cliveshep

Poor Thailand, mistake after mistake and now a government with the same old faces of corrupt self-serving indecently wealthy politicians still holding the reins of power - will the people never learn? So first item on the agenda no doubt will be to ban the latest iteration of Future Forward and impose life-time bans on their leadership thus removing any possibility of future challenges?

Ok, thanks for the updates, looks like SIL is behind the curve on this. She doesn't want to change banks anyway according to my wife but now seems there is no problem.

Told my wife to get SIL to check but we both feel she needs to change banks anyway, BKK seem to be in anti-customer mode.

It seems Bangkok Bank are still making rules with the intent to drive customers away? I usually send money to my sister-in-law from my pension every month. She banks with BKK bank. They are poor and for both of us it is a struggle as my UK pension is not very large, my government are very mean to the elderly in spite of us paying in our entire lives. Apparently BKK bank are getting selective with customers because apart from their draconian rule locking my 400,000 for 4 months (I'm 80, what happens if I get sick?) they have now imposed a minimum balance of 2000 baht. Now, this doesn't affect me but it does affect my SIL as to her, like many poor people, 2000 baht is big money. So it seems BKK Bank are using these rules to drive away small account holders and also those of us with slightly more funds. I am still angry at their blackmail before Christmas, "either accept a 4 month freeze on your 400,000 or we won't give you the letter for immigration" they said. My wife says stay with them as I use Kasikorn for all day to day banking but I would like to close my BKK account and open one with, say, Siam Commercial or one of the others. My wife insists BKK are safer, but with these arbitrary rules ignoring customers rights and opinions I am not so sure. What do you guys think? For SIL we are telling her to close the BKK account and open with Kasikorn as UK direct transfers with WISE usually take seconds (not today though - 2 hours!) but BKK bank can take up to 3 days so they have no advantages anymore.

My old passport only got it's corner chopped off when I went in to pick up the new one.

According to the BBC's online news site it's the American people who are paying for Trump's foray into international relations, with price increases due to tariffs being born pretty much exclusively by his own citizens. Countries exporting to the US remain relatively unaffected by his tariffs and can laugh them off. Any 5yr old could have predicted this but clearly the <derogatory nickname edited out> intellect is so stunted by ego that he failed to see the inevitable outcome. I'm now waiting expectantly for the equally inevitable push-back by the US electorate who were not feeling happy about the rising prices even before they foolishly allowed Trump back into office.

I also cannot see how it is legal although par for the course given the corruption levels we keep hearing about. But one thing it clearly is - it is blackmail. 'Either sign the form agreeing to the freeze or no letter!" So they are holding a person's immigration extension to ransom. As another poster says - if you got an emergency you cannot access your own money. Moreover - suppose I want to close the account and move that money to another bank - I assume they will point blank refuse.

I always thought you had to take out or pay in a small amount to show the account was 'live' but had to do it on the day. But you and others say I can get the letter a few days before the appointment? Still, I think I would like a different bank to BBL if I knew what banks there are there.

Seems like BBL are out on a possibly illegal limb with this stunt but that doesn't help those of us caught in their net of locked accounts. I got a question those using the Government Complex Immigration Offices at Chaeng Wattana and familiar with the facilities there. Apart from the odious and perhaps criminal Bangkok Bank, what other banks are downstairs at CW? My wife does not want me to close the BBL account because having BBL downstairs at CW makes it so easy to get the statements, update passbook, and get that required letter and frankly that convenience is important to us. I know Kasikorn sadly do not have a branch there. But I have lost all faith in BBL and I want to close that account but only if there is a safe alternative bank downstairs at CW. Google advise the other reasonable option - Siam Commercial Bank - have already pulled out from CW so can anyone advise on any other safe bank located there that I might open an account with to transfer my 400,000 into where I can use the money as before up to 2 months before extension day? I like Kasikorn and want to retain that account for day to day banking but keep the bigger money somewhere convenient for Immigration extension day yet retain the access for emergencies, something BBL now denies me. So what other banks are downstairs in CW please?

4 month freeze is not a deal breaker for my wife and I, but it does leave another who I, now mistakenly, promised to bail out of financial trouble once the extension was completed but they will still be in a hole. I feel bad about that on their behalf but I cannot realistically do it as promised as the money is locked up. As for taxation, not a red herring. Ok, I cannot change to the monthly transfer method so that would be irrelevant I agree. But the total amount I do transfer every month would put me into the Thai income tax bracket given I also support two others elsewhere. That is why I transfer individually to myself, my wife and two others every month direct from my UK bank so none of the individual totals are liable for tax at year end in Thailand. If I transferred the total to my bank and then disbursed it here I would certainly fall foul of the Thai taxman. My money is already taxed in the UK because of this crap new government we got there. I've done my sums properly. I agree - BBL is no longer ideal, and now I see why you guys seem to advise against them, but SWMBO (if you understand the acronym, not sure what country you hail from) meaning She Who Must Be Obeyed from Rumpole of the Bailey books has made her orders plain. We'll avoid a repeat of today by keeping the 400k in BBL and run with Kasikorn for all transfers and daily needs. They take seconds only whereas BBL takes hours if not days sometimes to show the money in my account. For visa extensions they are convenient as they can do the letter Immigration need and are downstairs in the Government Building below Immigration. There is no Kasikorn there, they are not close to us at home either.

Why am I typing nonsense Dr J? That is an unfair comment from someone whose opinions I have sought previously and respect.

This is, for better or worse - now my home. We managed this for 10 years, now we have a financial plan we've worked out we will carry on as indicated - using BB as little as possible, leaving the money alone where it is which is a shame because in past years once the visa was extended we had the use of that money for the next 9 or 10 months but clearly BB have cottoned on to that - we are not alone in wanting to use our own money outside of Immigration's requirements and they clearly want to prevent that by insisting the money must be in their bank for 4 months not the 2 months required by Immigration. There is it seems nothing we can do to circumvent this, sending over 40k a month to my account as an alternative would attract taxation here. Right now tax is paid in the UK on the total, the money is then transferred from there directly using WISE to myself and 2 other different recipients in Thailand I support and no individual total attracts taxation. No one is getting rich either but we all have food on the table and a roof over our heads.

If you got 800,000 to do a retirement extension lucky you, I have not and after 10 years of supporting all & sundry we are by the Grace of God still somehow managing the marriage extension although it has meant some belt tightening in the last months before renewal over the last 3 or 4 years.

Thanks, but I think we have calmed down and formulated our way forward that includes going home as home is irrevocably here and I have replied to the Thai Visa Centre explaining our future plans which do not include violence on BB much as I wish them a meteor strike at the very least!

Dr Jack - home is Khlong Sam Wa, no agent as stated, Not going to let BB freeze the account as talking with my wife I'll just pretty much abandon the BB account with just minimum movements and we'll manage using the Kasikorn account only. I'd love to burn the BB down but that is dreaming only, but if money is in the BB for the year then they have no need to freeze it. We'll just have to tighten our belts and so will the other family I also support. Hopefully PP manage to find a decent leader and win in February and force out the current lot of mongrels as I suspect things will improve then.