Lederhosen l'arnaque, lu sur un autre forum:
“ Don't use Lederhosen bikes - overcharging
”Jun 08, 2012, 11:12 PM
I know it's a well worn topic, but if someone reads this and avoids this company, then my post has served it's purpose.....
So I rented a CRF250 from Lederhosen bikes (great bike for getting around the island BTW)
The usual passport for deposit and paid for 4 days rental upfront.
What's unusual with my story is that I did no damage whatsoever to the bike - I lost the key, somewhere around Og thian beach.
After searching everywhere I had been, I finally conceded and called the shop to tell them I had lost the key.
The Thai wife of the owner answered, and asked me to come and get the spare key as she's 'too busy'. Not wanting to pay a round trip with the local taxis I asked if she could at least give the key to a taxi and send him to the resort where I could meet and pay him. 'No' was the helpful reply. Knowing that I was looking at a 800b taxi fare, I asked the resort staff if one of them would be willing to rent me their bike for 20 mins for 300b. I'd rather pay them too much than the taxi mafia.....
So I went to the shop to get the key. The Thai wife, the owner and his partner was there - so much for not being able to assist me in getting the key sent....
Anyways, the owner tells me "You do know that I will need to change the full lock set, (4 pieces - ignition, tank, side panel and helmet lock). I ask "why not just copy the master?"
"Because someone may find the key and come steal my bike"..?!?
The key had no keychain or any identifying mark on it, apart from the lock barrel number, so I asked "how they would know out of hundreds of Hondas on the island, that it was his bike?"
His shouted reply "BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE THE NUMBER!!" He's referring to the lock barrel number, which incidentally isn’t viewable on the ignition keyhole, it's more used if calling Honda to identify the keyset. So i then asked "so what's to stop your next customer copying the key, and coming back to steal the bike? Will you replace the lockset each time?!?" then he waved the 'contract' in my face, where it does say for lost keys they will replace the lockset.
During the time I was searching for the key I also googled Lederhosen bikes, and came across a few stories where they had overcharged on repairs, and/or came up with damage scams, so I asked "ok, how much for the set?"
He replied "I don't know, it's a new bike, so I will have to call Honda"
With his overcharging history in mind, I said "Well look, I have 2 passports, you don't have me over a barrel, so don't try to overcharge me". With this he was visibly furious, asked where the bike was, and took his wife to go collect the bike. All the while I'm trying to say, "well get a price and we can talk about it", as I admit I'd probably jumped the gun by saying what I had said, but he wasnt listening, and shot of on his bike.
I made my way back to the resort on the Wave I had borrowed where my girlfriend was waiting. We then walked to where we had left the CRF and it was still there. Haad thian resort has 2 entrances, and clearly he'd gone to the wrong one. I called the shop, he answered and he asked in a civil manner where the bike was, I explained, tried to apologise for mentioning my 2 passports and again tried talking about what we was going to do about replacing the lock, and that I didn't want to lose the bike a day early - he didn't reply, I was talking to myself as he didn't hang up, just put the phone down on the table while he jumped on his bike again. His people skills were starting to annoy me now...
He eventually skidded up, dropped his wife off, and sped off again without saying a word. We talked to the wife for a while, she said he was mad, and she took the bike back.
We hitched a ride back most of the way to the shop, during which time I called Honda in
Surat Thani
to get a price for a replacement key (300b) and a price for the full set (3600b) and then sent a message saying "Send me a reasonable price and there is no problem for me to pay. It's in the contract, So I can stand by it. Reasonable means cost plus fitting minus a days rental. Cheers"
There was no reply, so when we reached the shop the wife gave me the contract, where they had totalled up a bill. He had written near the labour charge "2 people to go collect bike" - implying there was a charge because he had spat his dummy and went to collect the bike!
Anyway the bill was 7000b, 3 hrs labour at 1000b an hour..... (take a bike to a Honda service centre, it's 440b an hour) He was overcharging and I was mad - £143 for a key!!..... I said ok, we'll be in touch and went back to our room to think about what to do.
Around 6pm that day I got the missus to send a text in thai asking for a discount and offering 5000b. No reply until 8am the next day saying "very sorry, we can't"
I had offered 5000b for a 300b key, and was refused...
By now I had decided I would rather lose the passport than pay this guy anything, so I went to the police. The police chief, Ja Chet, was shocked at the 7000b charge, and laughed saying he wouldn't change the lock anyway, and how would anyone know its his bike if they found the key etc etc. He explained he had had dealings with this guy beating another customer with a stick after some disagreement, and other cases of overcharging and damage claims.
I called my embassy in
Bangkok to ask for advice. They said they could issue a letter asking the police to collect the passport and return it to the embassy, where it would be cancelled (not sure why it would have to be cancelled??) but this would be more work for all parties and I'd be just as well reporting it lost, as the outcome is the same.
Ja Chet made me a police report. All the while saying 90% of rental shops do the same thing, and how the police are frustrated by it all.
That night he sent a text saying 6000b, I sent the same reply in thai his wife had sent - very sorry, I can't.
I left
Koh Tao without the passport, but satisfied with the fact that he got nothing from me.
I know many will say never leave your passport, and your right, you shouldn't, however, I very much doubt you could get an offroader from any shop on
Koh tao without your passport as a deposit.
J'y étais cet été et les routes, plutôt souvent des chemins crevassés et peu carrossables, m'ont paru plutôt dangereux 
Par contre freedom beach ca a l'air très sympa 
on n'a pu aller dans le sud pour cause de présence princière 
