5davidhen1

Many thanks to all the respondents. brianthainess, I don't believe that my landlady doesn't want to replace the TV, I think it's just that she doesn't fully understand current technology, as indeed, neither do I, hence my appeal on this forum. As a 73yr old fart, I do try to keep up with IT but, I think it is starting to outpace me. 555.

Jomtien, Digbeth --- and thanks.

Quite a few channels --- English and Thai, but not subscription channels like Netflix etc. They are broadcast via a normal co-axial aerial socket in the wall. Also -- forgot to mention --- included in my monthly utility bill is THB 300 for cable TV. Is that what I was getting via the ariel, or am I paying for a service which I do not use?

Hi folks, The TV in my rented condo has died and my landlady is telling me that she is having difficulty sourcing a new one which doesn't require Wi-Fi. Her son came round last week with another TV which, unfortunately was too big. Had it fitted the location, he was suggesting that we try to connect to my Wi-Fi just to "set it up." The only Wi-Fi which I have is via AIS on my phone. I pay THB 2,500 pa and use it as a hotspot with which to operate my laptop. It is more than adequate for my laptop's requirements but, the son explained that if I used it as a vehicle with which to watch TV programmes, my phone data (not sure if that's the correct word) would run out very quickly. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks in advance. David.

I strongly suspect (and sincerely hope) that if this becomes law, the DWP (and the banks) will have enough on their hands targeting benefit fraud, long before they start looking at expats pensions. By having access to recipients' bank a/c info', Benefit fraud, particularly with those on means tested benefits, should be relatively easy to detect --- then would start (possibly) lengthy investigations and prosecutions. However, finding expats who fail to inform DWP of their whereabouts would not be so easy. Also, there is the (not so) small matter of proving domicility. Many of us expats go "home" from time to time --- who's to say how long for, and exactly where in the UK they are residing? The DWP "knows" that I am living with my daughter and the banks and HMRC etc "know" that I am residing at her address. DWP will, in my estimation, go for the "low-hanging fruit" of means-tested benefit claimants long before looking at state pension-receiving expats, which, I'm sure, will prove too onerous a task.

Currently, I use the well known agent in Soi Post office for my extensions. However, during the height of the pandemic, I was a strandee here with a rapidly expiring UK passport. It was about August/September of 2020 when I used Thai Visa Express in Soi 15, off of Soi Buakhao. The cost was THB 10,000 and my new (and old) passports were returned to me in just shy of 4 weeks.

To return to the OP's original question, and not taking into account anything regarding new/old, freezing or not, I would add the following: If a person redeemed a pension (I'm not talking state here) at age 65, and opted for an escalating payment plan, i.e. one which increased as years go by, rather than a "flat line" example, he/she would need to survive many years for it to be a viable option. I conducted an exercise some years back and discovered that the "break-even point" would have been 82 years of age. Also, this example doesn't take into account the potential investment value of receiving the higher amount during those first 17 years. To sum up, whilst deferment remains a personal choice, I believe there good reasons for NOT doing so.... "A bird in the hand?"

I live in Jomtien and for the last 3 years have been using an agent in Soi Post Office, Pattaya. I recently renewed and, for just over the previous 2 months, had over THB 800,000 in my bank a/c. I explained this to my agent whereupon she gave me a small list (2 or 3 items) of documents to obtain from my bank, before bringing them to her. The bank charged me THB 200 for the docs and my agent charged me THB 8,000 for the extension, a discount of THB 4,500. All I had to do then was to go to immigration (no waiting) for a photocall --- straight in and out. I collected my passport from the agent 2 days later. Now, I intend to leave the money (more than THB 1m for the duration, which my lady can access in case of my demise) in my a/c. I kept the small list which my agent gave me and, armed with more up-to-date information, I will attempt the renewal myself next year.

555. Yes, I noticed him just after posting.

Irrelevant? It's not irrelevant, it's a hippopotamus!

Maneerat visa agency, Pattaya is open on Friday. My Jomtien 2nd road branch of Bangkok Bank (and presumably all other branches) is NOT --- closed from Friday until???

After you have resolved your problem, hide the key somewhere (other than inside the safe) and get used to using the combination lock. Whilst the safe is open, locate a small button at the back of the door. pressing this button should cancel any previously set code. KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN, input a new 4-digit code, one which (hopefully) you will always remember, then press button "B". Now, again, KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN, turn the knob as one would normally do after closing the door. The lock should now be activated and you can prove that you have succeeded in this exercise by inputting your code again (followed by pressing button "A" and unlocking the door. N.B. you need to press button "A" every time after inputting your code in order to unlock the mechanism. By KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN, if you have done anything wrong, and the mechanism will not unlock, you can press the button at the back of the door and start again.

Rustle Brand.

OK, I passed my test in a manual gearbox Ford Anglia back in 1967, and have driven many other vehicles since, including a Bristol 60-seater crash-gearbox bus. Please explain what a "booster" is --- 6th, or other.

This is absolutely hilarious.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f0e6cb649a4a63a8JmltdHM9MTcwOTY4MzIwMCZpZ3VpZD0zNWQxZGExMy01MGVhLTZmMjUtMzMxNC1jOGMxNTE1MTZlMDgmaW5zaWQ9NTQ1MA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=35d1da13-50ea-6f25-3314-c8c151516e08&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9Ym13K3RlbGVwaG9uZStqb2tlJm1pZD1BQjY0NURDQjFDNjA2NDdBQkI5QUFCNjQ1RENCMUM2MDY0N0FCQjlBJkZPUk09VklSRQ&ntb=1

Thanks Peter -- now obtained in Tops, Soi 7, Jomtien.

Just as a slight aside to this topic, I would like to make readers aware of the following: I have just paid THB1,200 at Pattaya International Hospital pharmacy for a prescribed 2 bottles of Rhinocort nasal spray (8.43ml per bottle). Afterwards, I had to visit Boots, the chemist and, out of curiosity I asked if they sold Rhinocort. The supervisor said that they were currently out of stock but yes, they do sell the product. How much? THB450, meaning that I could have saved THB300 on the 2 bottles! Back in the UK., If this anomaly occurred (paid prescription cost higher than over-the-counter pharmacy cost), either the GP, or sometimes the pharmacist would mention it, offering the alternative to buy it over-the-counter. I'll be asking pertinent questions before accepting a hospital supplied drug in the future.

I live in Jomtien and have been unable to find this cough mixture (the one with the opium in it). I've looked in 4 or 5 7-elevens on Jomtien second road, near Rompho, but to no avail --- any ideas? TIA.

I suffer from benign essential tremor, so bad now that my signature is no longer legible unless, on a good day, at home I can take my time and with the help of steadying my right hand with my left, scribe something reasonably passable. Note, I said "on a good day" and these are getting fewer and fewer. I possess a lawyer's letter, written in English by Magna Carta, Pattaya Klang, which explains my condition, but I was considering buying a stamp. If I am able to make a reasonably legible signature, I could then have a stamp made of it and use it whenever it is required. Q.1. Has anyone done this and had it accepted as bona fide in a bank or an immigration office? Q.2. Can anyone recommend a place to buy such a stamp and, give a ballpark figure on the cost including shipping to Jomtien? Thanks, in anticipation, David.

I was fed-up with putting 300baht (for internet) on my phone so, last May I went to the AIS shop in Big C, Sukhumvit Rd, near Pattaya Thai, and asked if I could pay annually. I was charged 2,500baht for the year --- a saving of 1,100baht for the 5G network. Now, I'm not sure if that plan includes phone time and I don't watch movies etc. Obviously, it give me internet connection when out and about but, I use it primarily to piggyback (hotspot) my laptop off of it. I think that there is a limit on its use (MPS/data etc) but, using it as I do, I have yet to reach any limit/cut-off. My primary use is, as I say, to browse the internet (e.g. access to this forum), news sites and banking etc.

I use Google calendar in order to keep on top of appointments/birthdays etc. Events which I had already entered are (by my preferred choice) enclosed inside a highlighted (coloured) box. However, unless I am doing something wrong, I cannot enter new events in the same format. All that happens is the addition of a coloured dot (my choice of colour) appearing to the left of the event. I do not find that this "new" format stands out as well as it used to. Has anyone successfully (recently) managed to enter events in the calendar --- in the erstwhile format. TIA.

At the entrance from Second road into Soi 7, in preparation for major construction/remedial works, there is a road sign indicating that one should not turn left into the soi. (Second road is a dual carriageway at this location so a right turn is "impossible" since, to perform such a manoeuvre one would need to be on the wrong side of the meridian) Soi's 5 and 7 were signed to become one-way on 15th February, even though the actual works do not now look like commencing until 1st March. Last night, despite the aforementioned, I observed several City workmen measuring and then painting 2 white arrows at the top of Soi 7 (Second road end). They painted one arrow facing Second road, the intended/posted direction of the new one-way travel --- OK. BUT they then went on to paint a SECOND arrow pointing in the opposite direction, suggesting two-way traffic! What chance for the motorist!!!

I have the keys illumination feature on my Acer Swift 3 laptop and, in the light, I experience the same problem. However, on reading the manual, I find that it is possible to disable the facility by pressing the F8 key at the top of the keyboard.