TigerandDog

23 hours ago, jackdd said:

It's not really a grey area, but the details which you gave are just not precise.

If the last time you entered Thailand is less than a year ago and you have an IDP which is not expired you are good to go. You have a valid license and can't be fined.

If you entered Thailand more than a year ago then you don't have a valid license, so it's the same as if you were driving without a license.

jackdd you were proven to be WRONG when you previously posted about the need for a Thai license and IDP. The proof of that was provided by way of an extract supplied by Land Transport in Bangkok, but you still insist that you don't need to get a Thai License after being here on a long stay visa for more than 90 days. Wake up man, or are you just one of the many know-alls in this forum that know sfa.

7 hours ago, mjnaus said:

Came back from Chiang Mai yesterday after spending the weekend. Air quality was pretty bad (US AQI hover between 120 - 150); without any clear explanation why... 

There has been explanations on the current smoke haze in CM ( not just the city, it's worse in the districts east of CM ) on the news on several tv stations and that is that some of it is being caused by the smoke from the forest fires in Indonesia but MOST of it is coming from Cambodia where they are in the midst of their burning season.

On 9/29/2019 at 1:46 AM, flyingtlger said:

It seems like a lot of the negativity comes from old timers that compare the "back in the day" mentality with present day reality.

Everything changes.  The only thing constant in life is "Change".

Thailand was slow in changing in many ways but has rapidly, if not furiously, changed more than it ever has in the last few years.

Gotta roll with the punches.  Learn to adapt or move on to greener pastures or where ever you feel more comfortable.....

 

Have to disagree about the negativity coming from "old timers".  There are numerous members of this forum that are habitual complainers. It wouldn't matter where they lived, what the topic was, they'd always find something trivial to whinge & whine about. Before all the negativity about changes to Immigration rules ( TM30 etc, moeny requirements for extensions of stay etc ) these individuals were complaining about plenty of other topics. Best to ignore their negativity, as it's built into their DNA. In fact I would go as far as to say the TV moderators should identify these habitual complainers and block them completely from the forum, so sensible discussion can occur without all the rubbish that get's included.

59 minutes ago, ThaiFelix said:

I sold a property in Oz not long ago.  Didnt want to do the trip home so had to use notary services at Aust embassy.  Needed a second ID apart from passport.  While there I also got them to notarise/certify ID for getting a replacement for my lost Aust, drivers license. 

 

One thing to note, in my experience, is that the ID must have both photo and signature.  Thai drivers does not.  Sometimes you dont realise these things till you need them, I didnt. 

Thai drivers license DOES have your photo on it but no signature. Pink ID card has your photo but NO signature, and I've had both accepted, trouble free, for identification purposes by Govt & non- govt organisations.

I'd hate to see the outcome if the cops decided to do ganja raids in this part of the country. Every man & his dog is growing marijuana. I even attended  a function at our local community center and 3 large batches of dried marijuana leaves and stems were added to the soup for the noodles. One very happy village that day.

1 hour ago, johng said:

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Nobody pays tax here 

Everyone pays the 7% VAT

Not everyone. Have you ever paid the 7% tax at your local market. NO.

I downloaded a template of the Thai will format. Completed it in english and then had it translated to Thai. Cost me 2700 baht. Signed both copies ( english & Thai ) in front of 2 witnesses, who then signed and then had our village head sign and stamp both wills. No other costs involved for me.

which way are you trying to transfer, from PayPal to your bank account or vice versa? Here in Thailand you can ONLY transfer funds FROM PayPal to your Thai bank account. You cannot transfer in the other direction.

4 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

KTB is the bank I was told had to handle the refund. After I had submitted a tax form at my local revenue office, some time later I received a slip of paper in the post.  It was the refund but not a cheque... I had to open a KTB account along with proof of my Tax ID, then the slip of paper was entered and the refund was in that account. Quite a palaver. 

I have accounts with KTB & TMB. When I originally enquired as to how I obtained a refund of the tax deducted from the interest paid to my accounts, BOTH banks told me that NO bank can issue a tax refund. The banks MUST issue a letter showing how much interest was credited to the account and the amount of tax that was deducted. I then had to take the letter to my local Revenue Dept complete a form requesting a refund and wait for a refund cheque which arrived in the post about 2 weeks later. This has been the process I've had to follow for the past 5 years in both BKK when I lived there and now in Chiang Mai, and again next year for this years tax deduction.  However, my new TMB bank manager has added a copy of my pink id card to my file at the bank and my account has now been set so no further tax will ever be deducted from interest paid.

18 hours ago, sumrit said:

Do Thai Nationals have a separate Tax ID Card or do they just show their ID Card and/or Tabien Baan?

 

Just asked my daughter and she says Thais just use their ID card, they don't have a separate Tax card. 

 

So foreigners who have a pink ID card would do the same. Your Thai ID number is also your Tax Number so any foreigner who has a Thai ID number would use that for tax purposes.

My Pink ID card & Tax number are different. Even though I gave the local Revenue Office my Pink ID card when first applying for a tax refund I was issued with a tax number printed on a piece of paper slightly larger than my pink id card and the number is not even remotely close to that on my pink id card.

18 hours ago, leddie said:

Wouldn't that be a "catch 22" situation?  KTB requires the card to issue the refund.  Anyone else with recent experience from Bangkok?

KTB doesn't issue tax refunds, they as all banks issue letters stating how much tax has been deducted and you then apply for your tax refund at your local Revenue Office.

and I suppose all the govt officials and police officers that drive drunk will not be tested, just let to continue their trips. I have 2 friends here who are police, and even when they are on duty, they still come to parties and consume considerably large amounts of alcohol, get too drunk to drive, BUT still drive their marked police vehicles anyway. They set such a good example for everyone else, NOT. If the cops can't obey the law how on earth can they be expected to actually enforce it?

31 minutes ago, Beggar said:

Why should you need 2 wills? If you write it yourself by hand it should be valid here and in GB. 

Unfortunately not the case. Under Thai legislation a Thai will can ONLY be used for assets held within Thailand, hence the need for 1 will in Thailand & 1 will for assets held in your home country.

3 hours ago, Henricus said:

You need to make 2 last wills, 1 in Thailand and 1 in the UK. 

In Thailand you need to go to a Lawyer for your assets here, in the UK I don`t know.

I don't agree about the need for a lawyer here in Thailand. I just recently completed my Thai will using the Thai will format, which I was able to find a template of online, ( in english & translated to Thai as required ) signed it in front of my 2 witnesses and then had our village head sign it so that when the time comes the local District Office will immediately accept the will and allow the executor of the estate carry out the will's instructions. 

to be honest there is a much easier way than TM30 to report the whereabouts of farangs. Firstly ALL long stay farangs should have a pink ID card. The pink ID card should have a micro chip in it, the same as the Thai ID card, and hotels etc only need to have a scanner, similar to that used at Thai Post to scan Thai ID cards when they send items through the post. That information immediately goes to Immigration. No workload for hotel owners etc, less work for Immigration Officers as the scanned data is automatically uploaded to our Immigration files in the Imm database. Private house owners that know they are going to have farangs staying on a regular basis should also obtain the scanners. Ideally they should be provided from Govt funds, not the owners funds. A simpler solution, no stuffing people around, no receipt required as the database will have that information.

On 8/26/2019 at 11:37 AM, SteveK said:

You can't, I contacted Paypal about it.

Yes you can. I have 2 PayPal accounts, BUT they MUST have different email addresses. PayPal do not allow more than 1 account per email address. One is for Australia and the 2nd for Thailand. My Thai bank account is linked to the 2nd PayPal account. If/when you transfer funds to your Thai PayPal account you CAN move those funds to your Thai bank account. I do that on a regular basis from money I earn from doing online surveys, which is credited to my aussie bank account. However, you CANNOT purchase online and have the funds deducted from your Thai bank account. To purchase online using the Thai PayPal account either a debit card that can be used online ( not all banks allow their debit cards to be used online ) or a credit card MUST be linked to the Thai PayPal account.

6 hours ago, elgenon said:

What is the app?

The original app is no longer available. The replacement app is called DLT Check In Plus. It's available for android phones in Play Store ( just checked my phone ). Don't know if it's available for Apple phones.

9 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Start by contacting the Tourist Police

 

call centre 1155

 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/1155TPB/

 

that won't work. DLT have an app you can download for free specifically for the purpose of reporting shonky taxis or in the event you get a really good one to give them a wrap. The app has provision within it to take a pic, so you can take a photo of the meter, and the drivers credentials whilst in the cab, and even better yet the driver.  When I was living in BKK i reported several taxis for different reasons and some of them got fined, some lost their license and the 2 that ripped me off were made to refund the rip off amount in person at the nearest DLT to where I was living.  So some things do actually work as intended. I even had one occurrence where my mobile fell out of my pocket and it got left in the taxi unbeknown to me. I contacted DLT, they contacted the driver and he denerd that the phone was left in his taxi. Unfortunately for him, I was able to trace the whereabouts of my phone using GPS, and as DLT gave me the tgaxi drivers phone # so my partner could speak to him, I was able to track his phone too. We went to DLT and showed them the tracking for both phones which were in identical locations. DLT contacted the driver and told him he needed to come in immediately. About 15 minutes later he fronted, and again denied that he had the phone. He was asked where his phone was and he took it from his pocket. We then started the GPS tracking again and lo & behold both phones were showing as being at the DLT office. He continued to deny having the phone despite the GPS saying otherwise. DLT called the police and when they arrived and searched him, my phone was in his pocket. I got my phone back and he was arrested. DLT cancelled his taxi drivers license, and as he was the owner of the taxi they also cancelled his vehicle taxi registration on the spot. Don't know what the police did to him, but as far as I'm concerned DLT does act on complaints about taxi drivers submitted via the app.

On 8/17/2019 at 11:31 PM, Martyp said:

You are not really going to know if your hotel actually files or not. Just assume they will file. You shouldn’t care whether they file or not. When you get home file within 24 hours of when you say you returned. Immigration will be happy with you. Do what you are supposed to do and don’t worry about the hotel. 

He will actually know. If they copy his passport, then they will most likely notify, and to play it safe he should do a TM30. If they don't, then he will still know as the hotel has not reported.  I went to my district Imm Office today to ask about out-of-province travel, and their response was even though CM do not currently require TM30 on your return for out of province travel, I was advised that if the hotel copies my passport or pink ID card or drivers license then I should assume ( not make an ass out of u and me ) that the hotel will report and to be on the safe side have a TM30 submitted upon my return to my permanent residence.  In this case I'm lucky as we have an Imm Office here in our district and only need to go to CM annually for the extension of stay.

23 hours ago, Skallywag said:

 

So these guys are old, have pre existing conditions, came to thailand and started families? (more than one 55) 

 

Not what expats in retirement and with unhealthy pre-existing conditions should not be doing IMO 

 

As mentioned, most insurers will sign you up until the age of 70.  Pre-existing conditions not covered for several years or ever

 

Other than that take solace that they have 800,000 baht in the bank to start over in a neighboring country

Most insurers will not touch you after age 60 and then will only cover you to age 70, that's why the 6 or so insurance companies were given the green light to instigate policies for the over 60's and at ridiculously exhorbitant premiums at that.

Pacific Cross will issue you with cover up to age 75. A full medical is required for 65 and older. Once accepted they will cover you til death. Also if you've had any kind of treatment more than 5 years ago, don't tell them, they will add exclusions. I had arthroscopies to both knees in 1989 to remove some floating cartilage. So they won't cover anything to do with my knees unless bones are broken or fractured.

12 hours ago, featography said:

Probably not necessary to get another TM6 card. On one of the pages in your passport, mine being at the bottom of a page, there date of arrival and TM6 info is there. My TM6 cant even be read anymore its so old, so when they want copies of that card, I just print the page in passport that has that info. Good to  go. 

 

Just went through my passport and there is NOWHERE other than the actual TM6 where it can be referenced.