Отель вымогатель! Hotel extortionist!

On November 22.2013, my wife and I arrived at about. Phuket. At the airport, we were met by employees of Biblio-Travel LLC - Sayama Travel, and we were escorted to the bus. On the way, they explained to us that the bus would not be able to drive up to each hotel, and we would be transferred to minibuses.
Through huge traffic jams, they began to take us to hotels, after about an hour and a half they noticed the street along which they had already passed, an hour later it happened again, as a result, for the third time, having driven along this street, they stopped us and showed us the Patong pearl resortel 3 It turned out that for several hours we were driven along the same route, why no one understood. From the very beginning, the employees of Biblio-Travel LLC behaved disrespectfully towards their tourists.
No one immediately recognized the hotel, everyone expected to see a hotel, not a shack. One suitcase arrived before us, the second later. Completed the paperwork, got the keys to the room. The room is small, the walls are dirty, the furniture is shabby, all the rooms in the hotel face either a local house or a hostel, the distance between buildings is 5-6 meters, the same on the other side. There are no bathrobes, slippers, a hair dryer in the hotel, there is only one dispensary with soap, the towels are old, they do not absorb water. The breakfasts are monotonous, we had dinner at the hotel once, the portions are small, the food is not tasty. To the beach 420-430 steps, specially measured 6 times. The beach is large, there are many vacationers, sunbeds are paid. On the way to the beach, on the left side there is a pharmacy that sells balms, creams, and other things at inexpensive prices, on the left in a nearby hotel there is inexpensive tea, cosmetics, excursions at every turn.

In the evening, to take a shower, I got into the bath, it burst under me (the bath is made of plastic). That this could happen, I could not imagine. There is no other way to take a shower. It turned out that the bath could not withstand the weight of a person of 90 kg.
We immediately contacted the reception and reported the problem. The conversation took place in the presence of Russian witnesses who arrived with us at the same time. The hotel staff, together with us and the witnesses, went up to our room. After inspecting the tub, the hotel employee said he needed time to decide what to do next. Half an hour later, he said that the bath would be sealed with sealant and there would be no problems. On the same day, the bath was sealed with sealant. (The hotel had no claims against us).
These claims appeared later, a day before departure, on the night of December 3, we were told that tomorrow we have to pay 10.000 baht for a damaged bath. (For example, acquaintances for the missing cup holder were billed every other day). If I broke, for example, a cup or a glass, I would pay, as it is my fault.
Together with friends, we approached to clarify the situation. The hotel employee said in a rude manner: on 12/3/2013 at 1 pm there will be a conference on our issue and confidently added that we would pay for the bath.
I immediately contacted the hotline of Biblio-Travel LLC on about. Phuket by phone. 66-89-009-5000. An employee on the phone explained to me that I would have to pay, and whether I was guilty or not, no one would figure it out, explaining this by being in a foreign country. The only thing they can do is try to lower the price to 5000 baht.
This option did not suit us, and I contacted the hotline in Moscow by phone. 495-504-25-00. From Moscow, they said that they had sent an application and a representative of Biblio-Travel LLC would contact us in the first half of the day.

Sleepless night, nervous morning, transfer of the meeting from 13.00 to 15.00, loss of a day of rest. By 15 o'clock the representatives of "Biblio-Globus" arrived - Andrey and two Thai employees. From the side of the hotel there were employees who are constantly on review. Then a real show began to “extort” money from us. The Thai representatives from Biblio-Globus were unfriendly towards us and showed with all their appearance that they were on the side of the hotel, explaining to us that we had to pay, they were not interested in what was broken - a bath or a bidet (it is not clear why they, however, decided to clarify, we explained that the bath was broken), what was the scale and causes of the damage. The negotiations were conducted by Thai representatives, it was not clear what they were talking about, later they announced the amount of 7600 baht. We got the impression that the Thai representatives had their own percentage of this amount. No one was interested to see what happened and how. At the request to provide a certificate, a warranty card, documents on the service life of the bath, etc. , to conduct an examination of the bath, the degree of its wear, the Thai representatives of Biblio-Globus refused us.
For some reason, at first everything was OK, and then we were billed for the bath, no one answered. But they threatened us with the police, prison and other troubles, hinting that we were powerless in Thailand, while they themselves watched our reaction and waited for us to break down and pay.
Representatives of the hotel did not communicate with Andrey. This is the only person who was on our side, but he conducted conversations through a Thai representative (why he did not communicate with the hotel representatives himself, we did not understand).
As a result, the police arrived, the policeman immediately said that we should pay without any proceedings, he was not even interested in what. Extortion of money continued in the presence of a policeman in front of the tourists. Tourists were shocked by what was happening arbitrariness. Having handed over valuables and money to my wife, I asked her to quietly leave and wait for a decision outside the hotel, and in extreme cases, if nothing is decided by the evening, buy a ticket for the first flight and fly from Thailand to any country, and from there to Moscow. And he went to the police station, along with employees of the Tour Operator LLC and representatives of the hotel. (On the island of Phuket there is a tourist police and a tourist court, which should consider our issue, knowing that the court will take our side, the tour operator’s employees handed us over to the regular police to get money).

Having mentally said goodbye to my family, scientific and social activities, I was ready for a prison term, execution, but I had no desire to pay the vile hotelier and employees of the Tour Operator. Previously, I believed that Tour Operators have a duty to provide quality and safe services. Moreover, not only their own services, but also partners providing services included in the tourist product. In fact, it turned out that tourists are a living commodity, from which the Tour Operator received money and gave it as an unnecessary thing to his partners so that they could take everything that was left from the tourist.
The police took my passport away from me and after some time, I, the representatives of the hotel and the representatives of the Tour Operator were escorted to the meeting room. The policeman insisted on paying, he did not want to listen to me. The interpreter was a Thai representative of the Tour Operator (and I don’t know what the conversation was actually about). When asked why everything was OK at first, and then they billed, there was no answer, they laughed at the request for a guarantee for the bath, documents about its service life, and so on. To the question of the policeman: “If the floor falls under me, who will be to blame? ” the policeman lucidly explained: it will be my fault and I will be obliged to pay for the repair of the floor and for everything that they tell me, as in this situation, I will be arrested today, and tomorrow a court will be held at which a decision will be made - a fine of 6.000 baht and three years in prison for disobeying the police.
Andrei suggested calling an expert to evaluate the repair of the bath and find out the reasons for the breakdown, everyone agreed. I didn’t have to be surprised for a long time (no one began to conduct an examination, the calculation of the cost of replacing the bathroom with a new one was brought within 10-15 minutes, it turns out that it was ready retroactively, judging by its date. And all this time we lived quietly with a sealed bathroom and assurances representatives of the hotel that there are no problems and everything is OK). There was not a word about the degree of wear of the bath, its condition, service life, warranty, no expert opinion was presented. Everyone perfectly understood that it was not my fault, everyone was only interested in money. Replacing an old bath with a new one is estimated at 15.000 baht.
I called the lawyer, told the situation, to which he said - this is a common set-up and advised me to make a payment, and deal with what happened upon arrival home. (In Moscow, I showed a photo of a cracked bathtub to specialists. I was told that there are several ways to repair it, for example, cracked plastic is glued on the back with a hard epoxy adhesive and the problem is solved, but most likely this bathtub has exhausted its resource. several times less than buying a new one, the repair option was not considered).

As a result of negotiations, the amount amounted to 7.000 baht. I didn't have any money with me. I asked to get to the hotel, after calling my wife to come there, I was given consent.
It was raining outside, the hotel employee offered to take a scooter, I asked the representatives of the Tour Operator to take a car - they refused. As a result of riding a scooter in the rain, I caught a cold and stained my clothes. I handed over the money to the policeman, and after the protocol was drawn up, they gave me my passport. Employees of the Tour Operator took a copy of the protocol and took me to the hotel. Upon returning to the hotel, the hotel staff approached us one by one and said in Russian: “Sorry. ”
The tour operator Biblio-Travel LLC, whose employees contribute to extorting money from tourists, is well aware that the tourist has nowhere to go. Otherwise, the police will take him away, as they did with us. The police will not understand anything, and no one will provide you with a lawyer. Therefore, if the partner of the Tour Operator Biblio-Travel LLC - the hotel says that you have lost a golden elephant for a million, which no one has seen in your eyes, then you will pay or go to jail, and the employees of the Tour Operator will contribute to this. Both options are beneficial for Biblio-Travel LLC: the first, if you pay, and the second, if you are imprisoned, using your example, they will frighten other tourists what awaits them if they refuse to pay.
The reasons why the Tour Operator does this is incomprehensible to me, either his affairs are so bad and things are going to his bankruptcy and he is trying to rip off the last tourists, or the management does not know what their representatives on about. Phuket. In any case, the absence of a lawyer in a country where thousands of people rest at the same time at this Tour Operator, leads to an alarming thought.
The hotel left us with the most negative impressions, accommodation prices are very high, for the money that a hotel room costs, you can live two days in a neighboring one.

I sent a claim to the tour operator, I hope that he will understand my situation, and also begin to stop extortion from other tourists, set up a hotline to protect tourists, and not against them.
I don’t know what the answer will be, Biblio-Travel LLC will either deal with what is happening and stop extortion, or continue it.
Our case in this hotel is not the only one, the demand to pay for a non-existent hair dryer, “missing” glasses, glass holders, gravy boats, and alcohol at check-out have become the norm for this hotel.
If you are already going to a hotel, be prepared for the fact that you will have to pay for something, or stay in Thailand for three years with a fine of 6000 baht.