thonglorjimmy

There are one or two members who openly boast on this forum that they don’t inform the DWP of their change of circumstances and lie that they are living at an address in the UK, maybe a friend or relative, so that they can still receive the annual increases. I suspect that most of us think that our integrity is more important than lying to the DWP, and getting friends or relatives to lie, just to receive an increase in their pensions that they’re not legally entitled to. That said the frozen pension issue is certainly wrong, and regularly discussed on this forum, though obtaining an increase by deception is morally wrong.

Actually found guilty of five of the six charges, I suspect that will not make a lot of difference though as I imagine she's going to spend the rest of her life behind her door.

That would be fine save that my spending requirements are often different, sometimes I need to bring over more than my usual amount, sometimes I make two transfers neither of which are below the monthly sum required. I know we all have to bow before some IO's "becuse that's what I say attitude, never mind the rules" but it is quite tedious ensuring that some egos are not hurt for fear of reprisals.

I've always thought so to, maybe @dick turpinwould be kind enough to share the source of his statement "Wrong, wrong and wrong" in response to @Eff1n2ret I'm sure we've all read the guidance from HM Passport Office Name and address and/or residency evidence Name and address and/or residency evidence Please provide one of the following: • visa or resident permit (or colour photocopy) • tax record eg a letter from a tax authority • educational record eg school report • employment record eg official letter from your employer • letter sent to you from a central, regional or local government department • medical/health card • voter’s card • immigration documents.

I have to confess that I've never heard of Azimo, I did a quick Google search and found it, I keyed in £3,000 to their search engine and it came up with a decent rate, and no mention of any limit. A similar search sending Euros also had no warning, I noted that USD wasn't on the list, and no mention of the magic FTT coding. I'm not registered with them, so it could well be that any warnings regarding limits would come up at that stage, or at least when I attempted a transfer.

I'm suprised your partners work and your sponsor weren't able to provide the information you were looking for, though thankfully TOG supplied it for you.

We're, once again seriously considering relocating to the UK, we pulled the plug when we last considered the move about five years ago. My wife is aware of the high application fee and the financial requirements, she wasn't aware that she wouldn't need to report her stay every 90 days, she wasn't aware that the NHS Surcharge covered her for the first five years, and whilst I thought it to be expensive, she thought it to be reasonable, she did ask why such a scheme wasn't in place here. She wasn't aware that should I pass away before the ILR stage she's eligible to apply straight away, she thought she'd have to leave the country.

I'm far from filthy rich, or even rich but I'm not exactly on the breadline. I've just recently entered my fifteenth year here, so in my previous fourteen years I've brought a little over 11m Baht into the Kingdom just to meet the minimum financial requirements, in practice far more than that as I've brought a lot extra in to meet my personal requirements. I've had to sit in front of an Immigration Officer fourteen times to renew my stay, some pleasant and some not so, wondering what extra they may need this time, I've reported my 90 day presence 56 times, that's on top of the times I've actually moved home. I'm hoping that the Government are finally going to reach out and make my latter years of retirement more comfortable and less stressfull, but I'm not holding my breath.

No the increase in my State Pension will not cover the Council Tax payments, though I would no longer be paying the monthly charge in our estate here, and the two would would be about equal, but the increase in State Pension would push me into the higher rate tax bracket. I need to factor in the increases in Council Tax, along with those of water, gas and power, tv licence - the list goes on, not to mention property, though I wouldn't need to pay for the use of NHS services as I'd be resident, assuming I could get an appointment. A lot of thinking time ahead, and we're not rushing things, sadly the inconsistencies in the implementation of Thai Immigration by individual officers, along with the "what ifs" are pushing us towards the tipping point. At my age I just want a quiet life.

I suspect I'm not the only one who is reaching the tipping point here and seriously considering returning to the UK, that'll be a couple more on the NHS waiting list but an increase in my State Pension. My only concern is that I might be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

An excellent point, I'll have to confess that having been advised by somebody in the insurance industry, when I retired here at the age of 60, that medical insurance wasn't cost effective at my age, if only for the reason that premiums would escalate over the years, and should I ever have a claim then premiums would go through the roof, previous conditions may no longer be covered and I may even become uninsurable. I took the conscious decision, rightly or wrongly, not to seek out medical insurance, to cover any minor ailments from my own funds and return to my home country in the event of anything serious, where I would be covered from day one, or at least join the National Health Service waiting list. That plan went t**s up when I had a heart attack whilst my wife and I were away on a long weekend in Singapore, I'd taken out travel insurance, at the insistance of my wife who joined me at the last minute, the insurers, luckily, reimbursed me the SGD 30,000 I'd paid for my medical issues, and I paid for follow up treatment of a further 200,000 Baht, as I recall, following my return to Bangkok. Whilst I was being resuscitated the hospital asked for a SGD 5,000 deposit, which she paid on our credit card, not really knowing how much was available. So the point made by @brucec64 is well made, it's not always possible to travel overseas, or even upcountry, in the case of a medical emergency. We considered relocating to the UK a while later, where I would be covered by the NHS as would my wife, once she obtained her settlement visa, but as we got nearer to doing so, we had second thoughts and backed off, but as I reach 75 next year we're considering again. I think many of us believe that the Thai Government should introduce an affordable health scheme, but I thing we all accept that it's not going to happen, and in all honesty why would they want to, I can't think of any other countries who have something similar. I think the current scare, valid or not, is a wake up call for many of us.

A few years ago my wife suggested that we move to the UK, I'd had a heart attack whilst on a long weekend in Singapore, and she was concerned that I might have health problems in the future. We made tentitive plans, identifying an area to live and with my wife taking her English test, but after a few weeks I said that I wasn't ready to move, she felt likewise and our plans were put on hold. Just a few days ago she mentioned that we should reconsider relocating, citing healthcare, l'm 74, and the hassle renewing my extension every year, so we're now thinking again, even given the costs involved. In our pool yesterday, it was 32 degrees, we were both enjoying a beer, I mentioned that it was 8 degrees in London and all is not well there, that was not enough to put her off. Only time will tell.

There's always one, who can think of nothing constructive to say.

In other news some Immigration Officers continue to make things difficult for some retirees, who are already here, and are regularly spending considerable sums of cash, when applying for their extensions of the permission to remain.

If you're asking me, as I said the SMS came from Kasikorn. Kasikorn refunded the charge yesterday afternoon.

Do you understand English? Do you understand what “highly amusing” means?

Not a PayPal transaction, but this morning I received an SMS from Kasikorn advising me of a debit card transaction of 850 Baht to Facebook ads, it seems there was a 0 Baht authorization check yesterday and again today. Whilst I use Facebook, I’ve never purchased from them and I’ve never heard of Facebook Ads or never used my card with Facebook. KK cancelled the card and refunded the card fee, and say they will refund at some stage. This is the second time I’ve had an unauthorized transaction, the last time was Bangkok Bank.

Oh really? Highly amusing.

Some officers love to demonstrate they have power, for no other reason than they can. ????

That's Aleppo in Syria

Whilst in all probability the childs parents were fully aware that she was riding the motorbike illegally, and not wearing a helmet, do we know that for a fact, or are just assuming that is so? Either way they are going to have to live this for the rest of their lives, so maybe show some compassion, at least until the actual facts are known.

Thanks, do you work for Wise or maybe a Thai bank?

That's certainly what we had when we got a new car quite a few years ago, we were advised to enter the details of any inter provincial trips in pencil. The book with this car corresponds to the red plates, has the details of the previous plate holders, but doesn't have the section to fill in any trip details as our previous book had. I read somewhere that the police target red cars as they're often a good catch.

I'm aware that there have always been certain restrictions with driving with red plates, like use after 18.00 and driving out of the province, but it's been some years since I've had them. Picked up a new car in Hua Hin yesterday and was advised about the 18.00 rule but was also told that we could drive anywhere for up to 30 days, though the car wouldn't be fully registered until after then. We told the dealer that we wanted to drive to Bangkok on day 28, onto Pattaya on day 32, returning to Hua Hin on day 35, and asked what our options were, that met with a deer in the headlights stare. Does anybody have any experience of this, gratful for any advice. TJ

Yes it does, but I've still got the FTT marker in my Bangkok Bank book and statements, which is all I'm worried about. I'm aware that this marker seems a bit hit and miss at the moment.