Rayong condo owners sue developer
About a dozen people, including expatriates, were present at court yesterday to file a criminal lawsuit against the developer of a luxury condominium in Rayong and demand a refund because services offered in reality were not like the ones advertised.
The group was representing the 80 plaintiffs, of whom 50 are Thai nationals.
“We've arrived at this point because we have not been able to achieve anything after seven months of negotiations. The problems are primarily about the upkeep and the quality of the property and the unnecessarily high maintenance fees we are being charged,” retired British expat Mark Robert Stephen said.
The units, costing up to Bt15 million each, had been bought about two years ago. As the condominium is close to Rayong's Mae Pim beach, many bought units to use as retirement or vacation homes, while some thought it would be a good investment. Stephen said it would have been a good project if the developers had delivered what they advertised.
He said most buyers had decided to purchase units at this 14-storey luxury condominium because they were promised large public rest areas, an 8,000-square-metre swimming pool and a big water slide.
“Later we discovered we did not have a huge pool or a big water slide,” said Sherry Watson, a Thai national who bought a 200-square-metre unit. She added that the developers violated the law because the road leading up to the property was not 6 metres wide as advertised, but was far too small for a fire engine to access.
“I bought this property because I thought it would be a lovely place to live in, since it was being developed by a company that developed a five-star hotel. However, the reality is totally different from what they advertised,” she said.
