Sup3rfarang

15 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

People just don't realize the kind of money involved, for the top clowns in the RTP pyramid scheme, like Torsak and the Joke. It would sure be nice to see some of them convicted. It would demonstrate a true step forward. 

 

As the wife of a crook, she should pay a heavy price for his crimes. Same applies to their kids. They benefitted from the ill gotten wealth. At a minimum they should be subject to great humiliation and outed. 

I'm sorry Mike, but this is Thailand.  If they are outed, instead of humiliation, they will be subjected to jealous envy.

There is no western-style justice being served here.  This is simply a power struggle with winners and losers.

Thaksin is cleaning house from behind the scenes to make room for his loyalists and consolidate his return to power.

As they say, sit back and enjoy the show.  🍿

 make 3 transactions a month from the UK using Wise and transferring funds to my BBK account.

I usually make the transfer between 5 and 6 pm Thi time.

It is in my BBK account the following day, just after 2 pm, UNLESS I transfer on a Friday when it arrives on a Monday.

So are you saying that you are satisfied with slow service?  ????

People want to believe these small nouveau financial outfits are as reliable as banks.  As many people in the crypto space recently found out, they are until they aren't.

I, personally, don't think its a good idea to leave a transaction open with them over the weekend.  If you must do business with them wait until Monday to make the transaction.  Just in case it happens to be the weekend they go out of business and all the money disappears.

The delays are not from bank holidays or time changes.  They simply can't handle the load on payday Fridays.  So they punt and leave transactions sitting in the drawer until Monday.  It's still possible to have transfers happen in seconds on off-peak days as many posters still report.  However, this still constitutes false advertising.  "Transfer in seconds!" needs to be changed to "Transfer in seconds, maybe.  More likely, when you really need it, transfer in DAYS, MANY DAYS!".  I used to be able to get around this by breaking up my transaction into several smaller transactions.  But today not even 100 baht will fly.  Interesting that, as their service rapidly deteriorates, they raise their fees so we can pay more for less.  Worthless.

"Surely you can plan ahead?"

"Who's fault is it that you can't read a calendar?"

You meet some of the nicest people on aseannow.

Let's work on reading comprehension, shall we?  I stated this same thing happened the last time I tried two weeks ago.  Was that also a Thai bank holiday?

And seeing that I have since been able to send smaller transactions it looks like a bank holiday (i.e. not being able to process transactions until after the holiday) is not the barrier.

Is it at all possible for some forum members to provide helpful suggestions rather then opening with condescending attacks?  Does being so condescending help you feel so much better about your selves?

I just got the transfer to go through by breaking it up into many smaller transactions.  This cost a little more but not too bad.

"Yes they can.. My 6 transfers last month all took less than 10 seconds. "

Looks like they can still do smaller transactions of a few thousand baht in size at that speed (at least on a payday Friday, maybe its better on other days).

Every other Friday I receive money into my US bank account that I then send to my Kasikorn bank account.  I have been using Wise for this purpose for months with the transfer taking only seconds.  Two weeks ago, for the first time, it was delayed until Monday.  Today I'm being told it will take until Tuesday.  This is a massive degradation in service and it looks like Wise, for whatever reasons, can no longer be relied upon.

What other International Transfer services are available that don't take too long?  I don't need seconds.  Hours or even a day is OK.  Multi-days is not acceptable.

Thank you for your recommendations.

I am happy to report our trip to the Denmark embassy was a success.  The embassy staff were very kind and helpful to us.  The paperwork was completed in about 20 minutes and Penny will receive her renewed Denmark passport in 2 to 3 weeks.  Once she has it Penny will decide if she will return to Denmark or resume the battle to get her Thai citizenship back.  But at least now she has options.  Back when Penny applied for Denmark citizenship Denmark did not allow dual citizenship.  As part of the process she had to surrender her Thai passport to the Denmark government which would have notified Thailand that she is renouncing.   Only a few years later Denmark passed a law allowing dual citizenship.

Update: I've made an appointment for Penny for this Tuesday at the Denmark embassy for passport renewal.  I let her know and she will get her paperwork together Monday to prepare.  She showed me her expired passport and it expired in 2019.  So its not too old.  It should be a straightforward matter to renew it.

unblocktheplanet: I haven't asked her if she can speak Danish yet (I suspect she can at least speak some) but I plan to next time I see her.

FriendlyFarang and Neeranam: When I talk to her I try to not make it into an interrogation so I haven't pushed too hard on this.  I agree she most likely just lost her Thai ID and passport in Denmark and entered Thailand with her Danish passport.

perconrad:  Thank you so much for this info!  This could be quite valuable for her.  She's not quite 65 yet but we will still make the call to find out what she can expect at 65.

Also, in this most recent conversation with her I discovered that Penny buys candy and snacks and sells them to tourists on the beach all afternoon and evening.  This is how she has enough money to eat.  She walks many miles up and down the beach in the heat every day.  Previously, before Covid, she worked as a cook and barkeep at a bar on Soi Buakhao.

Thank you everyone for the great info above.  Jonnit, your experience is very helpful indeed.

So last night I went back to see her at her small camp in front of the shop and get more details.

Her husband was well off and tried to provide for her future before he died.  But apparently his family were able to divert the funds and leave her living on a small allowance doled out to her monthly on a credit card.  She felt betrayed, all alone, and that she couldn't trust anyone over there so she decided she wanted to "go home" to Thailand and did so.  Over the years she made multiple attempts to re-establish her Thai credentials in her home province in Lop Buri and, later, here in Jomtien.  But the bureaucrats weren't very helpful.  She tried the process of getting her family to vouch for her to no avail and now, over the years, her parents have died.  And she lost contact with her brother who moved away.  I suspect the reason why some of the efforts in Lop Buri failed is maybe the right "donations" weren't applied?

Before she would rent a room and eat with the funds from the credit card but, after many years, the card has stopped working.  Now she is homeless and stateless.  She is getting older and needs medical care.  She is in a precarious position living near the beach.  As the tourists are coming back the city wants to clean up the area and clear out the homeless.  At one point the city tried to place her in an elder care facility.  I can testify that this lady is intelligent and has all her faculties.  She is fluent in English, obviously Thai, and probably Danish as well.  And she is physically strong enough, though thin, to walk all over the beach area daily.  Despite being homeless she keeps herself clean and fresh and her living area is well maintained.  She is in her sixties and not ready for the old folks home.

Earlier I didn't understand why she wanted to talk to the Danish embassy to solve a Thai bureaucracy problem but now I do.  Her Danish passport is expired and so not acceptable as identification when talking to the Thai government.  Jomtien has told her she needs this first before they can work with her.

So I think the first step in all this is I will take her on a day trip to the Danish embassy in Bangkok to get her Danish passport renewed.  I have sent an email to the Danish embassy requesting their procedures/requirements and an appointment.

Is there anyone with experience with such a quest that can give pointers on how I should prepare and what to do while at the Danish embassy?  This is a trek and I don't want to have to make multiple trips over simple mistakes.

1 hour ago, Kenny202 said:

Without being too negative there is probably a good chance she is an illegal from Laos or Cambodia, not to say she doesn't deserve help

Fair point there.  I will add to my questions list.  If something like this is the case then I could end up wasting a lot of time and energy.  Thanks for that.

Thank you eisfeld!

So questions to ask her:

1. Did she renounce her Thai Citizenship?  If so, when and where?
2. Does she have a copy of her birth certificate?  If not, where in Thailand was she born?
3. Does she have other forms of ID?

Does anyone have more questions/ideas?

Just got a Covid extension yesterday at Chonburi.  Tried to apply 2 weeks ago and they said "You come back on 28!".  OK, I came back on the 28th and got in line at 8AM.  I submitted the paperwork at the front booth, they gave me a number and told me "You come back at 1PM!".  Marvelous.  So I come back at 1PM and used the number ticket to get through the doors and not wait in line again in the roasting heat.  After a short wait my number comes up and I pay the fee and they take my passport.  Then they say "You go sit down!".  After a few minutes more an officer at the window beside the first waves me up and gives me my passport stamped with the extension.  Fantastic, I won't have to come back to pick up my passport the next day.  But then I notice that the extension expires on May 26!  Not even 30 days!  And it doesn't say "Under Consideration" either.  So I asked the lady in the front booth and she says I need to come back on May 26th to get stamped for the remainder.  But it won't cost me any more money.  And I don't have to come inside, I can get it stamped outside at the passport table.  I have no idea what this voodoo is all about.  I guess it makes sense to them.

I rented a condo and yesterday went to Jomtien to do the TM30.  Along with the rental contract the owner provided a copy of his Thai ID and what looks like either his household registration book (Tabien Baan) or a copy of his title/deed to the property (written in Thai so not sure which, either suffices).  I brought that and my passport.  They have a small room in the front of the building that you wait in and a couple of nice ladies will, after some stamping, generate your TM30 and attach it to your passport.

One small problem was that I rented the condo a month ago and neglected to do the TM30 until now.  You are supposed to do it within 24 hours of an address change.  So I had to pay a fine of 1600 baht.  If you are late for your TM30 don't sweat it.  As soon as you discover your mistake go to the IO and take care of it.  You won't be arrested or even yelled at.  Bring 2k baht with you and you'll be fine(d).

I also brought my paperwork for a Covid extension.  They looked it over at the front booth, found no problems, and then told me to come back on the 28th (grrrrrr!).

15 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Shrinkage?

 

https://www.foxnews.com/health/man-claims-covid-19-made-his-penis-shrink

 

I am happy to report that each successive variant has made mine even longer.

That's why they're calling it "Long Covid", right?

So I've taken to sitting on my balcony in the late mornings as the baht busses are depositing new batches of rubes in the courtyard below.  I sit out there in my underwear and no mask. I haven't had my shower yet so my hair is askew.  Think Jack Nicholson. 

Every once in a while some farangs are dumped into the courtyard and left to wait. No one has told them anything. They don't know what's going on or what's gonna happen to them next. Their eyes are darting all around as they take in the surreal scene of all the trapped inmates sitting on the balconies. They're facing the Unknown and they're scared. 

So I lean over the railing with a big grin and yell "Hey! How much did they do ya for?", "Yeah, how much did you pay them?", "Wow! That much, eh?", "You know you've been scammed, right?",  "Did they even kiss you first?", "Are ya still bleeding?".  A lot of them are in denial and don't want to hear this. Meanwhile they're getting a load of my appearance and I can see them wondering what kind of insane asylum they're being tossed into. Their fear elevates to terror as they wonder what they will look like in  a week or two.  "Whatever you do, don't eat the biscuits!"

The Thai Staff gives me major stink-eye but never says anything to me.  Ha ha.

WTH, got nothing better to do. 

3 hours ago, robblok said:

No I don't see a problem, you had a cheaper option available. You did not take it so it was your choice. So then you can't moan about costs and so on. I would have had a problem if you were forced in the higher tier pricing without a choice.

Ok, let me try this out: "You can't moan about the wild crazy helicopter ride with the drunken pilot because you had the option of jumping out of the helicopter and you didn’t take it. It only would have been a problem if you were forced to stay in the helicopter."  Wow.  Even Thai logic can't match this voodoo.

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Its known that in Thailand people have to be quarantined.

Flat wrong. This variant is highly contagious many times more than previous versions. The usual methods are not going to slow it down even a little bit.  In the next month everyone will be exposed to it and few will die.  Just like cold or flu.  We don't quarantine for cold or flu because it would be futile and ridiculous and this is no different. 

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Did you expect that if you tested possitive you could just do as you wanted. 

Did I test positive? You have knowledge of this?  You wouldn't happen to have my test result sheet, would you?  Because I sure would like to see it.

Before traveling to Thailand you should read topic "Incarcerated in Bang Lamung".

1 hour ago, robblok said:

You want a good stay you pay, you want cheap you stay like Thais. I don't see the problem its the choice you have.

Seriously? You don't see a problem with this? I was lucky I brought my credit  cards with me.  I was lucky they didn't deny a sudden huge unexplained charge from Thailand.  Others, I'm sure, were not as fortunate and are trapped in a hot roach infested hole right now.  It's not a choice when you are being coerced.