nigelforbes

So why not make a constructive contribution rather than telling us how you feel personally?

Amen bro'. (or sis'.)

The part about long term expats returning home is good theory but in practice it's very doubtful, even if they went back home they are likely to have remained members and continued to post. Plus, I don't know of many longer term members who left because of covid and didn't return, I think the drop in numbers has more to do with a purging of the old membership to allow the new school to gain a foothold. FWIW, speaking as a long term observer who has noticed the transition over time, one of todays problems is the over posting rate by some posters. It causes reader fatigue because the posters don't say anything useful and there are so many of them, it's a real turnoff. Fine if posters want to engage in focused debate but half a dozen comments each on a dozen or more topics daily is stifling.

Unless things have changed in the past 6 months, I'm pretty sure that controloc is still on patent, I don't think there are any generics........but if you find, please shout! ????

I've never heard of a generic pantaprazole in Thailand and I have asked, but not for the past 6 months. I use Dexilant or Controloc and at times Omeprazole.

There is a Regency for Expats which is a life and health insurance broker, is that the one? Be very very very careful of anything to do with anyone selling financial services in Thailand, the industry is not very will regulated here, some aspects not at all.. Western financial service companies are not usually allowed to operate here, unless they are specifically licensed in Thailand and I don't know any that are. It used to be popular for Western IFA's to drum up business here and tell everyone they are UK regulated, that means nothing since any advice would be offered outside of mainland UK hence they are not regulated. On balance, and I've lived here for over 20 years, there is no financial product or service offered here that cannot be obtained in a regulated and safer UK environment where you at least have some protection. On the other hand, I have seen a number of fly by night Brit. IFA's, churn private client pension accounts, illegally and solely for profit.

Just to be clear, when I said the bonds are pre-allocated and are gone within seconds of issue, that's the retail bank who has already pre-sold them to their customers and there seems to be no chance of getting on that list.

Love it.

You might try sending an email explanation/complaint to Santandar Customer Service, if that doesn't work they have a complaints line which is 0800 171 2171. They also have an odd facebook email address which might be worthwhile trying, it's [email protected]. If you want to get seriously heavy, the CEO of Santandar UK is Mike Regnier and his email address is [email protected], drop him a love note perhaps and I'll bet you get action. Good luck

You need to ensure you are completely open and honest with them and disclose exactly what your lifestyle is and where you are tax resident and if/where you earn income. Santandar, just like all the UK banks, just like the Thai banks and Thai Revenue, are concerned about three issues, 1) where you are tax resident, 2) money laundering 3) your sources of income. Until you satisfy them on those points your account will remain frozen I imagine. I think I posted on your earlier thread on this subject, all long term expats have been through this. In my case I had a two hour chat with HSBC UK (on the phone, they paid for the call) and disclosed what accounts I held where (I had several globally), what transfers I made, how often and why and where I was tax resident. At the end of the call, the chap I was speaking to said he was satisfied and everything has been normal ever since. He did say up front that if I didn't disclose everything, I would not be able to transact on my UK account. It sounds like Santandar still isn't satisfied.

We were required to ensure that we were both in the house when they visited, otherwise they wouldn't visit. That said, they only ever came to visit once in 17 years.

Bailley's got a big mouth and the markets don't like him, the Pound is getting hammered, again, and ex. rates will suffer, even if it is only 3%.

Gilts are a measure of inflation, they are priced, based on the rate of inflation. Changes to the BOE lending or base rate are the banks response to inflation, they are two separate systems. On a related topic....I don't think Bailley likes the UK, its population or the Pound. Either that or he's in cahoots with Truss and Kwarteng. Dear god!

The Bank (lending) rate has frequently been lower than the Gilts coupon rates, it seems you don't understand how these two things work! I have enclosed a link below for you to study. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gilts.asp#:~:text=Conventional gilts have prescribed maturities,maturity and repaying the principal. In summary and in part: Gilts are sold at face value ,along with an accompanying redemption date and a coupon (or interest rate) - the coupon rate can be fixed or index linked (variable). Gilts are issued with variable maturity dates, they can be for a few years, 30 years or undated (which means there is no fixed maturity date). Interest on Gilts (the coupon rate) is paid twice per year, the interest rate on indexed linked gilts is adjusted according to the RPI. During the past 10 years, with the exception of 2022, the Bank Rate has remained under 0.75%, it appears to have averaged around 0.50%. Between 2014 and mid 2019, the coupon rate on the 10 year Gilt was always greater, between 1% and 2.75%. Good luck trying to borrow unsecured money from UK banks at a rate lower than the 10 year Gilts coupon rate, the fact remains however that the Gilts coupon rate is frequently lower but it cannot be usefully leveraged using borrowings. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/interest-rate Regarding mortgage rates: MINIIMUM mortgage rates are determined by the BOE bank rate at the time the loan is written, the actual rate charged to the customer varies based on the things I described, which will nearly always be higher (some fixed rate products may occasionally be the exception).

Markets took a dim view and thought the increase was far too dovish, as a consequence the value of the Pound fell. Ouch!

UK high street bank interest rates available to the public are not governed by Gilts rates, they are governed by the BOE rate at the time and duration. UK government borrowing rates are determined by the country's credit rating and the gilts rate. Index linked gilts coupon rates are determined by the RPI. Mortgage interest rate payments are determined by loan to value (LTV), duration and credit rating of the borrower.

I can confirm that it's almost impossible to buy bonds at new issue, I've tried on several occasions only to be told that the bank allocates them before issue and they are sold within seconds of being issued. I've also been told that it's not possible for foreigners to pre-register for new issues. I know brokers can facilitate purchase on the secondary market but historically their charges have made purchasing the bonds not viable.

As one poster already said, the current intrusive process remains (in some areas) because bad people played the system previously and ruined it for everyone else. Same is true of medical insurance, foreigners not paying their hospital bills and doing a runner, results in a blanket rule that suddenly everyone on a certain visa type must have XY or Z health insurance. Same with money in the bank needing to be seasoned before and after the visa application, why, because people who didn't have money were gaming the system. And so it goes on. To be honest, I'm not sure what is worse here, the rules made up by Immigration and government to ensure foreigners play by the rules, or, the foreigners who scam the system and generate the need for the rules in the first place. My money in on the latter.

UOB in Singapore and UOB (Thai) are different companies. UOB Ltd is the major shareholder in UOB Thai but going into a branch of one will not allow you to deal with the other.

Ditto.

Several of the very large appliance supermarkets have repair and installation facilities also, usually at the rear of the building.

If you want a low mortgage rate you must tolerate a low savings rate, there is no choice because they are both interest paid on money borrowed. If you want those things, you better hope for low inflation and not the 5-10% inflation you indirectly advocated earlier.

That's because interest rates and the rate of inflation was high, just as you advocated earlier.

Don't be silly, of course you can, all you have to do is look and pay attention! Criminals get caught don't they, murderers and drug smugglers get apprehended don't they!

It's a zero sum game, interest earned, taxed and the value eroded to inflation.