harlequinbkk Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 Many of you are familiar with the 'survey' scam in Pattaya, where tourists are asked to be interviewed for a customer survey, which then turns out to be a pitch for time-share properties, or perhaps some other equally questionable product. Since Mr. Trink mentioned this in his latest column, I just thought I would let you know my recent experience: I was in Pattaya 2 weeks ago. On Beach Road in South Pattaya, there are the usual survey-takers lurking around, targeting likely marks as they walk by. Out of idle curiosity, I let one of them give me their spiel. He asked the questions, wrote down the answers, then invited me to draw a ticket from an envelope. My first draw was for a free BBQ dinner, which was not the jackpot prize. The surveyor looked at this for about 10 seconds in some puzzlement, then told me to draw again. This time, my luck turned for the better as I drew the jackpot prize, 1 week's free stay at some swanky hotel in Jontiem Beach. Again, the surveyor studied my ticket at some length, and then with a burst of excitement, he told me I had won the big prize. He shook my hand and asked me to wait while his supervisor came to talk to me. Well, the supervisor took over at this point. She was not a Thai, but rather a South Asian who spoke fluent English (U.K. accent). She was quite professional and well spoken. She explained that I had indeed won a free week at the hotel; all I needed to do was go to the hotel immediately to register or something. She assured me that this was all on the level, etc. I wasn't pressed for time that day, so I decided to challenge her on this. I pretended to be interested and polite, but sceptical. She was quite slick and smooth in responding to all my questions: What are you really selling? Why do I have to claim the prize immediately? Is this a pitch for a timeshare? I don't mean she answered my questions; she just weaseled out of them while remaining polite and friendly. Well, she had probably had the same conversation several dozen times. After about 15 minutes of this, it got to the point where she was just repeating herself, so I said 'No Thanks' and took my leave. The next day, I observed another surveyor doing the same routine with a tourist. Again, he was the 'Lucky Winner' of the stay at the hotel. This time, a farang man (also with a U.K. accent) came over to fill in the details. I presume from what I have read on this board that this is just another pitch for a time-share of some kind. I don't think I would have been in any danger if I had gone to Jontiem, but almost certainly it would have been a waste of a few hours. Harlequin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 There was another thread on this here before. I believe the consensus was that they try to target only tourists. My own experience was not in Pattaya, but in front of the World Trade Center here in Bangkok. Seems to be the same setup, though. I was walking in with my Thai wife, and a pretty young girl wanted me to take a survey, but when she discovered I'm a long-time resident, the survey abruptly came to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 I posted on this some months back and I got caught as I had nothing else to do. They take you to a large office type block out near Jomtien which is a sales office full of East End London guys when I was there. Those of u from the UK will know the type of guys. They are selling time share at View Talay Villas and it is a con job of the highest order. I wrote to the tourist office in Pattaya after the event but got no answer. I do not understand how they are still allowed to operate. I got caught in Feb 2002 and they were still there in June this year. Last time I interrupted three sales attempts in walking streets and the punters left as soon as I warned them, but the sales guys were very pissed off. The bastards need to be taught a lesson. Uniformguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 I don't know why you are suprised. The gem stores that scam tourists continue to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotover Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 Did I recently read in the Phuket Gazette that Thailand was going to kick out 5 or 6 foreignors for working a timeshare operation? Seems like the investigation was initiated when several people complained about their business methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monochrome man Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 I've posted about these guys before. Avoid them. There used to be lots of english guys helping the thais do the "surveying" on beach rd, both sides. Now they've disappeared and it's just the thais. But if you sit at the bars at the junction of soi 9/beach rd about 2-4pm you'll see the white guy pull up in his car and drop/collect the asian woman. One of my posts - on this board I think - related my experience of a thai female "surveyor" being stabbed - exact circs I don't know - by a farang. What they'd done to him I don't know but I saw him cuffed outside Royal Garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changnoi Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 "The bastards need to be taught a lesson" Agree, but reconsider before interfering again in one of their sales pitches. I have heard that some of the guys behind this scam are even more unpleasant than you may think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 Yes,as has been said,these " surveys " are all a scam to lure people to the View Talay Condos .I went in Feb. of this year lured by the promise of free accomodation and a free meal ( cheap charlie,me?Never ! ).Ihad to sit through about 2 hrs of high pressure and very professional sales talk where the guy ( from Liverpool )did everything except put the thumb screws on to get me to sign up.There seemed to be about 4 or 5 farang sales persons,the guy in charge had a familiar accent so I asked where he came from,turned out he used to have a double glazing business just a few miles from me in the UK !By the way,the free meal was rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedonist Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 I and others wrote about this in the thread called 'Scams' under General Discussion: Scams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovineye Posted October 16, 2002 Report Share Posted October 16, 2002 Did I recently read in the Phuket Gazette that Thailand was going to kick out 5 or 6 foreignors for working a timeshare operation? Yes, and it was because of complaints from tourists. Hope it catches on. Always remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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