It seems this may be the week for all things property related. I've already addressed my ideas on another thread about trade associations etc. and government assistance. I see PKBCXKT has authored another thread regarding this and suggest all that are involved or interested participate in that effort. He and I had a nice PM trade and I think his efforts should be applauded and supported fully.
Complaining may make one feel better, but this community needs solutions. Please keep that in mind on your posts as the Mods may have a pretty short leash by now on these discussions which are becoming pretty lengthy.
In regard to those who are already past the point of no return I'll relate some good news (maybe) for those with Thai spouses.
My wife's cousin works in the PM's office in Bangkok and suggested we go to the District Office in Prauchaup Khiri Khan when we had contractual problems with a builder, who was represented by her American boyfriend but was Thai herself. The contract was actually between my wife, the Thai woman and her relatives.
In any event I believe one of you must be Thai to take advantage of this service. We filed a complaint with the District Attorney through the Consumer Affairs Office last summer. The case was heard in a public hearing and we are still awaiting a court date or advice of final resolution by the folks in Bangkok. It is a long process but at least it is there. There has been no cost to us, although if it does go to court there will probably be some court charges.
Additionally, we received a legal notice from the woman a month or so ago and she was suing us for breach of contract.......very funny since that was the content of our complaint against her. We had very little time to respond so went to the District Office and spoke with the D.A. and his staff. He led us to a voluntary attorney group operating in the Prachaup Government Complex. The attorney we consulted with ended up taking our case to defend the suit brought against us, and at the same time agreed to represent us in a counter suit. The entire process should be wrapped up by the end of August according to what my wife tells me.
We will have to pay about fifty thousand baht in court costs and the attorney's fee will be 2% of the the amount of our claim. I'm not sure what he can actually sue for but he said we have a very good case and he'll try to get everything he can, including court costs and attorney fees.
So, for those of you with Thai spouses maybe this is worth a try. I certainly think the situation at Dusita falls under this scenario.
More importantly, regards PKBCXKT's efforts, perhaps a good thing to support would be public notices in HHAD forums and print media of all kinds would be some guidelines about purchasing in Thailand that include some of the situations we've had here:
1) Is there city/government electricity provide to the premise? Are there hookup fees or other charges?
2) Is city/government water supplied to the premise? If not, what are the options for receiving some water supply (and of course warnings for what we know are scams already in place)
3) If no water supply by government sources can a well be dug?
4) Get a detailed report on waste and sewage disposal and or septic facilities. Is there government service available? Where does the dirty water go?
5) Hire consultants to advise on the adequacy of the drainage for the property during storms etc. Is anyone else's property draining onto the premise?
I'll stop here as I also don't want to write a book......I hope this has been helpful to someone.....I don't have the contact details for the Government Center in Prauchap Khiri Khan but PM me if you want and I'll have my wife call your spouse to provide contact info.