This is a variation on the standard scam procedure we detail on our Intro page. The text is quoted directly with no editing on our part. If you have an experience that is substantially different from our Intro page, please tell us about it at this address, so we can keep our site updated.

For the record, this is the only case we ever heard of a victim being able to confront the store "manager", in another country to boot! Most stores will never tell you who the manager is, so the term is usually meaningless.

"Gentlemen:

Sorry to take so long to write. Since I have not read anything else about this company, I thought I'd share my story. I was scammed on April 29, 2002 in Bangkok at an establishment named Royal Lapidary Co. Ltd., located at 253 Ratchawithi Road, telephone: 2430047-52. Apparently, this store is not known as a "scam shop" and is considered reputable in some circles. They are even on the TAT's approved list. Nevertheless, after a few hundred dollars in expenses, your web site and a lot of luck allowed me to obtain a full 379,500 baht (approx. $9,000 US) refund.

I had just returned to Thailand from Vietnam at the end of a 4 week vacation and was preparing to fly home the following day. The story begins in a typical way. I was alone and had just finished a traditional massage at the Wat Pho Massage School and was walking along Thanon Maharat toward the Grand Palace a woman approached me, claimed to be from a government tourist office and struck up a conversation. She told me about relatives she has in the US and also talked about a certain wat that was open to tourists today. She eventually showed me a ring she claimed to have just purchased at a government jewelry sale. She seemed surprised that I had not heard about the "one time per year sale" since she claimed there were numerous advertisements for it on tv. I told her I was not interested in jewelry, but asked for advice on where to buy silk items. She said I was in luck because this export center also sold silk items. She showed me the locations of these places on my map and tried to have a tuk tuk take me there. The store seemed a long way and I enjoy walking so I thanked her and told her I'd just make my way to the wat and might later go to the silk store.

Within a block I was approached by a Thai man about 50 years of age wearing a tie who said he was also going to the same wat and he would show me the way. He offered his card which said his name was Puk Watanajung. He said he worked for the government and his job was to inspect wats, recommend repairs and make sure they were completed correctly. He claimed to have gone to college in San Francisco years ago. After about a 15 minute lecture about Wat Ratchapradit, he told me that I should not waste my time buying silk because the real value was in buying sapphires and rubies at the government sale and reselling them in the US. He claimed to do this himself, flying back to San Francisco once per year and earning thousands of dollars. He said the rubies were more expensive, but provided the best profit. At Royal Lapidary I would see a film about their mining operations and then have a chance to see their showroom. Best of all, they would accept a credit card. I said I was not carrying my credit card and he said that was not a problem, as they would gladly take me to my hotel. He was very convincing and since it was late in the day and the store would soon be closing, he insisted I take a tuk tuk. He flagged a tuk tuk over, bargained hard with the driver for a good fare for me and said good-bye.

About halfway to the store, the tuk tuk had a mechanical problem. The driver called over a pedestrian in a suit and asked if he spoke English. The pedestrian spoke English and told me that the breakdown was a minor problem and the driver would have the tuk tuk fixed within a few minutes. He asked where I was from and where I was going and could not believe I was going to Royal Lapidary. He was amazed! How did I, a tourist, hear about the great jewelry values at Royal Lapidary? He said he worked for the United Nations and earned thousands of dollars every year reselling Thai jewelry in New York. He said he usually sold his Thai jewelry at a jewelry store named Rosy Blue in New York (oddly enough, I found that there is such a store). The tuk tuk was repaired quickly and we were back on the road.

Royal Lapidary was just as the man described. I saw a film and then went into the showroom. It was nearly closing time (close to 6 pm) and I was the only customer. I noticed a Jewel Fest Club designation on the wall. I spoke to a sales person named Jiny who showed me numerous pieces of jewelry before I decided to purchase a ruby ring and pendant for a total of 379,500 baht. The pieces came with a "certificate of guarantee". I also met the Assistant Managing Director, Seahta Pattanakaew, who talked of soon visiting Nevada, my former home state, for a trade show. Since my credit card was in my hotel room, Jiny and an escort drove me to my hotel and we called in the order to the credit card company from my hotel room on their cell phone. I had to get on the phone to verify my identity and agree that this Mastercard purchase was legitimate. The following morning, the nice folks at Royal Lapidary were to take me on a tour to the floating market. I overslept and cancelled the tour plan. Jiny called later in the day offering to take me to lunch or dinner before my late night flight home. She even offered to take me to the airport. I did take her up on the dinner offer. Jiny and her driver picked me up in the company van and she and I ate ate at the Oishi Seafood Buffet, located out toward the airport. She was very nice and seemed sincere.

The day I returned home, I took the jewelry to a few local jewelry stores here in Florida to ask what they would pay me for the two pieces. At that point, I knew I was in trouble. I soon took the pieces to a GIA Graduate Gemologist and AGS Certified Gemologist Appraiser. For an appraisal cost of $120, I found that Jiny had misrepresented the quality and size of the two rubies and the actual retail value was approximately half of what I had paid. I called my credit card issuer, USAA (based in Texas), and filed a dispute. (It is very important to file a dispute ASAP and not pay the disputed amount when the bill arrives.). Mastercard was familiar with such problems, seemed very supportive and said I must first speak to Royal Lapidary and offer the merchandise for a refund. If that did not work, there would be a lengthy resolution process that was not guaranteed to be successful.

I did some research and found your web page as well as others and sent approximately 20 complaint emails total to Royal Lapidary and every Thai government email address I could find. I did not get a response from Royal Lapidary. On May 27, I eventually reached Royal Lapidary by phone and spoke to the manager on duty, someone named Annie. She said that Mr. Pattanakaew was at a jewelry show in Las Vegas. She said Royal Lapidary would provide a refund if I could get the merchandise to them. She said I could not mail the jewelry back to them because they would be subject to a tax when receiving it. Mastercard also said not to mail the jewelry back to them. Annie asked me to fly back to Thailand to return the two pieces. I asked about returning the jewelry to Mr. Pattanakaew in Las Vegas and she gave me the name of his hotel. I began researching details of the trade show.

Mr. Pattanakaew did not return my calls, but I finally reached someone in his room that told me his cell phone number. After two days, I reached him on his cell phone and he said something about taxes in Thailand being an issue if he accepted the jewelry from me. He was very busy and the phone connection was poor. He said the best time to call him back would be at 6 am tomorrow morning in his hotel room.

My representative at USAA advised against a confrontation. I believe she was afraid that I may not receive proper documentation and might lose the jewelry on top of the money or a nasty confrontation could lead to my arrest. But if a confrontation was my intention, she told me what to avoid and what kind of documentation to get. I caught an overnight flight from Orlando to Las Vegas, obtained a guest pass to the GLDA Gem Show at the Mirage Hotel and met Mr. Pattanakaew and another employee at his booth at 9:30 am. To say he was surprised to see me would be an understatement. I believe he wanted to avoid a scene. Without any argument, he gave me a credit slip refund for the full amount and a hand written letter detailing the transaction along with a copy of his passport. He said that the sales person Jiny was to blame and actually tried to sell me more jewelry! I immediately faxed the information to my contact at Mastercard from Mirage's Business Services Center. I then called her confirm that the faxed information would suffice. Before posting the credit to my account, my USAA representative said they must first wait 30 days for Mr. Pattanakaew to put the credit through. I do not know if this is standard procedure or because the charge was in baht and through a Thai bank. Well, Royal Lapidary never turned in the credit for processing so my Mastercard representative turned in the copy of the credit slip that I had faxed her. I received the full credit. Royal Lapidary had 60 days to dispute the credit. I have no idea if they did.

What an experience! I hope this information might be of help to others. Thank you.

Sincerely, "

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