours is not).. At the very least he should know who in the local Tessaban is responsible for street repairs, light repairs, etc... I've had mixed responses from the local Tessaban.. We had nagged our PhuYai Ban for several months to get the street light in front of our place fixed.. Nada.. When we saw the Tessaban bucket truck repairing lights about 2km from our house, we stopped and talked to them.. They came over within 30 minutes, fixed the lights and refused a tip... On the other hand, we've been solicited for "donations" to feed a 20 person squad of Tessaban "cleaners" that periodically come into our area trimming trees back and cleaning up our local park.. A total bunch of layabouts that do a crap job....

[FrazeeDK]

of course as disjointed as the Thai bureaucracies are perhaps the Tessaban has nothing to do with the water supply.. There's probably a Provincial Water Department just like there's a Provincial Electrical Adminsitration (PEA)..

[Asiaphile]

... contact govt yourself goodluck getting it done in timely manner if at all...

That pretty much sums up my wife's reasoning.
Her philosophy is that it sure is the Tessaban's street, but it's our hole, meaning we're the ones inconvenienced by it and not the Tessaban so they won't be in any hurry to repair it.
Well, I guess I'll do as the Romans do and find myself someone to do the repairs.

[Sakhonnick]

welcome to the land of smiles

[glalt]

We had a water leak in our yard before the meter. They came and fixed it and covered the digging back up. Not only did they fix it, they put the meter back on backwards. The lady who reads the meter was VERY confused with the minus reading. The guy had to come back and turn the meter around. There was no concrete involved, just a muddy hole.

[rct]

Our housing estate in a private road that opens up to a busy public road especially before and after school, Srichumchen Road. The red and white stripes on the curbs, which indicate do not even stop not to mention park for public safety reasons, had long worn off, and many drivers disregard it anyway and park, (quite often tall vehicles like pick up trucks) making it difficult and dangerous to exit our estate without killing some students whizzing by on the motrocycles.

My wife went to the Tessaban and informed them the problem, and within days they had come to repaint the stripes! Many drivers still disregard it however.

Never know unless you try!