theblether

3 minutes ago, theblether said:

One of my ( very ) close relatives is an HMRC tax investigator. I posted this years ago but now time for a reminder. The government has an internal system called ICE. My relative only needs to submit your national insurance number and it spits out reports. If he adds a last known address and ( god forbid ) a passport number, twenty-three government agencies spit out everything they know about you. 

 

First, I haven't read the whole thread - the Thai government has a report of every time you have entered the kingdom. Do not kid yourself that the British government does not have every single entry you have made to the UK in the last 20 years. Second, the UK government has access to every flight manifest for passengers of any nationality entering or leaving the UK. By the way, some of you will be unaware that the HMRC investigation period has been extended from the previous six years to twenty years now. 

 

Second - HMRC can demand every financial transaction linked to your UK account and the banks cannot deny access to the records. So every time you have used an ATM drawing from a UK bank in Thailand it's recorded and accessible by HMRC. Equally every bank transfer overseas is recorded but no one is that stupid that they don't know that. 

 

Third - DWP are part of the ICE system, that should be obvious to everyone too. 

 

Fourth - one that you likely don't know - council tax records are part of ICE so if you are declaring that you are resident in the UK to bypass the pension freeze it will take the DWP a press of a button to discover your registered address. Another press of the ICE button will uncover your banking records, flight manifests etc. 

 

You cannot defeat ICE. 

 

After the bad news, now the good news. HMRC etc are far too busy to be chasing up every pension claimant. The people that get caught usually have an unexpected change in circumstances ( such as the person who they are registered as living with dying ), or the housing association discovering that an "unknown" person is living in the accommodation, or the "registered person" coming to the attention of social work support due to illness. Otherwise, someone would need to grass you into the authorities. 

 

There have been absurd cases where, for example, people sublet their own council house and use the profit to live in Thailand, then the council catches them out. You must be beyond stupid thinking you'd get away with that. 

 

However - this OP is approaching trolling territory. Mentioning the 55 year old and 61 year old is another absurdity. Who cares? They are nowhere near being affected by the pension freeze. 

 

And this forum has been tortured for decades by people moaning about the pension freeze that knew before they retired it applied in Thailand.  An utter waste of time as the governments ( including Labour ) have no interest in increasing their pension burden for people who choose to live overseas. They are delighted you have made the move and saved them a fortune. 

 

So sad, too bad. 

 

 

ps - I should add - some of you will remember a few years ago that the Thai government requested the UK government validated your income for retirement visa reasons. The UK government flat out refused, they weren't prepared to share that info with another country.

It would have been a catastrophe for many pensioners. First, for those who were cooking the figures to qualify - second, those who were claiming they were resident in the UK. So while some of you spend all day growling like bulldogs chewing a wasp, never forget how close you were to being dragged under the radar by Thai government policy. 

And who knows what the unintended consequences of the new tax policy will be.  

One of my ( very ) close relatives is an HMRC tax investigator. I posted this years ago but now time for a reminder. The government has an internal system called ICE. My relative only needs to submit your national insurance number and it spits out reports. If he adds a last known address and ( god forbid ) a passport number, twenty-three government agencies spit out everything they know about you. 

First, I haven't read the whole thread - the Thai government has a report of every time you have entered the kingdom. Do not kid yourself that the British government does not have every single entry you have made to the UK in the last 20 years. Second, the UK government has access to every flight manifest for passengers of any nationality entering or leaving the UK. By the way, some of you will be unaware that the HMRC investigation period has been extended from the previous six years to twenty years now. 

Second - HMRC can demand every financial transaction linked to your UK account and the banks cannot deny access to the records. So every time you have used an ATM drawing from a UK bank in Thailand it's recorded and accessible by HMRC. Equally every bank transfer overseas is recorded but no one is that stupid that they don't know that. 

Third - DWP are part of the ICE system, that should be obvious to everyone too. 

Fourth - one that you likely don't know - council tax records are part of ICE so if you are declaring that you are resident in the UK to bypass the pension freeze it will take the DWP a press of a button to discover your registered address. Another press of the ICE button will uncover your banking records, flight manifests etc. 

You cannot defeat ICE. 

After the bad news, now the good news. HMRC etc are far too busy to be chasing up every pension claimant. The people that get caught usually have an unexpected change in circumstances ( such as the person who they are registered as living with dying ), or the housing association discovering that an "unknown" person is living in the accommodation, or the "registered person" coming to the attention of social work support due to illness. Otherwise, someone would need to grass you into the authorities. 

There have been absurd cases where, for example, people sublet their own council house and use the profit to live in Thailand, then the council catches them out. You must be beyond stupid thinking you'd get away with that. 

However - this OP is approaching trolling territory. Mentioning the 55 year old and 61 year old is another absurdity. Who cares? They are nowhere near being affected by the pension freeze. 

And this forum has been tortured for decades by people moaning about the pension freeze that knew before they retired it applied in Thailand.  An utter waste of time as the governments ( including Labour ) have no interest in increasing their pension burden for people who choose to live overseas. They are delighted you have made the move and saved them a fortune. 

So sad, too bad. 

First, not every Russian in Thailand is fleeing the war. Just the same way as not every Irishman was in the IRA and not every Muslim is a member of ISIS. Plenty of Russians were emigrating and traveling the world long before he war started. 

Second, far too many Russians are being harassed and bullied over an issue that they have no control over, or, in many cases, agree with. This is done by a coterie of idiot farangs that start firing into this stupid conversation as soon as they discover their nationality. It's from the same rancid low IQ stable as talking to Germans about the war and Argentinians born in the 1990's about the Falklands. By definition, the vast majority of Russians in Thailand want no part in the war so making it a topic of conversation ( which they hear all day every day by farang strangers ) is rude and foolish. Give it a rest. 

Treat them as individuals. The Russians I talk to breathe a visible sigh of relief when I refuse to engage in any form of controversy or war talk. I've found them to be good, and interesting company, although I have no doubt they have their fair share of a**holes. Give them a chance

A married friend went to Koh Samui in January. He said it was an atrocious experience. Roads were mental and dangerous, prices more expensive than London ( in his own words ). He hated the entire vibe in Chaweng, says that daytime it was a concrete jungle, night time a cattle market full of drunk, rude and obnoxious tourists of all nationalities. 

Phuket is boycotted by a large number of expat types, it's a rip-off hellhole. IMO Sukhumvit has lost the little bit of plot that it had, and that wasn't much. Pricing is laughable, the vibe poor and many a weird or dangerous thing happens after midnight down there. I know too many people who have either been robbed or ripped off by taxi drivers in Lower Suk. Walking the streets is like walking through the bar in Star Wars, literally full of creatures of all shapes and sizes, a surprising number either mentally ill or outright dangerous. 

I haven't been to Patts for a while, the received wisdom is that town is going backwards fast. I was shocked at the level of passive aggressive and outright aggressive farangs in HUA HIN of all places, I wasn't shocked to read of serious assaults. Hua Hin police that I know told me they were delighted that the Patts ferry stopped, but the damage is done, the headcase brigade is already polluting that town. 

Pai, high season, is laughable. CM, high season, is creaking under the weight of unsustainable tourist numbers. Crossing the road is a genuine heart stopping experience and when events take place the numbers are crushingly busy. 

Others can comment on other locations. My opinion is that residual bad behaviour from isolated people re Covid is causing a lot of problems, and the hotspots can't handle the traffic. 

I know no one of experience who thinks that Thailand is in any way, shape or form a better destination than ten years ago. Maybe we are jaded. My opinion is that we can see the evidence with our own eyes - the country has unleashed a dragon - and I don't know how they will slay it. Bringing in more tourists isn't going to be the answer, that's for sure. 

10 hours ago, bubblegum said:

Last one I visited lasted 10 days and was well over 2 mil. baht.

Aye, very good. The topic is a foreign Christian heading into his eighties and you derail with this fantastical nonsense. Feel free to return with an answer to the OP's question - the cheapest funeral - when you reconnect with reality. 

5 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Need to bring back the life & death sentences for distribution, dependent on amounts.  Countries that stick to them, without the revolving door prisons seem to have less drug problems.

This has been tried in Thailand including the horrendous war on drugs in 2004 which resulted in thousands of summary street executions including many innocents. It was a convenient way for certain people to get rid of rivals ( including love rivals ). 

Question for the people who think this can be controlled. How do you intend to police the 1800 mile long land border with Myanmar? How do you intend to stop poverty stricken and war torn Burmese from earning life changing money from one successful drug run? 

I'll answer. You can't. 

Fundamentally, nothing can be done. I was at a Lahu New Year party a few years ago, two days later two of the guys at the party were shot dead by police as they were caught in the act of running yaba. I point out Lahu as I know Thais who have been arrested for the same crime and jailed without the risk of a gun to the head. In fact, one Thai I know is in for his second offence after receiving a pardon first time round. 

Lesson 1 - if you ain't Thai and your caught involved in this trade you're risking instant death. You really don't want to encounter Thai border guards anywhere near the Myanmar border.  

Lesson 2 - the level of stupidity and desperation involved to be caught running again not long after a pardon should show you the level of desperado involved. 

I've watched Thai police kick the living daylights out of Thais suspected of being involved ( aka they were involved ). The kicking was a warning and I'm not going into detail except to say I wasn't the only person watching. It was authorised from on high. 

Usage - I keep saying it on this forum and it's not sinking in with many members. The fastest road to the sex trade is to be a yaba user in the village. You will be excommunicated. Over the years I've seen several women hanging around bars who are severely rattling. I've seen bar owners melt down in a few short weeks as they get dragged into the late night sub culture. To be fair, I have seen people recover but once that drug is in your system relapse is easy. 

You mention stricter punishment. In a country where the death penalty is still force for drug running, what stricter penalty do you suggest? 

It's a sexual drug. Vulnerable ( aka often drunk ) women are either spiked or encouraged to try. They guys involved know what they are doing, they'd never dare try it on with the "protected" girls. It's fundamentally "low-life" city and rural youngsters at high risk. Although the net can reach upwards at times. One sometime PG I know got hooked, and was jailed three times for minor possession, then eventually put effective under house arrest with her parents. This decent looking but known wild-child type was reduced to turning tricks for 500 baht before her father in particular put the hammer down. By the way, she's now a single mother, father unknown. 

In the sex trade, you know that old saying that nothing good happens after 2am? Some of the activities would make any slumdogs skin crawl and it's yaba at the heart of it. It cannot be controlled, it cannot be stopped, it will burn like wildfire until it's target market is wiped out. So let me finish with the saddest story I know. My female pals sister was jailed as her front door was kicked in by police who knew her bf was a dealer. She was clean when arrested, but jailed for dealing. A year later they both got out, her head was destroyed by the prison experience. She left prison, got back with the guy then started smashing yaba. 

A chaotic year later, now with a weeks old baby ( gawd knows how much yaba flowed through that wee one's veins ) she drank battery acid in desperation at her addiction. She lived for a week in intensive care then died. Tne coward of a father fled to the monkhood, abandoning the baby who was then delivered to the elderly parents door. My pal had to take on an extra job to pay all the expenses. I don't know how the kid is doing now. 

Yaba is the devil. You'll never be rid of it. Never. Drinking battery acid to escape it's grip? dear me - it's the devil indeed.