A British YouTuber warned foreign tourists of a transport scam in Bangkok, recounting his experience when a tuk tuk driver and a tailor shop attempted to swindle him out of money.
British YouTuber Phil Bland shared the video when he was scammed on his YouTube channel on May 25 of last year. However, the video recently gained attention on Thai social media after it was reposted by the TikTok account, KritPaul.
Bland shared the video with the title saying, Avoid this scam in Bangkok, Thailand. In the video, Bland can be seen negotiating the transportation fare with a Thai tuk tuk driver in a dark blue shirt.
Bland wanted to go to MBK shopping centre and the driver initially quoted a fare of 100 baht. However, the driver offered a 50 baht discount if Bland agreed to make a stop at a tailor shop, which the driver claimed was his sponsor.
The British YouTuber agreed to the condition, thinking it would be fine if he just stopped to look at the shop.
However, when he entered the shop, an employee asked him to turn off his camera. Uncomfortable with the situation, Bland left the store and returned to the driver.
The driver persisted, asking Bland to return to the store without the camera so that he could earn extra money from the store.
Transport scam
During their discussion, a store employee followed Bland outside and told him to stop filming. Bland argued that he was outside the shop and had the right to continue filming.
Bland insisted on going to MBK for the agreed fare of 50 baht. The driver was seen to be angry and said he would take Bland back to his hotel. The driver eventually took Bland to his destination, although he was clearly reluctant.
This issue is not isolated to Bland alone. Recently, a similar problem happened with a South Korean YouTuber, IL Hong Min, in February this year. Hong shared with his followers that he was overcharged at 1,200 baht for a four-hour trip by a tuk tuk driver in the central province of Ayutthaya.
The driver even falsely claimed that using app-based drivers in the province was illegal, leaving Hong without a choice and forcing him to use the tuk tuk service.
Channel 7 reported that the reporter team visited the hotel near Hua Lamphong Train Station where Bland stayed and found several illegal tuk tuk and taxi drivers there.
The media stated that the Prime Minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, and the Bangkok Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, expressed urgency about the problem and vowed to solve it as soon as possible. Despite their promises, the problem persists and continues to make headlines.
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