mstevens

The video on Facebook of these two "apologising" in a police station after being fined 5,000 baht is nauseating.  They are laughing to themselves and there is zero sincerity in the supposed apology, rather it seems they are reveling in being in the spotlight.  They have treated being caught and fined for this as one big joke.

It looks like you sought free advice from a law company and their answers were concise.....which is exactly what I'd expect.  I don't see their responses as either impolite or unhelpful.

14 hours ago, Happy enough said:

boiler room guys having to diversify their scamming ways?

Most recent rumours I heard was that some of those boiler room guys who bought in to the bar industry on Sukhumvit diversified and are now offering cryptocurrencies to the unsuspecting victims they call.

So when are the farangs who operate call centre scams AKA boiler rooms going to get what's coming to them, or do they know how to play the system and are untouchable?

Another thread taken off topic and ruined by two personalities bickering.....

14 hours ago, Durio said:

WOW...not very positive so far but thanks for your opinions.  I am wanting people to be honest in their feedback and advice.  

Don't forget that the parts of Isaan (or anywhere in Thailand for that matter) which are described as "cold" are relative.  There is nowhere in Thailand that is cold compared to what you would consider cold in Australia or other western countries.  And the cold season sometimes only lasts a very short time, as in days, before the heat returns.  And even those places which are "cold" for a period can be hellishly hot for many months i.e. much of the year.

It sounds like someone is clipping the ticket and charging over and above the Labour Department's standard fees.  If you, or you and someone from your country, made the application in person at the Labour Department it's 3,800 baht, right?

Thai people believe that if there is a space on the road outside their home then they have the right to park there.  If they don't have a vehicle then they may allow others to park there.  In the case of shops / places of business, Thais believe that unless you are a customer doing business with that shop then you don't have the right to park there.  Even if you are doing business with them they may not allow you to park there i.e. it might be reserved for the owner / senior staff / VIP customers etc.  This us not the law but in many ways that is irrelevant as it is what the vast majority of Thai people do.

19 hours ago, Just Weird said:

The ongoing boiler room associated business.

Before long those guys are going to own and run all of Sukhumvit.

12 minutes ago, BritSte said:

I went to a gun range after a few beers, big deal, it was not breaking the law.

I think you shot a gun at some individual's residence.  From your description it really didn't sound like it was a gun range.

That said, I do feel sorry for you.  It sounds like the ultimate price you pay could be quite high.  Being blacklisted isn't that likely, I reckon.  Deportation likely - if found guilty, but blacklisting for that?  I'd doubt it.

Not so long ago the fine for a number of traffic infringements increased from 400 baht to 1,000 baht.  No idea if not being in possession of an international driver's licence is one of them.

International driver licences are only valid for 12 months.  Any foreigner resident in Thailand should have a local licence.

At the end of the day, in Thailand you either need a local Thailand driver's licence or your foreign licence plus an international driver's licence (the international licence effectively "verifies" the licence from your homeland.  Note: you need to be in possession of both.  If you were not in possession of a current international licence then it sounds like, I am sorry to say, you were in the wrong. 

First of all, you will have to exchange the Thai baht in to foreign currency as you're only allowed to remove 50,000 baht in Thai baht out of the country (unless going to a neighbouring country when the limit is much greater).  I've often taken reasonable sums of money out of the country i.e. several thousand dollars and never had an issue but the amount you propose is over and above the $20,000 threshold at which point the money must be declared at Customs on leaving the country.  I imagine declaring this amount would not be a problem so long as it has been exchanged in to foreign currency.  I also get the feeling that if you didn't declare the money when leaving the odds of them knowing are very low.....but that is not to say that I would recommend doing that!

Looks like a lot of mobile phones and laptops are going to be password protected from now on!

With regards to opening a bank account in Singapore, a friend of mine tried to do just that last week and was turned down at each bank he visited (not sure how many he tried at, but gather it was a few).  He was visiting Singapore as a tourist and is not nor has he ever been a resident or worked there - which may or may not have had something to do with it.

18 hours ago, tgeezer said:

I see what you mean, you meet someone in a bar and he says “you can always extend by seven days” and you go and ask for that and pay 1900 Baht!

That's why you don't go asking expats in bars for advice....they often get it wrong.

I am currently in Bangkok on a short stay and there are a lot of visitors around and many restaurants and shops busy.  Cannot comment on anywhere else but central Bangkok feels busy to me with visitors everywhere.

4 hours ago, fletchsmile said:

To OP,

 

As others have said you should be able to withdraw from any branch of your bank as long as you have passbook and passport with you. Depending on the bank and/or account it may incur a small fee, but will be significantly below your cost of travelling up country.

 

If the balance you leave is small, check what level they will start charging monthly fees on it. eg if the balance falls below 5,000 baht they may change a monthly service fee until it goes to zero. In such case you may want to withdraw all your money to stop it being wasted, or leave just above the minimum for the account. Watch also for any annual fees like ATM card that would take you below the minimum in future.

 

Cheers

Fletch :) 

Thanks a lot to you and everyone else who has replied - some really good, clear info which is much appreciated!

I have a bank account with Krung Thai bank with a smallish balance of about 20,000 baht.  I live in my country but and am currently in Bangkok.  I would like to withdraw the funds from my account using the passbook.  The ATM card for this account expired a while ago.  The branch where I opened the account is in the outskirts of Bangkok and it is quite a distance away so I would prefer not travelling out there unless I absolutely have to.  Am I able to use my passbook to withdraw the remaining funds in the account from a Krung Thai branch near Asoke where I am staying, or do I have to go all the way out to the branch where I opened the account to do this?  I have heard mixed reports of whether it is possible to make a withdrawal using my passbook from a branch other than that in which I opened the account.  Is there anyone with experience of this situation and able to confirm if you can use your passbook to withdraw funds from your account at a different branch to where the account was opened?

Great to hear that she is not going to lose her leg.

If I had a Thai bank account I'd be a little nervous showing it to an Immigration officer as it could generate further questions about the source of the money, whether one is perhaps working in Thailand or not etc.  Best just to have the 20K baht in cash to show them!

I hate to be the cynic but there's something fishy about this story.  Things just don't add up, from the multiple leg fractures from a mugging to the Mrs going to the toilet and coming out and not finding her husband....surely, he was not mugged, injured, the emergency services called and came to pick him up, treat him at the scene, and take him away all faster than the time it took her to go to the loo....

I was questioned flying in to Suvarnabhumi last night, which is not something that has happened before.  In the last 10 years my visa history to Thailand includes several years where I split my time between my country and Thailand, often spending 2 or 3 months in Thailand, back home for a month or two and then back to Thailand again.  Almost always came to Thailand on a tourist visa.  I had not visited Thailand since earlier in the year and returned last night for the first time in several months.  I was asked similar questions to the OP except I was not asked to show cash.  I was only asked questions for about 30 - 45 seconds, not the rigmarole the OP experienced.  I would describe the IO's questions as probing, his conduct professional and similar to what I'd expect an IO to ask someone with a regular travel history arriving in Australia.

I flew in to Suvaranbhumi last night at 9:00 PM.  There was basically no queue at Immigration and just one or two people at each of the booths waiting to be processed so a 1 or 2 minute wait.  I was through quickly and my baggage was at the carousel when I got there so I was in a taxi within 30 minutes of the flight touching down.  Be great if it was like this all the time!

32 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The extremely credible source that informed me about the fee split between agents and officers also told me there was no way there would ever be a crackdown on these practices. Like anyone could know for sure about the future, but I was impressed with his confidence. 

Crackdowns in Thailand tend to be a knee-jerk reaction to an event which got a lot of press.  So if, for example, a foreigner in Thailand does something very bad and the press picks up on it then that foreigner's background might be looked at.  And if it should come out that he had a retirement visa but was unable to fulfill the financial requirements and it was then discovered that he had used an agent (and by definition said agent was essentially assisting someone to stay in Thailand who did not meet the requirements / strictly speaking shouldn't be there) then at that point a crackdown on the practice might take place.