On Nov 15 at 8.30am, as I exited BTS Asoke on my way to church, a woman yelled at me, “Are you Thai?” When I replied no, she demanded to see my passport. I showed her my Thai driving licence, as I do not carry my passport with me. She then rudely snatched my BTS ticket from my hand. I tried to get it back and she called security and a supervisor.
He told me that I was not entitled to the “seniors'” BTS card (which I have held for over a year) as I was not Thai. I told her I had bought it at a BTS window at Chong Nonsi, after asking if any senior's discount was available and providing proof of my age (I am 69). When I presented my Thai driving licence, I was given the seniors card and have used it ever since, even topping it up two or more times without any questions from the staff.
I told the supervisor I had bought the seniors' ticket from the BTS and, if BTS staff had made a mistake selling me one (and again each time I topped it up), that she only needed to refund the value of the ticket and I would go on my way (the fare value was 646 baht and the card value is 50 baht, so 696 baht is due to me).
She refused to refund the amount, saying it was my mistake and not the BTS's. She refused to give me any receipt until I began to call the police, at which point she scribbled the BTS hotline phone number on a piece of paper with the amount of 646 plus 50 baht. She did not take my name or any other information, which would be needed if the BTS intended to give me a refund, which is all that I asked for.
The BTS 1) sold me a seniors ticket knowing that I was not Thai (I am a retired American who has lived in Thailand for about 10 years now) and 2) topped it up several times with no questions. How was this my fault?
How can the BTS take your ticket and refuse to refund the money on it, as would only be fair? This is poor marketing and very unjust. I am not Thai, but I am a human being.
William Boyd
Marathon falls flat
I trained for six months hoping to complete my first ever half-marathon. I decided to enter the Standard Chartered Marathon, as having lived in Thailand for a number of years, I am well aware of how incompetent some event organisers are. I had assumed — this being an internationally recognised race — it must be run in line with international standards.
You have no idea how it feels to know halfway through your run that there has been a terrible mistake made in measuring the course. You don’t know how much further you have to go or how far you have already run. It is crushing to find out all your hard work has been wasted because of some incompetent company.
The worst thing is that no one has issued an apology, and no one was at the finish line to see if we were okay.
It is not only disgraceful, but it makes me think about my future. I would have loved to run another half-marathon if I was able to complete this year’s without walking.
Who knows? How can I trust any marathon event organiser in this country? All we want is an apology and someone to take responsibility.
G Sugiyama
A partisan Post?
I cannot help but wonder if this paper has some kind of agenda. It has gone from a hardcore yellow-shirt stance to a red-shirt sympathy paper over the last couple of years and I don’t think the comments column reflects the actual readers. Is it just mouthpiece paid to spout anti-coup views now?
Bob Irwin
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