Friends and money

My wife has gone ''falang'' She is so upset about a ''friend'' that borrowed 370 baht from her that packed up and moved in the night ,1 day later!
The woman opened a small beauty shop very close to our house and my wife became a almost daily customer for styling,comb outs and nail colourings.A lot of the relationship was about having someone to yak yak with.The woman has 3 young children,one is a 4.0 high school student that is going to America on scholarship,her husband works for the Gov't in Bangkok.

About a month ago my wife ,embarrassingly(Because we have a family policy that we don't borrow and we don't loan money),informs me that she loaned the woman 200 baht.

My attitude was ''up to you'',be careful!Since she spends about 500 baht a week there anyway,I told her it was like paying in advance,just don't let it go over 500 baht and if it doesn't work out,you got a cheap lesson

I have been listening to my wife yak yak all night and morning!''I am so stupid'',''I know where her daughter goes to school,I can follow her'',etc.etc.

I told her,forget it!It's nothing,we just spent more than that on dinner etc.,but she is still fuming!

Betrayal sucks

Since she spends about 500 baht a week there

typical business person/thief mentality. 'i'm up 370 baht', hmm, forgot about the 500 a week she was making. same w/non friend vendors, let's overcharge the farang, when realized, don't provide repeat business.

I say, "burn me once, burn you forever". most of us, are repeat customers to the places we like and trust, somehow that idea doesn't take to some of the business people here that are only concerned about the one sale. their only sale most tmes.

most of us, are repeat customers to the places we like and trust, somehow that idea doesn't take to some of the business people here that are only concerned about the one sale. their only sale most tmes.

Happens throughout the world - not just Thailand.

typical business person/thief mentality. 'i'm up 370 baht', hmm, forgot about the 500 a week she was making. same w/non friend vendors, let's overcharge the farang,

Despite my typical cynicism, I think that you are reaching when you say "let's overcharge the farang." For someone to "take a powder" in the middle of the night would indicate that there is probably something more serious involved, rather than just ripping off the wife of a falang.

Around the world, people will charge whatever the traffic will bear. The only reason that it doesn't happen in Western countries in a blatant way is because those countries have laws that require prices to be posted and adhered to. It does happen though - but it is just much more subtle and under the 'radar of the law.'

The last couple of weeks,she was getting ''closer'' and ''closer''.Coming by the house a few times for beers and wine with my wife.She had given my wife a couple a very nice dresses(worth a lot more than 400 baht.Wife,when cooking ,would bag up some food for her and her girls etc etc..

If it wasn't for the obvious deviousness with the night move and no contact,I would wait to see if there was some kind of family emergency.
But ,I see her as a ''long term player'',initially setting my wife up for a bigger loan or ''investment''!

Great lesson for the wife!I just hate to see her become as cynical as me

I have lived in my present house for 2 1/2 years.I voluntarily pay my rent one year in advance.My landlord lives nearby and is always working around the outside of his 4 properties.My wife gives him food,talks with him daily,she weeds the soi,cleans the soi after storms,handscrubs walkways and other concrete areas,we fix every little thing in the house,put in screens and screen doors and always were under the impression that we were valued tenants and had a respectful friendly relationship with him.

When we moved in ,we had a portable A/C with us ,so I didn't put in A/C as I wanted to see how things worked out.After 2 years of not using any A/C and suffering about 10-15 days a year,I decided I would hook up our portable A/C in our bedroom to get away from the fans blowing in my eyes all night!

I told my landlord,that I needed a small hole to drain the water condensation from the compressor.He informs me that ,we will need to change the Amp. box from 5 Amps to a 15 Amp. box.''How much?''.''3000 B.''.''OK''.''Then we need to change short wires,500B''.''OK''

The amp box becomes 4600B after installed,Oh well.It is lunchtime,my wife take some food to his house as a treat,come back and informs me that the landlord will be charging us 600B a month more for rent!Still no hole for water drainage!

""What for?''
''He says that he charges the other two tenants 1200B extra for A/C's,but for us ,he charge only half,600 B''
''But the A/C's in their places belong to him!''
I talk to him get the same conversation.Since I have my own A/C,he is only charging me 600B!
After a long discussion and him not changing his position.I told him that it was not fair and I would not pay it!
He says''OK,you don't pay but you can not use A/C''!
I said ''Ok ,refund my 4600B for the Amp box''!
''No can do''

What is it with these people?They have no respect for falangs at all.There is no friendships,they are only looking to take advantage anyway they can and have no appreciation for anything we have done for them in the past

(Sorry to be so late getting around to reading this)

Stan,

That might not be a case of a Thai burning a farang as much as it is a failure to appreciate his way of thinking. Quite likely, your landlord would have done the same with a Thai.

There are Thai business people who have gone out of their way to give me (a farang) what I consider a fair or better than fair deal. I would say that those who went the extra mile to make sure I got a fair shake far outnumber those few who caused grief and exasperation.

BKKSTAN wrote::lol: I have lived in my present house for 2 1/2 years.I voluntarily pay my rent one year in advance.My landlord lives nearby and is always working around the outside of his 4 properties.My wife gives him food,talks with him daily,she weeds the soi,cleans the soi after storms,handscrubs walkways and other concrete areas,we fix every little thing in the house,put in screens and screen doors and always were under the impression that we were valued tenants and had a respectful friendly relationship with him.

When we moved in ,we had a portable A/C with us ,so I didn't put in A/C as I wanted to see how things worked out.After 2 years of not using any A/C and suffering about 10-15 days a year,I decided I would hook up our portable A/C in our bedroom to get away from the fans blowing in my eyes all night!

I told my landlord,that I needed a small hole to drain the water condensation from the compressor.He informs me that ,we will need to change the Amp. box from 5 Amps to a 15 Amp. box.''How much?''.''3000 B.''.''OK''.''Then we need to change short wires,500B''.''OK''

The amp box becomes 4600B after installed,Oh well.It is lunchtime,my wife take some food to his house as a treat,come back and informs me that the landlord will be charging us 600B a month more for rent!Still no hole for water drainage!

""What for?''
''He says that he charges the other two tenants 1200B extra for A/C's,but for us ,he charge only half,600 B''
''But the A/C's in their places belong to him!''
I talk to him get the same conversation.Since I have my own A/C,he is only charging me 600B!
After a long discussion and him not changing his position.I told him that it was not fair and I would not pay it!
He says''OK,you don't pay but you can not use A/C''!
I said ''Ok ,refund my 4600B for the Amp box''!
''No can do''

What is it with these people?They have no respect for falangs at all.There is no friendships,they are only looking to take advantage anyway they can and have no appreciation for anything we have done for them in the past

It could be that he is half/quarter chinese - those bast.ards really know how to screw you.

Well the stories about the ''nice''hairdresser are rolling in
Everyone in the neighborhood are yak yakking about what she did or didn't
do that caused her to need money so much that she would borrow from customers and neighbors and move away in the middle of the night!
Old woman across the street is claiming to have loaned her 15,000 and others ,various amounts!

One of her stories to my wife was that she had loaned a friend 300,000 that skipped on her.Now the big story is that some rich locals were fronting her money to loan through her business and to customers and she wound up in the hole ,the locals are after here to pay the money and the interest!!

Her mother just died and after the funeral was the night move.I knew it had to be more than a piddling 370 baht.For this woman is a great interacter with her children and the oldest child is an agressive learner and very very bright!Tops in her local school and was presented a gov't scholarship to go to school in America.

It is just a bad practice to finance peoples dreams,aspirations and needs,when there is not real competency involved to payback!

My policy is I don't borrow and I don't loan,lets just be friendly acquaintances