beaufoy

We own a condo near airport plaza chiangmai and last year stains started ( late in rainy season)to appear on the wallpaper at the point where the condo faces the outside wall of the condo. It is obvious that the stains are cause by lack of insulation from dampness caused by rain. We pay a large amount of money to the condo management in order to keep the condo in good condition hence we showed the dampness problems to said management. At first they admitted it was caused by rain hitting the outside wall and seeping through to our bedroom wall. They suggested we should wait until the dry season and promised they would make the required repairs. It is now at the end of the dry season and nothing has been done so we contacted them again, and this time they told us to wait until it gets worse and then make a claim on our insurance. 

   Of course it is not storm damage problem it is lack of maintenance problem and therefore the repair should be paid for by way of the fees we pay the condo management

If the condo management company refuses to repair the outside wall is there a regulator we can report them to????? 

On 4/18/2024 at 9:06 AM, novacova said:

I’m sure ducks are farmed here, they get eaten every day here. Not all duck feathers are equal. I suppose the pekins are the most common in the region.

I am sure ducks are farmed here I want to know the addresses of the farms

21 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

I'm curious what you want them for?

It's not the fine goose down feathers?

I have duck feather pillows which are several years old and due to age and washing they have gone flat hence i want to increase the feathers in each pillow

are there duck farmers in chiangmai where i can buy duck feathers

I have problems with a thailand health insurance company. I want to start a case in the small claims court. In England the court requires the plaintiff to name a dept and/or a member of staff when lodging the case with the court. I have asked the health insurance company for details of lawyers/members of their staff who deal with legal matters, but they have ignored said requests. Therefore the only name i have is that of the sales rep who ignored my complaint letters sent to the health insurance offices in bangkok. 

  Is it OK to name a sales rep as the recipitant of the court papers

Now coming from england and having worked as a claims negotiator I am fully aware that regulators in england would not allow a health insurance company get away with what this health insurance company has done to me in Thailand.:

 I applied for health insurance and the company said i would need to take a medical

The medical found blood in the stool but it was examined for amount/colour/consistency and other readings which concluded the blood came from  hemorrhoid's . The Doctor told me there was no need for a colonoscopy or a re-examination...so everyone was happy

The insurance company then told me that they had been informed by the hospital that further investigation was required and therefore they wanted me to have a colonoscopy

I told the insurance company to send me the report from the hospital which told them further investigation was required. The insurance company seemed to admit they had lied and therefore could not send papers/reports they claimed to have received

I went to the hospital and received a report which stated the blood was not a problem, and there should not be a colonoscopy unless my symptoms get worse...and even if my symptoms get worse a colonoscopy should only be done if a specialist has re-examined  a new stool sample and done other examinations and then decided a colonoscopy is advisable

I sent said report to the insurance company who did not apologise for lying. There stance was as follows:

They said that the hospital's opinion was that a colonoscopy was not required, but the hospital did not reject completely that a colonoscopy might be required in the future

They also said they did not bother getting a full report because they always ask for a colonoscopy if blood is found in the stool, and said policy is independent of what the hospital advises

The insurance company gave me 3 choices

1)   Have a colonoscopy 

2) Continue with cover but all bowel illnesses will not be covered

3) cancel the policy

please give me your thoughts on the above

6 hours ago, Sheryl said:

"OK then look at this scenario when I had the medical the doctor found blood in my stool, and examination of the blood suggested it was caused by hemerroids and there was nothing to worry about. Hence I did not worry about the possibility that ------- Health would change my policy. Hence when I did not receive notification of endorsement I thought everything was OK .....When I was told about the endorsement two years premiums had been paid and I was told I could cancel but I would not be refunded the money"

 

If I understand you correctly, on policy renewal they added an exclusion that was not in the original policy based on new finding. Unfortunately this is something Thai insurers are allowed to do, one of several reasons why I always recommend against Thai based policies.

 

If by "would not be refunded the money" you mean for the  prior two years, of course not as that period has passed and you were insured (without endorsement) during it. If you mean that you want a refund of the current new period for which you have already paid (example: you paid for coverage for 1 year and you are now just 1-2 months into that 12 month period) that should be refundable.

 

 

I have been employed in the insurance sector in England, although I was employed in motor claims, I believe the health insurance sector was able to amend the extent of cover after the joining  medical examination found the insured was suffering from a condition ie the english insurance company could and did and should of added an exclusion. However, a situation then exists which falls into 3 sections

1) The insured wants to keep full cover

2) The insurance company wants to take advantage of the "found by doctor's condition' to reduce the cover as much as possible ie Hemmerrroid blood is found so all bowel problems excluded

3) The Hospital Doctors believe an adjustment in cover based on the findings of the doctor is correct

      Now to your second paragraph in which you say I was insured without endorsement during the first two years, in fact there was an endorsement, but the insurance company failed to inform me of said endorsement. This is the point where I have to explain the uk/usa  rule " The insurance company must bring to the attention of the insured any changes which might effect the insured"

In fact I will quote another rule " If evidence in each direction is equal then the court should decide in favor of the insured"

     Of course rules/laws are written in a way to benefit the consumers, but the law courts usually work in the opposite direction, and there is another hurdle Thai Law usually follows UK/USA law, but it might not in my case.

       My case is that for most of the two years I was not receiving what i had paid for ie full cover, and I was not informed that I was not receiving full cover. Hence the insurance company was in breach of contract and is obligated to refund the payments received for said period of time.......Yippee I won

       Now comes the problem in that the insurance company did post notification of endorsement and it was sent recorded delivery, but the receptionist signed for the letter and then lost the letter.....

  Now obviously the insurance company did not fullfill their obligation to bring my attention to the notice of endorsement, but i suspect they will tell the judge that they made every reasonable attempt to do so.....Then it will be up to the judge to decide and he will decide it is a 50/50 case  so by way of my second rule he should find in my favor

On 11/11/2023 at 10:36 PM, Sheryl said:

I thought you said the issue was that you had canceled the policy and wanted a refund??

 

An insurer has the right to exclude conditions  and/or request additional docunentation  as they see fit. Up to you to acce0t or reject the policy offered.

 

I don't see anything OIC could address here. They mainly just insure fhat terms of the policy are respected.

 

 

OK then look at this scenario when I had the medical the doctor found blood in my stool, and examination of the blood suggested it was caused by hemerroids and there was nothing to worry about. Hence I did not worry about the possibility that ------- Health would change my policy. Hence when I did not receive notification of endorsement I thought everything was OK .....When I was told about the endorsement two years premiums had been paid and I was told I could cancel but I would not be refunded the money

On 10/24/2023 at 8:49 AM, Sheryl said:

The Official Information Act 1997 in Thailand pertains only to government entities. I am not aware of any Thai law that would enable you to  obtain internal emails from a private company. Police can of course get such if it is part of a criminal complaint (and they trouble to seek it) but as a civil litigant I do not think you can.

 

If as you stated in your OP you are seeking only refund of premiums then >95% chance complaint to OIC will resolve it, subject of course to policy provisions. If you are seeking more of a refund than policy terms allow for, you will not get that through OIC and very, very unlikely to get it in court either.

 

If contrary to your OP there is more in dispute than premium refund (e.g. a claims dispute) then resolution through OIC is more iffy but I would still give it at least 50-60% odds. The problem is that OIC is good at enforcing contractual terms of a policy but lacks any medical expertise (so too do most Thai health insurers which is  often part of the problem to begin with).

 

However just knowing you have lodged a complaint with OIC will often be enough to spur an insurance company to settle with you as they do not want OIC  investigation. Contrary to what some posters here have assumed, OIC is not on a cozy basis with the insurers but rather very much in a regulatory role and they fear it.

 

Hello everybody again i have tried phoning the OIC using all the phone numbers as being forms of contact.I get phone not in operation or engaged. there is an online inquiry form which i completed a week ago and received the message that it was delivered, but as yet no answer

I will not yet say which insurance firm it was, but the main complaints were they told me I must have a colonoscopy because the hospital found blood in my stool. They admitted they did not ask for a full report so I obtained one for them

 Said report said the blood was caused by my hemorrhoids and there was no need for another examination or a colonoscopy. I sent said report to the insurers and they replied they insist on a colonoscopy for every person who shows blood in their stools. Now I find said policy disgusting, and it makes me less confident because the same thing can happen in reverse ie I could be admitted to a hospital with a suspect heart attack and the doctor might say you need a bypass. However, because the health insurance does not respect the Doctors they might say we think you should just take medication for your heart problems.    Now let us look at the endorsement they put on my policy. The actual endorsement suggests the endorsement expires after 2 years, so if I wait out the two years full cover will be restored, but the after thought says even if I wait out the two years I still have to take a colonoscopy

text within the endorsement

Investigation and treatment of all gastrointestinal (GI) Bleeding GI Malignancies,GI Polyps and their causes and complications are not covered for a period of 2 years, or the submission of recent gastroscopy and colonoscopy reports. At the end of the waiting period, or the satisfactory review of recent gastroscopy and colonoscopy reports this condition will be reassessed . Charges for gastroscopy and colonoscopy are not covered during the waiting period

 Text added after the endorsement 

On 10/21/2023 at 5:43 PM, thailand49 said:

" Small Claims Court "  🤣

There is a Insurance Commision in theory but caution like everything

" The light is on but no one is home" 

Hello Thailand 49 two points I wish to receive your advice on

1) My present intentions are to make a complaint to the insurance commission and if/when that fails go to the small claims where I suspect I will have a 50/50 chance of winning

2) I know this makes me sound like a multiple litigator but I will explain in 2021 I had to cancel a qatar airways flight because my wife's thailand certificate for entry was late in arriving. Qatar airways said my circumstances gave me rights to a full refund and I would receive said refund within one month. However, several months later and they were giving silly excuses for not giving a refund. Then they tried the trick of saying I was being very rude when writing e mails asking for a refund (which was six months late) and they no longer wished to answer my e mails.  I tried different routes airway complaints regulator and other avocates but none worked. Then I made an enquiry on a FOI and was told on a legal advice webb site that Qatar air do not allow FOI but I could make a request for copies of all e mails written within the company pertaining to my complaints. I did as advised and then Qatar started writing again suggesting that if I cancel my copy of e mails request then they would re-open my refund request. I did not retract my copy of all e mail request and a few days later the refund was paid.....obviously they did not want me to see e mails they had writen to other people in the company

  Now my question:  The person writing e mails to me obviously is not too confident dealing with me and includes other people in her company to receive my e mails......So if I could make a request for FOI or copies of all e mails written about me it might cause the company embarrassment and help my case........any advice please

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I haven't seen any policies with "small print".

 

As your thread is about getting refund of your premium after cancellation: what are the policy conditions for that?  And do you have proof you notified company of cancellation and requested refund?

 

As this is what it will come down to. 

I worked at an insurance company in England and we used small print

Do you understand my initial post on this thread....It would seem you believe i just got bored of having insurance and decided to cancel the policy......try reading again you might notice that i might have serious reason for cancelation, but do not want to divulge said reason on this forum....

13 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Making a complaint to the OIC in no way precludes subsequent legal action.

 

The OIC is consumer-friendly.

 

It is also inclined to be very literal with respect to insurance contract provisions. If your insurance policy states that all or part of premium is refundable, and you went through the prescribed procedure to request refund, OIC will require that the insurer issue the refund.

 

Often as soon as insurer learns you made a complaint to the OIC, that is all it takes to spur them into action. (Provided of course your are entitled to a refund under the terms of the policy).

With my limited legal knowledge and very little experience in writing terms of a contract. I can still write a contract which would cause 50% (I suspect an insurance company can take it from 50% to 90%)of good claims to not reach the standing of a good claim. I can also hide unfair (not having to recognizing expert doctor report) terms of contract in the small print and then highlight said terms when refusing a claim, or asking for more money, or insisting on more tests that the doctor says are not required

2 hours ago, thailand49 said:

" Small Claims Court "  🤣

There is a Insurance Commision in theory but caution like everything

" The light is on but no one is home" 

I do not know the OIC and if it really regulates however I have had experience of regulators in Ireland and they tend to support the service providers they pretend to regulate rather than the customers.....I have had experience of Small claims in England and they are far from perfect but I would say the if a consumer puts a very strong case against a service provider in small claims court he will have double the chance of a fair result in the court than he would using the regulator.

      Now comes the question " If I use the OIC and fail am i still allowed to take action in the small claims court?"

Due to dubious conditions on my thailand health insurance I decided to cancel said policy. Now in England I could contact a regulator to get a refund of the money I paid to the insurance company or go to the small claims court ......What can I do in Thailand?

2 hours ago, retarius said:

Captopril is from the early 80s, it was the first ACE inhibitor and a major innovation back then. It is not really known as low side effects, but you doctor was comparing, at the time, to beta blockers which were the main form of hypertension medicine. Beta blockers make, you tired, give you erection problems etc.

A product from the same line as captopril is called enalapril and is widely available in Thailand. 

 

Loranta is a later type of compound, an ACE II inhibitor. Generally with very mild efficacy and mild side-effects. 

 

Finding a good regimen for your hypertension can involve a bit of trial and error. I tend to use the smallest doses of combinations of different classes of agents, that way the efficacy is often addition (from different mechanisms) but the side effects are minimised by the small does. 

 

You should get some medical help to get you on a dose that brings your HT to normal levels and has acceptable side effects. As I say, in my case this involves using the tiniest doses of the more than one drug. Most of the drugs are very cheap as almost all are generic so cost is not an issue. 

Does mild Efficacy mean it is not very effective at doing its job.....if it is no good why do doctors prescribe the drug

Are Catropil and enalapril copies of each other ....for me to be willing to take enalopril it has toi be an exact copy

I did have panic attacks which were very much like having a heart attack in fact I was taken by ambulance to a hospital with a suspected heart attack which was found to be a panic attack

 I was prescribed fluoraoxitine and i seemed to work but it also made my balence bad

  It seems it is all in the head you think you are having a heart attack and you panic and things get worse.....best thing to do is when you think you are having a heart attack just relax and think so what then the panic attack goes away

thirty years ago in england I was overweight heavy drinker and smoker and this caused high blood pressure

I was prescribed captopril tablets and did not have bad side effects and they reduced my blood pressure a lot

twenty years ago i gave up smoking and drinking and lost weight and the medication was cancelled

I am now 67 and my blood pressure has gone up again ....I live in chiang mai and asked the hospital to give me captopril but they do not stock it and no drug stores stock it

i was given Loranta instead....this gives me side effects and does very little to reduce my blood pressure 

Does anyone know where I can get Captopril tablets

How it runs is that if the income goes into ireland before I receive it then i have to pay tax but if it goes to thailand then Ireland do not grab the money 

A question answer between me and my irish accountant is pasted below

I have been living in ireland and whilst there I invested in the stock market using degiro, and my irish bank account for deposits and withdraws. I have been told if I get degiro to pay my withdraws into a thai bank account I will have less of a problem with CGT

    can this be done without breaking thailand rules

10 hours ago, cantdrive55 said:

Give flyer talk a look also.  In some of the threads there, there is some specific contact points to expedite the process.  I was looking there a few days ago for something else and saw a contact point where a Qatar Air rep could be contacted directly.  Sorry I can't remember the actual thread.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar-airways-privilege-club-644/

I suspect I have been in contact with all qatar air reps they all agree that I should receive a refund but they seem to be reluctant to pay the money they owe me....The best way is to give them bad publicity but the media always side with big business, and an individual has to be careful because harrassment laws ie a company steals money nothing happens but if victim of said theft calls said company a bunch of thieves then he finds himself in court being accused of defamation and harrassment.

    I do not have any need or intention to fly anywhere but I have let qatar know that I will consider flight tokens to the value of the money they owe me

In nov 2021 we had to cancel our flight from ireland to Thailand . Qatar airways have still not given us a refund.

They continually change the goal posts concerning getting a refund. Qatar airways have a bangkok office which deals with refunds but they say they will not help us then they say they will help us then they say they will not. 

When they say they will not help they give the reason that we booked in Ireland they say if we had booked in thailand they would help. They might change their minds again but at present they say we have got to do all comunications and legal dealings with their Doha qatar office.

Doha office sometimes say the reason why we have not received a refund is because we closed the bank account we used to pay for the ticket and they want papers from the bank where we closed the account. Said bank ignores my requests for said papers supposibly because my account is closed  and so the problem is nothing to do with them. I have told Qatar airways that my ex bank refuse to supply papers/info. After telling Qatar airways of the non co-operation on the part of my ex bank   qatar airways say it is ok we do not need said papers...

Then a few weeks later Qatat airways change their minds and say they do need the papers.........my problem is qatar airways main office is in Doha qatar and hence it is pointless starting legal action against them . However Qatar do have a large office in bangkok can I use said office to serve legal papers in order to try to get back the 100,000 baht qatatar airways owe me

I have a few problems qatar airways do not want to refund the money they owe me. The flight which was cancelled was from dublin to bangkok. I have consulted an irish lawyer and he says he cannot do much because the airline is based qatar and therefore legal proceedings have to be instigated in Qatar hence said legal proceedings have very little chance

  I suspect qatar airways will be less awkward if i ask for a replacement flight rather than the money. The money owed is 2600 euro (business class) so the problem is finding a destination which will allow my thai wife entry and will have a fare simmillar to the 2600 euro debt

we are buying a new house which has a flat (slight slop ) roof ie there is no loft....it also has four lights to each room all lights being in the corners of the room.

I want a ceiling fan to be fitted in the centre of the lounge ceiling downstairs and in the centre of the main bedroom upstairs....of course in said locations there are no brackets to fit the new fan to, and no wires present which can be used for the fan  and there are no spare switches.

obviously it will be more difficult than normal ,,,,but is the job very difficult for a good electrical fitter

the people selling the house/s say there will be no problems but i do not believe them

16 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

What visa do you have that allows a 3 month stay?

If you have a valid visa a return or onward ticket is not required. 

You seem to be an expert on most things thailand so let us have another go ...my wife is thai and we are intending to buy a condo ...how much will we save if we buy a thai registered condo in my wife's name

16 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

What visa do you have that allows a 3 month stay?

If you have a valid visa a return or onward ticket is not required. 

i have a non imm o visa when i arrive i will apply for a marriage or retirement visa