Consumer Complaints Hotlines

[Logan]

1569 Hotline | Consumer Complaints


A nationwide hotline number is now in operation to allow consumers to file complaints against shop owners who overcharge for basic necessities. Nation Thailand reports that the Commerce Ministry has launched the 1569 hotline following complaints of excessive charges for essential goods. Shopkeepers are being warned they face penalties of over 7 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 140,000 THB if they are found guilty of over-charging.

The move comes as many parts of the country are hit by severe flooding and residents are having to purchase supplies to clean and repair their homes in the aftermath. According to the Nation Thailand report, Jurin Laksanawisit says his department wants to help such people and is therefore ordering its provincial offices to keep an eye on pricing in their areas and to take action against businesses charging unnecessarily high prices.

“Dealing with floods is actually the responsibility of the Interior Ministry with cooperation from provincial governors, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and other state agencies. But if people find themselves having to pay unnecessarily high prices, then they can file a complaint via the 1569 hotline, which has been set up by the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Internal Trade.”

At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the Commerce Ministry filed a complaint against online retailer Lazada for allowing vendors to charge excessively high prices for facemasks and other essential items.

[Sundance2020]

Government panel created to defend consumers online from fraud



A new panel was established by The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, which will be in place to protect online shoppers from fraud. As Thailand’s internet economy experiences massive growth, problems related to online transactions are rising, too. With this panel, the government aims to help protect consumers from these internet scams.

Secretary general of the Thailand Consumer Council Saree Aongsomwang explained what the structure of this panel would be, and its goals. It will be made up of 3 representatives from the MDES, and 18 other members from different government agencies. She went on to describe the overall purpose of the new committee as being one that will help the average online consumer if they are experiencing any fraud-related problems.

“The committee will tackle and prevent problems, handle consumers’ complaints and gather information to come up with guidelines…This is an important step forward for various agencies to work together to protect consumers from online fraud.”

Committee members will come from many different Thai government agencies, as diverse experience will come in handy when trying to tackle internet scams. Some of these agencies included are the Thai Consumer Council, the Royal Thai Police’s CyberCrime Investigation Bureau, the Technology Crime Suppression Division, the Police Cyber Task Force, and the Consumer Protection Division.

An online ceremony next Monday will mark the official creation of this new committee. There, representatives will sign a memorandum that formally outlines their goals. Saree concluded by saying that this panel represents a big leap forward for Thailand’s internet economy.

“This will be another major milestone for consumer protection in the digital age when state agencies, the private sector, and the civil sector team up as a strong network to solve the problem and protect people more efficiently.”

[Sundance2020]

Online shopping division added to fight rising internet fraud



To deal with a sharp rise in internet fraud, an online shopping division has been established as part of the Office of the Judicial Administration Commission. The office was officially created Tuesday having been published in The Royal Gazette on Monday. The OJAC observe that the world lives more and more online, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only further fueled online growth, with the predictable results of a rise in online fraud.

Instagram and Facebook are the top sources for online fraud but about 2000 complaints are filed each month overall on a hotline run by the Digital Economy and Society. The OJAC decided with this amount of caseloads, a separate department was needed to handle online shopping complaints.

Now that the online shopping division has been launched, all relevant pending cases will be handed over to the department to assist victims who have fallen prey to online scams and to enforce consumer rights on the internet. Cases that are already underway in the consumer court will remain there though, and will not be handed over to the new online shopping division.

The division will also focus on moving the prosecution of online fraud online itself, with the ability for people to file complaints online and for prosecution to be carried out mainly online, though good old-fashioned written report on paper will still be allowed for people filing complaints.

And now that the online shopping division has been created, staffed, and taking on a caseload, a new chief judge will be assigned to the department. That judge will appoint judges to the division who have experience and knowledge in cybercrime and online scams. The system is set up, however, to allow judges from outside the division to preside over online cases when appropriate.

The chief judge, along with the launch date, working process, and division budget, is still being nailed down, and will be announced at a later date as the division begins to take over the responsibility of online shopping complaint cases.

[Steve]

PM Prayut Chan-o-cha orders two agencies to lead crackdown on call-centre scams

Following escalating public complaints that many Thais have fallen victim to phone scams that steal either money or personal information, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned two government agencies to lead integrated operations to crack down on scammers and bring them to justice.

According to Deputy Government Spokesperson Trisulee Trisaranakul, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the Royal Thai Police are now tasked with cracking down on call-centre scams as cases have been growing recently, citing all scammers must be prosecuted under all relevant laws with no exceptions. She warned that government officials who work with scammers or allow them to operate will also face criminal charges as well as disciplinary action.

“The ministry and the police are under orders to integrate efforts with other government agencies concerned to speed up the action and prevent more damage to the people.”

The prime minister also directed that all government agencies involved must establish channels for citizens to report potential scams to authorities and involve the public in their investigations.

Public awareness programs are also instructed to be launched so that people are aware of scammers’ methods and don’t fall prey to them as they come in a variety of disguises; some pose as logistics staff members, while others impersonate police officers, judicial officials, or bank staff, according to the spokesperson.

She added that some scammers have exploited IP technology to make false calls that appear to come from another country, and young people should keep an eye on their parents or grandparents to make sure they don’t fall into their scams.

[Sundance2020]

Cyber police work with Thai mobile providers to block scam call centres



The Police Cyber Taskforce in Thailand have been working with the leading Thai mobile operators to prevent contact from scam call centres. From now on, Thai mobile users will be able to report the ‘scam’ phone numbers directly to the mobile operators, and the PCT will ban those numbers within 72 hours.

Thai media has been reporting about a series of victims of phone scams and Thai scam call centres that have lured Thais into working in neighbouring countries, often promising high wages. But Thai netizens and even celebrities have taken to social media and revealed that they receive scam calls daily. The scammers were often disguised as creditors, police officers or high-profile state authorities. Some victim have lost their whole savings, which had put pressure on the victims, and their families, leading some to suicide.

The Department of Special Investigation or DSI has even launched a music video to warn residents to beware of phone scams, but they admit it still wouldn’t be enough to effectively solve the problem. Many phone users reported that the phone number that bothered them every day were the same, “so why can’t the mobile operators do anything about this”.

Yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner-General of PCT, Damrongsak Kittipaphat, announced the cooperation between the authorities and the three leading Thai mobile operators, including AIS, True, and Dtac. He said that residents could now report scammers’ phone numbers via a hotline channel: AIS via 1185, True via 9777, and Dtac via 1678. Apart from that, residents can contact the PCT at 081 866 3000 or complain online via www.thaipoliceonline.com.

[Sundance2020]

Stop Scam Calls or be charged 1 Million THB per day



A daily fine of one million baht has been issued by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission for any mobile phone carrier that refuses to assist the government in tackling the growing problem of phone scammers. According to an NBTC survey, several people have already registered more than five phone numbers of phone scammer, but carriers failed to verify or check their identification.

Some mobile phone scammers allegedly had up to 10,000 numbers, according to the police. Mobile phone providers must contact any customer who has more than five phone numbers and ask them to visit their local branch and provide identification. The NBTC announced that the commissioners decided yesterday that mobile phone carriers must follow its rules on ID verification and decided the amount of the fines. Mobile phone companies must follow the new rules within 30 days or risk daily fines of one million THB, according to the independent regulatory body. The rule aims to stop scammers from using several SIM cards to make fraudulent phone calls, which have unfortunately become a common problem.