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I/we are builders and If you paid the money into his account or anyone connected to him and he absconded with it  then you could get him charged with theft.

Other than that if he is in dispute with you then it is a civil matter. If you found out or feelhe overcharged you then he has basically done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law. The police most certainly would tell you that.

We've never been taken to court but I know a builder who has been several times.
Can you give me/us some more info and I will run it past him and find out what costs you might incur and how to go about it your next move should be

I think this guy was very clever. His method appears to be do a small amount to start the job then claim outside reasons why he cant complete. In our case he put 25 × concrete pilings on the land ready to start.
Problem being he claimed he payed for plans which were slow in coming. He did not. Without plans he could not obtain a building permit.
Due to the pilings on the land , a neighbour voiced concerns to the tambon and they put a restriction on any building pending obtaining a permit. He claimed any house construction less than 150sqm dont need a permit, which is false.
He has used the restriction by the tambon to delay and claims its their fault he cant build.

In the meantime our enquiries show he has left several people in the same situation, some losing far more money than we have.

well 25 piles can cost 200K if they are eg 30x30 x 14m.

He could be telling you the truth but what worries me is the plans......plans from who?

For a house your size all you need is rough plans you take them to the Tesseban and they give you a full set of drawing which you get planning permission for. The cost is usually around 6 to 10,000 baht

It is true if someone lodges and objection (Unlikely to be upheld) you can not start building until you have planning permission.

If you get stuck we will try and help you. Told my Scottish BF you are English said he won't hold that against you LOL

I think your only option is to take him to court, unless he has broken the law it would be a  waste of time going to the Police. You need to be careful in Thailand with builders because the Farangs won't be the only ones that dont do the right thing!

If you can't be there 24/7 what you need is one trustworthy person to be there. You must get the workers on your side and it's amazing what sitting down with them for a few beers or turning up with a bag of Kratin Daeng during the day can accomplish.

You also need to set up a system to ensure your workers wont walk and then you won't end up being unable to continue.

We have always managed but have heard lots of jobs go wrong when workers don't like the owner who has a preconceived idea they are all stupid, shouts his mouth off and treats them like dirt.

My BF says that half the building stories you read on TV forum are not true and the other half they make up :0)

Just had my new home finished and did as you said, they bent over backwards to do everything on time plus threw in extras . I gave them a big party the day after they finished.

Good on you Barry. We built a house near Ban Dung and my BF flew up to Udon every week. Cost him more in beer than in flights and as you say they will do just about anything for you.

Hello David,

I read your comment with much interest. I work for a law firm and would be happy to provide some free advice. In order to do so I would require some additional information.

1) You say foreign builder, so with that in mind does this person have a Thai Company, if so is it a registered company? This can be checked at the DBD.

2) Did you sign a contract, and if so do you have copies of the foreigners ID?

3) Does the foreigner have a work permit. Provided that you have ID, this can be checked?

One of the other posters is partially correct in stating that if the money was transferred to the foreign builder and/or his representative, and he absconded it would be a criminal matter, but if the builder has done some work and not completed it, then it is a civil matter.

However, you mention that the foreign builder has done this to a number of other people, which actually changes the dynamics of what the builder has done. If it can be proved that the builder has repeatedly taken money from clients, started jobs and then fled without finishing them, then there could be a case to answer for "cheating the public" whereby the foreigner is knowingly taking money with no intention of completing the tasks that he/she is being paid to carry out. If there was enough evidence to support that, then it would in fact be a criminal act.

A word of caution…
It would be prudent at this stage not to name the builder on any internet/social media platform, if you did so and the builder is familiar with the computer crimes act laws regarding defamation, then you could be the one that ended up in court.

I hope that this all works out for you. If you would like to discuss this further then please message me directly.

Tuenchai

Thanks for your reply, but, i have started proceedings and have a thai lawyer.