khunjeff

"With effective from April 1, 2019, New York branch only process ACH with appropriate IAT format and all non-IAT transactions will be returned."

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-US-to-Thailand-via-Bangkok-Bank-NewYork-branch

5 hours ago, webfact said:

an African man had approached the company for assistance in importing 50 rabbits, reported Bangkok Post.

 

The company agreed to manage the import procedures for 150,000 baht (US$4,346) but denied any knowledge of the gorilla.

Yeah, because charging 150k baht obviously sounds like a normal price for importing rabbits. Sure... 🙄

Treating people like these as criminals - rather than victims, which is clearly what they are - is one of the reasons why Thailand keeps ending up on Trafficking in Persons watchlists. They fled from captors who had confiscated their passports, and have no desire to stay in Thailand, so just turn them over to their embassy and call it a day, instead of engaging in this jingoistic nonsense.

I thought the GOP wanted all decisions related to education to be made at the local level, with no "interference" from Washington? 🤔

28 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Embassy premises are classed as being part of the country they represent, negating your statement.

Yes, embassies can perform any marriage registrations that they want. Whether a given country will recognize those registrations, on the other hand, is a different matter, and that's the case even for opposite sex marriages.

So, this "course" is taught by police officers in a university classroom...

Police: "we had nothing to do with this"

University: "we had nothing to do with this"

The mind boggles 🤔

10 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

There is a lot of confusion going on now as Embassies can't give the permission to get marry yet before the law is signed by Anutin

As another posted has already noted, Anutin has nothing to do with the law going into effect. But even if he did, embassies can issue whatever documents they want, regardless of what Thai laws may or may not be in effect - and they also don't "give the permission to get marry", they just give documentation that their citizen is free to marry (or claims to be so).

1 hour ago, Sig said:

Isn't that exactly the point? They don't. So, why not put a cap on it and if someone somehow gets control of their account, the ne'er-do-weller won't be able to fleece them in one fell swoop.

Not in one fell swoop, no, but we regularly see stories in the media about people whose accounts are emptied by the scammers in a dozen consecutive 49k transfers, and the banks apparently don't recognize that as suspicious. 

1 hour ago, Sig said:

Agreed. It's a great idea, but should be optional, not mandated by the government who seems to think that they know better than every individual situation....

The problem is that so many victims absolutely believe that they know better, and will continue to transfer money even after the bank has explained to them that they're being scammed. And people complain about government restrictions, but after they've been scammed will demand to know "why didn't the government do anything to protect me?" So there are no easy answers.

10 hours ago, webfact said:

One key element of these regulatory revisions is facilitating brewpubs and craft beer breweries to distribute keg beer beyond their premises, provided the containers hold a minimum of 20 litres.

This is actually far more interesting than the part about airports. There are already a number of small brew pubs illegally selling draft beer from small producers and home brewers, some of which is of very high quality. Legalizing this will hopefully lead to more production and more venues selling these artisanal brews.

7 hours ago, Enzian said:

Were the Duty Free shops at Swampy Arrivals (when you land in the country and leave the airport) ever removed as was proposed earlier this year?

Yes, they're gone - a really poorly thought-out idea that will accomplish pretty much nothing. 

5 hours ago, Foxx said:

Was it really the case that King Power stopped selling alcohol on these days? And did the various lounges stop providing alcohol to business and first class passengers?

No and no.

I've never been clear on what exactly this measure was meant to address, since even convenience stores at international airports were already exempt from the alcohol sales hours restrictions. Did the 7-11s have to halt sales on that small number of religious days? Maybe, but getting rid of that wouldn't seem to merit this grand announcement.

4 hours ago, jcmj said:

The numbers are so high and it is from lack of police enforcement, except on Special Occasions.

They don't even have enforcement on the much-publicized "special occasions" - they just have hundreds of extra checkpoints, most of which are filled with people sitting around drinking coffee and playing with their phones while not even looking at the road. And since I've never seen anyone pulled over for driving erratically or dangerously - the drunk driving measures are only enforced at checkpoints - I don't see what difference these increased penalties will make.

21 hours ago, Dexxter said:

If you are observant you will see RFID type detectors (same as you see that prevents shoplifting in stores) that you have to walk past before leaving the secure area.

I've noticed those, and had the same thought as you did. But they light up (a blue light, I think?) with every person who passes through, so I'm not sure...it's certainly possible that an RFID tag would generate a light of a different color, or a sound, but I have yet to see that happen 🤷

7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Preliminary findings suggest reckless driving as the primary cause

Ya think so???

1 hour ago, impulse said:

When you look at your account statements, are there any service charges added for pulling out your American plastic for a $0.76 charge in Thailand?  I'd be afraid the bank would tack on some horrendous fee.

That's entirely dependent on your individual bank and its policies, so other people's experiences won't tell you what might happen in your particular case. If your card has no foreign transaction fees, there shouldn't be any additional charge.

9 hours ago, Wagyu said:

Perhaps my case is somewhat unusual. As I have no visa and I'm not in Thailand, I'm supposed to get the LTR at the embassy.

Your case isn't unusual at all - many people have done exactly what you're planning to do, and there is no requirement for you to get the visa at an embassy instead of at BoI.

9 hours ago, Wagyu said:

I hope I can get an appointment soon after without waiting. 

That shouldn't be an issue. They will likely give the final approval within a couple of days after you upload the information, and the appointment schedule is usually wide open. Don't overthink this, and don't bother trying to upload your passport pages until you're actually here - they want to see your entry stamp into Thailand.

18 hours ago, proton said:

They had great beers, calypso, yellow submarine and galaxy, but did not last long. Thais prefer tasteless pee water it seems

Those were the only mass market Thai beers that I ever liked, so naturally they disappeared after a very short time  😞

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The introduction of visa-free policies, allowing stays of up to 60 days for tourists from 93 countries, inadvertently facilitates illegal work practices.

No, it doesn't. They made exactly the same complaint before the visa exemption policies were changed, so clearly someone who wants to be an illegal guide can do so just fine on a 30 day stay. 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

"Thailand forfeits tens to hundreds of billions of Thai Baht due to these illegal practices, diverting tourism income abroad," lamented Mr Paisarn.

Hundreds of billions? Seriously? Pull the other one, Paisarn!

7 hours ago, webfact said:

“A feasible strategy is to have Thai guides work with foreign tour leaders for support,"

7 hours ago, webfact said:

a Russian guide, unlawfully operating at the Similan Islands, used a Thai guide as a nominal front

Sounds like the Russian was doing just what Paisarn suggested was "feasible"...

17 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Because I'm a pedantic bastard, let me ask...  Do they hit you up with a 200 baht "international transaction fee", or any such nonsense?  (Like the ATM's)  Or even the 4% credit card surcharge that many retail stores charge?

 

TBH, I've never even tried my K-Bank Visa card, because I have my MRT Elder card and my BTS Rabbit card.  And I'm a little jaded with the banks, that seem to take a chunk every time I pull out the plastic in a foreign land.

The transit lines themselves don't charge anything extra, but the card-issuing bank abroad might have foreign transaction fees.

17 hours ago, impulse said:

Does that have to be a Thai bank card, or can it be a card from back home?

You can use any Visa or Master Card. This works on the Blue, Purple, Yellow, Pink, and Red lines, but unfortunately not on the Green (BTS) lines or the ARL.

21 hours ago, webfact said:

In a Facebook post dated 16 December, the Royal Thai Police noted that these festive modifications could violate traffic laws.

Since when do they have any interest in violations of traffic laws?