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Bangkok infamous Grand Palace tuk-tuk Gem Scam The previous post, Places to visit and things to do in Bangkok – Part 2 mentioned about Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. The photos taken was actually the second trip to Grand Palace. During the first trip, it was intercepted and I was diverted to somewhere else. Participated in Ocean’s One fine early morning, I walked to the Grand Palace and it appeared to be closed. Although my sixth sense told me I probably went to the wrong side and that the entrance should be somewhere else, a fine young man passed by and politely asked if I was visiting the Grand Palace and if I’m a Thai. He said that usually the palace is open for visit from 8.30am but on that particular day, there was a ceremony and only Thai people are allowed to enter. I should come back at 12pm. At the meantime, he recommended a few places nearby which are Standing Buddha temple, Sitting Buddha temple and a wholesale factory. He also informed me that the Thai Tourism is running promotion for tourists, and Tuk-Tuk gets free gasoline from the government to bring tourists around at a mere 20 baht per hour! He easily flagged a tuk-tuk that passed by and told him the places to visit and for three hours to charge me 60 baht only. At such a cheap fare, I hopped onto the tuk-tuk without any second thought! Thanking the ‘Good Samaritan’, the photo above shows him continuing his journey while I went on board for temple visits. First stop was the Standing Buddha temple, which is actually Wat Indrawiharn. There weren’t many visitors, a few European tourists and some locals too. The tuk-tuk driver was still waiting outside when I got out. He then dropped me at a Sitting Buddha temple. I have no idea what is the actual name and this time, there weren’t any visitors in the temple, save for a ’security person’ that take cares of the place. The temple actually consists of two sides with the Buddha statues in both of them. Each has a ’security person’ and in short, both recommended a visit to the factory that sells jewellery. It is a wholesale or factory that is usually not open to the public. It is now open to public for a seven day sale to attract visitors as the number of tourists to their country are diminishing through protest and bad economy. The sales are tax free and they are certified jewellers, and the goods can be refunded in foreign countries through Thai embassy. Since it wasn’t that all interesting to visit any other temples, I then told the tuk-tuk driver that I would like to pay the factory a visit. The driver acknowledges and drove straight to a gem store. I had photos of the temple ’security person’ with a wide smile, the tuk-tuk driver and the gem store entrance. However, I figure this time around I shouldn’t publish them. Gem Store or Factory Upon arriving the gem store, a sales person opened the door, invited me in and briefed that they are certified and their goods are meant for wholesale, usually sold to shops in shopping complex (MBK) and not to the public directly. He asked what is my budget and I told him I was only looking around, but long story short, I selected some and swiped my credit card for them. Their service is so good that the sales person offered to secure my purchase there for safekeeping and to send a driver to pick me up before my return flight to collect them. He advised that I should not take tuk-tuk or taxi as they will be given commission if they send me there. I proceeded to seal and sign the envelope and then left the shop. On the way back with the tuk-tuk, although I had some doubts about the purchase and the so-called promotion, I figured if it is a scam and the it started in the early morning from the first person I met at Grand Palace, that would be an Ocean’s 11 (ok, five only) type of scam. Don’t you think so? And I did told you earlier that I participated in the Ocean 5. Yes, it was an elaborate type of scam. I cannot believe myself that they are all linked! A syndicate. Reveal of the Scam The turning point was when I went back to the hotel, I : 1) Asked the receptionist if there’s such thing as tuk-tuk promotion for tourists (they said no, and most likely is a taxi or tuk-tuk group that run such campaign) 2) Got into the room and called Grand Palace number, they said they are not closed in the morning and open everyday! 3) Search the internet with the gem store name and boom…. list of tourists asking if the Gem Store is legit and they got diverted in their tourist attraction and cheap tuk-tuk trips to temples just like what happened to me! Realization I am now CONFIRMED a fool. Well, to my consolation, I did not take the goods earlier and I thought I could just cancel the transaction and everything will be fine. Another PITA I made a call to Maybank (long haul call, from Bangkok to Malaysia) gone through the automated voice system for ‘Credit Card’ and got waiting for 15 mins. I got impatient as I knew it like the back of my hand that I will have to wait for cows to come home for calls to be attended to during working hours. Next thing I did was I selected the Report Lost Card option and told them I got a fraud transaction and heck they transfer me to the ‘Credit Card’ department again. This time I waited for one whole freaking hour. 60 minutes to be exact! I called Maybank and selected the Report Lost Card option again and started to raise my voice that I’m calling from Bangkok and I took one whole hour waiting without anybody attending to me. This time the customer service at the other end diverted me to the next available personnel for credit card and I was then attended to. Unfortunately, the transaction has been posted. That’s quick considering some merchants only post the transaction at the end of the day or the next day. So the only way for me is to call the merchant requesting them to void the transaction. Just so you know, the calls to Maybank costed me more than 1000 baht, yeah, just to WAIT for them to attend to me, because the operators are STILL busy, and they will attend to me SHORTLY while all the operators are always STILL busy, and I will be attended to SHORTLY…. So, the next most important thing to do is to call the Gem Store requesting them to void my transaction. This is tricky. How do you get back to the person who made such a elaborate scam to get your money and then for them to refund you back? Do or die. They did ask me what was the problem and I just said I need my credit back into my card, and since the goods are still with them, I wouldn’t be travelling over to the store get a refund. Luckily, the second call to them was successful and the guy at the other end confirmed that the transaction has been voided. I did a check with Maybank again (only successful the next early morning around 6am) to verify that the transaction doesn’t exist anymore. Beware So I’d just like to share my foolishness to you, as a lesson for all, that while you do search for places to visit on the internet, try searching with SCAM keyword too. Apparently, this Grand Palace and Gem scam has been dated as old as 2003! I only have myself to blame. When I Googled for the scam stories, it seems that many had fallen into such scams and some even had more trouble getting their money back. I should be considered fortunate. Some of those worth reading: Top 10 Scams in Thailand Bangkok Tourist Traps Bangkok Warnings The Great Tuk-Tuk Scam! Bangkok and the gems set up… This Ain’t No Magic Carpet Ride… I have learnt my lesson, please do not fall into the same trap.
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Bangkok sramotno Grand Palace tuk-tuk Gem muljaža Prethodni post, Mjesta za posjetiti i stvari koje treba učiniti u Bangkoku - Dio 2 spomenuo o Grand Palace i Wat Phra Kaew. Fotografije snimljene zapravo bio drugi izlet u Grand Palace. Tijekom prvog putovanja, to je presreo i sam bio preusmjeren na neko drugo mjesto. Sudjelovao u Oceanovih Jednog lijepog rano ujutro, otišao sam do Grand Palace i činilo se da se zatvori. Iako me moja šesto čulo Rekao sam vjerojatno otišao na krivu stranu i da je ulaz trebao biti negdje drugdje, fini mladić donio i pristojno pitao ako sam bio u posjetu Grand Palace i ako sam tajlandski. On je rekao da se obično palača je otvoren za posjete od 08:30, ali na taj dan, bilo je svečano i jedini Tajlandski ljudi smiju ući. Trebao bih se vratiti na 12:00. U međuvremenu, on je preporučio nekoliko mjesta u blizini koje stoje Buddha hram, sjedi Buddha hram i veleprodaja tvornicu. Također me je obavijestio da je tajlandski turizam radi promocije za turiste, a Tuk-Tuk dobiva besplatno benzina od vlade da donese turista oko na samo 20 bahta po satu! On je jednostavno označena tuk-tuk koji je donio i rekao mu mjesta za posjetiti i tri sata da mi naplatiti samo 60 bat. Na takav jeftini vozarina, uskočio sam na tuk-tuk bez razmišljanja! Zahvalivši na 'Good Samaritan', slika gore pokazuje mu nastavlja svoj put dok sam otišao na brodu za hrama posjeta. Prva postaja bio Stalni Buddha hram, koji je zapravo Wat Indrawiharn . Nije bilo mnogo posjetitelja, nekoliko europskih turista i neki mještani previše. Vozač tuk-tuk i dalje je čekao vani kad sam izašao. Potom mi je pao na sjedi Buddha hram. Nemam pojma što je stvarna ime i ovaj put, nije bilo posjetitelja u hramu, osim za "sigurnosti osobe" koje uzeti briga za taj mjestu. Hram se zapravo sastoji od dvije strane s Buddha statue u oba od njih. Svaki ima "sigurnosni osobu" i ukratko, kako preporuča posjet tvornici koja prodaje nakit. To je veliko ili tvornica koja je obično nije otvoren za javnost. To je sada otvoren za javnost za sedam dana prodaje privući posjetitelje kao broj turista u zemlju se smanjuje kroz prosvjeda i lošeg gospodarstva. Prodaja su tax free i oni su certificirani zlatari, a roba može biti vraćena u stranim zemljama kroz tajlandske ambasade. Budući da nije bilo da je sve zanimljivo posjetiti sve ostale hramove, onda sam rekao tuk-tuk vozača da se želim platiti tvornici posjet. Vozač priznaje i odvezao ravno do dragulj dućan. Imao sam fotografije hram "sigurnost osobe sa širokim osmijehom, vozača tuk-tuk i ulaza dragulj trgovine. Međutim, sam shvatiti ovaj put ne bi trebalo objaviti ih. Gem Store ili Tvornica Po dolasku u dragulj dućan, prodaja osoba otvorila vrata, pozvali su me i obavijestio da su certificirani i njihovi roba namijenjena za veleprodaju, obično prodao trgovine u shopping kompleks (MBK), a ne u javnosti izravno. On je pitao što je moj proračun i rekao sam mu da se samo gleda okolo, ali ne duljimo, sam bira neki i obrisao moju kreditnu karticu za njih. Njihova usluga je toliko dobar da je prodavač ponudio da osigura svoju kupnju tamo za čuvanje i poslati vozaču da me pokupi prije mog povratka leta da ih pokupi. On je savjetovao da ne bih trebao uzeti tuk-tuk ili taksijem jer će dobiti proviziju ako me poslati tamo. Nastavila sam zapečatiti i potpisati omotnicu, a zatim napustio dućan. Na povratku s tuk-tuk, iako sam imao neke sumnje o kupnji i tzv promocije, mislio sam, ako je to prijevara, a on je počeo u ranim jutarnjim satima iz prve osobe koju sam upoznao na Grand Palace, To bi bio Oceanovih 11 (ok, samo pet) vrsta prijevare. Ne mislite li tako? A nisam ti rekao ranije da sam sudjelovao u Ocean 5. Da, to je bio razraditi vrsta prijevare. Ne mogu ja vjerujem da su oni svi su povezani! Sindikat. Otkrij od muljaža Prekretnica je bio kad sam se vratio u hotel, sam: Upitan na recepciji, ako postoji takva stvar kao i promicanje tuk-tuk za turiste (rekli ne, a najvjerojatnije je taksijem ili tuk-tuk grupa koja pokrenuti takvu kampanju) 2) dobio je u sobu i nazvao Grand Palace broj, rekli su da se ne zatvaraju u jutro i otvoreno svaki dan! Pretraživanje interneta s dragulj dućan imenom i bum .... Popis turista pitaju, ako dragulj Store je čitljiv i dobio preusmjeravaju u turističku atrakciju i jeftinih tuk-tuk putovanja u hramovima baš kao što mi se dogodilo! Realizacija Ja sam sada POTVRĐENO budalu. Pa, na moje utjehe, nisam uzeti robu ranije i mislio sam samo mogao poništiti transakciju i sve će biti u redu. Još PITA Napravila sam poziv na Maybank (dugo vući poziva, iz Bangkoka u Maleziji) prošla automatske glasovne sustava za "Kreditna kartica" i dobio čekali 15 minuta. Dobio sam nestrpljiva kao što sam to znao kao leđa moje ruke da ću morati čekati krave doći kući za pozive biti nazočni tijekom radnog vremena. Sljedeća stvar koju sam učinio je sam odabrao opciju izvješće Lost Card i rekao im da je dobio prijevara transakciju i pakao su mi prenijeti na odjelu 'kreditne kartice' opet. Ovaj put sam čekao jedan cijeli mušičav sat. 60 minuta kako bi se točno! Nazvao sam Maybank i ponovno odabrali opciju izvješće Lost Card i počeo podizati svoj glas da zovem iz Bangkoka, a uzeo sam jedan cijeli sat vremena čekanja, bez koga polazi za mene. Ovaj put me služba za korisnike na drugom kraju preusmjeravaju na sljedećih raspoloživih kadrova za kreditnu karticu, a onda sam je prisustvovao. Nažalost, Transakcija je objavljena. To je brzo obzirom neki trgovci jedini post transakciju na kraju dana ili sljedećeg dana. Dakle, jedini način za mene je nazvati trgovca traži ih poništiti transakciju. Tek toliko da znate, pozivi na Maybank koštala me više od 1000 bahta, da, samo čekati za njih da prisustvuju na mene, jer su operateri su još uvijek zaposleni, a oni će se pobrinuti za mene kratko, a svi operateri su uvijek JOŠ zauzeti i ja ću biti nazočni na kratko .... Dakle, sljedeća najvažnija stvar za učiniti je nazvati Gem Store traži da ih poništiti moju transakciju. To je lukav. Kako ste dobili natrag osobi koji je napravio takvu razrađenu muljaža kako bi dobili svoj novac, a onda za njih da vas vratiti natrag? Učiniti ili umrijeti. Učinili su me pitaju što je bio problem i samo sam rekao treba mi moj kredit natrag u moju karticu, a budući da je roba još uvijek s njima, ne bih se putuje preko do trgovine dobiti povrat novca. Srećom, drugi poziv za njih bio uspješan i momak na drugom kraju potvrdio da je transakcija je poništen. Ja sam ček s Maybank opet (samo uspješna sljedeća rano ujutro oko 6:00), kako bi provjerili da transakcije više ne postoji. Čuvati Pa ja bih samo želio podijeliti svoju ludost da ti, kao pouku za sve, da dok to ne tražiti mjesta za posjetiti na internetu, pokušajte u potrazi sa prijevara ključnu riječ previše. Očito, ovaj Grand Palace i Gem prijevara je datirana stara kao i 2003. godine! Imam samo sebe kriviti. Kad sam u Google za muljaža priče, čini se da mnogi su pali u takve prevare, a neki su čak imali više problema s dobivanje svoj novac natrag. Trebao bih se smatrati sretnim. Neki od tih vrijedan čitanja: Top 10 prevare u Tajlandu Bangkok Turistička Zamke Bangkok Upozorenja Veliki Tuk-Tuk muljaža! Bangkok i dragulja postavili ... Ovo nije Magic Carpet Ride ... Naučila sam svoju lekciju, nemojte upasti u istu zamku.