absolutelyBangkok archive · Being farang
Originally published May 19, 2009
No kidding. That building is huge. The new home of Thailand’s Consumer Protection Board OCPB at Chaengwattana’s new Government Administrative Center up north. Kind of post-Soviet modernism. Massively impressive with its unending atrium.
The Election Commission
’s in the same absolutely monstrous, still unfinished überbuilding. But my trade of the day was the Office of Consumer Protection, as I got screwed by a local farang insurance company. They play me. All I ask for is what I have in cold print.
The investigator there, a cute studentish lady with lovely John Lennon glasses, spoke very well English and the complaint was done within no time. If my case will be followed up is another story. Thailand & consumer protection a contradiction? I trust the bureau’s Labeling & Product Branch.
Thing is, there is an authority in Bangkok with Complaint Forms even printed in clear, English language. Feel screwed by a company? Off you have to go Chaengwattana. Maybe you pay taxes here. It’s your right to use government resources once in your life here.
And if in the area, have lunch here. Thinking of it I never bothered about the place’s name. It’s just there at the small lake. You can’t miss it. Enjoy Bangkok’s probably best tom yam kung (I love the milky variety) with lots of herbs, mushrooms and fresh soft pieces of fish and fish balls and all variations of pad thai…
See? You can easily sweeten complaining with the better side of life.
From the absolutelyBangkok archive. Back to all stories