Madgee

On 3/13/2024 at 2:07 PM, Madgee said:

The cost of a new UK 54-page passport is about 6250 baht if applying from Thailand.
I believe that the MyThaiVisa agency (used by many) charges 12000 baht incl, all done by post. I will be using this service later in the year. Considering it would cost me a flight to BKK, an overnight stay and travel in BKK, and then again to pick the passport up, far cheaper and much less hassle! 
  

Update:
I delivered my passport to the MyThaiVisa agency (office not far away) on the 1st of April.  It can all be done by post.
Expiring passport
2 passport photos
I.D. Card (Thai driving licence will be accepted as well)
I signed a 'power of attorney' form allowing them to renew my passport on my behalf and a blank passport application form, they completed it.  
Paid 12,000 Baht.

I got a message via 'Line' this morning 26th of April that my new passport is ready to be picked up (or posted to me). According to them the passport office no longer issues a letter for immigration asking them to transfer my visa details and extension of stay to my new passport. 

Only 26 days to renew a UK passport from Thailand with no hassle, can't be bad! 

 

1 week before Songkran last year I discovered an inguinal hernia after playing a strenuous game of badminton on a Friday evening. On Saturday I went to a local clinic that confirmed my fears and he offered to get me in for the op (open surgery) the next day! Roi-Et General Hospital, private room for one night. 
฿500 clinic. (Surgeon)
฿18,000 hospital incl.
฿5000 clinic back-hander for immediate op. Normal waiting time is about 3-4 weeks.
฿400 clinic post-op check-up.

I had chronic pain for 2-3 days afterwards which gradually dissipated over the next 2-3 weeks. 3 months later I was back playing competitive badminton, albeit less frequently. 
I still get the odd spasm but nothing that over concerns me. 

A friend in the UK has been waiting over 12 months for the same op.  There it's a day surgery procedure. 

Tax Return (2023) (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Is this what you are looking for?

Deleted

On 4/6/2024 at 2:26 PM, proton said:

 

State pension is less than the personal tax allowance so is not taxed, other pensions taking you over that and interest on savings over 1k a year is.

Slightly incorrect.  Interest earned over 1k on savings is liable for tax.

2 minutes ago, Dolf said:

Brushcutters are safe. Thai roads arent. Best you worry about those Thai roads.

 

Pretty much 80 to 90% of pros take the guard off.

Mr Dolt, most of the pros I know insist that you keep the guard on! 😜

Hi Mr Dolt, I find your take on this subject extremely interesting ........................ As a novice gardener for many a year, I've always considered safety a prime concern so I will continue to use my weedwhacker with safety in mind and you be careful Mr Dolt with your way of doing things.

1 hour ago, MangoKorat said:

To be fair, the parts issues you mention are more likely to be down to the repairer.  As I said in an earlier post, I've been amazed at the stock of Chevrolet parts that GM Autoparts in Bangkok have.  I wouldn't say that engine mountings and a gear lever are commonly ordered parts yet they had them in stock and I collected them the next day.  My Chevrolet is not a Captiva but so far, I've found that Chevrolet's promise to make spares available for at least 10 years after quitting Thailand is factual.

 

The starter motor in particular is one that is used on several models and probably different brands too. Chevrolet, like all car manufacturers, don't make starter motors, they buy them in.  One for a Captiva is almost certainly also available from an after-market autoparts stockist.

 

I'm currently in the UK and just did a search on Ebay where plenty of starter motors are available for around 6000 baht.  I don't expect the situation in Thailand to be any different and probably much cheaper.

 

There is absolutley no reason why your friend's car should be off the road because of a faulty starter.  Tell him to change repairers.

I totally agree with you. Out of curiosity, I also sourced some of the parts he mentioned on Lazada. I've recommended a local repair shop to him but he insists on using a Chevvy approved garage.  

My neighbour swapped his 2010 Vios with 240k km,  for a 2011 Captiva with 110k km, which has turned out to be a lemon.
Things keep breaking on it, the seat adjuster, tailgate lock mechanism, door mirror adjuster etc. Ordering parts has been a nightmare for him.
10 weeks wait for an oil seal, something to do with a transmission rebuild following an oil leak. (It's still got a slight oil leak!)
Now it's in for starter motor problems after a breakdown, 3 weeks and counting. All the work is being done by an authorised Chevvy garage. I picked him up last time it was towed there and the adjacent field was full of older Chevvies (many Captivas) apparently waiting for parts. 
Just saying .......

 

12 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

There are countless things to do while waiting for the car to charge, gloating in the fact that you are saving yourself lots of money compared to driving an ICEV. Your neighbour may not be as stupid as …

Another one where it's all about money! Duh. 

^^^^^ Op, ignore the naysayers, they're the same negative lot that always has nothing useful to say. You do what you think is right for you.

AFAIK, Your ex doesn't come into this. You have legit divorce papers from the UK which is what is wanted by the UK embassy to get an affirmation to say you are free to marry. Your girlfriend also needs her divorce papers (if previously married). Read the link:

Where do you want to get married? - Getting married abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Everything can be done in a day if you are fully prepared!

On 3/16/2024 at 9:41 AM, JBChiangRai said:

You don't understand the concept.

 

Why would you need a place to charge 100 cars every hour?  Most of your charging is done at home overnight.

You keep harping on about 'Most of your charging is done at home overnight' ...... My neighbour desperately wants an EV (stupid man) mainly because he thinks they are fashionable but cannot charge it at home as his car would be parked on the road away from his house. How about those living in condo blocks with very few chargers or even not allowed in the car parks?   
Respectfully, you use this point over and over again, that's your situation so sometimes start seeing it from another perspective. I'm not doubting the (at present) attractiveness of owning an EV for some but an EV certainly is not suitable for me and many others. 

16 hours ago, Tiber said:

 

  

The ire of it, to wake up on this bright and beautiful morn (but cold)to be met by  a hostile quote, it puts me off (almost) my cornflakes

    Yes ,it must be hard to exist there on ever dwindling worth of State pension, on other hand  mixing with the unfrozen bunch too, must be most upsetting

 

   Anyway, as your likened near bible bashing quote re.  " getting it"  I can also quote "man should not live on bread alone" Matthew 4.4 ..... add some meat to your diet...go unfrozen

Err, I'm not quite old enough to receive my UK state pension yet so stop your wild assumptions about people's state of finances. 
Cornflakes for brekkie eh..... Go on, you'll be telling me they're Kellogg's next!  Enjoy your (cold) day. 
 

7 hours ago, Tiber said:

Like to come back to TH,but the increase in benefits close on £200 a week mostly untaxable plus OAP and public sector pension  puts me in position I'm individually paying  off the public debt, if the 200 a week was stopped Id probably come back, but its just the weather there that's OK ,the rest mmm. Far cheaper here in UK

Good idea that you stay where you are. One of the reasons I came to Thailand was to get away from people like you! 

6 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

 

I also wonder about this scenario: Let's say you leave the UK whilst receiving a pension of £200 per week but the pension is due to increase by 10% the following April.  In March of the next year you return to the UK and stay with a relative until May.  Would you be entitled to receive the April increase? At what point would they consider you as resident and what would qualify that?

You can inform the DWP that you are in the UK and you will receive the latest pension increase up to the date you leave, it then reverts to what it was before you entered the country, that is provided you tell them you are leaving (back to Thailand)! As a previous poster stated, they do call you periodically to check if you are still in the UK.  Remember that because of the increase you might be liable for more tax. 

Some of you don't get it, do you?

I don't care if you falsify documents, say you live in Timbuktu or use a mail forwarding company etc. as a way to claim your pension increases along with the various other benefits:  
 You commit benefit fraud by claiming benefits you’re not entitled to on purpose. It's that simple.

just because you believe it's wrong for the Gov. to freeze pensions (as I also do) it doesn't mean you have the automatic right to commit fraud. As I've stated many times before,
UP 2 YOU.             Over and out. 

46 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

1. Heating allowance, there's no way to refuse it.

Yes, there is, stop using a fraudulent address! 

You are committing fraud, pure and simple so stop trying to justify it as a right. As I have said before on many occasions, it's up to the individual to decide to do what they think fit.
The same as many, I firmly believe that everyone who is entitled to the UK state pension should be treated the same, regardless of where they live, so the frozen pension stipulation is wrong and should be rectified. That doesn't give a valid reason to blatantly commit fraud but obviously, it does to some. Thailand doesn't have a social security agreement with the UK so it is what it is.

 
Will anything ever happen to those who commit benefit fraud in this way? I very much doubt it! 

 

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Could you now add (for the purpose of perspective) the people who have been taken to court for those who falsely declared their residence - or failed to advise a change to an overseas address.

I know of none so although the legalities are there, they are not enforced .... at present. 

I do know of one person (my next-door neighbour) who inadvertently gave his Thai address on a tax form and was asked to pay back the overpaid amount totalling a few thousand pounds at an agreed £20 a week which was deducted from his private pension amount at source. His state pension remained at the amount when he was discovered to be living abroad and not frozen at the time he first resided in Thailand 5 years previous.  He was not threatened with legal action. Maybe he would have been had he not voluntarily agreed to some payback, who knows!   

On 1/29/2024 at 7:14 AM, BritManToo said:

It's here Mike, and lists what they can stop, followed by what they can't stop.

https://www.gov.uk/benefit-fraud

For those who say it's not benefit fraud to claim the state pension increases (which is classified as a benefit) or scumbags that fraudulently claim the heating allowance, please note and digest the first few lines of the link given:
 

You commit benefit fraud by claiming benefits you’re not entitled to on purpose. For example by:

• not reporting a change in your circumstances
• providing false information

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/outlines/benefit-fraud/

https://www.claims.co.uk/knowledge-base/personal-finance/benefit-fraud

A person who knowingly gives false information about your residency at their address is also committing fraud and is likely to be prosecuted more heavily than the non-resident. 
Those who insist that the UK state pension cannot be reduced or stopped once given are correct but........AFAIK it can be suspended while being investigated. 

With the new powers that the DWP & HMRC have regarding people's bank accounts and personal information which can be shared between departments, I can visualise many more cheats being discovered over time, especially if reported! 

Off with their heads!