HauptmannUK

Seems he wasn't actually 'hiding in Thailand' because he came to Thailand in 2010 and allegations were not made until Sept 2023 and he was deported in Dec. 2023. The allegations related to events 30+ years previously.

I think some of you don't understand what had been going on in that room....

I've used it twice. Once when flying with Austrian Airlines and once with Turkish Airlines. Added only a few minutes to overall arrival/departure times. Just wasn't an issue for me....

Seems like its been a mess for a few decades...

Indeed. I've used it overseas before with no issues but this just happened couple of days ago. I'm not making it up....

About 9 months ago I signed my wife and myself to Spotify Premium in Thailand using my Thai address and SCB card. We travel a lot but spend more time in Thailand than anywhere else. Arrived in UK 6 days ago to visit family and yesterday received an email from Spotify saying that 'we think your account is registered in the wrong country. Please change your payment card to one registered in the country where you are streaming'. Obviously they want me to pay UK prices and not Thai prices. I contacted their 'support' and got nowhere. Basically unless I change payment to a UK card they will cancel my Premium account in 7 days. This seems counter to their marketing which says customers can use Premium accounts overseas indefinitely. When I pointed this out, the CS assistant immediately closed the chat. Anyway, I'll let them close my Premium account and listen to Spotify using a free app called 'Xmanager'. Very difficult to have sympathy for these streaming companies when they complain about 'piracy'.

In the OPs circumstances I honestly wouldn't worry about it.....

The situation is confusing. In the past couple of weeks I have had about half a dozen items arrive from Chinese suppliers with values between ฿500 - ฿6000.. No taxes or fees charged. In each case the tracking suggests that the package went via a 'transit country'. In Thailand they were handled by Flash. First tracking point in Thailand was Khon Kaen... Yesterday I received some car parts from Japan. Value ฿2000. The package was sent by Japan Post and appeared in Thailand at 'Laksi Mail Centre'. Then went to customs for a day. Was then delivered by Thailand post. No charges, fees or taxes...

Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning from airport to BNH Hospital Silom. It was about ฿400 on the meter and I gave him money for the motorway tolls (฿70 total IIRC).

Crikey! He was being extremely optimistic trying to smuggle that lot. The sniffer dog wouldn't be able to stand up after getting a whiff from that lot.

Sorry, but I simply do not believe this. I have an extremely detailed knowledge of how benefit fraud is dealt with and the situation you have described does not happen. Cases of fraud-related overpayment of benefits to claimants living abroad are known as 'Abroad Fraud' within DWP. DWP largely relies on tip-offs to identify Abroad Fraud. DWP does not have access to Border Force data to identify Abroad Fraud, nor can BF data be used in Interviews Under Caution or Prosecutions. The overwhelming majority of Abroad Fraud is due to claimants claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit while living overseas (unlike the State Pension, UC and PC are not 'Exportable Benefits'). If Abroad Fraud is suspected then the intelligence (usually a tip-off via the Benefit Fraud Hotline - DWP staff don't have time to go on 'fishing expeditions') is recorded on a Fraud Referral Form which goes to the Abroad Fraud Triage Team. They will look at the claimant profile, the likely amount of fraud and their confidence in the intelligence, and make a decision as to whether an investigation should be started (keep in mind that investigative resources are very limited). If the case is deemed worthy of investigation then the data is entered into DWP's FRAIMS (Fraud Referral and Intervention Management System). A member of the Abroad Fraud team would then pick up the entry. If a pensioner has a UK bank account and a UK address then avenues for investigation become very limited. Border Force data cannot be used and the investigator would literally have to interview airline staff to get statements that the suspect had travelled on a particular date (airlines don't normally hand over passenger lists to DWP). DWP do not have access to banking transactions when investigating Customer Compliance issues. Facebook/Social Media is one area where unwitting self-incrimination is possible. Assuming evidence is obtained then a decision would be made as to whether the case would result in a criminal prosecution or whether its a Customer Compliance issue. In the case of failing to report moving overseas then it would be classed as a Customer Compliance issue. State Pension is not a Sanctionable Benefit so the pension would simply be reset to the level it was at when the pensioner left the UK. If the overpayment has been substantial then DWP may issue an 'Administrative Penalty' ('Adpen' in DWP-speak). Since 2015 the minimum Adpen is £250 and maximum is £5000. Adpen guidelines set an amount at typically half the overpayment - e.g. if £2000 is overpaid then the Adpen is £1000. £10k+ overpayment would lead to the maximum of £5k Adpen. An Adpen is essentially voluntary and the customer must agree to pay it. It cannot be simply deducted from pension payments. If the customer does not accept the Adpen then DWP can prosecute for the amount of the Adpen. However CPS set quite a high threshold on prosecution and where an individual is living overseas the offence would need to be of such gravity as to potentially attract at least a 12 month jail sentence. The total amount of state pension fraud (UK and overseas) is thought to be very very low - I think in 2022 the estimate was 0.7% of benefit fraud. The avenues open to DWP for investigating Abroad Fraud by State Pension claimants are really very limited. Moreover the amount of overpayment is invariably small in comparison to other benefit frauds so the cost-benefit of investigation in unfavourable. Almost all cases would be self-incrimination and tip offs due to family/friend fall-outs. State pension fraud is bottom of DWPs priorities. In contrast, for the last Financial Year End about 12% of Universal Credit claims were estimated to be 'in overpayment' (a loss to DWP of about £6.5 billion) - that is over ten times the total estimated cost of unfreezing all pensions (£600M).

In the UK I am part-owner of our family used car dealership. Although we deal in all marques we specialise in BMW and MB. I have seen quite a few wrecked MBs at salvage yards but that must rank as the worst I've ever seen. The GLC 300E will top out at around 230km/h and I reckon he must have been 200km/h+. I am also sceptical of the 'pothole' theory...

An update.... Ordered several ฿500ish items. Delivered by Flash. No tax. Ordered a ฿6000 car headunit from a popular AliExpress seller in Shenzhen. Delivered by Flash. No tax or fees. Very pleased. Watching the tracking I noticed it was shipped via a 'Transit Country' - no idea which country. Strangely it first tracked in Thailand in Khon Kaen. Then went to Samut Phrakan then Chonburi and Pattaya.

Post-2016 43THB is actually pretty good. I suspect the killer for many UK expats is the frozen pension.

Any BM's taking this medication? Last night I was talking to my daughter back in the UK. She is a Urology Dr. in a hospital there. She was telling me that a consultant she works with has been taking Mounjaro weigh loss drug for six months. Apparently it has almost miraculous benefits. He was BMI over 30, onset diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Six months later and all resolved - life-changing in fact....... She reckons huge numbers of people will soon be taking it. Apparently the drug itself is cheap (like GBP5.00 for a month's supply) but the injector pens are costly to make, pushing the price (in UK) to well over GBP100.00 for a month. I don't need this medication at the moment because my BMI is just about in normal range and I am not diabetic or HBP, but nice to know its available.