Over 150 buyers of units at Centara Grand Residence Pattaya decided to file a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) against the project’s developer, Bazis Development, after construction stopped, reports local media. Centara released a statement saying it only had a licensing agreement with Bazis Development and has no connection to the project beyond that.
Thai actress Panadda Wongphudee, who is best known for winning Miss Thailand in 2000, leads the 157 complaints. She booked a unit in 2012 and later agreed to be the project’s presenter in exchange for a price discount. Eventually, she cancelled the deal after an uneasy conversation with the project’s owners, according to media reports.
“I think it’s suspicious so I cancelled the presenter deal and asked for a return of the booking amount of THB 2.5 million. I thought that was the end to it. I had no idea the company continued to use me as the presenter,” says Panadda.
Units at the mixed-use Centara Grand Residence Pattaya were priced from THB 2 million to THB 35 million and the project was scheduled to be completed in September of 2016. However, construction never began in earnest and the group of buyers lodged a civil lawsuit against the project in court seeking damages equivalent to what they had paid for booking fees and down-payment installments.
After the group took their complaints to the DSI, Centara moved to distance itself from the troubled development claiming it had only agreed with the developer to have a subsidiary manage the condo.
“Centara Grand Residence Pattaya is being developed and sold by the Developer, Tulip Group (Bazis Development Co Ltd) and not by Central Plaza Hotel Plc or its affiliates. Centara is not part of or an agent for the developer and has not acted as a broker in connection with the sale of Centara Grand Residence Pattaya,” says Centara in a statement.
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