Man Shook Over 2 Million Baht Water Bill, Turns Out To Be Typo

Man mistakenly overcharged for water bill


Images adapted from: ข่าวสารเมืองปราการ v2

It was a normal day for Mr. Somchai Wongsangha until he checked his mailbox and found a water bill waiting for him to open.

However, he was taken aback when the number he saw was beyond what he had expected. The total sum was a whopping ฿2,289,323.96 (that’s around ~USD75,000!) – we’d be baffled, passed out, and baffled again. 

https://thesmartlocal.com/thailand/van-driver-forgets-passengers/

On 13th December 2019, he decided to send his story to the local news Facebook page in the hopes that people in charge would know about the situation.

Image credit: ข่าวสารเมืองปราการ v2


His mother was not having it


Hailing from Samut Prakan, Mr. Somchai told Sanook News that he was living with his 87-year-old mother and their monthly water use would normally cost them around ฿200 to ฿300.

He knew instantly that it was a mistake, and instead of feeling frustrated, Mr. Somchai and his friends found this situation very funny.

Unlike Mr. Somchai however, his mother was furious and said to him, “How the hell did the water cost 2 million? Impossible.” 

Image credit: ข่าวสารเมืองปราการ v2


The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority apologised 


Just 1 day after the story went online, Samut Prakan Waterworks Authority manager Mr. Chaipon Rattanatanangpong paid Mr. Somchai and his mother a visit to explain the mistake and apologise for causing confusion.

He explained that the officer had put in the wrong information and didn’t check twice because they were racing against time.

Mr. Chaipon also brought the corrected water bill with him, and the correct amount was a reasonable ฿469.52. 

Phew! Luckily this was all a mistake and they were able to laugh about it. Otherwise, Mr. Somchai’s mother wouldn’t like this very, very much.

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Eddie Jirayu: