Tuesday, June 16, 2009

“The Land of Thousand Scams”.

Dear Sir,

We would like to seek your kind assistance in obtaining refunds for gem purchases made in Bangkok, as we believe we are victims of a gem scam.

It happened on 4th June 2009. We had just arrived in Bangkok, waiting for the night train to travel up to Chiang Mai. Our plans were to visit the National Museum, the "Sitting Buddha" statues, and other tourist attractions in Bangkok.

When we arrived at the National Museum, we found notices put up at the entrance. A kind Thai man told us that the Royal family had come to visit, and therefore the place was closed. We were then directed to a gem selling place by him, and there was supposed to be a one day only gem export promotion.

The name of the gem company is Erawan Lapidary, and the salesman who greeted us was named Roy. We were told that all their gems were genuine quality products, and came with certifications of authenticity. My friend and I each bought a sapphire gem set, which consisted of a pair of sapphire ear rings, a ring and a pendant, all in gold setting. The price of these items was 52,000 baht per set.

Upon returning home, we happily presented these gifts to our mothers only to disappoint them when someone pointed out that the gems were of very inferior quality. We had them checked at the local jewellery shop, and they confirmed our fears. These gem sets we have now are not genuine quality products which was promised to us.

Subsequently, we did some research on the internet and found out that many had fallen to similar scams over the last 5-10 years. Sadly, none of them was publicised to educate and warn the public. It would sadden many to learn that “The Land of Thousand Smiles” is actually more like “The Land of Thousand Scams”.

We are dismayed to know that many people are involved in this scam, and they are doing it openly in public. Thus, we have decided to relate our unpleasant experience to the general public through the media. We hope to create an awareness of such scams, so as to prevent more people from falling into them, and stop these scammers from flourishing at the expense of the ignorant public.

We would like to seek your help to get a full refund for our purchases. I can make a personal trip down to Bangkok to bring the gems back for refund and log a report with the Thai tourist police if necessary.

I deeply appreciate if you can get back to me on the next course of action.

1 comment:

BBG said...

This may be of some help: http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Scams/sapp56.shtml