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Phuket Time Share Crackdown: Checks at All Resorts, Touts Blacklist Suggested
By Prasit Tarnsirisin Thursday, June 18, 2015
PHUKET: All resorts on Phuket are to be quizzed about whether they offer time-share as the island's administrators attempt to come to terms with problems created by the holiday option.
Another idea suggested by Vice Governor Panlop Singhaseni at a meeting today is for a ''blacklist'' of time-share touts to be compiled and circulated widely, especially to Immigration offices.
The vice governor believes as much as 100 million baht in ''black money'' could be earned each year from untaxed time share payments.
Many big international resort brands are involved in time-share - often using the alternative ''vacation club'' label - but it is believed that the regular complaints received by Phuket's Damrugtam ombuds office have more to do with offers made to tourists by expat and Thai touts around Patong and Karon especially.
''I am asking Phuket's district chiefs to determine which resorts in their areas have connections to time-share,'' Vice Governor Panlop said today at Phuket Provincial Hall. ''We need to get a fix on the scale of the industry.''
Every municipality should arrest time-share touts if they act outside the law, he said.
A city law officer from Patong said there had been 208 arrests for nuisance touting in Patong in January and February - but the fine of 1000 baht was so small that most of the people arrested paid it and went straight back to work.
The vice governor suggested that the present laws were only broken when the time-share contract was broken, often some considerable time after being signed.
''What's happening here is the selling of a future option,'' he said.
He suggested an attempt by immigration officers to find out how many people were being employed in the industry by checking when touts renewed their visas.
Separating good time-share operators from the not-so-good remains a difficult task for authorities and for would-be customers.
Time share seems a good option when travellers are initially enthusiastic about a destination, but that enthusiasm can fade.
Some time-share operators offer alternative destinations in other parts of the world. School holidays remain a problem because that's when many time-share owners want to make use of the option.
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Comments
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Should be the same as Australia, you have a 2 week cooling off period there for these type of sales people, you can tell them to keep their offer at no cost to the purchaser
Just inform the consumer protection dept of your decision and no hassles no charges
Posted by
peter allen
on
June 18, 2015 16:48
Editor Comment:
There is a cooling off period in Thailand, too, I believe. That takes care of the pressure selling by some, but there can be other problems that don't surface until later. The concept works better than it once did but some people still don't find out it's not suitable for them until too late.
"We need to get a fix on the scale of the [timeshare] industry." Hasn't it been an open secret that timeshare touts operate without impunity in Patong, in spite of a huge billboard warning people not to fall for them? Is my memory failing me or what?
Phuket is becoming more and more Kafkaesque by the year. Or else I'm losing my marbles...
Posted by
Sam Wilko
on
June 18, 2015 16:51
Editor Comment:
A relatively new vice governor, Sam, and that means new explanations. As you know, there is no collective memory on Phuket.
Corruption occur on every level in Phuket Hotel business. From highest to lowest. Once I fell for (wanted to check out) a scam on the low level you can say (you have won a week free holiday if you come to a show room party)and ended up in a room for show at a hotel. Wow, it took all day and back at the sales office I nearly got a smack when I not bought anything. Anyway, I did not get the free week and had not really thought so from the start really. Four month later I just happened to check in at the same hotel. Guess what room they gave me? Oh yeah, the show room for the full price (2800 baht a night). Money straight down the pocket, jing jing.
Posted by
A Joe
on
June 18, 2015 17:10
They are so obvious riding their motorcycles it's apparent they must be paying someone to carry out their day to day ripoffs
Posted by
Sharp
on
June 18, 2015 17:54
Sharp
it appeared that these people are hired as "promoters", not real estate agents or similar, thus they can legally get working permits and work on Patong or off their motircycle...
Time-share itself is legal, so there is not much can be done by executive/enforcement authorities.
Still, it amaze me that so many people trust tales that they can get some wonder deal that is well above market , put all their saving into that etc. and so on.
Of course, for that consumer right protection laws exists.
But these people, otherwise quite normal and intelligence, often are getting sick procrastinated Stockholm sindrom, keeping their hope alive tyat "those people are honest" until the very end of the final end, and are so much reluctant to take any sensible action to enforce their rights; they are often calmed down by more than empty endless promises by time-share businesses, their brains are paralyzed to admit they have failed and extent of the failure under influence of anesthetics of lies.
It is a such psychiatric case to read various forums , some of them goes for years, that these pretty normal people try to believe when in turns to time-share in utter non-sense and awkward things; they write tyat they called someone in Chian Mai, who examined them that "John" now replaced by "Jack", their company is re-incorporated in Belize, they are now finishing all the paperwork and in 3-6 moths will be ready to proceed with refunds , if still requested.
Then these people on forums, are wondering "We invested all our retirement savings, how these time-share people can't understand that we can't lose it? Of course they understand it well, and will refund us in full".
Most of these people have zero understanding how to enforce ther legal rights, they are highly reluctant to idea of civil litigation and that they need to invest in legal fees, and yes, no guarantee about an outcome.
The best cndumer protection bureau will not be able to help these people if they don't file complain because they that time-share holding company in Belize, after being under temporary financial stress, finally sold the stock of arable land in South Sudan, and will be able to affiliate it back with RCI, or proceed with refunds. They lose few years of time, when they become ripe to file complaint , but then it is simply make zero chance of success - all companies,Johns&Jacks are gone , with their money.
Unlike "A Joe" I have made for myself a strict rule that I am not interested in any time-share globally, thus I am not interesting in any of their offers, except articles from the "Crime" section in media, and, unlike "A Joe" I have no appetite for free-riding , also on time-share offers, also even for a purpose of scientific research.
The same rule applies - no water sports(jet ski, banana , "parachute") and other risky activities, that are rendered as a service in Thailand.
Posted by
Sue
on
June 18, 2015 19:03
Editor Comment:
I think you are talking about excesses in the time share business that aren't evident often on Phuket. Mostly it's a solid business with an underbelly of irresponsibility, and a poor reputation triggered entirely by the street touts.
SUE. I was just giving a point about how timeshare touts and the hotels work together and I was hit at a low level (phone call with a promise) without being brainwashed or in a Stockholm syndrome position as a kidnapped (even as it felt so for an hour at the sales office..ha ha).You are going deep into peoples minds and assume that it is the lack of intelligence (in the heat of the moment) but most of all lack of legal advice (yours)that make people buy. You also call buyers PRETTY normal Then you continue to your rules you follow. Good for you. My point was to warn people for the toots at a low level and not far out in your john and Jack company syndrome after the customer have already bought the place.
Posted by
A Joe
on
June 18, 2015 23:18
I've sat though 2 timeshare presentations in Thailand, once as a regular dummy, the second time as a ridiculous favor for a Thai tout, a friend of the family. That speaks volumes, and large piles of it, not to mention a lack of brain cells on my part.
The worst part was enduring the 55 year old farang timeshare tout bragging about his 19 and 20 year old Thai girlfriends. Listening to his girlfriend drivel was was almost as sickening as the heated, extended sales pitch after..
Posted by
farang888
on
June 19, 2015 04:12
I have to admit I'm pretty conservative with my money so maybe I don't meet the profile of the average tourist but what are these people doing? I try to be sympathetic and I do feel sorry for them a little bit at least but honestly why would anyone with half a brain throw good money at a scheme costing thousands with a company you nothing about in a country you are just visiting without doing any research. They say a fool and his money are soon parted and they are right. There will always be idiots out there so there will always be a time share scheme or something similar to separate them from their money. All the legislation in the world isn't going to stop them.
Posted by
pete59
on
June 19, 2015 07:16
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Should be the same as Australia, you have a 2 week cooling off period there for these type of sales people, you can tell them to keep their offer at no cost to the purchaser
Just inform the consumer protection dept of your decision and no hassles no charges
Posted by peter allen on June 18, 2015 16:48
Editor Comment:
There is a cooling off period in Thailand, too, I believe. That takes care of the pressure selling by some, but there can be other problems that don't surface until later. The concept works better than it once did but some people still don't find out it's not suitable for them until too late.