THEPHUKETNEWS.COM
BUSINESS NEWS 13
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013
The real facts about contracts Brian Knight editor@classactmedia.co.th
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ost tourists popping in and out of the kingdom overlook the implicit meaning of contracts. It’s natural. After all, renting a room for a month, taking out a jet ski, paying a motorcycle taxi…what’s so complicated about that? A contract between two parties places obligations and creates rights for both. Logical, right? Once that verbal or written agreement has been concluded, the renter has the right to occupy that property and to enjoy it, even though it is owned by someone else. Your legal rights extend only to the duration of the contract. But things become a bit cloudy once the contract is agreed to. For example, if later the renter refuses to pay. The law – lawyer and courts – need to see the owner prove violation of the contract. It sounds simple, but if you have ever been face to face with a tenant, or a freeloader who has dug in his heels and won’t leave, then you understand the difficulties.
Once that contract becomes fact – and you, tenant or landlord, jet ski renter or owner, can always debate whether it is fact or not – then the two parties are bound together by the finer points of the law: offer, agreement, acceptance, enactment. In the case of a jet ski operator where damage by renter is claimed, he wants a fast cash settlement for as much as he can get. The issue, and an important one, of what the damage is and who or what really caused it becomes secondary. Time is of the essence for the tourist or jet ski renter involved. He knows that the renter has an obligation to settle quickly… he has the advantage. Renting a jet ski is not unlike renting a car. It’s a vehicle parked somewhere and as the renter you are taking it out and will bring it back. A car in a parking lot is easy to inspect before you actually take the keys; a jet ski is half buried by water. What conditions and terms are you accepting before renting the equipment? At the moment you agree to rent a jet ski, it is presumed
Be wary when you rent a jet ski. Photo: Böhringer Friedrich the craft is seaworthy and in all likelihood the operator assures “no problem”. But the renter will have to pay for it if any damage occurs during the renter’s use. When the craft is returned, the operator claims damage. What happens next? This next step is what the tourist courts are allegedly established to handle, to quickly resolve the claim versus denial in such rental contracts. From international news and local accounts about rip-offs by jet ski operators, it appears that there is little
Lure of Easy Money nets pawn patrons for Bangkok business AS HOUSEHOLD DEBT balloons and living costs rise, pawn shops continue to act as a last resort for cash. Easy Money, Thailand’s largest private pawn shop operator, has booked a 20 per cent increase in customers in recent months. “Most of them need cash for loan payments due to the higher cost of living and household debt,” managing director Sittiwit Tangthanakiat told the Bangkok Post. One of the major causes of debt is automobile loans for those participating in the government’s first-time car buyer scheme that ended last December. Mortgages, credit card bills and personal loans are also adding to pawn shop customers. “We have a client base of more than 300,000, mixed between white- and blue-collar workers. Customers in both segments have increased by about 20 per cent from July. “First-time car buyers are expected to redeem their pawned assets after receiving the tax refund from the government,” said Mr Sittiwit. Flooding and the country’s @thephuketnews
Car loans are a major reason for pawn shops’ popularity, says Mr Sittiwit. Photo: Bangkok Post/Apichit Jinakul gloomy economy are other factors driving the pawn industry. Small and medium-sized business owners have brought in higher-value assets to pawn, as they need working capital to keep afloat, he said. The interest rate at Easy Money is 2 per cent per month for principal of B2,000 or less and 1.25 per cent per month for more than B2,000 with a pawn period of five months. The unredeemed ratio is low at 4 per cent of total pawned assets. Easy Money, a brand subsidiary of Tangthanasin Ltd, has 90 per cent of pawned assets in gold and jewellery.
The pawn shop was severely affected by the plunge in gold prices from April-June despite hedging the commodity. As a result, the company expects to miss its net profit target by 50 per cent this year. The company plans to expand next year with two more branches in Udon Thani. It has 27 branches in the country, although none in the South. Easy Money sees business potential in the southern provinces, but expansion there is not a priority due to the strong liquidity among the people there compared with other regions. Bangkok Post
solid defense on the renter’s part – proof of damage is “evident” by loud claims and most likely real physical damage to the craft. Logic mandates that the two are related to one another. Now, could the damage have been preexisting? Of course. But you need to prove it. It is easier and more practical to disprove, in whole or part, the claim of damage or extent of damage rather than to attempt to prove that a particular area of damage was not caused by you. How? Presuming that your coun-
ter-claim (denial) is honest and true, the following tactics may help: 1. Be prepared to spend several hours, or off and on the space of a few days, to get someone else to examine the damage. The operator won’t likely enjoy this – it gets his equipment out of commission and he loses money. But if you do take this option, find someone, local, who knows what he is talking about and who is willing to tell the truth. While “the process” is proceeding, you can still tour! 2. Counter-arguments to excessive damage claims (often just to scam the unwary tourist) include sudden questions as, “When was the last time you inspected the equipment and was there any damage visible?” And, “You are claiming (this much) in compensation. I agree/disagree I caused the damage and/but am willing to offer (this much).” And, “You may not be concerned, but other friends were planning to rent jet skis here and now I have to tell them to go somewhere else.” If you need a lawyer, get one. In preparation, under Thailand’s Civil and Com-
mercial Code, the following statutes may be of interest – Title II, Contacts. See them at raybradburyaficionado. wordpress.com/2013/09/11/ thailands-civil-and-commercial-code. Note that other statutes are likely to apply, under criminal and/or civil codes. The author is a regular freelance features writer and has had professional experience working for a law firm and as project coordinator/ corporate adviser for a major Middle East petrochemical company. He has an MBA in information management and has spent some four decades in and out of Thailand. He can be contacted through the editor of The Phuket News at editor@classactmedia.co.th An important reminder: This column is written by a layman, not a lawyer. The content of these articles should not be viewed in any context other than as an informative overview providing perspective, with the caveat that anyone in need of legal advice should always seek a professional in the field – a lawyer.