Great Care Needed When Transfering Funds For Visas Etc

[astral]

I asked my UK bank to transfer GBP2000 to Thailand on the 1st June.

Instead they bought Thai baht in London and transfer that via Bangkok Bank.

The rate was 62.196 so I received THB124.396

The Thaivisa page http://baht.thaivisa.com/currency-rate-on-2007-06-01.html shows the onshore rate on that

day to be 68.568 so I should have received THB137,136

Between them the banks lifted 10% of my money.

I am already taking this matter up with my UK bank.

[dsfbrit]

Astral, a similar thing happened to me. I was transferring 8000 pounds, to HSBC Thailand, so I was also very upset.

Trouble is it was my fault as the method I have used for several years - didn't specify transferring to Thailand in pounds.

I made a formal complaint to the bank (HSBC) UK and was going to take it to the Banking Ombudsman - but I am stuffed.

The trouble is - now that I have delved into the subtleties of Onshore and Offshore rates - the TV banking forum was really helpful - I have lost my nerve on transferring funds.

I will make my next major transfer next week and this is after I have spoken and emailed HSBC in Thailand and UK.

One thing I wanted to be sure of was that a Correspondent Bank would not get involved in the wrong way and maybe make the exchange before it got to Thailand!

Good luck with yours mate, it sounds like you have a reasonable chance.

Which banks were involved?

[astral]

Which banks were involved?

Royal Bank of Scotland and Krung Thai

It is not the first time RBS has screwed up.

Perhaps it is time to bank elsewhere? Any recommendations for GOOD off shore banks?

My instructions are quite specific.

Sterling funds required, exchange will be handled in Thailand

The problem is that it leaves my Thai account short of what I had budgeted........

[Fred Sanford]

that's a real reamjob

[Maestro]

Perhaps it is time to bank elsewhere? Any recommendations for GOOD off shore banks?

My bank in Switzerland has on its page for payment order entry a drop-down list for the selection of the currency:

I think that whatever bank you choose next you should make sure that it gives you this option for your online orders. If you are not limited to having your bank in the UK (high bank charges) you may want to check out banks on the Continent and/or in Singapore. My bank charges me CHF 5 (GBP 2.04) for an outward SWIFT remittance to Thailand, GBP 0.12 for an inward remittance from anywhere. As you will have to show up personally to open an account, Singapore will probably be more convenient for you. Many Continental banks have branches there. Or check out the banks in the Channel Islands, see what their online service is like.

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Maestro

[sumrit]

A slightly different problem with my UK bank that cost money. For about ten years, while I was living still in the UK, I regularly transfered money from my Lloyds TSB account to a Thai account. As well as paying the UK charges I was always asked if I also wanted to pay any charges from the Thai bank, and this I always agreed to do, and about a week after the transfer I would get a letter from Lloyds saying they had deducted the Thai charges of usually about £20-25 from my account. When I moved to Thailand as well as making sure money was sent in GBP I also said I would pay the Thai charges here in Thailand. I then found out that the maximum charge from a Thai bank was just 500 baht. Lloyds TSB had been overcharging me by £15-20 each time for years.

Just one more UK bank rip off we need to be aware of.

Edited June 13, 2007 by sumrit

[apetley]

Astral, if you specified that you wanted to transfer sterling to your Thai account I would think you have a strong case for some form of redress.

I bank with HSBC and have setup a template with them detailing my UK and Thai accounts and that I always wish to transfer sterling and that I will always pay any Thai bank account charges from my Thai account.

In Thailand I bank with Kasikorn and my money is always there the next working day or sooner.

[Maestro]

HSBC...template...detailing...that I always wish to transfer sterling

Does the payment order template have a specific field for entry of the currency code, or do you give your instructions in the form of a message to the bank?

The online demo does not give an example of a foreign remittance.

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Maestro

[samran]

HSBC...template...detailing...that I always wish to transfer sterling

Does the payment order template have a specific field for entry of the currency code, or do you give your instructions in the form of a message to the bank?

The online demo does not give an example of a foreign remittance.

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Maestro

When you do the transfer on HSBC you have the choice of sending the money "in the currency of the 'from' account" or in the "currency of the 'to' account".

I always send it in the currency of the 'from' account - which is either USD or GBP for me, and it arrives in Thailand as such, and gets converted onshore. Has always gotten me the best rate (after the 15 pound charge to transfer grrrr)

[Maestro]

...after the 15 pound charge to transfer grrrr

That looks relatively cheap by UK bank standards. 18-20 seems the norm.

When you do the transfer on HSBC you have the choice of sending the money "in the currency of the 'from' account" or in the "currency of the 'to' account".

This would serve the needs of the OP.

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Maestro

[dsfbrit]

apetley, do you have an example of that template.

I would rather send the funds from HSBC to Kasikorn bank the same as you.

I have spoken to Kasikorn bank and they say I have to specify a 'Correspondent Bank' in the UK or else the conversion will take place in the UK! The Correspondent bank is Barclays. Not impossible, but another thing to go wrong!

I was going to try this method in a couple of months time, but as I need to get some funds here fairly quickly (like the OP, I too am short of money for my visa application) , thought I would use my HSBC Bangkok account instead.

Long term HSBC UK to Kasikorn would be great.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

[ronw]

Interesting topic..................

A while ago I came across a site on the net, which offered FREE transfers of cash from and to anywhere in the world, but being lazy, I did nothing about it.

I did, however, email them,and for what it is worth, here is their e-mail address [email protected] ...give it a whirl...and then give us some feedback..................cheers.

[tomallison]

I have used Nationwide International, Isle of Man for many years without any problems. By making an arrangement with them, you can transfer funds by fax, phone or Internet instructions. I carried out a transfer last week to my local Bangkok bank account. The funds were in the Bkk bank the following day. The rate equal to 68.3, plus 20 pound SWIFT charge.

[Nomad97]

I bank offshore in the Isle of Man and earlier this year I asked them to make all future transfers to Thailand in Pounds Sterling. The next transfer was made in Pounds Sterling as requested. However, the very next monthly transfer was made in Thai Baht and I lost some 5,000 to 6,000 Baht on the transfer. I complained by telephone, on four occasions over the next couple of weeks and, quite frankly, got nowhere. I then went to print and sent by registered post a 'Customer Complaint'. The service I have since received from the bank has been impressive. Not only have they apologized for their error but they have also compensated my account with an arbitrary sum of £100 for the differential between the onshore and offshore rate of exchange, £20 for my four international phone calls, and £6 for an excess transfer charge.

All credit to Lloyds TSB, and to myself for a little bit of perseverance.

[Badbanker]

Now you all know why the Indian and Chinese "Hundi System" is still so popular after all of these centuries!

Badbanker

[apetley]

apetley, do you have an example of that template.

I would rather send the funds from HSBC to Kasikorn bank the same as you.

I have spoken to Kasikorn bank and they say I have to specify a 'Correspondent Bank' in the UK or else the conversion will take place in the UK! The Correspondent bank is Barclays. Not impossible, but another thing to go wrong!

I was going to try this method in a couple of months time, but as I need to get some funds here fairly quickly (like the OP, I too am short of money for my visa application) , thought I would use my HSBC Bangkok account instead.

Long term HSBC UK to Kasikorn would be great.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Hi. Easy to set up over the phone, the 'customer adviser' took down all of the details and entered them into their system and next time I want to make a transfer I just call up, they access my details and make the transfer. Been simple and painless many times now.

[Digitalbanana]

It is not the first time RBS has screwed up.

Perhaps it is time to bank elsewhere? Any recommendations for GOOD off shore banks?

I went through several similar experiences with Nat West (Jersey) several years back and have since opened an offshore Citibank account and transferred 95% of my funds out of Natwest to Citi. It's so much easier doing it online these days Citibank vs Natwest. You can choose the currency to wire to Thailand and it arrives next day free of wire fees at the click of the mouse (and a few key passwords).

[naka]

Which banks were involved?

Royal Bank of Scotland and Krung Thai

It is not the first time RBS has screwed up.

Perhaps it is time to bank elsewhere? Any recommendations for GOOD off shore banks?

My instructions are quite specific.

Sterling funds required, exchange will be handled in Thailand

The problem is that it leaves my Thai account short of what I had budgeted........

LloydsTSB Jersey Offshore ... A special branch of Lloyds in Jersey, who deal mainly with Expats.

Link

Naka.

[khunphilip]

Which banks were involved?

Royal Bank of Scotland and Krung Thai

It is not the first time RBS has screwed up.

Perhaps it is time to bank elsewhere? Any recommendations for GOOD off shore banks?

My instructions are quite specific.

Sterling funds required, exchange will be handled in Thailand

The problem is that it leaves my Thai account short of what I had budgeted........

Use R.B.S to transfer funds on the form it asks form of currency to be sent however with the outcome of equal opportunities in employment they seem to

have staff that have great difficulty reading english or are unable to transfer instructions the last 3 transfer they completely screwed up 1. entered the wrong a/c no.so thefunds were sent back. 2nd spelled my name wrong however aphone call to Bangkok put that right 3rd ask for 3520 pounds so 20 pounds covered the cost so

they sent 3500 and 20 pence even though the amount was clear in written english. on phoning the bank they replied we just pass in on to the foreign branch so when the next transfer comes along what mistake will they make

[pgs]

We have also been toying with the transer ideals - but are not thrilled with the unnecessarily high fees in Oz for it. PayPal is an option - but not one I would recommend. Their security is pathetic - worse when one considers how much of Thawte / Verisign they own.

Western Union is handy for quick cash, but also horrendously expensive.

If you have a look at www.xe.com, this Canadian based currency exchange has an international trasfer system that has reasonable fees. Worth a look.

Edit:

Just noticed another option in the 'General' forum: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=125267

This may be practical if you're not in a hurry.

Edited June 14, 2007 by pgs

[Maestro]

...have staff that have great difficulty reading english or are unable to transfer instructions...

Manual transcription of data entered online by the account holder! Yesterday, I began to suspect that this was the case with UK banks, and it may explain at least partially the high bank fees. I can picture it:

Clerk 1: displays customer’s data on computer screen, prints it, passes it on to...

Clerk 2: reads the print-out, checks it for accuracy and completeness, initialises it, passes it on to...

Supervisor 1: double-checks the print-out, initialises it, passes it on to...

Clerk 3: enters the data in the computer, prints it, passes it on to...

Supervisor 2: checks the printout for accuracy and completeness, initialises it, passes it back to...

Clerk 3: hits the “Send” key on the computer, makes print-out, passes it on to...

Supervisor 3: checks the print-out, initialises it, passes it on to...

Clerk 4: files the print-out.

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Maestro

[astral]

The bank has agreed that they screwed up.

Hi

Im getting the difference credited to your account and apologies for the mix up. Someone obviously didn't pay attention to your instruction.

Regards

xxxx

International Personal Banking Manager,

The Royal Bank of Scotland International

PO Box 62, Royal Bank Place,

1 Glategny Esplanade, St Peter Port,

Guernsey, GY1 4BQ

Tel: + 44 (0) 1481 702596

Fax: + 44 (0) 1481 715449

My reply was:

Hi

That is not really what I need.

I had budgeted for those fund to be in Thailand, not back in my RBS account.

I suggest you transfer the balance, in POUNDS to the Thailand account, at the bank's expense,

or perhaps out of the pocket of whoever screwed up.

Thanks

xxxxx

I will keep you posted on their answer.

[Maestro]

[From the bank’s message] Im getting the difference credited to your account and apologies for the mix up. Someone obviously didn't pay attention to your instruction.

So my suspicion was right: manual processing. True to the old British tradition.

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Maestro

[astral]

They have come back to assure me that the missing funds will get to Thailand as I requested.

PS This was not an internet transaction, but a fax with a verification code.