melbat

Hi... Is there any American guy out there who could advise me about NBA and MLB .I am a Brit and don't know much about American sports. If you live in Chalong, Rawai, Kata, Karon or Phuket Town area I would be happy to meet you over a couple of beers (which I will pay for) in exchange for your knowledge and advice. Please private me with your number and I will contact you. Thanks

You lot living in Bangkok should try finding a taxi here in Phuket for the same charge as a taxi in Bangkok... You don't know how lucky you are...What is the minimum charge there now? 39 baht? Well it was a couple of years ago. The tuk tuks here charge 200 baht for going 200 meters! As for finding one with a meter!!!!! hahahahahaha you must be joking! Double that price if it's raining!

That's what is so remarkable about this high season - international speeds in Phuket have actually gone UP in the past few months. Hard to believe, but true. See for yourself at http://www.live-access.com/PhuketInternet.aspx/

Woody, my Maxnet Premier 2 has gone way done in the past 3 or 4 months. I do post on your speed check site, have a look at my Premier 2 results. Terrible. And I have complained to maxnet, engineers called a few times, no improvement. They only check speed to Bangkok which is barely within spec, to US ....

I agree... The Lads come here usually in the mornings when they know that the speed test is going to be good... I never see them in the afternoons. I am looking for a good alternative to Maxnet.. Recon my only choice in TOT... Can't be as bad as Maxnet right now.

they moved you to indy for sure, i went to sign up for 3bb last week(had maxnet 2years ago)

i told them permier 5 times, i circled it on the paper.

They were too slow so i went 2 days later to an other 3bb shop. did the same thing.

then i get a call next day to go at the office to pickup my modem.

then i have to spend 1hour waiting because then again they put me on the retarded indy package.

.

Now im waiting to be connected today and will definately have to go back to the office to change it back from indy to premier because 3bb forces their operators to put everyone on indy, unless they notice, to save money.

most people wont ever know they are on indy.

How can you tell if they have put me on a indy package? My bill states I'm in PREMIER 4meg. and thats what i'm paying for. All I know is that the internet service is bloody awful..I find the engineers nice kids but next to useless. Cheap labour I guess. I would like to know about the CAT internet.. if anyone has it can u send a reply before I jump out of the frying pan!

I have recently upgraded to 4meg with Maxnet. Before I had 2 Meg and all was good. Since I upgraded I have had nothing but problems. The Maxnet engineers (kids) have been here many times with new modems and wire direct to pole.. and many other so called solutions. None of them work. I still have pages drop or won't load. The connection dropping out.... In the mornings it seems fine.. but in afternoon it's terrible. In the evenings it's slow but bearable. I'm thinking of moving to CAT.... does anyone use CAT from phone line? Would it be a good move?

Was at Phuket airport a couple of days ago picking up my Mum, and it seemed very quiet, with there even being some empty spaces in the car park.

Might be something to do with 200 baht per day to park the car now. I notice that lots of cars are now parked down the road towards the airport.

I used to think that Land and House was fairly secure but friends who live there tell me that there has been a significant increase in burglaries there during the past six months with entire houses being emptied at one go. The problem apparently has become so severe on the side that borders the temple that L & H has taken steps to increase the height of the perimeter wall along this border to eight feet.

Well I don't know who your friends are but I have lived in Land & House for nearly 7 years and never heard of 1 burglary anywhere on Land & House. I find the security here excellent. I'm sure I would have heard from neighbours if there had been any problems. I would recommend anyone to live here with the beautiful clubhouse and well laid out development. My only complaint would be noisy dogs sometimes but even then never at night time. We have security patrols every night and I'm shocked to hear what your friends are saying and cant belive that entire homes can be emptied without someone noticing. They would need a big lorry to empty a house and the only way in or out is passed security... so forgive me but I find that hard to belive.. so would anyone else living here.

Why is it you can only buy diet coke, or pepsi max here in Thailand? I look for other diet products with no sugar content, but they are hard to find here in Phuket. No wonder the government is getting worried with all the sugar in fizzy drinks here. Why not do an 'education' programme highlighting low calorie drinks? Better than banning them

I have just upgraded my internet connection from 2 meg to 4 meg. Now I am having nothing but problems with the service dropping out every few mins. When at first the engineers from maxnet visited they told me my modem was the problem, so I got myself a new one... Of course this did not solve the problem. the engineeers came again... stayed for 10 mins and while they were here the line did not drop out. They came a third time and same thing.. but they had not gone around the corner when the line dropped again. Since then I have tried various setting changes on my PC and modem to no avail. I have little confidence in the Maxnet engineers they seem so young and inexperienced and don't seem to have any answers. I love the new speed when it's working it's great... but it's driving me mad always dropping out. Anyone out there had similar experiences? If so what is the answer? I am now thinking of going back to the old speed where I did not have any problems.

Where can I find a list of elctronics shops in Bangkok with websites? Anyone know? Thanks

I can't answer all your questions since the rules have changed significantly since I went down that route years ago, what I can add is:

1) The rules for becoming non-resident for tax purposes have changed in the past four years so you will need to look into what is required today, I do not believe that 260 days even comes close to doing the business.

2) Non residency for tax purposes is generally disallowed by HMRC where the applicant still has revenue or potentially revenue generating interests in the UK. So, if you still have a home in the UK, or indeed a company, there will be problems ahead!

Hope this helps

Hello to everyone who has replied to this tread.... To be honest very confusing! I wish I could paste the letter I had from the Inland Revenue and I hope it would address many of the questions that have been raised but basically it says-: The country you now live may also tax your pension income, under the tax law of that country. If you find that your pension income from the UK is taxable in the country which you live, you may wish to claim relief from UK tax under the terms of the double taxation treaty between the UK and that country.

If everything is in order when I receive your claim I will tell your pension payer(s) to make future payments without deduction of UK income tax. END

Now to me it's saying you dont have to pay tax on your pension if you are living in Thailand. My question is will it be better for me to be taxed here or in the UK? Also I have to get the form stamped by the tax Office here in Thailand. Where do I go for that!

As i said all very confusing!

Thanks for all your replies.... Melbat

My take on this is that there are two issues, the first is the Revenue is making you aware of the double taxation agreement between the UK and Thailand and telling you that you will not be taxed twice - the second issue is they are suggesting that if you total income is below the taxation threshold your pension will be paid gross. Regrettably for you I don't see that they are offering you a gross payment, just because you live in Thailand.

Sorry Sir.. but I beg to differ....It states in the letter from the HM Revenue & Customs and I quote=: " If everything is in order when I receive your claim, I will tell your pension payer(s) to make future payments WITHOUT DEDUCTION OF UK INCOME TAX. What is that if not a offer of gross payment? If you private me your e-mail add.. I will send you a copy of the letter in full for your consideration.

I can't answer all your questions since the rules have changed significantly since I went down that route years ago, what I can add is:

1) The rules for becoming non-resident for tax purposes have changed in the past four years so you will need to look into what is required today, I do not believe that 260 days even comes close to doing the business.

2) Non residency for tax purposes is generally disallowed by HMRC where the applicant still has revenue or potentially revenue generating interests in the UK. So, if you still have a home in the UK, or indeed a company, there will be problems ahead!

Hope this helps

Hello to everyone who has replied to this tread.... To be honest very confusing! I wish I could paste the letter I had from the Inland Revenue and I hope it would address many of the questions that have been raised but basically it says-: The country you now live may also tax your pension income, under the tax law of that country. If you find that your pension income from the UK is taxable in the country which you live, you may wish to claim relief from UK tax under the terms of the double taxation treaty between the UK and that country.

If everything is in order when I receive your claim I will tell your pension payer(s) to make future payments without deduction of UK income tax. END

Now to me it's saying you dont have to pay tax on your pension if you are living in Thailand. My question is will it be better for me to be taxed here or in the UK? Also I have to get the form stamped by the tax Office here in Thailand. Where do I go for that!

As i said all very confusing!

Thanks for all your replies.... Melbat

I recently had a letter from the Inland Revenue in the UK. They ask me as I have been living in Thailand for some years do I wish to be taxed in Thailand or in the UK as the UK has a double taxation treaty with Thailand. Now this has not been a problem for me in the past as my income from my Uk private pension was not subject to taxation as my allowances in Uk covered the amount I was getting from the pension. After Feb next year I will be getting my state pension + my private pension which will take me into a higher tax bracket. My question is as I hope to be living here for some considerable time in the future what is my best option? It says on the form I had from the UK, I have to get a 'Certification Of The Form By The Tax Authorities Of My Country Of Residence' I live in Phuket so where do I go for that? If anyone has some good advice for me on how to go about things I would really appreciate your replys.

If you are single and a UK citizen, retired here and thinking of getting married you should do it before April next year. After April 1st 2010 you wont be able to claim the dependance allowance of 58 pounds a week after that date. If you are able to claim you will have the 58 pounds a week till 2020 when the allowance stops altogether. Might be many quicky marriages in Thailand soon!

If Anyone requires the form you can download it from here.... http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_179755

Best of luck

Useful information to me, having just got married in the Summer. At age 58 now and therefore over 65 in 2010 I guess this means it could go on for life.

Does anyone know if this has to be claimed using a special claims form. I would have thought it would come through automatically if you have to prepare a tax return, as I do (but a lot of people do not prepare UK tax returns I guess).

While in the general area - is there an allowance for new kids (the first for me) too?

I'm being a bit lazy and should do my own research, so don't answer if you can't be @rs@d

As far as I'm aware you have to be 65 before April 1st 2010. Also you have to claim before then. You can contact the Pensions office at Revenue and Customs in UK or e-mail and they will send you a claims form if you cant find it on the net. I will be 65 in Feb and was told by the Pensions office they will send me the forms in November, 4 months before my birthday. They also told me after April 2010 I cannot claim for a dependant. As for children you can ask them you might be able to make a claim for them too. Their phone number is 00441912257977. I found them very helpful. Best of luck

As far as I can tell if you are married and claim before April 1st 2010 you can claim. It dont seem to be means tested.. The terms are your wife should be not earning or employed. You can download the claims form from the internet. Do a google search and it will take you to the correct page. You have to send a copy of your marriage certificate and a copy of your wife's birth certificate with your claim form. After that I think it's a formality.

£58 a week for no more than ten years....is it worth the aggro and the sin sod???

mmm... works out to be 30 thousand pounds over 10 years... not to be sniffed at even at 54 to the pound!

If you are single and a UK citizen, retired here and thinking of getting married you should do it before April next year. After April 1st 2010 you wont be able to claim the dependance allowance of 58 pounds a week after that date. If you are able to claim you will have the 58 pounds a week till 2020 when the allowance stops altogether. Might be many quicky marriages in Thailand soon!

When I arrived home yesterday afternoon to find the Maxnet Service was down again I called their helpline number in Bangkok to complain. The lady who answered the phone told me the Phuket service was down and did not know what time it would be back. When I started to complain about the service in the past few weeks (In no way aggressive tone) She just put the phone down.... I guess it was because there must have been a lot of complaints. Seems like the Maxnet Public Relations is about as good as their service!

Anybody here have any experience or know anything about a company called Triple T Broadband

promoting a service called 3BB Broadband?

Never heard of them before but picked up a flyer at a stall at Lotus Tesco today,offering various packages including 10Mb for approx 1600 Bhat a month.

Seems to be Phuket based and say they have six branches on the Island.

Sounds good but maybe too good.

I tried to apply for this service and went along to the TTNT office in Central Festival... I was told by a very helpful guy there that my house was a bit far from the "pole" and I would not get the full 10Mb but I would be able to have about 7Mb. Well I told him if I can get 7 Mb I would be over the moon...and he told me to go to the new office on the By Pass Rd. I went along there and the girl that served me did not seem to know what she was talking about... Infact all the people in the office seemed all new and "not quite with it". Anyway the girl told me it was not available at my location in Chalong... when the guy in TTNT had told me it was. I tried to explain this to her but all I got was a blank expression!! So the other day I was in Central again and noticed that BBB had opened a small office by Powerbuy.. so I asked the girl there if I could have the service.. She told me she did not know but took my phone number and said she would phone me back the next day which was Friday... STILL WAITING...

Have to agree that Maxnet 2 Premier has gone downhill these past 2 months.

Used to be Ok but since they increased the 2 MB service to 3 MB, as indicated by the modem as 3072/896, when I do the speed test to San Fransisco it clocks at 996/702. Also I find that the latency speed is terrible, about 350ms.

Just yesterday morning I could not even load Thaivisa pages. Don't know what's wrong with Maxnet these days.

Pleased to know it's just not me.... I have a TTNT line.. am i stuck with Maxnet?

I am using Maxnet Premier 2MB cost 1160 baht a month. I have had this service for over 2 years now and as i said I used to think it was very good, but recently the service has gone from good to poor with many times a slow service to no service. Usually only stops completley for a few mins but a lot of times very slow when pages wont load at all and cant get into my mailbox. This seems to happen nearly every day these past few weeks. I do sometimes use the speedtests in Thaivisa.. I was wondering if there is some problem at a gateway somewhere in the world that is causing all this trouble or is it just Phuket?

What is the matter with Maxnet? I used to sing their praises but recently the service has been terrible.It's taken me 20 mins to get to write this with pages not loading or not loading correctly.. The service is up and down all the time. I have asked other people who use different providers and they dont seem to be having same problems as me. Having said that the internet in Phuket leaves a lot to be desired anyway. I am trying to get the new 10 mega for 1490 baht month but I have a feeling the service is not available where I live at the moment. Anyone using this service and can comment?

the written test is very easy, although it is true that the questions are barely in english! my experience is in phuket, where there are a couple of computers just outside the exam room where one can practice taking the test as many times as you like. my advice is to practice the test a few times and just memorize the answers to the nonsense questions. that's what i did and did the test 2x in a row- first for motorcycle license, and the second time for car license. and despite not really knowing what the question really meant, i passed with flying colors both times (virtually the same exam- i think the pool of english questions is very small). oh, and for some reason (and this could just be my luck on that particular day) but something like 15 out of the 25 questions each time had to to with u turns?!

it is all pretty ironic because anybody who drives here knows that the rules are there are no rules! often frustrating and sad, but true.

oh and watching the drivers ahead of me attempt the VERY easy "test course" out back (a quick drive around, parallel park, back out between a line of poles, etc.) was pure comedy! don't let your GF get unnerved- it really is a breeze. and remind her to look around at some of the drivers already on the road- she can't be any worse, and it's only them she should be worried about! good luck!

Many thanks Ladya for your reply... most informative. We will go to the test center today and have a go on the computer screens. I think my wife will go to do her test on Friday. I think your blog has given her a lot of confidence.... Thanks so much for that! I will let you know how it goes! Thanks

My Filipino wife is at the moment taking driving lessons with a driving school. The problem is they dont speak English very well at the school and I'm a bit confused about the driving test. I belive my wife will have to take a written and oral exam first. Is this test in English. What sort of questions are asked? I also belive that my wife has to have a letter from immigration confirming her address. She has just done her 90 day report.. will the document in her passport from reporting suffice? Also a doctors certificate is needed.. I take it a letter from a local doctor will be accepted?

Any info from anyone with experience will be appreciated.