So your package has already left

In this instance, the clock is ticking against you. In our experience, these stores have a life span of about one month. One store was open for about two months, another one appears to have closed down after less than three weeks. Our group compiles the information on different stores and attempts to rebuild their life cycle, to estimate how much time is left before a store closes.

As your package has already left Bangkok, you have to wait for it to come back. There are several ways to speed up the process.

1.Contact EMS and ask them to send the package back immediately. Contact information is on this page. This is more effective if you have your EMS receipt with you, but if you call EMS to find your package, you can also ask them to send it back to you.

DO NOT HAVE THEM RETURN IT TO SENDER!

The last thing you want to do is have your package returned to the jewellery shop, it will get lost and then there is nothing you can do.

If EMS is unable to help you, you should contact your embassy. Check the Links page to find your embassy. Ask them if they are familiar with the scam and inquire if your country's Customs has a set procedure for dealing with these packages, and find out what it is. Most embassies are familiar with this scam and will at least have a phone number for Customs in your country.

Customs in Canada, the UK and several other countries are familiar with the scam, and will intercept the package upon arrival and send it back to you. Return to sender should be included in the postage, but you do not want them to return to sender, and must emphasize this point.

You want them to send it back to you either at Poste Restante or some address where you can sign for a package, if you use a courier service. The Poste Restante address is:

Name SURNAME
Poste Restante
General Post Office
Bangkok 10501
Thailand

The GPO is located next to the ChaoPhraya River, at the Si Phraya River Taxi station.

While the Tourist Police advise against using a courier service, our group has not figured out why. Officially, it is because there is a higher risk of being seized by Royal Thai Customs, but we have had group members send their package back via DHL without any problems. If you urgently need your package back, you may try using a courier service, just remember the risk of Customs seizure. Also make sure you're able to sign for the package when it arrives, if this is required.

ALWAYS ENSURE THAT THE GEMS RETURN IN A NEW PACKAGE/ENVELOPE, WITH YOUR ORIGINAL, UNOPENED PACKAGE, INSIDE.


BREAKING NEWS (April 27, 2002)

We have our first report of Thai Customs seizing a package upon its return. An American sent his package back via UPS with insurance. It was seized by Customs and this fellow has been arguing with UPS for the last 6 weeks about getting cleared. Others have used DHL without problems, but without insurance. It appears insurance is the key factor, we will attempt to clarify this point.

In either case, do not take out insurance on your package and do declare the value as $USD20. Any package that has insurance is usually targetted for duties or tarriffs, so you want your package to appear as being of low value.

FOR ALL CUSTOMS, THE VALUE USED TO APPLY CUSTOMS DUTIES IS THE VALUE YOU PAID FOR THE GOODS, NOT THEIR ACTUAL VALUE.

If your package is back in your country, arrange for someone (friend, family) to collect the package and mail it back to the address you give them.

IN ALL CASES, ENSURE YOUR PACKAGE IS NOT OPENED.

Unless there is a Customs certificate saying Customs opened the package, the gem shop may try to claim that you have switched the real gems for the cheap ones you are holding in your hands. We have not heard of this happening, but why give them another chance to take advantage of you?

If you have sent the package to a Poste Restante in another country (usually if you are going there in future travels before going home), your situation is more complicated. You will have to contact the General Post Office in that country (hoping someone speaks English) and explain them the situation. Then, you have to hope they can send the package back to the address you give them (either Poste Restante or your hotel), and not return to Sender.

We can confirm that the Japanese Postal System is familiar with the scam and will usually return the package back without any problems (though insist they do not return it to sender). We do not know about other Poste Restantes, but they should be familiar with this scam as well. We will post contact numbers for Poste Restante in Tokyo shortly, and other countries as we receive the information.

One thing that is worthwhile if you paid by credit card, is to start yelling at them for allowing such a large transaction to go through withour your authorization. Credit card companies know what is going on, but with a 3% commission, they lack "motivation" to help you out. At the very least, file a complaint against the gold store that processed your credit card. The gem stores use the same gold stores, so if enough complaints are levied against a store, they should remove the credit card machine from the gold store. As well, you can ask to talk to the Fraud department (or whatever it happens to be called) and ask for an investigation into the transaction. This should freeze the purchase while the investigation is conducted, ensuring you don't have to pay interest on the purchase.

In Thailand, you can call the credit card companies as follows:

Visa: 02 273-7449
MC: 02 260-8572 Global Toll Free Hotline: 001-800-11-887-0663
AMEX: 02 273-0022-44
Diners: 02 238-3660


After all these efforts, you still can't find your package, you can attempt to go after the store for fraud, as you paid for goods that you never received. This is complicated and we have no experience in this matter. Nearly always, you will have succeeded in getting your package back, and are ready for the next step. Click here.


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