bradiston

If you possibly can, download the section 38 app. It's a million times simpler than the awful website.

He had my (non existent) vote until he started banging on about weed. He should stick to outing gangsters. Liberalising weed use is a popular vote catcher.

Once again, my objection is to the obvious loss making enterprise that dumping 800k THB into a Thai bank for 12 months represents. The bank however will profit handsomely.

So invading Ukraine is going to stop that happening? He just wanted an excuse to retake Donbas and secure Crimea. He can't possibly control Ukraine, and has no right to. NATO is already on his doorstep in Estonia, Latvia and very soon, Finland. That's why they're untouchable.

I'm not arguing it might not pay for the ext of stay, which after all is only 1900 THB if you do it yourself. I was pointing out that Thai banks, along with almost every bank worldwide, pay far less than the rate of inflation, so you're being forced into a really crummy investment scheme. Guaranteed loss anyone? I have money invested - in fact the bulk of my capital - in much higher rate bank accounts and financial instruments, elsewhere. They're not hard to find or access. £20k/$25k deposits can earn decent returns. If I put up an ad offering a guaranteed 2% loss pa, how many takers would there be? Well, 1000s of expats in Thailand for a start it seems.

I am unable to get an interest bearing account in Thailand. I had a UOB one once but it wasnt acceptable to the IO. It had no passbook. And, it was taxed at 7% at source. Sure, my UK interest was taxable too, but it never pushed me into a taxable zone.

Just in case I e got my figures wrong, here's how I work them out: February rate of inflation in Thailand: 3.79% pa Monthly rate = 3.79/12 = .316% Depreciation on 800,000 over 5 months = 800,000 * .316% * 5 = 12,640 Depreciation on 400,000 over 7 months = 400,000 * .316% * 7 = 8,848 Total annual depreciation of your "guarantee" as required by Thai immigration = 21,488 THB. That's the true cost of your agentless method. Plus the 1900 of course, the hassle, the gas, the time, the schlepp, the preparation etc etc. Must be 25,000 in all. Agent? 12,500. Half price. No hassle. No questions asked. Plus you invest the 800k somewhere that pays you inflation beating returns, well, you get my drift!

If you've had the requisite amounts stuck in a non interest bearing account here, it's already cost you more than an agent in depreciation. The biggest unseen mugging around. Your bank's laughing!

Where to start? https://www.krungsri.com/en/research/industry/industry-outlook/Services/Private-Hospitals/IO/io-Private-Hospitals No mention in the entire article of the supposedly disastrous effects of expats stiffing Thai hospitals. In fact, expats make up a tiny percentage of patients, about 1.4%. Tourists with no insurance would appear to be far more likely to land themselves in hospital facing an impossible to pay bill because of their lack of foresight. I think it's a myth that we as a group cause immense losses to hospitals. I can't find any evidence to support it, put it that way. In fact, hospitals here appear to be doing fine, and medical tourism is a booming industry. Westerners make up a small percentage of admissions, too. Mostly it seems Thai hospitals are full of Thailand's neighbours, middle and far eastern patients, Chinese etc. And that trend is set to rise. I pay 10,400 THB monthly for medical insurance, and it doesn't even cover OPD, dental or optical. That's 500,000 pa roughly. Admittedly, it's not to a Thai insurer. I have to self insure for the OPD etc. So I won't be accused of stiffing the Thai health system, and I don't see how using an agent could possibly be linked to that. If I needed the 800/400 to pay for medical treatment I'd be stuffed when it came to extending my visa based on retirement. Hail that agent!

It's not the application time, but the 800/400k requirement. I want that money available 365 days a year. Can anyone explain the rationale behind it? When it came in? Whose idea it was?

Which IO?

Same old "we can have them to attack you, but you can't have them to defend yourselves" narrative. Always the same outrage. How dare you defend yourselves?

In Pattaya by any chance? Still 12,500 where I am.

Unless it's changed recently, not in my IO, Jomtien, as of July 2022.

Using an agent to do annual renewal of extension is news to you? When did you fall asleep?

I'm not getting it. I'm losing it on depreciation due to inflation. Cash is a depreciating asset. I can get 7.5% elsewhere.

Last time I attempted a "straight" renewal of extension it went something like this: I had a bookless UOB deposit account opened in Ban Chang. The requisite 800k was in there. I got a letter and statements printed out confirming same from UOB in Chantaburi. IO in Laem Ngop refuse. They service Trad and Koh Chang. The deputy manager of the UOB branch drives down from Chantaburi, 200km round trip. IO don't want to know. I'm sent back to Ban Chang, maybe 600km round trip, to close deposit and open book account. Return a day later. Job done. Never EVER again will I let these axxxholes fxxx me about like that. Years later same office came to my small island and fined me 1600 for no TM30. Of course, YMMV.

I think definitely a case of YMMV

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac You learn something every day!

Is there another source for this item apart from Pattaya News?

LTR aside, as this is not an available option for most, what about the 25000+ THB you lose in a typically non interest bearing THB bank account where you stashed your ever depreciating 800/400k cash which you can't even touch?

I did it by email, having had previous experience with them. I've won a small handout every time, but it never amounts to much. And you never get a proper answer from the bank about how it happened, how incompetent they are, or even an admission of guilt. I did get a verbal, on the phone, explanation as to why they blocked me. But they're under no obligation to explain anything or discuss anything. Fraud raises alarm bells every where, the shutters come down, because they've been so badly caught out in the past by the likes of Russian oligarchs etc. City of London, just a giant cesspool.

Well said. They've got the wrong end of the stick. Won't discuss it, won't answer any questions. The people in the fraud department are thick as sxxx. Their flagging software is poorly written cxxx. And that's in a very major UK bank. Any complaints and you get referred to the 156 page Terms & Conditions "which you agreed to when you opened the account 15 years ago".

I had a similar experience more recently with a UK bank. For 5 days I was locked out of my account there. The "fraud" department had completely misconstrued a deposit I was making to another UK bank. They were profuse in their apologies when I managed to untangle their web of suspicions. After 3 months I got £300 compo via the banking ombudsman.

The article mentions alludes to Russians as refugees in the headline, and again in the article itself. It also claims 10s of thousands of Russians are evading conscription. It's a really poor piece of journalism all told. It mentions Al Jazeera as a source, but no links. Your comments though are even more misleading than the OP.