Thai law doesn’t automatically let a business keep a no-show customer’s deposit — the Civil and Commercial Code only applies that outcome when the booking and the customer haven’t agreed otherwise. For any Thai business taking appointments with a deposit in chat, what the confirmation message actually says is what decides the outcome, not a rule of thumb.
What Thai law actually says about a forfeited deposit
Section 377 of the Civil and Commercial Code treats a deposit (มัดจำ) given when a contract is made as evidence that the contract exists, and as security that it will be carried out (Section 377). Section 378 then sets a default outcome that applies only when the two sides “have not agreed otherwise”: the deposit is returned, or credited toward payment, once the booking is honoured; it’s forfeited to the business if the customer’s own fault causes the no-show or cancellation; and it’s returned to the customer if the failure is the business’s fault instead — the shop closes, or the booked staff member doesn’t show (Section 378).
This covers a single booking, not a prepaid package
This default rule is about one appointment, one deposit — a haircut, a facial, a clinic visit, a table reservation. It isn’t the rule for a prepaid multi-session beauty or spa package, which Thailand now treats as a controlled-contract business with its own refund deadlines (our guide to that rule). It’s also a different question from a product pre-order deposit, where the customer is waiting on stock rather than a time slot (pre-order deposit workflow). Mixing the three up is the fastest way to quote a customer the wrong deadline.
Set up in 1CS
Turn on the “จองคิว” (booking) capability from the AI > AI เจ้าหน้าที่ page’s “เปิดใช้งานความสามารถ” (enable a capability) list before you set anything else. Then, under ธุรกิจ > ข้อมูลร้าน (Business info), open the “Hours & Booking” tab — it has a “Cancellation window (hours)” field, defaulting to 2 hours, which is the point after which a customer can no longer cancel or reschedule the booking themselves. Every booking made in chat then gets two automatic reminders, 24 hours and 2 hours out, each with ”✅ ไปแน่นอน” (I’m coming for sure) and ”📅 ขอเลื่อนนัด” (ask to reschedule) buttons the customer can tap directly.
None of that marks a no-show on its own. In the calendar (ธุรกิจ > จองคิว, “ปฏิทิน” tab), opening a booking’s detail view is the only way to click “No-show” — 1CS never sets it automatically, and that manual click is the moment your team should also be deciding what happens to the deposit. The Thai help center walks through every screen: ให้ AI รับจองคิวในแชต (in Thai).
A booking message to copy, with the deposit term spelled out
Because Section 378’s default only applies when nothing else was agreed, stating the deposit term plainly in the confirmation message is what actually protects a business — not the law on its own. Match the hours below to whatever you set as your Cancellation window in 1CS; it’s our own suggested wording, not a fixed number every business should copy:
Your booking for [service] on [date] at [time] is confirmed. We’re holding your slot with a [amount] THB deposit. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please tell us at least [X hours] before your appointment — after that, or if you don’t show up, the deposit won’t be refunded. See you then, [customer name]!
Send that the moment a booking is made in chat, not after the reminder has already gone out — by the 24-hour mark, the term needs to already be something the customer agreed to, not something you’re telling them for the first time.
