Thai woman harassed over 20 year old missing car debt

A Thai woman found herself under severe intimidation after receiving a threatening call demanding payment for a car debt for a vehicle that disappeared nearly 20 years ago. The caller, using harsh language, even threatened to seize her assets if she failed to make the payment.

The case came to light when a TikTok user named khoeilao99 posted her ordeal of being harassed by someone claiming to be a lawyer from the enforcement department, pursuing her for the Mitsubishi Triton vehicle that was lost. She was told that the case had reached its conclusion and her assets would be seized. She was left baffled as her vehicle had been missing for two decades.

The woman, Jiranuch Thukruea, owner of Khoey Lao Logistics, revealed to KhaoSod online today that her Mitsubishi had gone missing around 20 years ago. At the time, she had reported the incident to the police but was told she needed to bring an authorisation letter from the bank as she was still making the payments. Despite the car’s disappearance, she continued making payment instalments, oblivious to the fact that she didn’t need to if the car was missing.

Jiranuch had kept the loss of the vehicle a secret from her family and continued making payments for two years. The secret came out when a man dressed in black knocked on her family’s door demanding payment for the vehicle.

As Jiranuch was abroad at the time, the man threatened her elder brother, who was unaware of the situation. The matter reached her mother, and an irate Jiranuch called the finance company from abroad, telling them she would no longer make payments on a non-existent vehicle.

She was summoned to court, where her lawyer advised her to wait and assured her that she would be contacted. However, no contact was made. The finance company’s lawyer informed her that she didn’t need to make any instalments until the court had made a decision.

Inappropriate language

Recently, a new number called her mother and her, demanding payment. The caller knew all her details, even the fact that she had returned from abroad, and used inappropriate language.

The caller threatened to seize her property if she failed to make the payment. Jiranuch, however, wasn’t aware of any concluded case or any such obligation. When she tried to find out who the caller was and where he was calling from, he refused to provide any details, leading her to believe he might be a fraudster.

Jiranuch was left perplexed as she had always been indebted to the bank and didn’t understand how this company was involved. Upon researching, she discovered that the company was a debt buyer, purchasing debt from various banks and pursuing the debtors.

Most of the cases they pursued were untraceable. She has since filed a police report and checked the numbers that had called her, discovering that one was registered to a Cambodian and another to a resident of Chiang Mai, with no apparent relation to the case.

Jiranuch emphasised that there was a legal system in place to fight such situations. She felt threatened as the caller continuously used abusive language and even knew her details. However, she wasn’t scared and wanted her case to be a lesson for others who might not be aware, like the elderly who could easily be deceived.

She never considered transferring any money without a court order and is prepared to go to court if a summons is issued. She warned others that such incidents could happen to anyone and urged them to be careful, stating that if they transferred money without a court order, they could be deceived, reported KhaoSod.