Just posting this message to notify those people thinking of travelling to Thailand. This is my second time to Thailand and my friend and I decided to book some of our accomodation and transport through what is called the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT). Normally I dont have time to come on this site on my vacation and complain about something, but when someone decieves you and basically steal's $300 from your pocket I think its worth while sending the message out to others not to go to the TAT! For those who have'nt been to Thailand there are TAT offices situated all over Thailand and they book anything from plane tickets to treks in the jungle. Basically what happened was that we were told one thing, for instance accomodation at one place (Weangthai Resort) was gona cost us $30 a night on Koh Phangan but what really happened was she booked us out at $120 a night which is insanley expensive for Thailand at the Weangthai Resort which sure as hell aint no resort its just another crappy guesthouse!!! The only reason I know this is because we went back there to try and reason with them and get some money back, but to no avail they wouldn't refund anything. I understand people
in Thailand need to make money and the lady there needs to make commission but after it was all said and done after paying her I did the math myself and figured out approximatley what all this would cost and I figured we were short at least $300 each (and thats being generous) so she pocketed $600 in a matter of minutes. I guess we are those stupid rich tourist they just love to feast on but hopefully anyone who does decide to read this will definatley not go to the TAT for anything because it was the worst decision I've made this entire trip along with many other unhappy travellers with similar stories.
Reply to this Are you sure this was TAT? Cos there are a load of fake TAT offices in Bangkok....alot of tuk tuk driver will take you to one...and they are well known to rip people off.
TAT is more like a government department that promotes tourism in Thailand and travel agents and companies become members and display the TAT sign in the window.
Reply to this Ya good point. I've been told there is one main TAT office where there are train tracks just across the road from it and it's suppose to be legit. I'm pretty certain I went to that one the first time I was in Thailand and things actually worked out okay. It wasn't the cheapst of deals but we sure as hell didn't get ripped off like I did the second time. I understand there are hundreds if not thousands of them making it an easy decision for me to just avoid any TAT office all together mainly because if they are phony TAT's they will just lie anyways and I'm not sure how to determine if they are legit or not so im not going to take my chances! Along with that I've been talking to fellow travellers and I havn't heard one positve story about the "TAT", which just ensures me not to bother with any TAT office fake or not. For the record though, the one I went to where I got ripped off is in Rambuttrrii village square right beside the Rambuttrrii Hotel and I think there name along with the TAT is called the 'On Seen Traveller'.
Reply to this Looks like you got taken for a ride by one of the folks who claim to be offical TAT offices. A tuk-tuk driver on Khao San tried to take us to the same TAT office. We paif him the agreed upon 10Baht, walked in the door and right out. When he asked what we were doing, we told him we were going to buy our ticets at the train station.
For anyone going to Bangkok or other Asain cities--BEWARE. DO your homework, shop around and talk to other travelers. There are some good businesses out there, but you have to seek them out.
Reply to this To make a complaint regarding Tourism Service Standard, Tourist Attraction Service Standard, Tour Operator and Guide Standard, Tourism Service, Tourist Facility and Safety.
Please contact :
The Office of Tourism Development, Ministry of Tourism and Sports
Address : National Stadium, Rama 1 Road Bangkok 10330 Thailand
Tel :
Fax :
Email Address :
Or your can follow this link to Make a Complaint to the The Tourist Assistance Center, which comes under the Office of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and is responsible for coordinating and solving tourism-related problems, and handing tourists complaints.
Reply to this TAT office is a government agency that only provides free information for tourists. I have never come across an office taking money for anything.
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/7153/tathome.htm
TAT tries to help tourists and make their stay a little better.
Report the travel agency that ripped you off. Next time remember that there are hundreds of travel agencies all over Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Most of them provide what you expect. You are free to compare prices and options between different travel agencies. Almost always it is cheaper to get a tour or package deal after you get to Thailand than over the internet.
In over 12 years I have never been ripped off by a travel agency in Thailand, this means tours, accommodation or plane rides.
Reply to this Wow that must be a record for a tourist in Thailand although you have to remeber most people travelling to Thailand dont necessarily have 12 years of travelling experience there when they go. They also dont have an annate ability to determine which TAT is legit and which is'nt and frankly I know I dont have the time to try and figure that out because just asking them is'nt good enough as they will just lie. The reason why I posted this message is for other travellers to be aware that apparantly there are A LOT of fake TAT agents and yes they will ripe you off wether its a small amount or a large amount it doesn't really matter, they aren't in it for your best interest. This is true because this happened to me and this has happened to several other travellers I have spoke with on my vacation here in Thailand.
Reply to this Hi ALL
I have just returned a week ago from Thailand and YES I TOO was completely ripped off by the TAT right next to Huah Lampong Train station (the local trains running to Surat Thani for Samui/Pangan etc).
It all seemed very legit until I actually asked about the prices of the bungalows on the islands - I was shocked to learn that i was charged more than double by the 'TAT office'.
So too was the case with the flight costs - I was told 5000 bhatt per person but they actually cost less than 4000. A 34000 bhatt holiday actually costed the agency about 10-12k.
Sickening!!!
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