Strange

8 hours ago, ghworker2010 said:

I dont want to lose the house by playing hardball but I dont agree with paying any money until we get the keys. Do you agree? This country is the land of scams. If we were in pattaya I would never agree to it but should I put my trust in this women by maybe paying 1 months deposit 7000 baht?

 

What worries me is that this women seems desperate for money. She originally asked for 3 months deposit which I laughed at. Then was asking if we can pay 3 to 6 months in advance. ha ha. She has a small photocopy business in town but we dont know if she's the owner or not. 

I agree don't pay the money until you get the keys. If you want the place and are willing to pay the 2 month deposit the just get the place and take the keys the same day. Move in when you are ready. 

The second paragraph (bold) has been a major source of frustration for me in the past. The locals like to try and rent/sell you something that is not even theirs, because they are trying to get a commission on the deal. They will do this, lie to you, and completely block you from talking to the owner. So frustrating because who the hell is going to do anything without talking to the owner? owner wants 7k a month and some "friend" finds a renter but is telling the renter its 10k negotiating a back hand deal with the owner.

Anyway just tell the lady what you are willing to do and straight up ask her if she is the owner. 

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

25) No public discussion is allowed with regard to advertisements or sponsors, or methods of blocking advertisements.

7 minutes ago, notmyself said:

This is what the 'software upgrade' is for. It was sold to us members as being an improvement but does anyone think anything has been improved? No. The site used to have only limited ads because it was to help people, to inform people. Around the mid 2000's it changed so as to generate revenue to pay for hosting etc. Already for many many years the site has changed in that the underlying purpose is to generate revenue and now it has been sold it will only become worse.

3 hours ago, baboon said:

Well said, Jerry. I forum with advertising I can quite understand but this is now looking more like an advertising site with a forum in between the gaps. It's a real pity.

Read between the lines fellas.... 

Just now, stevenl said:

And I guess you're going to vote Trump?

Another typical deflection. 

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

Why would I even think about something that is not going to happen because you (again, general, not personally at you) don't want it to happen?

Because its hardly productive for people to insult the civility, personality, and culture of a nation, then lay down over opinionated one-liner sentences like you can solve all the worlds problems with a couple of keystrokes and a period. Then decide that you don't want to defend your position with actual fact. 

1 minute ago, smutcakes said:

Scared of what? You have no facts. You like I share opinions. Does not make either one of us right or wrong.

Incorrect. 

An opinion is just that. Opinion. It is impossible to debate a serious topic without factual data. Just because you don't "like" or "feel" a certain way does not make it right nor any kind of solution. 

3 minutes ago, stevenl said:

What 'naw'. I give you my opinion 'I don't see how one could ban guns without disarming good people. As I said, ban them.'. That may not meet your requirements, but I don't agree with your requirements.

Ah ok so you don't want to have a debate you just want to have an uneducated opinion about a country you know nothing about. 

How would you ban guns then? 

8 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Yes, the US has a special type of criminal, far different to criminals in other countries......... the fact gun ownership and the ability to acquire one is no issue here

Again, typical default to insult and derail from the facts. 

19 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

That is why i said it would be interesting if there was a vote on it to see what the overall sentiment is in the on gun ownership. One of the problems when people vote is that they vote on a total package rather than an individual issue. I.e i might vote one way over the other as I agree with more of a parties stances, although i might disagree with certain parts.

 

Seems you are getting a bit defensive, lucky you don't have a gun to start shooting wildly with people who disagree with you:)

Don't worry I know you are scared, but you have nothing to worry about. 

I can promise you without a shadow of a doubt that if it were a 100% public vote on "Ban all guns or not" then it would be no. 

3 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I don't see how one could ban guns without disarming good people.

As I said, ban them.

Naw I said reduce gun violence without disarming good people. Don't act like you didn't read it and thankfully its still up there unedited for you to review. 

8 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Looking at previous experiences from other countries that gave up their guns: NO, your claim is not correct. Why come up with excuses that make no sense when the real reason is easy: you just don't want to give them up, you (and that is not personal but general) just love them. All the reasons given for not giving up your guns are just excuses that, when examined properly, prove to be incorrect.

You make it sound as if they were voluntary. 

Its true, I don't want to give them up and even if there was zero crime, I still wouldn't give them up. 

Ok, lets try it on, how would you reduce gun violence? (remember, without disarming good people) 

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

Yes, but criminals without guns, as in other, more civilised, countries around the world.

Typical default to insult our civility. 

Ban guns and only honest people that abide by the law will give them up. Criminals will remain armed. Hardly a solution. 

7 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Everything is good then if you want things to remain unchanged. I believe it will only get worse, but thats ok, no problem. It would be interesting to see if the US did have some kind of  vote on gun ownership what the actual result would be. At some point if the gun crime keeps going, eventually it will come a point where drastic action needs to be taken.

There is no "Vote on _____ Topic" man you need to school yourself on how our democracy works if you want to hang in this debate. We vote in people we like, and they vote on our behalf. If they don't vote they way their constituents appoint them to, then they are voted out of office. 

And no I feel zero sympathy for criminals getting shot or criminals shooting criminals or civilians shooting criminals. 

40 minutes ago, stevenl said:

That is exactly the problem. Every suspect stopped in the US is potentially armed and dangerous. The only solution to this problem is a radical solution, which the US is far from willing to take. Ban them.

You can bad whatever you like but it won't stop criminals from being criminals and the end of the day, thankfully, most americans know this. 

28 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Of course. But you only have to look at the gun crime rates in the US compared to the rest of the world which have stricter gun control laws to see that the current US regulations are exacerbating problems rather than curbing them.

See, the thing is, the "regulations" you speak of largely have not been changed and most likely will not be changed. We have a thing called amendments, congress, senate, a democracy where people vote these things into being. Luckily we have these things because if it wasn't already obvious, most americans don't want it to change and no president/dictator will be able to single handedly change it. Regulation and dispersal of power. I certainly don't want it to change because at the end of the day, if you take away everything, the bare bones fact is that you will be able to protect yourself, and the law is on your side. 

Its unfortunate that this kid got shot, but, you know, don't point guns at cops. 

Damn man good luck looking for justice. I dont have any advice because I'm sure you already know the outcome. 

I don't have kids but Im not sure I would be able to contain myself. 

Just now, 4MyEgo said:

Perhaps I misused a word :correction" in a previous reply.

 

I am not suggesting that for one minute I would trust a bank in Thailand or assume that it would automatically refund me my money under a fraud situation.

 

Like you said, banks cannot be trusted, but in most western countries, they will refund you, Thailand is iffy in everything, not knocking Thailand, just stating my findings. 

Thats cool, just quit trying to refute a point thats impossible. 

Banks cannot be trusted and are not out to help you in any way. There are however very simple ways to protect yourself AND save money. They cost you nothing and hardly take any more time/legwork than strictly banking in Thailand. 

11 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Correction, see the link below where Kasikorn Bank refunded a customer almost a million baht, under protest of course, just for the records.

 

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/kasikornbank-agrees-to-refund-a-customer-who-was-robbed-from-his-bank-account/

My statement still stands. If you are comfortable with what you read in the link then by all means trust the local banking system. You have dis-proved nothing unfortunately. 

3 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Or that person who has never been burgled or had a gun pulled on them or pulled a gun on anyone else, because i luckily i am from a society where gun crime is extremely rare, and gun ownership is very limited. 

Just because you have never been burgled, robbed, assaulted, does not mean it can not happen. And just because gun crime is rare does not mean that crime is rare. Wherever you are from I'm sure there are plenty of violet acts of crime where a gun is not used and people are plenty helpless. 

17 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Amazing how many of these issues happen in the US. Now what could be the stand out difference between the US and lets say Europe? gun ownership perhaps

You are probably the guy that would rather let someone break into their home and steal your hard earned stuff whilst hiding in the bathroom and frantically calling emergency services to come and save you, rather than putting that sucker down and sleeping like a baby. 

Geez.... How can someone just flat out lie so hard? 

Didn't read all pages, and I don't speak "Thai" but I can count and clearly order food, items, things I need on a day to day basis. Im american and I think this matters because I hear alot of English/UK/Euro folks home accent trying to speak thai and its a cringe factory. It reminds me of trying to understand an indian speaking english and not even trying to be clear. Yes the words and vocabulary are there but the accent is like WHAT 

I saw another poster saying along the lines of keeping it simple and thats what i do. Don't overcomplicate it. Don't need to walk in and be like "Hello-I-would-like-to-have-2-of-this-please-thank-you-krrrrrrrrrup" 

Item - quantity/amount - kup 

The thing is you really just got to say it like they do otherwise they are like huh? And you are standing there all frustrated thinking "I Just F**** said it are they retarded my god these people..."

I don't care to learn anymore than I need for day to day life but the things I need to say I have learned them clearly. I can understand subjects and context when they are talking but can't have a conversation cause I have to de-code what they are saying in my head into english, then re-code it into something thai and a lot of time its exhausting. 

Besides I don't really care to hear about their day to day like of noodle quality, if its cold or not, or if they have taken a dump in the last week. 

Im happy that a lot of the posts here so far are sensible. 

Pro Tip - don't try and act like ur gonna shoot a cop. BB Gun, Hidden "Finger Guns" just don't do it. 

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. 

5 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

i have done both methods and it does cost a bit extra to use the ATM card over doing a transfer but i am happy to pay for the convenience. so simple to go to an ATM machine and get cash as required. no waiting for funds, logging onto internet banking, dealing with other hassles.

The convenience will always be there you are not giving it up. If you get behind you can always go to the ATM with your foreign card. 

Banks are bastards I just don't want to see them get anymore than they deserve.

Also, why is there no quote link on the OP of a thread? 

Again takes your statement out of context when the thread is over 2 pages, and you are trying to hit a few points of the OP and there is no reference. 

Yes you can scroll, copy paste, page back and forth but dang... 

12 minutes ago, natway09 said:

For savings in Thailand stick to the big 5 banks.They went through the 1997 debacle with only a scratch.

I had money with 3 of them

Your money up to 1mil per account is possibly as safe as any bank in the world.

Again I just want to clarify here that your last sentence is false. 

If you are the victim of fraud (This is Thailand we are talking about) the banks will most likely NOT return your money. They may give you some guarantee that in the case of a crash your money will not evaporate into thin air, but in the event of someone stealing your cash, from your account, witch is FAR more likely than a banking crash, you are out of luck. It happens here all the time. 

13 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

i get my nz rental income paid into my account in nz. dont keep alot in that account but more than i need to live. 200thb is not a lot to get 30 000thb out from the thai ATM.  as far as i can tell this system is fullproof. no need to keep any more than a couple months living expenses in thailand. just make sure you have a couple back up methods to access money if required. KISS keep it simple stupid, being a general in the special forces taught me that.

But its not just "200 baht to get 30,000 baht" 

Your bank is going to charge a fee for using a foreign banks ATM system, You are charged a fee for the Thai Banks ATM System, and you will be getting a substandard exchange rate, and you are doing it monthly. There may also be a flat fee for just strictly "International Service" from your NZ Bank. 

By fool proof, yes you can easily go to the ATM and "Get Money" but the banks on both sides are going to be LOVING you for it. 

Im happy you like your system but I just want to clarify for anyone else reading this and doing the same thing. 

I don't know what your fees are but again, it may be cheaper, even on a monthly transfer, to wire the cash for a flat rate to your Thai Bank once a month and then ONLY use your thai ATM for free.