From an email: …I was in Bangkok May 3-5 with my boyfriend, we are currently still traveling in Thailand. We have had some trouble since arriving. We were touring temples May 4 and were approached by the “Tourist Police” who informed us that the Golden Temple was closed. He had a tuk tuk driver take us to the Lucky Buddha, Sapphire Expo and Happy Buddha for 40 baht.
We were taken by tuk tuk to the Premier Sapphire Factory Export Center Co LTD and purchased a ring. The address is 463/9-12 1st Floor, Look-Luang Rd, Mahanak, Dusit Bangkok 10300 Thailand. We later found out it was fake. We also looked into the operation at our hotel this morning and found the following information. This is exactly what happened to us. We received paperwork for refund of 80% of the value but we are still waiting for this to go through. We were told it would take 15 days, although we are not sure how accurate this is….
[While it is apparently legal to cheat tourists in this way (lie to get them to buy gems that are overpriced), most of these shops are eased out of business eventually as their "fame" eventually begins to tarnish the tourist trade.
However, this location on Look-Luang Road is so well protected, they never change location--just their name.
For some reason tourists willingly sign papers agreeing to 80% refunds and then from time to time the shop reopens in the same location under a new name thus invalidating any past claims against it.
We have spoken to tourist officials in the past admitting their intense humiliation that they are unable to do anything about these protected shops just a few hundred meters from their offices and even closer to the local police kiosks.]
In 2003 it was Imperial:
By late 2004 it was Blue Dragon:
Name of this shop in the past:
Imperial Jewelry Export Co. Ltd. (last report mid-2003)
Ma Mere Gems Collection Co., Ltd. (last report December, 2000)
Blue Sapphire Gem Co., Ltd. (last report October, 2000)
TGJ Thai Center Co., Ltd. (last report July, 2000)
Other information about this location is here and here.
Related posts:
Hi
I fall in the same trap, we agreed 80% refund , did you receive your money ( 80%)?
What should we do ?
Thanks
Ali
Thanks for sharing your story.
We were also tricked in same way, and could obtain the written refund receipt.
We would be appreciated if we can share what you did to get back the refund after the long-wait.
(I hope you could get back the refund…..)
Best regards,
Mas
Hi,
My wife and I were similarly scammed only last week. It looks like a huge operating syndicate with protection from various official bodies and a very well organized modes operandi. Unsuspecting tourists are lured by a string of people lined up to convince you before you are actually led into the shop – all hyping to you how you’ll make a real bargain by purchasing any sapphire from this very special offer day – from this ‘export factory’ – that only exports to the high-end stores in various big cities around the world! All a bunch of lies obviously. You are also made to sign up an ‘agreement’ that you are purchasing at this ‘special price’ only for your own personal use and not for resale. And that the store will only refund 80% of the purchase value if you were to change your mind – within one month of purchase. I have had no choice but to take their 80% refund offer to buy back the item we purchased – even after we could prove other shops were only valuing it at 1/20th of what we paid for! We have signed up for this refund and were told it will take two weeks to go through.
As we are still waiting I’d like to know if the previous writer had any trouble getting their 80% refund back after waiting their 15 days? Please do let me know. And if there’s anything else we should know. Thanks v much.
Did the refund go through?
We were just scammed a few days ago as well. I have been to 32 countries and have traveled my entire life without any major incidents. This is a very intricate scam and it seems that everyone in bangkok is in on it. Thankfully, we paid by credit card. Hopefully we will be able to resolve the situation.
Hello Andrea.
We were new two victims of this mafia the 3rd of september. As far as I know visa will not help much in getting the refund back…, Did you manage something with the credit card company and can you tell me how, please?? we are very upset now…
Unfortunately, no. We sent them all of the documentation, including appraisals, and they couldn’t do anything.
did you get a refund??
Same story… did anyone have any issues getting back there? I read somewhere that taxi drivers will not take you there. I also realized that TukTuks will not take you there unless you visit the site where the man with the lies (ringer) awaits new people.
Any information would be helpful, so we can get back there to get a refund of some kind. Maybe we can ask to be taken somewhere near that?
REFUNDED!
…but only 80% of the value. I got a taxi to take me to that street, and we drove down it until I spotted the place. I had him wait for me up the street a little.
I was let in the place and told them I want to return my purchase. They took me to an office upstairs and made me fill out 2 forms. They wanted additional information like passport number, but I don’t think they really needed it. They do not credit your card back right there, but tell you that you will be credited back.
Less than a week later, I see the credit on my card. I’m glad to get something back. Costly lesson for being greedy!!
Dammit! We got scammed just this morning! Dont know what made me google the jewellery store but wish i had done it before handing over my credit card! After reading the posts im going to attempt to return my purchase tomorrow morning and hoping for a positive outcome! Wish me luck!
Ok so we finally made it back to the store with the help of a very kind and genuine local lady. We started off by getting a taxi driver to take us to a hotel near the road we were headed to under the pretences of meeting up with “friends”. Once we were in the area we tried to walk to the store using our map but that didnt get us very far as the roads and their names very confusing! As we stood looking at our map a guy on a motorbike stopped to “help”. We told him our friends had bought jewellery the previous day and recommended we check the store out. It seems that the previous comment about having to follow the correct sequence of steps to get there was true as the man assured us there were absolutely no jewellery stores anywhere near there and even tried to flag down a tuk tuk to take us far away to were he said we would find jewellery. Luckily the local lady overheard the conversation and warned us not to buy anything from around there. We were cautious to trust her but thankfully she turned out to be genuine and even walked us the store herself. She did however wait for us up the road as she was concerned for herself should she be seen to be helping us. We told security at the locked front door that we were customers looking to buy which prompted him to unlock the door and allow us in. We managed to get a statement assuring 80% refund within 2 weeks so all thats left for us to do is wait and pray the payment goes through. I will however be following up the remaining 20% with mastercard and be lodging a freud claim should i not receive my agreed 80% from the store.
In short, a costly lesson learnt!
Furious, did you get the credit back from the scammers. I feel like my papers are worthless
Furious,
Was the money refunded?? 80%?? On a credit card??
Please let us know!!
the 80% was refunded on the credit card. i do not think it is possible to get the 20% back. good luck.
how did you do to get your money back. I fall unfortunately in the same trap . thanks vor your advice.
hi guys,
almost the same happend to me…i `m 30 travelling around second time in bangkok and was supprised of such a kind helpful man.
..actually i dont believe anybody on the street and ask by myself…
i get off the train in” hua lamphong” and asked the tourist information where to walk in the direction to the buddha statue and the they said i have to cross the street on the other street i can get along…so i crossed the street through the underground tunnel and came out …i made a few steps and searched for the road…in this moment lot of people where passing me by and it seemd to me a men who passed me stopped and asked if i need help, because i was looking at the map…he was well clothed and spoke good english…he said he s an engineer from the rialyway company and went for lunch ,..it was about 12 p.m. , but on his way he saw me ,..seems that i need help.
i apologized for taking his time …but he kindly said it s ok and that i m walking rigtht , but it s quite far..i said no problem i like to walk and look around…then he explaind me on the map how to walk and what to see…but the buddha is now closed because of the cermony and new year cleaning stuff…so i better should visit some tempels until 2 p.m. and then go there…he said on the way is the export sapphire center, which is only opened two days for tourists and without export tax…i couldnt really handle that information , because i dont know anything about sapphires…only know that they r expensive..and he got me in the right time . because on this day i was searching something for my girlfriend…so i actually made notihng of his advice, but then he arranged me a cheap tuk tuk and talked a lot with the driver…and 60 bat he repeated often for some tempels and harbour and trip by boat…and it seemed so helpful and convincing that i agreed to go by tuktuk..
and i never thought of buying anything in this shops tuk tuk driver takes u to,but…now …i cant believe myself that i believed this…
we went to the first tempel…a small one nobody there…only one security …and a statue and a man about 32 or so,looking like a tourist malaysian type…sitting ther with a camera and well clothed…i went near to take a photo asked him if it s allowed he said”yes”, he also has asked before and started talking with me…was very kind and smart…knew some places in german even some words and companies and said he worked in singapure and canada but know in uk..and bla bla …we talked about the statue and trip..then he asked if i also have buyed the sapphire stuff and so …hmmm i was supprised that he also made the same trip like me,…a bit different,but then he said he met some german boys students, who also bought some and sell them there , because of the tax reduction…only for tourist this time,and he got the info from his friend and trying out this second time..and show me his bills and talked about reselling them and the juweliers in germany.the german juweliers, he knewed where, in which town they r situated and in which street…seemed so cleary and true, that i got in the ride to buy also some stuff and if it doesnt really suit anyone, i can sell it over there for double price…and i was so stupid for believing that…i asked him some stuff about sapphire and gold and he gave me his adress and email…and we should meet the next days…for lunch or so to talk about…..really helpful kind guy….even told me that the tax fee is 10-20 percent for stuff above 400 euros and i have to declare..but the profit i can get,will get along with that…he isnt forcing me to do that but i can try and see if it works out…he financed so some presents and trips already,his friends does it all the time…
i thanked him and he went to his tuktuk and i to mine….
so i went to the shop….curious no other shops like that nearby….
openîng the door and emidiatly asked if i m interested in some small thing or bigs…cool water….so, i was so inspired of making my girlfriend a gift for valantines day i searched for a ring….i saw one for 500 euros…18 karat white gold and a deep blue sapphire, how the guy adviced me to buy..because the yellow gold is no good stanard here in thailand…and it has to be deep blue…so agreed with that one…then paper after paper and a certification and then asked for my credit card…for my luck i only had 200 chf (150 EURO) and said i have to go back to the hotel and fetch the money….and the kind man gave me his name phonenumber and explaind i can leave these 200 chf for deposit and then when i come after my tour , a person will wait to come with me and fetch the money and get 10 perent discount for paying in cash..i agreed and was satisfied…
i went to the big buddha and on they way i was thingking and thinking, about the whole story…and felt so much doubt and stopped the tuktuk driver to search for an internet cafe…i finally got one and searched for this company and sapphires in bangkok…and my doubts were proofed…
i went back and said that my credit card limit is probably reached and i cant pay so that they have to wait for tmw or cancel the contract..i wanted my money back i gave for deposit..they began to talk a lot …and many staff came around and everyone was talking and a fat lady calculating…i said just give me back my money and forget the deal…but they ran around and talked a lot..they finally charged me 10 percent and said i can go…i was so frustrated..that those other tourist on their way to buy something, where supprised…on my way to the door,they wanted me to go out quickly…i shouted not to buy anything there is all fake..they pushed me out…!!!.hope they didnt…ya thats what i ve experienced,..a well organized sapphire mafia…
even the taxi driver was asking then more money…he drove me around a lot and waited…and was kind also…about 4 hours…so i gave a bit more..he asked for 500 i finally gave him 200.
didnt realize it that it is so well constructed…and this could happen to me…
now it is named
premier sapphire factory export center co.ltd.
463/9-12 look-luang rd.,mananak,dusit,bkk.10300 thailand
tel.0-2628-3565,0-2628-3566
fax:0-2628-3564
i doubt if it s correct
the seller his name suthep
mobile 0870736600
the guy in the temple
andy from london
andy_nn1812@yahoo.co.uk
good luck for all those who trusted in kind people
and hoped that the world is not full of such trash people…
Hi we were conned same place as above Feb 3rd 2012. should have gone with my instinct and not bought ,but they were very convincing.
Eve
Hello Ali ,Kuttsie and Furious…Did the get the refund of 80%?? we are still waiting…have waited now for 2 weeks, don´t know what to do next if the money is´t cooming?
Dorte
Dear all, same things happened to me when we were in BKK last weekend. And i m going back next week or following week with my thailand friend to demand for 100% refund. Pray for me.
Thanks,
Another 2 victims, yesterday afternoon. We are amazed that it happened to us too!! Same Andy in the temple, same story as Tolen. He said he used to work for a Dutch bank in Singapore. Knew all the latest developments in Dutch banking and places in The Netherlands (like all the jewellery stores). Even knew how the head office of ING looks from the outside (and he was right)! Anyway, we started thinking after having done the by Andy suggested purchases (special government tax promotion week because of upcoming Thai New Year) but became a little suspicious not long afterwards. Found this website, thank you all for the valuable comments!! We went to the Tourist Police this morning to report. The police phoned them and we negotiated ourselves up to 85% refund. They came to the police station and paid back partly in cash and partly refund by Mastercard (accordingly the way we paid). Police seemed confident that we’ll receive the latter within 2 weeks (that’s how long it takes for the credit card company to process). If not, they suggested to contact them again and they will take action. Good luck to you all!
We were also scamed? Did you receive your refund?
We were scammed too, same Andy at the lucky buddha temple. This time however he was working in HSBC in London. The whole con sounds very realistic. We ended up at the premier sapphire shop, signed the agreement and gave them copies of our passports. We were lucky in that they said if we paid by cash we would get a 10% discount, so we opted to do that and left in search for US$8000 in cash. They brought us back to the hotel in their own car and offered to take us to the bank. I tried to call my bank to arrange for a US$8000 withdrawal but couldnt get through to them so told the driver to come back the next day. Meanwhile did some research on this and found this website for which I am very grateful! Didn’t part with any money but they were back in the morning the next day to ask for a deposit of 40,000 baht, told them the funds hadn’t arrived from my bank. Then asked for 1000 baht deposit and finally 500 baht deposit to “secure” the purchase. Of course we were not going to pay knowing that this whole thing was a scam!
A quick question, we signed the agreement and they have our addresses and passport copies. Is there anything they can do with that? I mean I don’t want to end up in some Thai jail or anything like that! Also am worried now that they have my identity documents and address they might do a scam with my details! Anyone got any ideas on what I should do?
Thanks!
Hi all, if ask for refund pls wait outside and make sure there’s customer inside the shop before you go in. Cause we were stopped by the shop ppl (4 guys) opp the shop. Luckily, we are with my Thai fren and they started to argue in Thai before the guys let us in. If the visa slip still with u pls do bring along.
So we decided to take the 80% as per the agreement and do not want to make a scene there. It took us 15 mins to signed another refund agreement and left the shop. And the money credited back to our credit card in 10 days.
I almost got scammed as well… Similar story as above. Started @ grand palace with a guy approaching us and telling us the palace was closed…he even showed us his “tourist police” badge (don’t know how legit that is since every1 seems 2 be in on he scam). He hailed us a yellow tuk tuk to take us to “happy Buddha, sapphire expo (told it was only open to public during songkran and this was their last day) & white buddha. All for 50 baht!
The temple for happy buddha (dont think the name is real either) was conveniently closed allowing a man (who says he works @ the templ) to approach us and tell us his many stories of purchasing large amounts of jewellery 400,000 baht worth to resell for min 100% profit…He even named the place, told us not to purchase on the street n assured us that their guarantee was government approved etc….This is what convinced me to want to buy, he validated what the tourist police said!
We got to PREMIER SAPPHIRE EXPORT COMPANY and they were quite welcoming… I had a good look at their rings a few pendants and earrings… Thankfully I wasn’t in love with anything… But considered purchasing especially for a good price! A few things did not fit though:
1) sales lady said we could only purchase <60k baht so we don't have to pay taxes, whereas man @ happy Buddha spent 400k?.
2) when I mentioned I didn't have the $$ there an then… They offered to "sign the paper work" and they'll bring my purchase to the hotel where I can make the full payment?? – showed desperate for sale n the opportunity to switch product
3) when I mentioned coming back for next years new year / songkran festival… She was adamant that they wouldn't be open as they are only opens spontaneously once a year? – tourist police told us it was the whole week for songkran?
thankfully my bf isn't as trusting as I am and convinced me that I didn't NEED jewellery!
In the end we ended up at a non-white Buddha and giving the tuk tuk driver double as I thought they need the extra $3aud more than me…. my mistake…sometimes it pays being too nice!, NEXT TIME I KNOW TO SAY NO THANKS FROM THE START!!
tell u what though, my bf has been rubbing it in my face how he saved me from making a very expensive purchase and lesson!
To those that actually got scammed I feel for you… But don't their paperwork say anything guaranteeing that these are real sapphire and real gold? Doesn't that alone break the contract? I hope you get your $$ back
Thanks for sharing ur stories… We need to keep raising awareness to make sure others learn… It infurites me how tourists bring $$$ to their economy and they still have the nerve to rip us off…
I was another victim of gem scam. This is my first travel in Thailand and I am a solo traveller. I experienced nearly the same things as other victims from google. I don’t know what to do now, got no friend to accompany me, not to mention Thai friend. I’m now waiting for my package back in Bangkok. Then I may go to tourist police to ask for help. I’ m so disappointed with myself as this is my first time traveling alone. I lost all my confidence to anyone in Bangkok. I just want to get back my money as soon as possible at the moment.
Jolie, if no Thai friend than go and seek for Thai tourist police help. But do it within 30 days.