nigelforbes

I don't use the income method so I do keep 800k in the bank, but I wouldn't have to, if I changed. 400k actually, I'm married.

Moderator should feel free to close this thread if they wish, I was able to find what I was looking for using local contacts. If anyone needs a very good electrician in Mae Rim, please let me know, the one I found far exceeded all my expectations.

I use the SSc direct deposit function into my Bangkok Bank account each month, it's very smooth and easy plus it's cost effective.

We've finally found the reason why the oven and hob in our kitchen cease working periodically. At first we thought it was the units so the hob was replaced but the problem remained. Last week the oven blew up so that was replaced also, still the problem persisted. All the circuits has been rewired five years ago so the box, breaker and wire are all sound, up to the point where the wires go into the wall and are hidden by splash back tiles. Off came the tiles, only to reveal a congealed mass of melted wiring and joins, all using wire that was far too small. Fortunately there was nothing to catch fire so we were lucky, a decent breaker box helped also. But not one single appliance repair person/company passed comment on the quality and size of wire coming out of the wall, fortunately our new electrician spotted the problem straight away - it cost a paltry 2k baht to rewire properly. Good luck finding a good quality electrician here, we did but we were super lucky.

A little rubbing compound and it'll look like like new again.

Beware the wording. 9 out of 10 products we inspected on the shelves of one large specialist grocery store were labeled Parmesan style Cheese, with the word style being barely perceptible. You gets what you pays for.

A person can be resident one moment and not resident the next so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, resident for what purpose, for tax, domicile?

I'm looking for recommendations for an experienced and capable electrician to rewire an electrical circuit in my kitchen, the location is Rim Nua, which is North Mae Rim, just off the 107, near the PTT/Burger King junction to the Mae Sa valley, Chiang Mai. TIA

My wife was really taken by the old architecture, she loved Cambridge and Kings College (but who doesn't). The Lake District was a real wow also, as were all the major sights in London. Other possibilities include Oxford and the Cotswolds, The Yorkshire Dales, big city shopping in Manchester or Leeds (if not close to London), my wife really enjoys all those places. Oh yes, take her on a train and a double decker bus.

Don't rely on the phone number matching the one on the back of your card, you may have read recently about the vast sums lost through spoofing? The call is not about domicile, your domicile is quite hard to change and can only be assessed after you have died. The call is about your sources of wealth and where you live etc, lifestyle question relating to money laundering etc. Many people have already been through it, I did so with HSBC over ten years ago....it's not onerous, just be truthful.

TBH I never bought it myself but I was offered it a few months ago at Bangkok Bank. I had a choice of about three ATM cards, the difference between them a couple of hundred baht but the top priced one included what I think was 50k of accident insurance. Afterwards I realized what a good deal that was and was sorry I didn't go for it. So to answer your question, am I sure, er, um, sort of. :))

It is the sending bank, not the receiving bank, that must use their correspondent, if one is necessary. The sending bank is the one that has to find a partner bank that can deal directly with the receiver.

SWIFT is a global bank messaging system that requires membership. If a bank doesn't join SWIFT and critically, establish SWIFT messaging facilities between their bank and other SPECIFIC overseas banks, they wont be able to make SWIFT transfers. Banks join SWIFT to enable them to use SWIFT to transfer between specific banks, not between all banks in a certain country. It may appear that a a certain bank wont transfer to any bank in Thailand but in fact what that usually means is that they wont transfer to a certain bank in Thailand, either that or they don't have a banking relationship with them. Banks that don't have a SWIFT relationship with other banks can use correspondent or intermediary banks to facilitate transfers. Some banks Thai banks will not transfer by any means, to the US, UOB is one such bank.

What are we supposed to do between now and March, surely there's somewhere that needs invading!

This is all about money laundering regs and tax audit trails, the tax man commeth for many.

You'll get over it.

Paranoid much! I keep 5 years living expenses on hand plus my Immigration money, I've done that for the past dozen years or more and watched while expats have agonized over exchange rates and a falling Pound. At 70 plus years old, who needs that kind of grief! And if one day I wake up and the Thai banking system has been nuked I'll get on plane and go live in my UK flat on the pensions that I receive each month. If people can't manage their spending or bank securely, they deserve to get bitten. As for diligently keeping track of electronic transactions, give me break, it's never been easier with smart phones et al. Get treatment for that paranoia and start to live a little.

He said, have you seen my wife, she's got a Styrofoam box.

Accident insurance is common, it can be quite good value.

Apparently her Styrofoam box was taken away as evidence.

This may give you some ideas. https://chiangmaifamilyguide.com/essential-guide-to-christmas-in-chiang-mai/ We went to Kantary Hills a couple of years ago and the food was very good. We also did a Meriden Xmas one year which was OK.

Somebody just posted in reply but I can't see who it is, can somebody help please? :))

I feel a lot better for reading this, I only have 10 people on ignore. A couple of people with no manners whatsoever, an over poster who was driving me nuts, an argumentative gentleman who seems to post too much whilst intoxicated plus two or three very unstable nut jobs......you know who you are.

I usually ask about the ride too and if it's fixed price I pull out my squeegee and start to clean their windshield and ask them for money.

I think it's about trying to get more people into the tax net, less than 2% of people pay taxes via the PAYE equivalent which is hard to increase when everyone uses cash. But when there's an electronic bank audit trail, oops, better watch out and be a just a bit more truthful when filing a return.