A while ago I was looking for stories on here about fallangs being scammed in Thailand . I expected to find lots of stories .
But I didn't .
I was particularly looking for the bulk standard stories about fallangs totally trusting their Thai girlfriend and building a lovely new home --- only to find the girlfriend had a Thai husband who would turn up after the house was completed to say " Thank you !! You can go now . "
And stories like that . But I couldn't find any .
I was looking because I wanted to find out if anybody had managed to fight back and have any legal success . And I wanted to know THAT simply because of the problems that a friend had run into .
Pseudolus urged me to tell my friend's story . I wasn't keen as it's not a new story to be telling really ............ except in this case the numbers have been phenomenal .
So let me at least Post a warning to anyone who doesn't already know about the dangers ..................
[I]This pal of mine bought a luxury standard condo in Hua Hin. His retirement home ( He's 68 ). Lovely complex on the beach . Then , while walking along the front ,he bumps into a Thai lady . Bought her lunch . Became besotted . Moved her in .
After a while she had a good idea . Buy another unit and use it for Rental income.
She helped with the Thai paperwork and translations. { Start of problems }.
It was working --- so he bought another and another . One large unit for a home . 3 small units for Rentals . After a while the income was good enough to buy a warehouse and its import/export business ..... for further income . And all the while he was in love with this much younger girlfriend and he utterly utterly trusted her .
People had their doubts about her and tried to tell him so .
Refused to listen .
Then they bought some land near Rayong .
So .........a few years further down the line I and others got an email from him .
A little bit out of the blue as he had been quiet a long while .
He had been quiet because he didn't want to speak any more to anyone who had expressed any doubts about his lady's behaviours .
Because he totally , totally and utterly trusted her .
And the email was to tell us that he had been wiped out by the lady .
He had lost all 4 condos plus the warehouse and business ( and a car ) and the land. Total loss just touching 30 Million Baht . It's not a new story but the size of the loss still astonishes me ! For a 68 year old it was everything and with no chance so late in life to restore anything .
And she had lost it all ........ gambling .
She had taken his apartment chanots and raised loans on them to get back her gambling losses --- and simply lost more . Some loans were raised privately . Some through the Thai mafia . He only found out when a Chinese woman turned up with all the correct paperwork at his large condo to tell him he must move out within 2 months .
He went to Court --- and lost .
When he emailed me he thought I was in the UK but I was in Korat so I said I would come to see him . On the way I kept thinking " How the Hell could she legally take out loans against HIS property ? " Only one thing came to my mind . Giving her Power of Attorney . I know about Power of Attorney only because I needed it when my mother became too ill in the UK . Don't even know if they have the same thing in Thailand . Turns out they do . And it turned out he had given that agreement to his Thai partner because " It would make matters much simpler dealing with Thai documentation and Thai banks " . And of course he trusted her so much.
With people that you don't trust you're not likely to put them in a position where they can hurt you . It's the people that you DO trust that have the power and who so often use it .
He lost everything . 30 Million !!!!!!!!! Moved to a 2000 Baht a month room and at 68 what are the prospects ?
It's a warning .
Wasp
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