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Rip off B*stards!!!


PiAnt
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Riding home a couple of weeks ago, flat out down the expressway there on the Mio, the drive belt broke rather dramatically leaving me coasting along. Luckily I managed to drift round the big corner there onto Ramintra and made it to the motorbike taxis, where I got one to push me to a little bike repair shop about 1km up the road.

Anyway, they repaired it, purposefully showing me an original Yamaha drive belt they would fit, and other parts they said were original. It took maybe an hour, during which time I watched the traffic etc, not paying that much attention to what they were doing.

I paid 900 Baht for it, which I thought, having had this replaced before, was a lot, but hey, what're you gonna do when you're stuck, and set off. It felt a bit tight, which I concluded must be just the new belt and it would loosen up a bit in a few days.

Well, it didn't, and last week it started making noises, so I took it to where I would normally go, and they took the back end apart, revealing a copy drive belt (which was already fraying!) and copy bits. Not the original Yamaha parts I thought I was getting. They replaced the parts, again, with original ones, the bill this time coming to 550 Baht.

I'm not particularly pissed off at the 900 Baht, that's a tank of petrol on my other bike, but I'm really pissed off that they took the trouble to actually show me original Yamaha parts, and when my back was turned, they did the slight of hand thing and shafted me, with big, smiling, lying faces, and probably had a good laugh afterwards.

Well, this time, I'm not going to forget it. It's just one time too many. This will cost the motherf*ckers more than the skanky 900 Baht they think they got away with stealing from me.

Edited by PiAnt
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I know a car repair shop in germany where they frequently overcharge their customers for stuff that wasn't even damaged but is still on the bill, spare parts etc, really easy, especially female customers...

I have been ripped of plenty of times in Thailand, from Police to (motorbike) taxis to car repair shops and whatnot (luckily I haven't rented a jet ski yet), it sucks everytime but nothing we can do, you need to be alert, cautious and careful on every single little step here.

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Pi'Ant, I think that the relatively new Consumer Protection law is designed just for you. Check it out, you may be surprised that you get a result.

I didn't know about this, and to be honest I'd be really surprised if he does get a result out of it (especially as a farang lodging a complaint). Maybe I've been living here too long, but it just seems like another half-assed attempt at looking legitimate.

People living in Thailand will soon be provided with greater consumer protection. The Government will establish consumer protection coordinating offices in all regions of the country to protect people from being exploited by unscrupulous traders.

The decision was made recently during a meeting of the Consumer Protection Board, chaired by Minister to the Prime Ministers Office Chousak Sirinil, in his capacity as Chairman of the Consumer Protection Board.

A total of nine coordinating offices for consumer protection will be set up within a period of five years, from 2009 to 2013. At the initial stage, the first coordinating office will be formed in Bangkok by next year and the remaining eight offices will be set up in the provinces in the next few years. This project aims to enhance the capacity of consumer protection mechanisms and empower local administrative organizations, so that they will work with greater efficiency in providing fairness to the people and protect them from exploitation. It will help strengthen Thailands overall economy and ensure its sustainable development.

The Consumer Protection Board has issued an announcement requiring used cars to be label-controlled goods. The announcement will take effect on 31 August 2008. From that date, dealers of used cars need to display labels on their cars on sale, with all relevant details, such as the day of registration, registration number, the name of brand, the color of the car, the type of fuel, and the name of previous owners. Violators will be subject to a jail term of up to six months, or a fine of up to 50,000 baht, or both.

The Consumer Protection Board has sent officials to give advice on label-controlled goods to traders for a certain period. It has also appointed a subcommittee to prevent and crack down on violations of consumers rights. The subcommittee is sending its staff to follow up on the displaying of labels on used cars, before the announcement of the Consumer Protection Board takes effect.

The Office of the Consumer Protection Board is a government agency attached to the Office of the Prime Minister. Its main duties are to handle complaints received from consumers and institute legal proceedings when an infringement of consumer rights is recognized. The Office covers three major areas of consumer protection: consumer protection against misleading advertising, protection against false labeling, and protection in contracts.

The protection of consumers in Thailand is regulated by the Consumer Protection Act, which calls for the protection of the rights of consumers and aims to prevent businesses from deceiving consumers. According to the law, consumers have the rights to full knowledge about the goods that they are purchasing, or the services they are obtaining, so that they will be provided with full protection.

Thailand "consumer protection"

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Pi'Ant, I think that the relatively new Consumer Protection law is designed just for you. Check it out, you may be surprised that you get a result.

Cheers mate, makes very interesting reading, though I can foresee a couple of problems in that, although I have the handwritten receipt they gave me, I didn't think (until afterwards), to retain the parts they fitted when I replaced them, as I cast them aside in disgust, and I'm not sure what the coppers' reaction would be if I walked into the station and asked to file a complaint under this law for the princely sum of 900 Baht.

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