orientalist

My own experience of Rutnin over 20 years has been excellent with the exception of a basic vision test which (a few yeatrs ago) I found too perfunctory and nowhere near the standard you find at Boots or Specsavers in the UK or at Bumrungrad. All the specialists I have seen have been excellent.

Anyone had a cataract op done on social security here? I am told i would qualify at least for one eye but my 20-year experience with prakan sangkom has left me unimpressed with the quality of service. Although I live in Bangkok I am registered with a small hospital in Samut Prakarn that does not have an opthalmology dept, so I assume I'd be referred somewhere else in that province and have no say in the matter. Second option would be a reasonably priced op in Bangkok. Rutnin quoted me 80k+ so that is out. I could have waited another year or two but a recent bout of uveitis treated with steroid drops has made the cataracts much worse in both eyes.

Yeah, I pointed out this was pretty pathetic for a Seniors account but they replied that is is tax-free - as if saving the 15% tax made it a winner. I claim back all tax from fixed deposits anyway, so it's not an advantage for me. My biggest concern these days is not to get caught with all my money stuck in fixed deposits, which once happened to me. The Thanachart no-book account (my first no-book a/c) was great but it disappeared in the takeover by TMB. Then I opened a no-tax savings account with Krungsri, which works well and has a book but is now down to 0.90%. So I am happy I could eventually get the no-book account with SCB.

I didn't have too much trouble getting approved since they accepted my PR status, but initially they registered the accounts with my pink card, then changed it to passport 2 weeks later, then changed it again to pink card when I was unable to move the app to a new phone. Shambolic, really. But CIMB was only useful for decent interest rates a few years ago. They didn't have many branches and they now have no ATM or other machines at all. They told me to use other banks' ATMs. Lol.

I forced my card on them and they did enter it into their computer system during the one hour it took to set up my savings and EZ accounts. Two sets of copies of every page in my passport and alien's book, all signed. So much for Thailand 4.0! The app isn't so well-behaved on my Android 8.0 phone but I can usually get it to load on the second attempt. I regret now that I renewed my Senior account at CIMB. 2-3 years ago the interest was good and no tax is withheld, but now it is down to 0.7%. However, if I withdraw the funds I lose my Preferred status and don't get to deal with the hotties in the VIP area. Also, I'd like to keep my money spread around as many banks as possible.

Well, I went to the Terminal 21 branch and after a bit of confusion ("Do you have an address in Thailand? Do you have a Thai phone number?") they just photocopied everything I had and sent it to HQ for approval. They will call me in 3 business days. All fairly painless and I am in no particular hurry. This time I spoke only English and was dressed pretty much like a tourist, so I guess that's why they were confused initially.

Regarding the waiving of withholding tax for these "tax-free" accounts, it seems foreigners must prove they pay or are liable for tax in Thailand. For us that means showing them a Thai tax card. My particular problem is that I got my first tax ID 40 years ago when they were only 10 digits. I still have that Tax card. When they changed the IDs to be the same as the Thai ID card 13-digit number, they allocated me a new 13-digit ID but didn't send me a new card. Meanwhile, I got PR and a new Thai ID which is different from the tax ID. Nothing matches. Krungsri accepted my annual tax receipt as proof of Tax ID with 13-digit number, but I really need to get the tax ID changed to my tabien baan ID.

How did you manage to do it in the end? My local branch was adamant that if blue tabien baan wasn't on their list and I hadn't previously had an account with them, I couldn't apply.

Yes, I was surprised too. The yellow tabien baan was on their list, but not the blue one. So few of us have PR that at times it seems like a curse. Anyway, I now have my old SCB passbooks so I'll go back and try again.

I tried to sign up a few months ago but they refused me because a foreigner with blue tabien baan and PR is not on their list of allowable applicants. <deleted>. Also they couldn't find my previous SCB account in their system. However, I just found my 1990s SCB pass book so I might go back and spit in their eye. Or maybe try a different branch. My former Thai colleagues told me they don't feel comfortable having an account with no passbook but there is usually a way to print your own records. Does an EZ account allow you to request a statement via email?

LH Bank currently has a special interest rate of 12 months at 1.20% until the quota is filled.

Excellent! I knew someone had posted these before. Many thanks.

Time for my first overseas trip in 3 years. Can anyone point me to the TM13 and TM22 forms online? I believe someone posted them here a few months ago but I can't find them. Also, do we need to make an appointment at CW or is it back to walk-in business again?

I have no say in what the gf does. If I withhold money she just borrows it or spends what she has and then tells me the granddaughter has nothing to eat! I have tried to stay away from the birds to show my disapproval but a previous parakeet bit off all its tail feathers out of frustration, a small cage and lack of attention. I got a big cage and toys for it but by then it was biting everyone, hard, and died soon after. Then again after i said "no more" they bought a ring-necked parakeet which wasn't affectionate or active (as is normal for the species), rarely uttered any sound, became afraid of humans and then died. The gf just does not get that a bird is not a toy to pull out of the box when the kid has free time. They need a LOT of attention and proper care. Anyway, I told her the ghosts of all these dead birds will come back to haunt her...

Right. I believe the last bird was a green-cheeked parakeet. I don't live with the gf since she's such a witch, and she eventually bought it the wrong food (for a bigger parrot) and it died clearly in great pain.

It seems the gf may have been lying to me and they fell out of a shop at Chatuchak market rather than out of a tree. All the previous pet parakeets bought for the granddaughter have died due to lack of proper care, so I said "No more." But as usual the gf just does whatever she wants... Anyway, thanks for the info, everyone.

Anyone know what these birds are? Their nest fell out of a tree.