Never hand over your passport to anyone for so called safe keeping / deposit. I would rather lose money than my passport anytime.

The scratches being newly spotted every time on returned hire things is a very old scam throughout the kingdom and applies to jet skis, cars and anything else requiring a deposit or surety. Nice little money maker for the scammers and it sucks big time especially when it involves passports thus upping the ante and the money demanded for compensation.

Your passport does not belong to you Paul, it is the property of your government and I agree with above poster!
I see so many people hand over their passports be it for work or as a deposit, you are regarded as irresponsible by your government and it is highly illegal to pass it to a third party. Pleased you got out of a sticky one there Paul and you learn as you go along, but they can clone your passport or use it themselves for illicit means. I have met a few Thai Paul Smiths in my time here lol

Say your vendor had got violent and you had to run away for the sake of your health?
Hes got your passport and you are in thailand without a passport now. Nasty situation.

If nothing else your passport is your way home.

Absolutely no way anyone gets my passport in this country or any other country come to think about it.

pighoglet

inform your embassy of the situation asap, I am sure they deal with this stuff often

I have never handed my passport over to anyone except customs and never will.

Good advice Mikey about the embassy because they will have experienced many who have handed over their passports. This will help others and is reliable advice.

Also, one has to carry their passport on them at all times when out and about in Thailand. I believe if a police officer requests to see your passport and you don't have it, you could be arrested?

Not arrested, but fined around 2000 baht and you would have to show the passport at a police station with up to date visa etc.

Best way to be safe is to carry good photocopies in colour with the visa stamp page as well, whilst not the real thing its the safest option with an offer to get the real thing on request from a police officer.

and keep your passport in a water tight case ( or zip lock bag)

especially last month with all the water crazed loonies running around

serves you right for not comming forward when returning the bike. those extra scratches were a fine for not comming clean

Harry, yes he was wrong to have tried to blag it, but do I think it would of made a difference to the amount charged, no chance mate.

......represents a nice little earner for every motor cycle and jet ski operator, getting some poor sods to pay for the same damage 100s of times. Means never having to repair it because thats the main source of income, claiming that the foreigner damaged it there and then.

If it was repaired then it would make no money for the operators, far better to leave it damaged and accuse everyone who rents it of damaging it.

Use that digital camera you have to take pictures of damage and show the operator before you rent that item, get their agreement or you dont part with a baht.

pighoglet makes a good point, but its not just the scamming toe rags you have to worry about, what if you have an accident God forbid!

"Use that digital camera you have to take pictures of damage and show the operator before you rent that item, get their agreement or you dont part with a baht."

Or better still, don't bother renting one, its too much of a palaver having to look over your shoulder when all you want is a stress free holiday.

Would any of the people posting about never giving your passport to a bike rental shop as security care to explain what security they would provide? There are scammers on both sides, and the rental shop has no recourse if they don't have your passport.

There are lots of honest rental shops all over Thailand, just as there are a lot of idiots renting bikes without knowing how to ride them. Inspect the bike before you take it out, and note any damages present. When you return the bike, be honest about what you did. If the charges are excessive - call the tourist police.

"There are lots of honest rental shops all over Thailand"

I don't mean to be rude but, locations please?

Michael I agree with you there, dont bother renting, always other avenues of transport. Dillgaf, your passport is the property of your home office in your country it doenst belong to you at all, and going to your embassy makes you look like an idiot when there is a domestic dispute. Thailand is the land of fake, passports being one of the specialities and I for one dont want to be cloned. Identity theft is prevalent in our own land of births let alone allowing a third world country carte blanche to clone yours..
Bernard, I can give you a good example, an international car hire organisation at Udon Thani airport specialises in cloning and fraudenlent activities on peoples credit cards, this is a known fact hence, I go by pick up, bus or taxi. Saves so much stress. You think you safe going to Budget/Avis Car hire but in fact your not.

An addendum to the above. It is widely known adn advertised not to use your credit cards in restaurants and particularly petrol stations in europe, the theft is widespread, even with pin and chip. We are regressing in terms of security now, no internet banking for me!

I would say this is down to unscrupulous individuals who have access to magnetic strip technology, it is sometimes the case that these people work even at the most respectable premises in every country now augmenting their wages.

Cash is best but now most banks in Thailand are charging a 150baht withdrawal fee on top of foreign exchange and foreign bank fees for drawing money abroad as a cash advance, even on a debit card.

If you can, get a Thai bank account and only put into it what you think youll need for one month, keep the rest in your foreign bank account and if you have to pay the fees its ok if its just once a month.

Ive stopped using credit cards here as they attract a 2.5 or 3.5 percent commission and the risk for fraud is high.

It's always a risk when using credit cards in Thailand, "chip and pin" doesn't seem to have reached here yet. Safest to use in large supermarkets, also they won't charge any extra. The norm around Pattaya is 5% even in hotels.

I hired a bike In Koh Chang and actually ened up crashing it in to a small roadside ditch, but did no damage to the bike and there was no problem.

I never had to leave this guy my passport, but did have to state where i was staying, so if necessary they could have gotten my passport info from them, If i recall I left my driving licence with them and paid half on taking the bike and half when I brought it back a few days later, thats what I recommend to fellow travellers, just leave your licence with them or some other photo ID, yes you may lose it but hey for me to replace my licence is say 30 dollars an emergency passport from the embassy in bangkok maybe 250 dollars, you do the mathematics !!!

Also I will gain recommend Koh Chand, from what ive read about pattaya and phuket etc.. they seem like over commercialised tourist traps and the more commericlaised something gets the more scams, theives etc.. tend to get embedded in a place.

Koh chang obviously has foreign tourists but domestic (thai) tourists make up 66% of the visitors and its very laid back, in fact the guy I dealt with at the hire place was so laid back, he was asleep both times I went to see him !!!!

Cheers,

Chris

I remember I was with a rented bike in an Esan village when I found out the oil level was low.
I saw a shop/pub (everyone was pissed of course and they invited my for a drink or lets say pay their bills) and asked them for a bikerepair place. They pointed me one across the street. Well the only one present was sleeping on a strecher completely drunk. Took me ten minutes to wake him up. Then it took him ten minutes to make his Moh Ram noice music going. Could even get the CD in. Then he got some bottles of oil and tried to get the rest of the used oil out of the bike. He didnt succeed. I ended up lying on the dirty flour and asking him to hand me the tools and did the job myself. After that he asked me some exorbant amount of money for the job. Ik gave him 90 baht and told him to go and buy Lao Khao for it. Father on the road people asked me if I had been in an accident because my clothes were covered with dirt. ANOTHER STORY FROM THE LAND OF SMILES.

Can anyone tell me the dodgy car hire company at Udonthani airport as I will be renting a car there soon.

Thanks

Dont hire bikes in thailand there are to many scams

The easy way to avoid this scam is to take pictures of the bike and the scratches with your camera or cellphone when you rent the bike and make sure to pose the rental guy next to it. When you explain why you do it, they almost always think it's an excellent idea.

Never had any problems!

Vote with your feet. There are too many scams now but there are too many places to visit as well so give scamcentral a miss. Thailand relies on tourism but seeks to milk the "Qui Fallang" at every level.

Passports --give a photocopy and tell them you need the original as 1--You legally HAVE TO carry it at all times here and 2- You need it to cash travelers cheques.

Even if you take out optional insurance on bikes you are responsible for 50% of a total loss.If you check the agreed value of the bike before you sign you usually will find they have valued the bike at least twice the true value.A second hand bike here is worth about 20,000Bt only.

Thanks Sammie for the information on the Avis credit card fraud from Udon. That is what this site should be about.


Thanks

Unfortunately, I haven't seen very many Thai-run motorbike rental shops that don't ask for a passport as the only collateral that works. It's all good an well to say don't give it up, but what if it's that or no motorbike everywhere you go? That's the way the Thais do it, same same everywhere.

A lot of people don't get ripped off. Here's a tip: don't crash the motorbike. If you think you will, then rent the oldest, dirtiest beat up piece of sh*t you can find, and then they'll likely not care, or not spot it. New motorbikes for rent are bad news. Not trying to sound harsh, but that's life in the land of smiles, unfortunately.

Go King Travel Company on Koh Tao run this scam to a tee. When we brought the bike back the guy made a scratch with his nail and then told us we owed 2000 bhat. After some harsh words and intervention by other Thais he lowered it to 500. Dont rent bikes in Thailand its not worth the stress!

About 10 years ago i was in Phuket with my brother in law. it seemed a good idea to hire a jeep from a man at the beachside at Patong. Great we thought, open top sun shine wow. Wrong,,,,,, as i drove down a road it started to rain I braked and the car started to slide sideways then we did a 360 degree turn. I was desperate to recall all my driver training. We landed right where we started and the driver was a pale as me by now but his heart was not beating as much. No damage and no going off the road a long way down..... Parked up and with a quick look you could see that the car was crabbing (bent chasssis) slow drive back with great care. The road side man looked shocked to see us !!!! and the car. Deposit returned keys handed over,,,,, went for a long drink. LESSON, DONT HIRE get a taxi it could be cheaper. I will never take my driving license to Thailand ever again. Too much temptation and not wishing for a massive bill. Now older and very much wiser

just my two little word ..
cant getover the fact that i was PHYSICALLY THREATHENED and verbally abused by the german owner of LEDERHOSEN BIKE in koh tao. renting dirt bike and charging huge amount of baht (4500 )for a minor scratche on an island where there is 2 concrete road is just plain hypocrisy. this guy should be put out of buisiness. thanks for spoiling my hollyday you dirty bastard, regards to your little sreaming and threathening girlfriend . my two word of wisdom are AVOID AVOID

My passport is currently being held by an agency on Koh Phangan. They want 3000 BHT for a tiny tiny scratch on the very bottom of the motorbike that I didn't even do. It's not even visible!!! It's an absolute joke. Went to the police, but nothing they can do they said. I'm now scanning my brain to think of something I can do to get it back without paying the little tramp who is conning me and holding my passport hostage.... and yes I should have known better as I'm an experienced traveler. Will have to let you all know what happens with tomorrow's results!!

@Troy, just pay buddy, otherwise it might all blow up in your face. Anyway, I for one will NEVER hire anything in Thailand, its just too risky.

dont leave your license with the rental people. you might need it when u encounter the traffic police in thailand. Just find a decent shop that agrees witha photocopy of your passport or your hotel name and number even better

Advice for anyone: just take pictures of the car, bike, jetsky next time you rent it and don't live your passport (doesn't write somewhere inside you are not allowed to give it to someone else, anyway?!).
Though in your case you did actually damage the 'goods'. Now, if the guy would really replace the damaged parts with new ones, making the bike look like the way he borrowed it to you (and this sounds fare, IMHO), the price wouldn't be to big. Is he decided, however, that he doesn't want to replace anything, is not your problem, I suppose, because he can also say: No, I refuse to take the bike until YOU fix it - just give me the bike like I gave it to you; and then you'll have to do the repairs yourself and maybe you'll find it costs even more (parts mechanic, maybe paint etc.).
Conclusion: it is a scam, sometimes, to charge tourists for damages that are not real, actually, like old scratches and stuff like that (that why you should photos) but in your case I'd say is almost fair... well, maybe a little expensive, but again, consider the alternative of having to fix the damage yourself :)

Question...if fraud is so prevalent in Thailand...i.e. do not use credit cards or ATM withdrawals...does anyone have suggestions on best way to pay for hotels/meals etc? We will be in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam for 11 days and usually get cash from the airport ATMs when we travel. We rarely use Traveler's cheques these days as they are often awkward to cash in many countries. This will be our first trip to this part of the world. Any advice from seasoned travelers is very much appreciated.

ATMs are OK. Best to use one at a bank and not some random machine on the soi if you are worried.
Call your credit card company and tell them you may use your card in Thailand. I use mine for paying hotel bills.

Lesley, using your credit card abroad can be very expensive, I recommend doing some research beforehand.

i aggree with all the comments about the rip of merchants on the motorbike hire scene,i am a biker and i am trying to start a MOTORBIKE hire buisness in UDONTHANI,


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To Troy on Ko Phangan, I had the exact same thing happen to me on Ko Tao at Owen Bikes. Two of the people from there were literally squatting on the ground looking at the muffler from the ground up and telling me I scratched it. I was able to get out of the situation after walking off, they decided to leave me alone when I came back. I was thinking how I would've resolved it, because the 1155 Tourist police say just pay the fee. If you have the time I would stand in front of the shop with a large sign saying "these people will rip you off" or something like that to deter other people from renting there. I'm sure after a couple days of that, things might change.
my two scents.

If you want to rent a scooter rent from a hotel if they ask to hold your passport find another place to rent when you do have one buy a padlock and put it in one of the holes in the break rotor this will prevent the owner from stealing it when you park it and demanding the price of a new bike from you.
When you refuse to pay the bike shows up and the Police want a payoff for finding it I combat this with a story that I work for a very large company and I will tell them about this scam this usually works. The First Scam they hit you with is at the airport taxi. try to get away from the airport cheap then find a much cheaper taxi to get to where you want to go. And find a cab that speaks English and has a meter. the more information you tell him the more stuff they try and sell you like fake watches, girls , he-shes

I also had the same problem with owen motorcycles on koh tao, be warned these people are crooks

KOH TAO.. OWEN MOTORCYCLES... HAPPENED TO ME TODAY...!!!! I called the embassy they adviced me to leave my passport they... report it lost.. get a temporary passport and eventually a new passport back home...

Better than paying 13.000 baht... but I lose all the pages with visa from all the countries i've been too...

Good luck guys.. somebody should kick their but one day...

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