Deposits and Bookings

[Guest shockdevil]

Earlier this year I booked a room at an apartment complex in Pattaya. In March 2008, I personally went to the apartment complex and deposit of 5,000 THB for a one-bedroom apartment; I received a receipt and flew back to my home country believing that all was in order for my upcoming trip. I was preparing for my trip to Thailand and called the property to give them flight information, arrival time to resort, etc, they say, “We do not have booking for you. We are new owners of resort and your booking must have been cancel. We are now fully booked and you have to contact old owners for your money.” I would have been more upset had I arrive in Pattaya with my luggage after a long journey to hear there is not room for me at the inn. Has this happened to anyone before and what recourse might I have?

[Gaybutton]

what recourse might I have?

 

In Thailand? You do know what "fat chance" means, don't you? The only thing you can do that will get you anywhere is to contact the previous owners and hope they are honest. If not, then unfortunately you can kiss 5000 baht goodbye. There's really nothing much else you could do, especially if you don't live here. A letter from a Thai attorney might help, but it would probably be ignored.

[PattayaMale]

I don't know about the law in Thailand but I would think that when a business is bought the assets and liabilities are always part of the sale. If you paid by credit card I would call them for assistance. If you have a receipt marked paid I would fax it to the new owners and suggest that if not honored you would stop at the police station when you arrive. If it will work or not I have no idea.

 

It brings up another question. What happens to paid deposits when people can't get here to to the airport closures? If a person does not have travel insurance I would think the business has a right to keep the funds but will probably do what they can to accommodate a change in date but not a cancellation. This is tough for both the small business and customer.

 

Has anyone had this problem yet?

[Guest]

I may have that problem shortly, depending on how things go with flight availability.

 

However I never pay more than a modest deposit, so it will not be a problem.