I hope someone can help to clarify this please.  I have been told that some agricultural land in the provinces, on which a number of people have settled, does not emjoy the benefit of chanote title but that the "king" has traditionally allowed people to use it.  Nevertheless, such land appears to change hands for a payment between buyer and seller.

As I understand it, locals refer to this as the King's land, but getting a straight answer to how this works, was diffcult.  What therefore are the terms of the arrangement in place likely to be, if anyone can help?  Many thanks.

I'd be grateful if anyone can confirm reliably what the allowable maximum distance (km) is, between servicing intervals, with Toyota in particular.  I seem to recall a long time ago I was informed that I needed to service the vehicle during the vehicle's warranty period, no later than 11,500km.  To be clear, the normal service interval is 10,000km.

However, if the vehicle is no longer under warranty, can the customer request the specific service to be carried out of his choosing, even after exceeding the km by a reasonable margin?  For example, if the vehicle's next service was due at 70,000km, is the customer still able to request the 70,000km service, at say 71,250 km?

Apologies for raising this somewhat old topic again, but there didn't appear to be a conclusion with regard to HSBC and the request of TINs for those of us who are retired in Thailand without taxable income.  I have just received my CRS form.

It seems from this past thread that some have indicated "Reason (c)" was accepted, albeit by Citibank, on the basis that Thailand is not a party of the CRS legislation and therefore cannot require that the TIN is disclosed.  (rwdrwdrwd - I got rebuffed on reason C by Citibank, but after I argued, they admitted they were wrong and allowed it.

Can anyone therefore confirm if that has been the case likewise with HSBC?

To recap, the choices are:
A. The country where the account holder does not issue TIN's to it's residents

B. The account holder is otherwise unable to obtain a TIN or equivalent number (please explain why you are unable to obtain a TIN in the below table if you have selected this reason)

C. No  TIN is required (Only select this reason if the authorities of the country of tax residence entered below do not require the TIN to be disclosed)

Thanks.

I note that nobody has mentioned the past data theft incidents of Yahoo accounts, which were reported in the press more than once.  I'm not suggesting it's the cause of Chiangrai's problem, but it may be worth noting, if even to remind members here to change their Yahoo passwords.

One concern that I have had for others with Yahoo accounts that were created prior to the Yahoo data theft, is that passwords were made available within the leaked data, enabling others to log into those Yahoo users' accounts.  Obviously changing the password recently will eliminate that concern though.  I don't want to worry you, Chiangrai, since if you changed your password more recently, then it clearly won't be the cause here.

Just a brief update on this, Villa Market's principle management has indicated that the staff at the branch in question had taken it upon themselves to not give Satang coinage to customers (effectively short-changing them), since there is a genuine shortage of those coins, rather than resolve the issue properly in customers' interests.  He indicated that what happened at that branch, was not their company's policy and that he regarded what the branch staff did as "theft" - his words, not mine.

This sounds consistent with certain other posters' comments that they had received Satang coins from various other branches.  I wanted to put the matter straight on here, that it was due to the individual branch staff believing it was acceptable to avoid giving the full change back to customers, and not more broadly Villa Market's intention - in other words it was a lack of common-sense thinking at that branch.  He also indicated that as a result of raising it with them, they had re-priced certain items to avoid the smaller denomination.  So all's well that ends well!  Sorry I haven't read posters' comments and replied, but the above is the outcome and no doubt worth raising with them, as the matter is now resolved as it should be.

14 hours ago, 2008bangkok said:

I don't like, comment or anything else that might get me in trouble with thai authorities, cause last thing i want is fish and rice for breakfast!

Yes, well you've got the right approach indeed, but sometimes what we might regard as the most innocuous opinon in a conversation can inflame 'thinkers' in this type of monoculture that anything they think sounds even slightly against the status quo, represents disapproval of everything they hold dear.

9 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Facebook even wants to force people "not use wrong information on personal data". Whoever follows this brazenness and posts more than pictures of breakfast has to to blame oneself.

A German court just ruled that FB's terms are illegal in Germany. Of course FB has appealed. Let's see.

Thanks, interesting piece of news there. And interesting particularly that the court concluded that users didn't need to reveal their names.

On 14/02/2018 at 9:40 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

can they find enough Windows 98 certified software engineers to help them get their platform off the ground?

 

Nice one. Same software as the Thai banks' ATMs, which when you press the button to cancel your request, it replies "...Please contact your bank".  But, yes I'd be very surprised if the project completes in six months.

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

... it's kind of like choosing between death by firing squad or death by guillotine.

 

Isn't there a thoughtful, educated, non-corrupt politician anywhere in the house???

I think that's about it, although perhaps more specifically that the system of politics and the social structure, disincentivises consistently good behaviour as a politician with the sole intention of the common good, while the environment in which they operate promotes precisely the opposite.  Further, the conditions are supportive of self-fulfilment and those connected with them - Thailand's Crony Capitalism.

We only need look at the dozens of news items each week - lately that the police chief Gen. Somyot Phumphanmuang who has been implicated in a THB 300m scandal over a sex parlour, which, at least as it appears, continued to operate as a result of his participation.  At the same time, he oversaw the handling of the Koh Tao rape and murder case, yet his credentials as a police officer implicate him in the sex industry and the exploitation associated with that.  Clearly this didn't cause an issue with his conscience.

It won't get any better, that's for sure.  It's just the way Thailand is.  There is a common apathy against change for the better and the people they have in positions of power are the result of that.

10 hours ago, Issanman said:

Villa Market in Udon Thani gave me my change including 25 satang just 2 days ago.

Yes, so it seems it's up to the manager at specific branches.  The cash register didn't contain any Satangs at Villa Market Index Hua Hin.  And it's happened repeatedly, with different cashiers at the same store.

On 13/02/2018 at 3:36 AM, pearciderman said:

 

And just where did you pull that load of tripe from?

It's common knowledge amongst economists. For instance, looking at Britain's withdrawal of the half-penny and the pertinent arguments considered at the time, such as here... http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/1/newsid_2828000/2828819.stm

The article makes several cases in fact, for the small denomination having benefit for those on low-income, though notwithstanding the cost of producing the small-denonination can outweigh its value, hence finally the government's decision to withdraw it.  But yes, several points in support of it are hidden in that piece - good luck!

Thanks for the reply.  I suppose the only concern then, is that it's conceivable the regime in power could force Twitter to disclose participants' originating IP addresses, which would then of course reveal their identity.  I recall there was a case where Thai authorities pressured an ISP in USA for their customer's identity and the ISP complied, although it raised the matter that the ISP had, in doing so, infringed the customer's confidentiality.  This didn't help the Thai citizen when he happened to return to Thailand.

I just think it's something that might be a concern, judging from the manner and severity in which we see Thais receiving punishment just for "agreeing" with some content online, such as commenting even that they don't agree with the regime's rules.  We also see this week the regime's strong reaction to the fact that some Thais have re-posted the pictures of former PMs while travelling in China.  It offers some indication that even a minor action - nothing more than a discussion in fact - can result in strong censure and the claim that re-posting a picture makes the poster anti-regime, something which in the west we would refute and point out that everyone is entitled to their own private views, whatever they might be.

Indeed, I'd rather the beggers receive the accumulation of all those 0.50s and 0.75s than the undoubtedly rich shareholders of Villa Market.  Let's not forget that across all the day's customers, that discrepancy is likely to be a thousand Baht or more.

In fact, the concept of the small denomination Satang is intended primarily to help the poor, but here we see an example at Villa Market, of them forming a policy to avoid giving it back.  Who's benefitting there -- the rich.

Yeah sure.  I wonder if they expect 42 Baht from me, for the sandwich, or happy to receive only 41.  But if I give them 42 and then complain about the absent 0.75 change, they'll then give me 1 Baht back! LOL

8 minutes ago, Media1 said:

Thais can't be trusted and there evidence is bin worthy

Agreed, it's a horrible incident.  It reminds me to avoid Pattaya.

I wondered if it has become common practice now, for shops not to give customers their change if the change is less than 1 Baht.  I've found at Villa Market, every time, that they round-up the change, so it's in their interests, rather than the customer's.  Is this normal elsewhere too?

My understanding has always been that Satang is legal tender.  Is that the case?  Some shops don't accept Satang, I recall, but what I noticed with Villa Market, is that some items are in fact priced in Satang denominations, even items that aren't charged by weight.  For example, a sandwich was marked as 41.30 Baht and appears on the receipt as 41.25 Baht.  So presumably if the argument is that Satang isn't treated as legal tender, where is the justification for them marking items priced with Satang denominations?

Somewhat surprised at the comments from other forum members, which suggests that authorities monitor visitors' social media accounts.  Can Twitter comments be monitored, notwithstanding that the account id. might identify the user anyway?

On 09/02/2018 at 8:24 AM, NanLaew said:

Now THAT is just plain bloody scary.

I presume that the incident to which Spinman refers, in regard to Facebook pictures shown on the immigration computer, is due to the question on extension of stays, which requests social media information.

Not wishing to overreact, but it raises the question for some of us, perhaps, whether we want to continue staying in such a regime?  Isn't that type of thing conveying a feeling that there is a suspicion of visiting foreigners, almost as though individuals are not to be trusted at the outset?

I think there's a danger that we're expecting the drivers of such buses to show logic and reason.  Bear in mind that this is a group of individuals with whom we happen to share the highway, whose intellect is titillated by the below and in whose definition this is public transport.
 

In comparison with say Singapore, where there is a rule of law and where the definition of public transport would typically be this...

The thing I don't follow - and this is a genuine lack of understanding on my part - is how the application of law is determined by police.  For example, in this case that was on the Prachatai news website last week, it indicates that four activists mocked Prawit in public and that the police made them pay 2,500 Baht each (previously the article indicated 25,000 Baht each).  So what I don't follow is, since the case didn't proceed to court, how is the fine determined and on what legal basis?  Is it already established that for doing what they did, the fine is 2,500 Baht?

Police arrest 4 activists for mocking Prawit in public

"Bangkok police have arrested four activists who performed a mime mocking the deputy junta head in public. The four have been fined for violating the public assembly law.

A possible reason for the overtaking vehicle's strange stance on the road is that he was annoyed because the oncoming driver flashed his lights (if indeed he did) and therefore tried to bully him off the road.  I know it sounds extreme and cynical, but having been driving here for over a decade, I'm starting to see some very intimidating and life-threatening driving on the part of egotistical locals.

Sometimes with their mentality, I feel they can't cope with the embarrasment of being in the wrong.  Anyone else seen this kind of behaviour?  Fifteen years ago when I first came here, most of them were driving old and slow pick-ups, but now the new generation don't have the driving skills, or the good manners and sensible thinking, to command powerful motors.

I see some very strange driving practices now, almost like you'd expect a young child to do, in order to spite another.

I expect we're all aware that Thai language contains a wide variety of English loan words, but that they aren't pronounced in a way which is understandable to English speakers.

For example, the word รีวิว does not sound anything like 'Review'.  It actually says Ree-wee-ewe.  This doesn't necessarily appear to be a limitation of their vocal ability to pronounce the word, as I'm sure that with some effort they could say 'review' with a 'v', but rather that they are limited by the deficiency of the Thai alphabet to represent the sounds.  Another example (and there are numerous) is the word เดอะ which sounds painful to the ear.  Why not at least use เทอะ ?

Is this sort of thing making it more difficult for Thais to learn English to a satisfactory level?

Just a heads-up for others who have used the Teddy House website to order goods.  I have been receiving malware e-mails sent to a disposable e-mail address that I created specifically to place an order from this Thai company.  Initially I assumed it was just a virus on one of the Teddy House computers, which had obtained various e-mail addresses.  However, this doesn't appear to be the case, and it rather appears to have been a complete customer data breach.  The spammer appears to have obtained my other personal information in addition to my e-mail address.

Recently, I noticed that one of the malware messages quoted my birth date, as I had entered into the company's website.  The birthdate I entered wasn't actually my correct birthdate, but I recognised it was the date I entered into the website.

I reported this to a member of staff at Teddy House by e-mail but received no response.  Finally I logged into the company website and I found that they had purged the customer data (credit card, address and phone number, and date of birth).  It appears that Teddy House has been aware of the data breach but hasn't notified customers of this.  It is quite serious, given that credit card information was stored.  Although the company has at some point removed customers' main personal data, presumably as a weak attempt at resolving the problem, they haven't removed historic orders (which in turn contains personal information anyway), neither have they notified customers of any password reset for example.

I have always been wary of using Thailand e-commerce sites, because their ability to secure data is often extremely rudimentary, but this has been a lesson.  If you've ordered from Teddy House, you may want to double-check your credit card statement.