sambum

4 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Just received an item declared at $185. no VAT was charged

Erm? They haven't implemented it yet! :-

"Thailand's Customs Department will start charging Value-Added Tax (VAT) on all imported postal goods next month."

2 hours ago, Goat said:

Linz might find it easier with a younger Thai wife than old Jules.

Thai wives are a bit more frugal and know how to hunt out the bargains better.

Oh,give over trolling!!!

6 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Germany took in 2.1m in 2022. 

Irrelevant.

2 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

 

Nice strawman, never said that - so what is the cost and how is it bankrupting the UK? 

From a UK Parliament Hansard article regarding The Illegal Migration Bill - essentially not taking into account the legal migrants:- 

"The Illegal Migration Bill is critical to stopping the boats. ...........................The asylum system currently costs £3.6 billion a year and £6 million a day in hotel accommodation, but that is not the true cost of doing nothing. As this impact assessment shows, the cost of accommodating illegal migrants has increased dramatically since 2020. If these trends continued, the Home Office would be spending over £11 billion a year, or £32 million a day, on asylum support by the end of 2026. In such a scenario, the Bill would only need to deliver a 2% deterrence in arrivals to enable cost savings."

1 minute ago, Wiggy said:

I brought Germany into it as you implied the reason UK pensioners get a bad deal is due to the amount of money being spent on immigrants. Germany spends far more on immigrants and can also pay a very healthy pension. Why can’t the UK? That’s not by my reasoning, but yours. 

I think you should have gone to Specsavers - "Dinsdale" made the point you are referring to - NOT ME! 

2 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Rubbish, and racist. Germany has far more immigrants and maintains one of the best pensions in the EU. 

The post you replied to:- "Can't give you anymore money because illigal immigrants are very expensive for the budget. You may be a British national but you are overseas and as such a lesser person to those who aren't Brits who have got a leaky boat to the Isles. It's a very, very sad world." 

 

Your reply:- "Rubbish, and racist. Germany has far more immigrants and maintains one of the best pensions in the EU."

 

So, by your reasoning, the UK is in abetter position to pay their pensionersmore money because they don't have as many immigrants as Germany? Why bring Germany into it anyway? - the post is about the way the British Government treat their pensioners.

2 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Rubbish, and racist. Germany has far more immigrants and maintains one of the best pensions in the EU. 

Then why are they coming to the UK in their boatloads for "a better way of life"? :- 

"Thousands of migrants rescued in Channel, crossings to UK at second-highest on record

By  Emma Wallis Published on : 2023/12/04 Latest update : 2023/12/05

Thousands of migrants have arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel in small boats in the last seven days. Over the weekend, French authorities also rescued over 200 migrants off the coast of Calais. Crossings have hit the second-highest level on record.

Migrant crossings in the Channel over the last few days have increased once more. According to data from the British government, 1,264 migrants reached the English coast after crossing the Channel in small boats between November 26 and December 2."

2 hours ago, new2here said:

 “ … And quite possibly (and I know the facts should have been checked beforehand) a lot of the expats hit by this anomaly didn't know about it. After all, one would expect if you'd paid youur dues all your working life, it would be reasonable to expect that any benefits due to you in old age would be paid to you wherever you choose to live - would you not?“

 

True.. but. I also think that for something as critical, and long lasting as a pension payment, that any possible recipient would do their “homework” and check out what the rules are or are not relative to the payment and any ways it can be altered up or down.

 

There’s always going to be a percentage who don’t read the fine print and/or ask questions before .. but in the end — and as my original comment stated - so long as the rule about who would and would not get the bump up, was properly disclosed “back then”, I can’t fault the government for any consequences “down the road”.

I also think it’s a fair point of discussion as to the “ethicalness” of it.. but that to me is a wholly separate discussion versus HOW any established rule is implemented. 

I think that "back then", in the days before the internet and "hand held computers", most pensioners would probably get their information "passed down" by the guy sitting at the next seat in the bar/working mans club!

I can just see John Smith getting an envelope full of what he would consider "gobbledegook", showing it to a mate, and asking "What do you think this lot means?" And his mate replying, "Oh, nowt to worry about - it's just them telling you when your pension starts - everybody gets one of them!" 

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

Minor incidend, scratched car, bike parked too close together so they all fall over at the same time.

 

Irrelevant, but he's a foreigner so lets hang 'im 😁

In some parts, bikes have got to be parked closely together otherwise you wouldn't be able to get parked in the same town that you were visiting!

13 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Surely at certain speeds, the car wouldn't be at fault if they could not anticipate that the vehicle would reach them in time as they would not do so if riding at a normal speed?  They might not have even been able to see him if he was far away but moving at speed.

 

The car isn't at fault simply for driving into the path of another vehicle, if the other vehicle could have stopped if they were paying attention.  You could be making a turn, be delayed in clearing the opposite lane, and have someone strike you due to not looking at the road, who would have been nowhere near you when you began your turn.

"You could be making a turn, be delayed in clearing the opposite lane,....."

If you were delayed in clearing the opposite lane, surely you shouldn't be turning anyway?

The car is at fault for not indicating his intention to turn. If he had indicated, the motor bike rider may have slowed down, or at the least, have been aware of the car drivers intentions.  

Luxury car - no signal to indicate that he was turning.

Motorbike appeared to be going fast, but the rider wasn't thrown very far, and didn't appear to be seriously injured.

However, the thing that is apparent from the clip is that the couple seemed more concerned about their car than the motorcyclist! Didn't even give him a glance!

36 minutes ago, Lopburikid said:

So your saying its ok to rape and sexually assault girls/women so long as you have paid the bar fine. I would say she is a VICTIM not a grass.

I'm not saying that at all, (I did say it was a conspiracy theory!) but IF (and I stress the word IF) she was a bar girl who was bought out of a bar, the surely sexual favors were part of the deal, and if suddenly she reneged on the deal (possibly after she'd been paid, because some of these girls ask for money up front) then maybe the "punter" got aggrieved and wanted to get what he'd paid for? And "rape AND sexually assault"? She didn't claim rape -  just sexual assault, which could mean a myriad of things), but to be honest, the reason why the police took the case so seriously, was because she mentioned there were firearms involved, and as it turns out they were correct.

But let's test another conspiracy theory. As I said in one of my previous posts, if she was  indeed his girlfriend, and he decided to call it a day, then as it says in the proverb, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", so she decided to inflict some kind of revenge on him?

However, there is also the strong possibility that he was  guy who like bossing his girlfriend around - he had guns, a luxury BMW sedan, a Ducati motorcycle, and a pickup truck, so maybe she thought that she was entitled to a bit more than he was paying her, and he refused to pay any more?

All of the above is pure conjecture, and it is only her word against his regarding the sexual assault, and if they were in a long term realtionship (boyfriend/girlfriend scenario) I tend to think that sex was part of the arrangement, but GUNS? Because he LIKES them? As well as a luxury car and luxury motor cycle and truck? A lethal combination in my opinion, and I am pleased that he has been caught, "grassed on" -  whatever you care to call it, another piece of Russian garbage bites the dust, and the world is a better place for it!

3 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

 

You think it's fair that expats who have 'paid in' don't get the full pension??

No,of course I don't, and if you agree with me you would realise that that's what I've been saying all along!

2 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

 

I am canadian and I was quoting someone who said that canadian pensions, just as uk pensions, dont increase if you live abroad as in thailand...

You said:-" cant find anything to back what you said about canada. link please."

 

Sorry, but we were talking about UK pensions frozen in Thailand not Canadian pensions frozen in Thailand i.e. :- 

Most British Commonwealth countries are included in the frozen list;[8] these include countries, such as Australia, Canada .........

 

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about whether Canadian pensions are frozen in Thailnd. Have you tried Google?

 

 

2 hours ago, Ajarnbrian said:

UK state pension amount first depends on number of ‘contribution years’, 35 years needed (for those reaching pension age since 2016). Your pension should be increased yearly to allow for cost of living increases. But it has long been frozen if you’re not living in the UK or EU countries, or - wait for it - US, Philippines, Israel or Turkey. Yes, Philippines fine for getting your annual increase but not Thailand. Go figure.

Ridiculous! And worse so - the scenarios happening at the Niagara Falls!

3 hours ago, Wobblybob said:

If we were getting a fair deal from the government I feel there would be less to complain about, we are not getting a fair deal and if it was upgraded it would still remain the lowest in Europe, do you think that the government is lying to you?

Of course! It's just a shame that people have to go down to their level, and lie and cheat to get what is rightfully theirs.

11 hours ago, new2here said:

I have empathy for those hit with this.. but.. (as a non-UK national) it SEEMS like this issues was known in advance .. and if so, then I have to acknowledge this fact (ie it was known to people in advance) and that’s something quite different as opposed to say the government instituting a brand NEW rule that adversely impacted retirees.. 

In a "caring society", which the UK seems to be judging on the number of immigrants it opens its doors to, one would expect it to treat all of its own citizens and  pensioners fairly, and in the same way.

Obviously they are NOT, and we can be forgiven for not wanting to live in a country that puts the lives and wellbeing of immigrants above that of its own citizens.

And quite possibly (and I know the facts should have been checked beforehand) a lot of the expats hit by this anomaly didn't know about it. After all, one would expect if you'd paid youur dues all your working life, it would be reasonable to expect that any benefits due to you in old age would be paid to you wherever you choose to live - would you not?

I get a company pension in addition to my State pension, and that is increased every year  in line with inflation, (minimum) and they don't specify where I have to live in order to get the increases, so why should the Government? And to the people who say "Ah, but you're not paying Income Tax in the UK (which was one of the reasons for the "knockback" a few years ago when the case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights ((I believe), I DO pay tax in the UK as my gross income from the 2 pensions is more than the Personal Allowances threshold, so my company pension is taxed!!!

11 hours ago, jfeigel said:

 

...I don't know if that is the case with Canada...

It is - I have posted details from the British Government website

11 hours ago, theoldgit said:

https://britishpensions.com/are-you-receiving-a-uk-state-pension/

 

https://www.canzukinternational.com/2023/02/canadian-mp-urges-canada-uk-to-negotiate-end-of-frozen-pensions.html

 

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-02-19/debates/24021975000085/FrozenBritishPensions

 

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad/rates-of-state-pension

 

However, pensioners resident in the USA receive the annual increases

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, ridiculous isn't it when you can live on one side of the Niagara Falls and get the increments, and live on the other side and not get them! It's almost criminal 

16 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

I'm not yet of state pension age and a 'frozen' state pension is unlikely to affect me much in future (I probably won't relocate permanently to Thailand and I have a high passive income from part-ownership of a family business). Notwithstanding my own circumstances I do think that the freezing of pensions for pensioners who have paid the required NI contributions is one of the most unfair, unethical and immoral policies of successive British governments. The freezing of pensions is made all the worse by the provision of Pension Credit.  Pension Credit is essentially a non-contributory UK state pension to which the entire global population above retirement age may claim, if they can show residence in the UK.  Late last year I assisted an elderly Asian lady claim Pension Credit. She is not a UK citizen but by some fairly convoluted means became UK resident a couple of years ago. She has never worked or paid NI. On account of her almost nonexistent English I did a Pension Credit application for her. She was successful and now receives c.£800/month plus Housing Benefit, free dental and optical care etc.  I would guess her benefits amount to in the region of £1600/month.  She lives in a rented room in a shared house. Not a great lifestyle but tolerable. She's a very pleasant lady and I don't begrudge her the Pension Credit, but if does highlight the unfairness of policy when expats who were given no choice but to contribute to their state pension over many decades are deprived of a substantial portion of its value based on some archaic and whimsical policy.

Well said!

20 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

 

cant find anything to back what you said about canada. link please.

From the British Government website:-

Your State Pension will only increase each year if you live in:

• the European Economic Area (EEA)
• Gibraltar
• Switzerland
• countries that have a social security agreement with the UK (but you cannot get increases in Canada or New Zealand)

21 hours ago, Wobblybob said:

I think that is a possible answer to those willing to think outside the box. I did an internet search and it's possible to open a Philippine bank account on line without even going to the Philippines. Surely finding a Philippine address can't be that difficult. 

So in order to get a "fair deal" from the Government you have to lie and cheat to get it?

Strange old world isn't it?

21 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Tell them you live in the Philippines then you get full pension!

You mean tell lies like the Politicians do?

A couple I know didn't tell the DWP they were living in Thailand, and were getting the annual increments for years. Unfortunately they got found out/were "grassed up", and had to attend a tribunal in the UK to determine if they had to pay the increments back. They were assured that was usually the case for people in their position.

However, the male in the couple was ex RAF, and it just so happened that the the magistrate/man in charge of the tribunal was ex RAF too, so after a brief discussion, all "charges were dropped".

Isn't nepotism a wonderful thing?

22 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Wow ok 24yrs ago.

 

Sounds like piss poor planning from those whinging about it now !

I think you'll find that we've been "whingeing" about this grossly unfair burden ever since it first  started! 

When I came to Thailand originally, the Exchange Rate was 73 baht to the British £ - now it's 46.

So in effect, you could say that we've been hit with a "double whammy!"  

22 hours ago, worgeordie said:

it's called  inflation , Brexit did not help , Then Covid  , ,I don't think anyone thought  things

would turn out like this , I am still on 90 quid a week ,good job I don't need it as provided

for myself before retiring at 42 , But I can feel for those relying here on pension only, no

way will we get any relief from the British Government ,too busy looking after immigrants.

 

regards Worgeordie

Spot on, Geordie lad!