Irrumator

And now for something completely different - telephone systems. It’s a long one, so apologies in advance. I hope there are some telecom techies out there, because it's getting serious. Oh, and I I should mention that I use an old iPhone 7, but I don't think that is contributing to the problem. I have lived in Thailand since 2004 and have used the same bank all that time - Santander UK. I use my son's UK address as my contact address for things like replacement cards or general printed bumf. They also have my email address which they occasionally use to notify me a statement is available to download, although email is never used for real communication. More importantly, they have my Thai phone number as my only contact number. And that is where the problem lies - it doesn't ring when they call me or even register a missed call or even send an SMS to warn me of a missed call. I was shocked last Friday when my son sent me a photo of a letter saying they had suspended my account. I rely on my various pittances of pensions being transferred every month and that would seriously affect me. I called them immediately and a fairly snotty clerk said 'well, we've been calling you since Dec 15th last year and you've refused to answer'. After I chewed her out for her remark, (how would she know I 'refused'?) and was transferred to someone with more knowledge, I suddenly remembered that I had the same problem about 3 years or so ago, of which more below. What happens is that someone from the bank calls me from the UK using their system, but I don't get receipt of the call, no ringtone, no missed call message, nothing whatsoever. Eventually I get a snail mail letter to my son's address, despite them having my email address, so there's a downvote from me immediately. Last time a few years ago, I got a great tech support girl in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who let me speak to her big boss and after a lot of testing, they said something was wrong with their system and it was promised they would look into it. Obviously they didn't. When I received the latest letter via my son last Friday I immediately called them. The more professional support lady listened this time and told me that due to financial regulation changes, I had to re-supply even more information and that was the reason why they made all the non-received calls. She sent me a link where I could upload various data and I did that. Hopefully that will solve the lack of documents they need. BUT there’s another twist to this. If I make an online purchase in Thailand using my UK credit card, sometimes it’s declined. Later, I’ll be randomly checking my phone and I’ll see a missed call from a long UK number (which I now know is my bank), but have never received a call, no ringtone, no vibrate, as above. I can’t call the missed number back because it’s automated. But at least I can receive and SMS on the ame number. I have to call the bank’s international number in the UK (at my expense) and after lots of announcements and music, I get someone. I have learned that these are calls from the bank to confirm it was me who was making the online CC purchase so that is sort of OK, BUT I still don’t get a call or SMS ringtone. However, I do at least get a missed call indicator, unlike the calls made by a real person. This is potentially serious, especially as this time they restricted my account. Luckily, I still have the email address of the previous excellent support girl from the previous problem and have emailed her chapter and verse, so I hope she gets back to me on Monday. What I’d like to know is why this is happening. Obviously it was never rectified before when I told them about it 3 years or so ago, despite the manager telling me it looked like it was their system at fault and promising to have it investigated. I asked my Thai phone provider yesterday if there could be some problem with receiving calls from the UK but he said not at all, although he was good enough to reset my number in case. The only thing I can think of is that the bank’s phone system doesn’t allow international calls to some countries but hasn’t told the staff, so when they try to call me, they’ll hear a ringtone instead of a message that says ‘Sorry, calls to this country are restricted’ so they are none the wiser. That might also explain the lack of a missed call indicator too, because the calls are never actually being made. They just disappear into the ether. The credit card verification calls ARE made because the system is automated but there’s still no ringtone, although it looks like the system is programmed to send an SMS when there’s no answer. What I'd like to explore is that, on this hopefully erudite group, does anyone on here have experience of computerised telephone systems and their quirks? What might be the reason for not hearing a ringtone, a vibrate or a missed call message when the caller swears they are hearing a ringtone and to their mind, the call is being made? Are there any experts out there? It could be that their UK phone system is different to a US system, but with luck they are similar enough for a US reader to comment. I can’t risk having my account restricted again. Sorry for the length but this situation has really bugged me, especially as it’s happened twice now. Oh, and PLEASE don't tell me to use Wise etc, because I've been doing that for over 5 years with no problem, and it isn't feasible to change my UK bank. I only mention this because I posted the above on Facebook on Saturday and typically, no one read or comprehended the question properly and started to blither on about using Wise (I do), opening a Thai bank account (I have 3) and everything else but not even touching the point of the post which in summary is - 1) When my UK bank calls me, I don't get a ringtone, vibrate, or missed call message 2) If the bank calls to query a credit card purchase in Thailand, I don't get a ringtone or vibrate, but I DO get an SMS that they tried to call and asking me to call back on a number they give, but when I try calling that number, it doesn't work. I hear nothing.

I only once tried to send money from Thailand to the UK and was unable to use Wise. I have been with Kasikorn for years (great bank) and browsing their phone app I was surprised to see that they do international transfers. If you have a KK Bank account, I suggest you try doing that. You need to install the app (although it can also be done via their website) and select 'Transfer' where there will be 7 options, the last of which is 'International Transfers'. I have just looked and unfortunately, Poland is not listed as a country they transfer to. ???? I wonder if you have a trusted person in another European country you could transfer the money to who could then transfer it to your nephew? Kasikorn lists Estonia as well as Germany, Latvia and Lithuania. Also the Netherlands and Slovakia. Failing that it looks like Dee Money or Bangkok Bank (which I did not know - good advice there, scorecard, because I also have a BBL account). If you have a BBL account, that sounds the easiest. Or otherwise install the Deemoney app. If you're in Bangkok, there's a large Deemoney branch on the corner of Sukhumvit Road and soi 8. Good luck!

Agreed. I do exactly what you say and share the screen with them. Only on Monday, a young student didn't understand the difference between the UK and England. I happened to have a map on my PC with different colours for each of the 4 countries and he got it in an instant. Saves a lot of lengthy explanations.

Because I've taught here for nigh on 20 years, know how Thais think and act, know they always cancel, and more importantly, know how they want to study and hence how best to teach them. I do have one Chinese lad studying to be a dentist at Mahidol, but although he's nice enough, there's a big difference between him and Thai students. Also, I speak Thai well enough to help them out if necessary. I'm not a believer is this absurd 'Never speak Thai in the classroom' rubbish.

Just like many Thai students then.

Sounds just like many of the Thais I have taught for 18 years! That is the real downside of working for yourself and not having an agency to refer them to.

That seems fair enough. I've just started teaching a member of the wife's family and I'm charging him 400 baht because of he's only 20 and not earning much, and of course, he's family. I had been charging 450 an hour for online but I'm going to start charging 500 this year. For face to face, I charged 700 an hour plus a topup for travel depending on where I had to go to. I want to cut the travel down to no more than 20-30 minutes from home, and I think increase to 800 an hour basic and add an estimate for travel, which will depend on how convenient for me. Seem fair?

I checked with the iTalki website and positions for teaching English for both Professional Teacher or Community teacher are both currently closed.

I have been full time teaching here in Thailand since 2004, all sorts from KG1 to M6 classrooms in schools, but mainly business English in companies and Government departments. Since Covid came along, I have been teaching online English of all types. I’m very experienced, speak Thai and am very familiar with the Thai mindset regarding studying. Now that I am much older and don’t want to travel all around Bangkok, I want to concentrate on online teaching and I’m part way through constructing a Facebook page. I’m also wondering what other platforms I could use. Any suggestions welcome for the latter. However, what bugs me is what is a fair price per hour? I do some work for one agency which pays 360 baht an hour (sometimes 300, for some reason) and another which pays 350 baht an hour. Now, that’s all very well when they are finding the work for you but to my mind, it’s rather low. I have seen private teachers pricing themselves at 450 – 500 baht per hour, and I personally know one guy (who is very good with younger kids) who charges 1,000 baht an hour – and gets it! I don’t want to price myself out of the market, nor do I want to work for too little. I prefer to teach 18 years and upwards, so university students but also working people who want to improve their speaking and listening skills for work or further education. They also have more disposable income. I only teach one hour classes because 30 minutes is a waste of time, and after an hour, most people’s concentration starts to flag. Even 1½ hours is too much for many. Any *serious* suggestions as to a fair price for an hour’s class and also where else I could advertise very welcome.