SFH Have Won !!!

[iammike]

We had a lot of problems in our Village with the SFH (Speakers from Hell)

Since that has been under control a bit, but now about 2-300 meters away a guy is opening a shop where he will build Speakers and those Parade Trucks (you know those very noisy trucks with lots of speakers on them (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfkyf0NbEMY)  (In Thai they are called: รถแห่)

So yesterday he was testing one of his trucks, now the noise was really deafening and it stopped well after 9pm, this morning it started again at 7am.

My wife and another neighbors went already to talk to them, and the only comment was  "I am building these and that is my lively hood and I have to test them", and basically kicked them off his property.

The Village Chief is of NO use on this as he was the one blasting away his SFH !

We could go and complain to the Police etc, but as his shop is NOT in the Village but on the access road out of the village (around 2-300 meters away from the village) the chances we win is very low (plus it's a very small village and they will know who complained, and maybe you know how vindictive Thais are)

So we finally have thrown in the towel and are moving away from the Village, no idea yet where to, maybe back to Pattaya as we still have a house there.

I can tell you leaving our own build house, HURTS !! (Lot's of disadvantages here, but it still hurts)

Ps: One good thing about this, don't have to pay the 1000 THB petrol money (5555555555555)

[dundeemk6]

One can find very usefull things on the black market : RPG's, claymores ... even accidents can be purchased ... BTW : you have a relative in the black army (tahan praan) just have them come over and have a talk with the noisemaker ... they can be VERY persuasive ...

Wish you the best of luck !!!

[iammike]

5555555

Good advice, but no thanks.

We take the easy (not so easy for me as I really like it here) way out but for my sanity we have to move !

We already could not stay in the house for around 30 days of the Year (Song Kran, New Years, becoming a monk days, Weddings etc etc) but we gladly went on Holidays during that time and people in the village always forewarned us, but this time it's completely different, this will be IMHO a 7am - 9pm operation, of testing, playing music etc etc !

My wife always says "Jai Yen Yen", but this time she is also very worried and also thinks it's a good idea that we move ! Maybe it has to do with the way he responded and treated her and the other neighbors when they went and talk to him about the excessive noise !

[Starman]

We had a lot of problems in our Village with the SFH (Speakers from Hell)

Since that has been under control a bit, but now about 2-300 meters away a guy is opening a shop where he will build Speakers and those Parade Trucks (you know those very noisy trucks with lots of speakers on them (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfkyf0NbEMY)  (In Thai they are called: รถแห่)

So yesterday he was testing one of his trucks, now the noise was really deafening and it stopped well after 9pm, this morning it started again at 7am.

My wife and another neighbors went already to talk to them, and the only comment was  "I am building these and that is my lively hood and I have to test them", and basically kicked them off his property.

The Village Chief is of NO use on this as he was the one blasting away his SFH !

We could go and complain to the Police etc, but as his shop is NOT in the Village but on the access road out of the village (around 2-300 meters away from the village) the chances we win is very low (plus it's a very small village and they will know who complained, and maybe you know how vindictive Thais are)

So we finally have thrown in the towel and are moving away from the Village, no idea yet where to, maybe back to Pattaya as we still have a house there.

I can tell you leaving our own build house, HURTS !! (Lot's of disadvantages here, but it still hurts)

Ps: One good thing about this, don't have to pay the 1000 THB petrol money (5555555555555)

If leaving  really hurts that much then don't give in.

Anytime that someone plays loud music they are breaking the law. If there is an event they need a letter of permission from the local sub district office (Tambon).

There is a gentleman in our village, actually our next door neighbour, that makes speakers. We had the same problem as you are having now.

We went to the headman.He told them to stop but they did not listen to him and actually threatened headman's wife whilst she was on their land.

So...we went to the local sub district office. They issued a letter to inform them they were breaking that law. The speaker man took no notice.

My wife called the police. They came out a few times but each time the music was turned down before they arrived, someone had seen the police car and informed the perpetrators.

The next call to the police resulted in the police asking my wife to go to the police station. She did just that, armed with videos and recordings on her phone. The police issued a warrant and the speaker family had to go to the police.

The result, after lots of bullshit from the speaker family and the friends they had taken with them to lie to, was that they had to stop. The police made a report and gave one to him and one to my wife and another to the witness my wife had taken with her.

It was agreed that he would be allowed to test his equipment but for a maximum of 15 minutes and only when he could show that he had new equipment that needed a test. If he did not comply they would be fined 1000 baht for each incident.

No need to worry about any pay back as the police informed that if anything were to happen then they would be aware of the likely suspects.

This has hit home with the speaker man and now we very rarely get loud noise and if we do it is only for a few minutes.

So...get your wife and any others that feel the same to go  to the police. If you are firm then they will listen. Once the police are involved it is out of headman's hands. He will get a talking to form the police as to why the problem as escalated and why he did not sort it out. He will then need to make sure there are no other complaints.

Since this happened my wife has received many "thank you" messages. When she asked those thanking her as to why they did not say anything they just said they did not want to make any problems but now that my wife has it sorted they will back her if anything like this happens again.

Location in or not in the village has no bearing. It is illegal to play loud music, without permission, anywhere.

That is a WIN and your wife will get the same result if she is firm and has evidence and witnesses.

[iammike]

Thx @Starman

It Hurts because we have seen the house being build and we done it as we like it, there are several disadvantage to it (location for example). Fortunately it doesn't hurt Financially

Interesting and Good Read, but we (my wife) has discussed this option with our neighbors (village chief is useless in this, I expect that guy to join him in playing the loud music )  and they are not willing to go that far, they can live with the situation

So it would be me and my wife against him and I don't fancy doing that and she most certainly not !!

The shop is not open yet, as he just started construction, but he already has one of his Trucks parked and testing it every x minutes.

Thx again, and good that you solved your problem, but for us this is the last straw and we have given up !

[Starman]

Thx @Starman

It Hurts because we have seen the house being build and we done it as we like it, there are several disadvantage to it (location for example). Fortunately it doesn't hurt Financially

Interesting and Good Read, but we (my wife) has discussed this option with our neighbors (village chief is useless in this, I expect that guy to join him in playing the loud music )  and they are not willing to go that far, they can live with the situation

So it would be me and my wife against him and I don't fancy doing that and she most certainly not !!

The shop is not open yet, as he just started construction, but he already has one of his Trucks parked and testing it every x minutes.

Thx again, and good that you solved your problem, but for us this is the last straw and we have given up !

And this, sadly, is why many villages around these parts will never flourish. The haves pummeling the have nots into the ground and the have nots doing nothing about it. Just living in the shadow and not saying a word. Living life unhappily rather than trying to do something for the better.

Some of the neighbours must have kids. Do they love their kids? Why not point t the damage that it is doing to their hearing?(as an example).

Show some balls. Make a stand. Our village is a much better place now just because a couple of people didn't like the idea that daily life was becoming a bind.

[iammike]

Do you think they F..... care.

One of our neighbors (good guy and his wife) have a son, who loves it when we go away from the Village as he then can turn on his own (mini) SFH and that guy is only 12 years old !

I saw him once laying flat on the speakers with his ears on the Bass ! So you think they care NOPE, the Father and Mother just let him do it even when I said to them it will damage his hearing ! But they just say "Up to Him".

But they are careless as they even allow him to drive his friends (in his fathers truck) to a neighboring village (5-10km away)

Edit: I forgot to add that the 12 year old son, went and work picking fruit in Chantaburi and ALL the money he made he is going to spend on ? New parts for his (mini) SFH !!!

[Starman]

Do you think they F..... care.

One of our neighbors (good guy and his wife) have a son, who loves it when we go away from the Village as he then can turn on his own (mini) SFH and that guy is only 12 years old !

I saw him once laying flat on the speakers with his ears on the Bass ! So you think they care NOPE, the Father and Mother just let him do it even when I said to them it will damage his hearing ! But they just say "Up to Him".

But they are careless as they even allow him to drive his friends (in his fathers truck) to a neighboring village (5-10km away)

I did say " as an example".

If you really can't gee anyone up to help you then that is really sad.

There must be some way you wife can persuade them to fight against someone ruining their daily lives.

In the meantime I would advise your wife to make as many recordings on her phone as she can. Neighbours may change their mind and join forces.

[iammike]

I agree.

I will do that as the back of our house is in almost direct view of his "shop" and I will drive past with car frequently (Dash Cam also records Sound)

I guess he is a member of BE as since posting this it's awful quiet around here (555555555555555(

[iammike]

You know the saddest part of this, it can happen to anyone !

I have a good friend living near Surin and he has a beautiful house in a very quiet environment, and he says "S.it that this happens, but it will not happen here".

I didn't want to burst his bubble by saying that there is lots of land around where you live, and you never know when someone builds a house near him and starts messing around with SFH ! (Maybe the Son of my neighbor 5555555555555555)

Never Say Never !!

[Freddy]

Mike, sorry for your problems.
I?m kind of with Starman on this one and think you are throwing in the towel to soon.

One visit from your wife and friend to complain didn?t go well so pack up and move out??
Starman?s advice is pretty sound. Persevere. Many think they are untouchable but if you just give up then you only reinforce that belief.

You are fortunate that you are in the financial position for it not to hurt but what if you weren?t. What if this were your only house and you had a limited income. Would you live in misery or fight.

Also, give it a little time. If he?s just started his business and this is the first truck then he will be testing things. Is he likely to have constant business or occasional.

At any rate, the Police will eventually assist, they just need nudging a little and reminding of their responsibility. Perhaps a couple of Lawyers letters may also help.

[iammike]

Thanks Freddy

2 Things

1- He is moving his already in place business to this new location when everything is ready !

2- I agree with Starman as well, but If you read the messages I posted after Starman posted, you will see that we are NOW on our own, maybe this in the future this will change but NOW we are all alone ! BIL would help, but he is not in the Path of the Music as he lives inside of the village, so he is no part of this ! We need support from our direct Neighbors and that we DON'T HAVE.

For my Sanity we have to move, we could go in a Hotel but who knows how long this is going to take, thus we are going to rent somewhere. At the moment, I am not sleeping very well, I wake up every 5 minutes or so, maybe you know how it feels to be awoken be VERY LOUD MUSIC, that is NO FUN !!

We will NOT cancel the True Vision (Platinum) subscription and Internet in the current house, as maybe someday we can return! (And the BIL will take care of the house when we are not around, read: he can watch Football Matches )

My wife already expressed her wishes to not going back to Pattaya as she wants to stay close to her Father who is in ill health, so we will be looking for a House in the Buriram area.

[iammike]

It's getting more complicated or not

Wifey (just came back from the Temple) told me that yesterday evening a lot of the youths from the Village went to that "shop" drinking and partying ! So I suspect this will be a frequent thing in the future when the shop nears completion !

So they have found their new Hangout !!

But this also creates opportunity as the more disturbance this will cause, the faster our neighbors will start complaining

[iammike]

I installed a Decibel Meter on my Phone and it shows at a low noise level (from them) in the range 72-79 dB and in the house it shows 62-65db.

Does anyone know how accurate these Decibel Meters are ??

[Freddy]

The mobile phone apps aren?t that accurate but will give a ball park.