TAT agencies, Bangkok ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

TAT agencies, Bangkok

Replies: 8 - Last Post: 01-Dec-2008 15:27 Last Post By: uzmaaaaa

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Posted
23-Jan-2005 23:17
by: thaigirl

Posts: 2
Registered: 23/01/05

TAT agencies, Bangkok

Hi,

Just spent a few weeks in Thailand and I felt that I should warn some people about some of the so-called TAT agencies in Bangkok. We were waiting to get into the Royal Palace when a guy came up to my boyfriend and I to help us (we were total tourists, holding a map!). We talked to him for a while and he told us that we should definitely book our accommodation and train tickets, etc. as it was peak season and especially because of the tragic tsunami, which he explained meant that everyone would be heading over to Koh Samui (where we were heading). He called a tuk-tuk for us and told him where to go and we ended up a "TAT office" where we felt we were pressured into booking there and then. It ended up that we were charged over $500 AUD too much!! Being our first time travelling, we didn't realise just how cheap Thailand really is, so you can say that we definitely got a surprise when we actually got to our accommodation and saw how much it cost compared to what we had been charged. Anyway, after a number of pretences of "I don't understand you" and "We can't get all the information for a few days" I'd had enough and went to the TAT head office, where a lady at reception knew exactly which office I was talking about because a few other tourists had had the same thing happen to them. And I've also just done a google where I found a website where someone was charged about $100 US too much! Anyway, while in Thailand, I did manage to get a call back from the people at this office who have offered me a refund - after I threatened to go to the TAT head office, the Tourist Police and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. However, I won't know if I will actually get this money until tomorrow. The office is the Suphanaphumi office located at 27-29 Soi Chaloemkhet 2, Yukhon 1 Rd, Debsirin Bangkok. It has a big TAT sign in gold inside but I didn't realise that not all offices are actual TAT offices - the actual TAT doesn't even book accommodation! I just wanted to let people know about this so that they don't fall into the same trap and lose money too!

Posted
23-Jan-2005 23:53
by: ChangNoi1

Posts: 109
Registered: 21/12/04

1

There is a different between a TAT-office and and travel-office WITH a TAT-license. All travel agents MUST have a TAT-license, but this is almost no reason for not try to ripp you off. So ALWAYS be aware .... if everything would be arranged the same way as back home it would not be Thailand anymore and you could as well stay home.

Chang Noi.

Take a look at my Blog at http://changnoi1.blogspot.com or at my photo Albums at http://picasaweb.google.com/changnoi1 or read my hotel & restaurant reviews at http://changnoihotelthailand.blogspot.com/

Posted
24-Jan-2005 00:10
by: t01hz3

Posts: 7
Registered: 01/09/04

2

I was ripped off by a travel agent with a TAT license. The tuk tuk driver only tells you 'It's TAT office.' Also, some NICE people who come to give you travel advice voluntarily and ask you to take the tuk tuk nearby to go and book your ticket 'because you have to book at least 1 week in advance. It's peak season' etc. do not have such nice intentions. Just ignore the advice!

Posted
24-Jan-2005 00:46
by: GorShar

Posts: 1,314
Registered: 25/08/00

3

This scam again... Just curious, did you ever question what the motives were of the man who "helped" you before you climbed in the tuk-tuk?

A bit of advice for your future travels. If you're ever hanging around a major tourist site, and the Palace certainly qualifies, and some stranger comes up and strikes up a conversation with you that will in some capacity require you to go somewhere and/or spend money, it will 99% of the time, be a scam. Back in your own country how many people do you know who hang around tourist areas and strike up helpful conversations with foreign tourists? And back in your home country if someone did just that you'd probably tell them to buzz off ASAP.

Stories and photos of Asia at:
http://talesofasia.com

Posted
24-Jan-2005 21:29
by: thaigirl

Posts: 2
Registered: 23/01/05

4

Thanks GorShar, I now question the motives of my "helper". As a first-time traveller and as a person who probably has too much faith in others, I of course fell for it. If it is such a well-known scam, information like this should be published in the Lonley Planet guide (forgive me if it is and I just happened to miss that vital piece of information) for virgin travellers like myself so that others can avoid being ripped off like this.

PS. Had an email this morning telling me I would be getting 11,750 baht back (about $400 AUD) so if this does happen to you - make a fuss so you can get your money back!! (Although yet to actually see the money so I won't hold my breath...)

Posted
28-Jan-2006 21:03
by: michaelstone

Posts: 1
Registered: 28/01/06

5

I thought i would share my TAT rip off experience. I think this is a scam that many of the hotels on Ko Pan Ngan must be in on. Having tried to phone ahead for bookings on te island and told they were full or charging large fees I decided that there probably wasn't a chance of reasonably priced accomodation. So I gave up until we went to a TAT liscenced agent to ask about such trips. We were told that all accommoation was full, but he had a friend in one of the resorts (if I hadn't been trying to book already I would have been more suspicious). He told us he could get us a simple room with a bed and bathroom (all we wanted). Fine. Assuming that accommodation was hard to come by we payed more than we thought was appropriate. When we got to the place the extent of the rip off was evident. We were overcharged at least AU$500 for our crappy hut. Plus there were others available, plus crowds of people at the docks on arrival trying to sell accommodation.

My advice: treat any travel agency as you would anyone trying to sell to you in the markets. Bargain, and if you don't like it walk away. Don't book through gran palace travel centre with anyone who identifies himself as Mr S.

Posted
15-Aug-2006 01:48
by: BangkokOfficer

Posts: 5
Registered: 15/08/06

6

One obvious thing about the "fake" TAT license is that it's normally written as "T.A.T." license no.xxx . Some of them did exist but their registered numbers have expired years ago. Be careful about that too.

Posted
22-Aug-2008 04:31
by: somename_somegame

Posts: 1
Registered: 22/08/08

7

the same thing happend to us....
tuktuk driver took us to this angency, we booked and then realized that it really was too much money! this agency is only fishing unknown tourist out and tries to sell you trips hotels and flights for prices about 4 times that high as usual!
so we went to the tourist police and went to the TAT-agency suphanaphumi in bangkok and talked to the manager.
on the papertickets they wrote that they were not refundable but while we were talking it seemed, he rather wanted to give us money back, because we told him we would sue him if something would go wrong while travelling (in the internet we found some posts that the vouchers were not valid).
so we bargained and in the end we got our money back minus 22%... about 14000 baht bereavement!!!
but still we think that it was better to get the money back because we would never have paid that much as we paid at this agency... we calculated about 2000 baht a day per person, still without (!!!) food!
you should really stay away from there and if you have booked trips, go to the tourist police, ask them to come with you and go to suphanaphumi travel ltd and try to get your money back!

Posted
01-Dec-2008 15:27
by: uzmaaaaa

Posts: 1
Registered: 01/12/08

8

Aaargh, why are this company still going?! The exact same thing happened to me and my two friends: we were approached by a "volunteer" outside the Grand Palace who hailed us a tuk tuk, we spoke to a "local" outside an attraction that the tuk tuk driver took us to while he was "at the toilet" and this man advised us to book with the TAT who, as we all know now, don't actually book things for you.
We ended up paying 27853 Baht(£419) each for rooms and travel for 2 weeks and only realised we'd been ripped off when we got the documents sent to our hotel and saw that they hadn't booked what we'd asked for.
We went to the Tourist Police who seemed quite unhelpful and unwilling to listen so then we went to the TAT headquarters who sent us to the Office of Tourism and Development. There we met with 5 lawyers who said they'd dealt with the company only the week before and they pointed out that the company had 2 licence numbers, indicating it's been revoked at some point. They took a statement from us and took us to a police station to make a formal complaint. The lawyers and a policeman then accompanied us to the travel agency for a showdown with the owner! It ended up in a yelling match between myself and the owner and he was only willing to give us back 30000 out of 83559 Baht along with our travel bookings and, in addition to this, he wanted us to sign forms saying we wouldn't take any further action! We refused and left and the lawyers said they would try to get our money back.
I paid for myself and one of my friends with my credit card so called my bank to let them know what happened so they sent me forms to claim the money back and 2 and a half months after I sent the forms back, I got a letter saying the dispute went in our favour :o) . Don't you just love a happy ending!

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