mrjohn

I had the same problem, I now pay a personal cheque from my UK account into my Thai SCB account, costs a one off fee of $10 approx 300 baht, and it clears in 3 weeks, the cheapest way I know and so far for the last year has been very reliable, the exchange rate is the TT rate applicable on the day that the cheque clears, I have my account set up to text me when the funds arrive 10 baht a month and also advises me when the ATM is used, very good.

Thank you very much for a constructive contribution. This sounds like a good idea.

I assume the charge is made by the Thai bank for clearing the cheque.

Are there really no other charges involved?

Which bank handles the currency exchange, i.e. is the amount you fill in on the cheque in Thai Baht or a foreign currency?

Is the three week period for the cheque to clear fairly consistent and reliable?

I previously had an account with the SCB but where I live now they have no branch. For convenience I was about to open a new account with Bangkok bank. Can anybody offer any experience on paying foreign cheques into a Bangkok bank account? Are clearance times and fees or charges similar to the SCB?

I don't understand why people who don't live in UK have banck accounts onshore in UK?

Have you never heard of offshore banking?

Well if you read what I said at the beginning, you will see that I already have an offshore investment fund.

Withdrawals from this fund have previously gone to my Nationwide account which, until recently, was the best way of moving money to Thailand. That situation has now changed, which is the whole point of this post.

According to their website, an offshore account with, for example, the Isle of Man bank would still charge between £23 and £40 to transfer to a bank in Thailand.

If you know of an offshore account that would perform this service more cheaply or even free, then please let me know.

The motive in starting this topic was to find out what other people, who like me were previously using Nationwide, are now doing, or intending to do in the future.

Thank you very much Tafia for clearing that up. That's just how I thought it was.

I was just about to say something similar.

Now that little diversion is out of the way, can we get back to the original question.

What is the most cost-effective way of moving money from a Nationwide account to Thailand?

Thanks for your contribution jesimps as well. I was aware that the Halifax has a lower rate for Swift transfers but as far as I can gather from their website I cannot open an account with them as I am not on the electoral roll. Having been away from the UK for 6 years.

Ask Nationwide to send you a card reader, you can transfer up to 10,000 pounds at any 1 time for the price of 1 atm withdrawl. And from the comfort of your own home.

But that's only for transactions within the UK. Or am I missing something?

I know this topic has often been discussed, but I'm still looking for the definitive answer.

Like many other Thai Visa members I have a Nationwide bank account in the UK.

Until recently, using the Nationwide debit card to withdraw from an ATM was the best way for me to transfer funds to Thailand.

Since the introduction of the 150Bht ATM fee I have been withdrawing funds from my UK account inside the bank.

Now that Nationwide are about to introduce yet more new charges, this method will cease to be economical and it's time for a re-think.

My income comes from an offshore fund and hitherto has been paid into my UK bank. I also have a small UK pension.

Nationwide are about to start charging £25 for SWIFT payments. I know there are UK banks that charge less than this, but since I live permanently in Thailand I don't think opening a new UK bank account is an option.

A £25 fee only becomes economical for large amounts, and ideally I would prefer to transfer about £1000 a month, rather than a large lump sum.

I have been looking into the various foreign exchange companies that operate online. Whilst some of these are free of charges, they obviously make their money on the exchange rates. These companies seem to offer a good deal for someone wishing to transfer funds abroad to a third party, but the exchange rates do not look so good from this end.

Do all Thai banks charge for receiving funds from abroad? If so, how much?

Transferring to Bangkok Bank in London, then to my account here looks like an option. Has anyone any experience of this?

If you transfer funds by Swift, where is the exchange done at the UK end or here?

So, to the many people who are in a similar situation, what do you do??

In short what is currently the most economic or method of transferring funds to here?

Does anybody know anything about removal companies here?

Do they charge by the kilometre, for example and if so, how much?

The last time we moved house we did the job with our own pickup, but it was less than 100 km and took three trips.

Now we have a lot more stuff and are looking to move about 1000 km north. So I need some sort of lightweight truck and a couple of guys to help with the lifting.

Any advice gleaned from personal experience would be very welcome.

Many thanks for all your replies, but they don't actually answer the question.

Perhaps I should have phrased it better.

I am looking for a dedicated pedometer.

I have to buy a new wristwatch anyway, so a watch with a pedometer function would be ideal.

So, anyone knows where I can get one, I would be grateful for the info.

Thanks again.

Does anyone know where I can buy a pedometer in Phuket? Preferably combined with a stopwatch. Thanks

Does any body know where to buy a GPS system (Preferably Garmin but any other recommendations gratefully received) in Phuket?

It's a "bank holiday" as we would call it in the UK.

In most countries this would mean that MOST people have a day off. Here the banks,govt offices and schools are closed whilst factories and shops are open as usual.

In other words the moneyed classes will be swanning around keeping the working classes in work.

I see chocolate rations are up.....Doubleplusgood eh?

I bought an expensive (but very good) electric oven three months ago but am having trouble finding oven cleaner. You know the spray on stuff. Does anyone know where to buy it?

Thanks

I am thinking of having one of those health checkups that the hospitals advertise. I am over 50 and need to get my cholesterol and a few other things checked.

Has anybody had personal experience of this and could recommend a hospital or checkup plan?

The one I can never understand is why they never remove labels from anything like sinks, fridges etc.

Even in quite smart hotels the label will still be stuck on the bathroom fittings.

Does anybody have any experience of ultraviolet insect killers.

Do they really work?

And where can you buy one in Phuket?

Any information gratefully received.

The only jungle left in Phuket is a concrete one.

Air India???? Great service???? Sorry but those two phrases do not belong in the same sentence.

Well no replies on this.So will try again. Shurely Somebody in Pangnga must know some thing.....

Thinking of moving up to Phangnga province soon (not far from Phuket, hence the post here)

I checked out the local cable TV shop which offers nothing like the service available in Phuket. They had recently dropped BBC News as "nobody wanted it"!

Looks like satellite will be the way to go. However the local satellite shop seems constantly closed

Does anybody have any real first hand experience of satellite TV in the area?

A very good friend of mine (English lady, and a good, conscientious gardener) told me some years ago (when I was relatively new to Phuket) that a rich and influential Chinese-Thai family had a monopoly on supplying turf on the island. They made sure that grass seed was, therefore, not available.

I was sceptical back then, but now, as I have yet to find a shop selling grass seed and I have learnt much more about the Phuket Thai mentality and their business practices, I am more than prepared to believe that she was telling the truth.

Cable TV in Phuket will have full Six Nations coverage courtesy of Supersport 1 from South Africa....at least it has done for the last five years.

Sorry, that last remark came out rather loud.....it wasn't meant to be.

"Funny...I always thought I was a citizen of the UK"

Well you never were a citizen.... only a subject. Part of the price we Brits pay for never having had a revolution....well not recently anyway

I am sure this has been covered before, but can anyone recommend a good optician in Phuket?

I need varifocals and a new eye test.

I have been putting this off for some time because they all seem to be so expensive. It seems the shops are run by staff who are only interested in showing you the designer frames which immediately become discounted by 50%!

Any recommendations from personal experience would be much appreciated

I have occasionally made ginger beer here....easy to do and cheap. It is alcoholic up to about 5% and makes a pleasant change from Thai beer.

Ferment it out and prime the bottles.

I use the returnable soda bottles. Prise off the caps carefully. Flatten them out gently with a hammer and then I used a jubilee clip to reseal them. The resulting brew kept for weeks like this.