Dazinoz

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

My point is that it may not be the doctor ripping them off.  It may be the burden the Embassy imposes that's costing them out the wazoo.  And depending on the numbers, the cost for an Ozzie may be different than the cost for a Yank or a Brit for what looks like the exact same procedure.

I fully understand your point. It would be interesting to see what they charge for another nationality.

 

 

12 hours ago, sinbin said:

Why a DNA test? A certificate of legitimisation obtained from you local Amphur signed by the mother should suffice. I don't see where it says  anything about DNA in this thread.

We are not married so the baby is not legitimate. His birth certificate lists him as "Person who lives in Thailand illegally or on a temporary basis". Under the Nationality  section 1.3 it states "Not acquire Thai nationality".

 

Therefore he has no nationality and would never be able to obtain passport. He may never leave Thailand but I am trying to get him an Australian passport hence the need for Australian Citizenship.

 

On the application form is states a DNA test maybe required. I had previously had one done for "peace of mind" but was not acceptable to the Australian Government as it was not conducted at an approved Lab. They requested one to be done and basically said if not done he will not get citizenship.

2 hours ago, sinbin said:

Can you post the link ? I've looked and can't find it.

Actually I am wrong. The post had more to do with the babies mum not allowed to fly hence the ultimate reason why the sampling was done in Chiang Mai.

 

But if you are interested in reading that the link is below.

 

 

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

You were given special permission to use a provider that wasn't on the Embassy approved list, and therefore, hasn't gone through the approval formalities, with all the sunshine and rainbows that entails.

 

Companies I worked for over the years have done a lot of government business and it's not unusual to do a $100,000 audit to get on their approved vendor list, and provide $200 worth of paperwork to sell them a $20 product.  That's how they end up paying $600 for a $10 hammer and $1,500 for $75 toilet seats. 

 

You can go down to Ace Hardware and buy a $10 hammer, but it won't be accepted by the government unless Ace has paid a zillion $$ to get (and stay) on the approved vendor list, and the hammer is accompanied by a ream of documents tracing the hammer back to the mine where they dug up the ore, and the forest where they cut down the hickory tree for the handle.

 

Be grateful they let you go down to Ace for your hammer, and let it go.

 

Edit:  Just as an example, if it costs the clinic $10,000 each year to fill out the documents and go through whatever hoops (audits?, site visits?, etc.) are required to stay on the approved vendor list, and they expect to do 50 DNA tests each year, they have added $200 to their cost of each test.  Someone's got to pay that.

 

Yes I understand it costs money to run a business and those costs have to be passed on.

 

What I don't understand is the amount of that cost considering that the DNA test kits are mailed from the Australian Lab to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. Embassy staff then take the kits and all the paperwork to the doctors and fill the forms in with the "patients", supervise the sampling and then take everything back to the Embassy to take the necessary actions. All the doctor has to do is sign one of the forms and physically take the samples. They can't go through much of an approval process if they need to have everything supplied and need to be supervised.

 

Yes I am grateful what happened happened and I saved heaps of money. But after 4 years here I still have not switched to the "Me Me Me" mentality  and still care about others getting ripped off. If everyone just "let it go" nothing would happen against this type of things happening.

57 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

" I had no contact with the doctor in Bangkok" so a Doctor came from Bangkok ?,to CM RAM,?,

that would surely account for the the cost ,?, yes your post is a bit confusing ,but pleased 

it all worked out for you. 

regards Worgeordie

Doctor did not come from Bangkok. Chiang Mai Ram used their own doctor and charged 800 baht. If I had have gone to Bangkok the door there would have charged 9000 Baht. I have emails to prove this.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Just now, lopburi3 said:

OK get it now - sorry -  you did not get ripped off.  Others that do in Bangkok you feel get ripped off.

 

Suppose you could also look at it as you were very lucky to have obtained a deep discount on the basis perhaps of your earlier bad luck and loss.

 

 Nope I did not get ripped off but would have if had gone to Bangkok. Fellow Australians get ripped off if have to use their service. Probably the same for other Embassies that use those doctors. Just trying to highlight the difference.

 

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Now that is a lot of baht.  

The embassy listed 7 approved labs in Australia all of which were nearly the same price.

 

For a "Peace of Mind" DNA test was $300.

 

For a "legal" test that could be used in a court of law was $600.

 

But for an "Immigration" test was $1200.

 

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

But you said the doctors made that 9000 baht charge in your original post.

 

No I said they wanted to charge 9000 baht. How could they have charged me if we did not get to Bangkok as per my post. I said they wanted if they did the sampling.

 

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Are you saying there were two officials from Australia?  They seem to only have an Honorary Consul in Chiang Mai so this may not have been something he could do without an official Consul from Bangkok.  Still suspect the high cost is due to procedure being done in Chiang Mai and that it is not a normal function of that Consulate.

 

If you read what I said i said embassy staff would supervise the sampling. As it turned out the Embassy used the Honorary Consule to supervise the sampling here in CM. Plus there was another embassy rep who was Thai. Not sure what his position was but wore and Australian Embassy T-Shirt.

 

The high cost is if I went to Bangkok (9000). It was cheap here (800).

30 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Testing done in OZ per OP.,  So would expect there was a dollar fee for that which may have been converted into Baht for local payment?

 

Testing paid for separately to the testing company in Australia. $1200. Fees here purely for sample collection.

 

30 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

 

1 hour ago, sinbin said:

Why a DNA test? A certificate of legitimisation obtained from you local Amphur signed by the mother should suffice. I don't see where it says  anything about DNA in this thread.

 

 

Not my call. This was REQUIRED by the Australian Embassy.

 

1 hour ago, sinbin said:

 

I believe the high cost was for the procedure being done in Bangkok. The CM procedure cost him only 800 baht.

Why should it cost 9000 baht in bangkok and only 800 in CM? Bangkok not that special.

My guess would be that the fee was something like 1,000 for taking the samples, 2,500 for the formalities required to stay on the Embassy approved list, and 1,000 for the documents and handling required by the Embassy to maintain chain of custody and the integrity of the samples.
 
 

In these situations there is a lot of paperwork. This and the bringing of the test kits and supervision of the sampling and then taking all the paperwork and samples all handled by Australian Embassy staff at no cost other than the original application fee. This wAs done at RAM and in fact there were 2 representatives. All the doctor does is sign one form and takes the sample under supervision. The process here was the same as would be in Bangkok. Except for the costs.

So as you suggest it should only be sampling fee.

16 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

" How can they justify that? Sampling is simple 2 mouth swabs from each person.",why did you not ask Them?,
so you had samples taken at two hospitals ?

 

regards Worgeordie

When first quoted the price I asked via email to the embassy as to why so expensive. They just said that was the fee. I had no contact with the doctor in Bangkok it was all arranged by the Australian Embassy. After sampling today I emailed the embassy and suggested that they revise the selection of doctor they use and told them the price comparison.

 

 I only had sample taken at CM RAM. I thought I had explained that but obviously not good enough.

25 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Are we to understand that the doctor (or doctors - both terms seem to be used) had to travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Bangkok in order to preform this procedure?  Expect that might have something to do with the cost if that were the case.

 

But may the future hold better luck for you and your family.

No, the doctor was from CM RAM and charged 800. The original scenario was to goto the Embassy selected doctor in Bangkok. They didn't have to go any where but wanted 9000,

I have posted on here before regarding having my Thai born son (Myanmar mother) made Australian Citizen by Descent so as he can obtain his passport. As part of the process the Australian Embassy required the 3 of us to travel to Bangkok to have DNA samples of me and my son to be taken under supervision by an Embassy staff member at a particular doctors clinic. The actual DNA testing is required to be done in a NATA approved laboratory in Australia. We were scheduled to go on the 18th August. I had booked flights, hotel and transport at a cost of around 15,000 baht. The babies mother has a Non Thai ID (pink) restricted to Chiang Mai. She requires a letter from the Myanmar Consulate if she requires to travel outside Chiang Mai. This is especially important when flying. We flew once before to Phuket and the letter was obtained and no problems. This time at check in the airline refused to let her fly because the letter was wrong. We lost the 15,000 baht. I notified the embassy and they were to reschedule another appointment. It appeared our only option was to take the train to and from Bangkok. A week later the baby was admitted to hospital in Chiang Mai with pneumonia. Hospital cost plus suction pump was 95,000 baht. At that point I pleaded with the Embassy to conduct the sampling to be done here in Chiang Mai. They finally agreed to that and was conducted today.

 

Now to the point of my topic. Chiang Mai RAM Hospital charged a very fair 800 baht for sampling. The doctors that are used by the Australian Embassy (won't say name in case not allowed) wanted 4500 baht each for me and my son to take samples. 9000 baht. How can they justify that? Sampling is simple 2 mouth swabs from each person.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

In case you don't know, if you're customer rating is low, drivers are less likely to accept your bookings at all. 

 

Didn't know customers got a rating. Where do you see that?

 

UPDATE: Ok found it. I have a 4.87.

 

6 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Read the OP back  to try to find a "whine" or evidence of racism....couldn't find either

Usual troll.

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

OK, I have enough experience using these services in Thailand (Pattaya) to notice a really annoying pattern.

 

You book a ride to pick you up at a very specific location (such as a business) and if it's inconvenient or more likely in the wrong direction to your destination to pick you up in front of the called for location, they arrive on the other side of the road.

 

Now that's certainly no biggie if it's small road, with little traffic, in fair weather.

 

But the other night I called for a Grab in the rain in front of a business on a large road, with heavy traffic, in the rain.

 

Hoping (in vain) that in such a case the driver would have the common sense and courtesy to arrive directly at the called for place.

 

Nope. No such luck.

 

He arrives opposite on the large road and has serious attitude about ordering me to come to him quickly, never mind the risk of crossing that road in heavy traffic in the rain.

 

I've had similar experiences other times, but never quite that annoying.

 

It seems to be a Thai cultural thing even with "professional" drivers that serve people without vehicles to be completely tone deaf about the situation and risks for pedestrians here. 

 

So they expect a full star RATING for that kind of crap?

 

Important to clarify -- this issue has absolutely nothing to do the Uber not being legal thing. People should be savvy enough about Uber that if using Uber take care to not book a pickup or destination very close to where local transport "mafias" gather. Also to understand if the Uber driver asks you to change it a little for that reason. That has been discussed elsewhere. It is OFF TOPIC here. 

 

Comments please. 

I live a mooban with only one entrance. A few sois,including the one I live in are not shown on the app map. The first few times drivers found my house by following gps to pinned location. However the last 3 pick up could not find me. I was following them on my app and they drive straight past the entrance. One called many times and could not follow direction. She even asked for my location to be sent in Line app. I did but still couldn't find me. It was fir a friend and in the end I drive her to Uber car. I reported that one to Uber. Yesterday I contacted Uber regarding the last 3 pickups and they just replied with thanks for telling us. 

 

Most drivers  I have found good and now wondering if Uber app problem or drivers. 

49 minutes ago, ross163103 said:

Paint isn't too bad; one time outside a Thai restaurant in Pattaya I saw a group of farangs park in what they thought was neutral parking, ended up being the restaurants. After they left, the security guard calmly walked over to their car with a meat cleaver. He laid the cleaver down flat horizontally and went over every panel scraping off a 50 mm wide by 1metre long line of paint. This was approx 20 years ago and it still sticks in my memory. Any time I went back to that restaurant I made sure that the security guard saw me enter the restaurant. I'm also VERY careful around the front of shophouses that are businesses; it's not their street, it's the city's, but some shop owners treat the street as theirs; better to be safe than sorry. 

I had an argument with the french owner of a French restaurant in Kampanding Road CM. I had parked in front of his restaurant and he claimed he had paid for the footpath and parking in front. He was ready to punch me out but I had my phone recording. Mind you the restaurant was closed when I parked there and a BIG sign securely taped to my windscreen telling me not to park there when I returned. Locals told my gf he has lots problems with people over parking. He even dragged a motorbike out into the middle of the road of someone who parked in HIS paid for parking. Big guy so probably intimidates people. Went to his restaurant one time before this. Shit food.

 

But for the reasons you mentioned above I just don't park there. Karma will get him one day.

1 minute ago, Zyxel said:

Because the bar they are going to is a gay bar, or he saw them walking swinging their hips.

In Australia, and probably other countries too, we have a thing called jaywalking. Is the above gaywalking? 

Just now, Belzybob said:

If this is the result of a build up of hydrogen sulphide gas brought on by rotting matter in a moist environment,  an oxygen monitor would be largely worthless. By the time the low oxygen warning went off they will have been overcome by the hydrogen sulphide.  

Same with a H2S monitor

2 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Companies here have zero knowledge of anything related to safety....!

3 more gone to god because of not having simple gas detector!

May not have been picked up by a gas detector as such. An oxygen monitor would have been more appropriate.

 

grain silos have been known to explode when the fine grain powder that will burn actually can form an explosive mix if ignited. 

Come home one night and someone had parked halfway across my drive. Tried to squeeze past car and brick wall carefully watching other car. Ended up with damage to my car scraping the brick wall. I did notice later the other car had 2 broken tail lights.  Don't know how that happened. My car did not touch it. 

15 hours ago, r136dg said:

Not sure where you got "air comes back in through the exhaust tube" from my post, but just to clarify;-)

Yes, hot air from the condenser is ran outside & intake is air from within the room, however; with all that exhaust going out you're depressurizing the room. All that exhaust air has to be replaced & it is, through every gap in the windows & doors, hence; pulling air into your room from outside.

That has to cover at least 50% of the inefficiency from those units.

Yes you are correct. Not really thought about that.

3 hours ago, farcanell said:

back to the article ?.... airlines usually include suitable footwear in a dress code as a safety initiative. Fleeing a incident, its safer to run in enclosed footwear. 

 

Not sure for certain but in an emergency evacuation I think most airlines get you to remove your shoes for a couple of reasons. One is to prevent puncturing of the escape chute and the shoes can act as brakes on the chute and slow you down. 

10 hours ago, Hal65 said:

 

Maybe I won't need it that often, I moved here from California where we almost never used A/C. So my knowledge of how often these need to be run is limited. I'd expect temperatures on the outside and inside to normalize fairly fast though (walls are concrete I believe).

 

 

Regarding the usage estimate, I just wanted a high estimate. I do spend a lot of time at home though.

 

 

I did put a form on another thread for you to fill in and I can input into software written by a refrigeration engineer and give you a more accurate information on size of unit required. 

 

When people ask ask what size unit should I buy for this room is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. AC sizing depends on many factors. If you buy a too small unit it will run continuously and maybe not cool room sufficiently. If too big it will cut in and out too often and become inefficient. An inverter model eliminates most of the latter problem. Inverter units are great when they are running correctly. If the electronics, which they have a LOT of become faulty they can be very expensive to repair. At least they were in Australia. They are prone to vermin and geckos and power fluctuations. 

 

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