Pootegg

 It is still certainly cheaper to be in Thailand .. been keeping a house and condo mothballed. Utility prices have gone through the roof in the UK. As a former expat now looking to change direction for my retirement I intend to liquidate Thailand and " holiday" in more places and be flexible as getting back to Thailand even as a tourist is just hassle. There are nicer and easier places. No BA flights tells you something .. just booked via Singapore  to return  in September ...

Of course if the recognise the NHS  app  that evidence of vaccination  that would be good  without the need for the "gamble" of the entry into Thailand.. I would be booking 2 tickets to Thailand  .....

Interestingly since covid struck in the UK I cannot give my toner cartridges away and they are destined for land fill. So many offices have closed with working from home less printing so less toner cartridges required .. I suspect inkjet scanner all in one  sales may have gone up  for home office use   .. and more use of electronic pdf type files . Environmentally if less printing it is better for the environment long term 

Hello 

 Yes I experienced issues with MEA app a few months ago when it seemed to change to chillpay ( or was it chillipay). So much so I got someone else to pay manually the first month while I investigated. Finally I ended up using internet banking link from the App and discontinued using card. Hope that works for you .

I am doing what you want to do .  It I have a contract with True and roaming enabled .. I use a separate old phone with the aim card in and no problem pay the bill every month using their app  I know I could possibly use a basic top up SIM card but I got stuck with that once before and found this way gave me peace of mind  without worry . I also use that phone to have MEA app and also PEA app so can pay bills direct. What ever you do ensure roaming is activated before you leave and confirm that phone number is registered at the bank .

 Hope to return to Thailand 2 years after I left due to covid .. house is just sitting empty ....

You say you have paid NI for 27years but  that is insurance arguably you should consider for those 27 years.You will see other posts suggest what you need to do to satisfy requirements however there are big waiting lists and if after any initial treatment be prepared for the waits .. not quite like Thailand where you can virtually see a specialist the same day .. I am waiting for blood tests results in the UK for  over 10 days !!! NHS is a critical again ... Think twice about returning  private health care is good in Thailand and the cold damp conditions here in the UK will not do much for your TB?

Interesting comments .

 MG maybe made in China but so are many Volvo's . Which is also a Chinese owned company  ...to be fair the MG recipe for low cost vehicles does not mean low quality. My UK friend owns an MG HS exclusive which was purchased after testing a Volvo at more money .. performance was much better.. and the new generation EV are proving to compete well in this category. You may not appreciate the Chinese Government but the cars are not that bad. And if course if built in Thailand that will help the Thai economy.

On 8/27/2021 at 8:17 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Makes me wonder why anyone would own a house instead of renting.

How long before one moves into a care home can one sell the house to children without it being regarded as avoiding care costs? Simplest answer IMO is to sell/ gift it as soon as possible and endeavor to spend all the money, or at least all the money they know about. I guess it depends on how much the children loves one.

 

Would setting up a family trust or a company to own the house make any difference?

If you are seen to be avoiding they can still get you .. 7 year rule may work ....

Be very careful your idea may not work . I undertand some have been caught doing what you are looking at .  suggwst checking with a UK lawyer for  this.  I checked out Age UK  and pasted this for info : .Deprivation of assets
If someone intentionally reduces their assets - such as money, property or income - so these won’t be included in the financial assessment for care home fees, this is known as ‘deprivation of assets’. If your local council concludes you have deliberately reduced your assets to avoid paying care home fees, they may still calculate your fees as if you still owned the assets. Copied from https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/deprivation-of-assets/

 Good luck

23 hours ago, eyup said:

Skype. easy peasy and cheap as chips

Yes  totally agree with eyio .. call from Skype you can dial a mobile and landline just need to have some credit or take advantage of the Microsoft 365 package deal if you have it. Skype is my default international. Use it all the time to call my bank . You can also use any caller ID number you want just edit settings.

On 8/5/2021 at 7:59 AM, RichardColeman said:

The value of your fixed assets only decrease if your intention is to sell them and move back to the UK, Otherwise it makes no difference to you whatsoever, in fact if your fixed assets are housing, you could probably increase your property value as the pound increases. 

My intention is just that . My circumstances have changed partially due to covid but also for other reasons. I want to cash out my  Bangkok properties and return the assets to the UK or USA. If the Pound rise and I sell and  transfer from Baht to Pounds that is  a decrease rather than an increase. Or am I missing something? My intention is to also change my visa status from an o based on retirement and use shorter visa for shorter stays of 2 to 3 months duration . That will also free up the 1.6m Baht my wife and I have in a bank for the visa . That will give us a bit of spending too!

7 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Finding it hard to think of a good reason as to why this is not a bad thing

The values of my fixed assets in Thailand keeps decreasing v GBP. In my case not hard to think why this is a bad thing.

Sorry but when I first read the headline I thought hmm kidney doner card. But seriously worth talking with the UK bank to try and get a card sent to you .. other expats I know seem to have them sent over.. depends on the bank I suppose .  Because of the hassle with Credit cards in Thailand as effectively they are preloaded in most cases with your money.I stuck with the principles of a debit card which is also easier to obtain  and less hassle . In Thailand I decided not to be caught again so went pretty much the whole hog for  debit card types and got a visa card from CIMB and a MasterCard from Bangkok Bank and a Union Credit from Bangkok Bank as I was planning a trip to China before covid. I also have a debit card from Tisco which is not useful so avoid them . ( Standard chartered sold all their retail business to them a fee years ago so automatically issued ).

 Like you I wanted to make sure everything worked. My co-op bank in the UK debit card AND credit card works fine

 and First Direct  debut works ok in Thailand but sometimes I found I have to have my UK phone for the odd text verification .  Good luck 

22 hours ago, internationalism said:

yesterday those tests were estimated to sell 300-400b.Now below 100b.

But in europe supermarkets they are 30-40b.

Who and how much is making on them?

.. and in the UK free delivered to your door at the moment.. I suspect they will become chargeable soon ...

If you pay late then you are penalised.. most of the condos I own do similar I am told .. for water and service charges . As for the late payment for fine from immigration that is down to your landlord to pay .. however I know there is a proxy form some of my previous farang renters used .. and an app that also worked well 2 years ago ... Hope that helps .

As somewhat an eggspert - without any eggageration wise cracks or bad yolks as a former international egg man I can shed a little light on the subject with maybe a little overkill.

Credentials - Having sold them in the shell , out of the shell in liquid form , frozen and chilled mixed with other ingredienst , sold in juice type cartons as well as helping to sell the frozen omelettes used in breakfasts in many airlines around the world.. as well as frozen fried egg ,hard cooked, diced etc . and pasteurized in the shell without cooking them!

Eggs around the world are traded and sold traditionally either by the dozen in size weight by the pack or tray or case or the kilo ungraded or graded for quality and weight - the trays used to carry them are known as Keyes Trays after the packaging compnay that invented them . If they are ungraded for size they are sold by the weight bulk for breaking and in some countries noatbly EU they are sold by weight per pack . This means eggs of variable sizes can be sold in the same pack and give a truer price in theory.

Traders in Europe also bought eggs originally by the Long Hundred which was 120 eggs or 10 dozen . The long hundred extra 20 was to allow for breakages and rotten eggs.

Eggs were also shipped from China to Europe in Long Thousands in boxes also known as coffins due to the shape of the cases ( not the eggs!).

In theory the Government of Thialand should be eggsonerated on this occsision as they are trying to be fair to the consumer and getting a true price against the actual egg mass being sold based against cost of feed. ..

Breaking with tradition is difficult for the consumer who may only want to buy one egg at a time for a few Baht.. they will become eggsasperated!

Getting things eggsactly right is difficult but I am sure the industry will make it all white or we will be browned off !

PM: Eggs by kilo can be scrapped

The sale of eggs by weight, introduced as a pilot project, can be scrapped if it fails to win acceptance from consumers, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Wednesday. He said it was a trial scheme only, with the aim of bringing down the cost of living.

In the end, it was the buyers and sellers who would decide which is the better of selling eggs - by weight or by piece, he said.

If the new pricing system proves unacceptable, it could be dropped.

The prime minister said he would ask the... read more

-- ethailand.com 2011-02-02

Only to be reintroduced same time next year same as all the other hubs and crackdowns this country is so rich of.

I trust the pun was not intended :-)