Moves to seize money in idle bank accounts "for the benefit of the public"

[scotchonrocks]

16 minutes ago, rodney earl said:

For the benefit of the public. Who are they trying to kid!!

They steal it from the public, then they give it back to the public.  Can't you see how it benefits, yes, you go it: the PUBLIC!

[helloagain]

4 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Actually, it's called Bank Robbery.

What the hell. I never touch 800000 baht cos i need it for my visa. Also 320000 baht of that it frozen so i can enjoy a credit card. How dare they. What a flaming country we live in

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, helloagain said:

What the hell. I never touch 800000 baht cos i need it for my visa. Also 320000 baht of that it frozen so i can enjoy a credit card. How dare they. What a flaming country we live in

 

 

You think that this does not happen in other countries ?

 

In the UK it certainly does. In 2011 it was estimated that " between £130 million and £150 million is currently lying in dormant accounts with building societies".

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, robblok said:

Just imagine all the 400.000 or 800.000 (married / retired) funds that are never touched of farangs... hmmmmm 

 

You would need to have that in a non interest bearing account and not add or take funds out for 10 years!

 

I doubt many if any, actually do that. 

[Emster23]

3 minutes ago, helloagain said:

What the hell. I never touch 800000 baht cos i need it for my visa. Also 320000 baht of that it frozen so i can enjoy a credit card. How dare they. What a flaming country we live in

Last year they wouldn't take my letter from bank stating how much I had in. It was written 3 days before I went in for retirement renewal. Argument was I could have withdrawn the money over those days (been sitting in there for years....), so had to go down, make a 100 baht deposit that morning and more copies of passbook. Sheesh

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, Emster23 said:

Last year they wouldn't take my letter from bank stating how much I had in. It was written 3 days before I went in for retirement renewal. Argument was I could have withdrawn the money over those days (been sitting in there for years....), so had to go down, make a 100 baht deposit that morning and more copies of passbook. Sheesh

 

 

It is well-documented that the bank letter needs to bear the same date as the extension application....

[RichardColeman]

How about trying to find a living relative first ? Pure and simple theft from a potential inheriting person.

[wombat]

banks have already done this in oz....lots of money in collective dormant forgotten accounts

[Baerboxer]

5 minutes ago, helloagain said:

What the hell. I never touch 800000 baht cos i need it for my visa. Also 320000 baht of that it frozen so i can enjoy a credit card. How dare they. What a flaming country we live in

 So doesn't that account pay any interest? All you have to do is take the interest out, or deposit a small amount of money and whooosh you have a transaction.

 

I get reminders from my bank here if any account hasn't been active for a while - and then just do a small transaction.

 

HSBC, in the UK, Jersey and Middle East warn you about inactive accounts. If no action they freeze them and then give notice they will close them. You can go and get your money or if small they will donate to charity. And that happens much sooner than 10 years!

In the UK money that belonged to a deceased person that has no apparent heirs becomes Crown property i.e goes into the treasury.

 

 

 

 

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, Baerboxer said:

 So doesn't that account pay any interest? All you have to do is take the interest out, or deposit a small amount of money and whooosh you have a transaction.

 

I get reminders from my bank here if any account hasn't been active for a while - and then just do a small transaction.

 

HSBC, in the UK, Jersey and Middle East warn you about inactive accounts. If no action they freeze them and then give notice they will close them. You can go and get your money or if small they will donate to charity. And that happens much sooner than 10 years!

In the UK money that belonged to a deceased person that has no apparent heirs becomes Crown property i.e goes into the treasury.

 

Indeed.

 

No complaints of the banks. The system is fair. There is also the back up of mylostaccount.org.uk for anyone searching for lost funds.

 

[Baerboxer]

3 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

How about trying to find a living relative first ? Pure and simple theft from a potential inheriting person.

 

No it's not.

 

You assume the banks have done nothing for 10 years, which I don't think will be the case. All banks now alert account holders to inactive accounts and suggest doing a transaction. Some will give notice they are freezing the account and then give later notice of closure.

 

It's not the banks responsibility to run around looking for heirs. People should have a will. 

[Surasak]

5 hours ago, toybits said:

I wonder why take such drastic action. Has the national treasury been exhausted already? Last time I heard, there was an 85% drop in the Thai Treasury Reserve from 420 Billion Bt to around 75 billion Baht in February 2017 (From a Source that cannot be named).

 

With trains and boats and possibly planes to pay for,  we shouldnt be surprised.

[SoulWater]

Does this mean that 'savings' accounts will no longer exist because if your account isn't 'current' your money will be taken?

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[SoulWater]

Will there be any attempt to contact the account owners just to make sure they are happy to give their money away or an attempt to find a close relative in an unfortunate situation of the account owner passing away? I guess not

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[300sd]

That is tough for inmates serving eleven years or more. Serve your time then we steal your money. 

[Global Guy]

40 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

You think that this does not happen in other countries ?

 

In the UK it certainly does. In 2011 it was estimated that " between £130 million and £150 million is currently lying in dormant accounts with building societies".

Always a "well in this country, they do....." 

 

Who cares what happens in other countries if you live in Thailand?

 

[NextStationBangkok]

The main target is Taksin Assets. Because he is exiled from 2006.

[NanLaew]

10 minutes ago, NextStationBangkok said:

The main target is Taksin Assets. Because he is exiled from 2006.

Ahhhh... the 'T' word.

 

Now that's gone and totally buggered the thread.

 

The reality of the matter is they just got the quote from the Chinese for the after-market, wheels and running gear accessories that they need to make sure their new submarines don't get stuck when they run aground.

Edited October 31, 2017 by NanLaew

[Regyai]

He can join the ranks of other similarly inclined esteemed leaders

 

 

 

 

Like Idi Amin

 

[Happyman58]

5 hours ago, Dipterocarp said:

In the US I think it is after 5 years it is transferred to the State 

 

If you contact later you get your funds back.

Dont like your chances getting your funds back here. They would be spent as quick a u can say Holy Cow They are really getting short of cash now To many hands in the cookie jar is nearly empty

[Jip99]

19 minutes ago, Global Guy said:

Always a "well in this country, they do....." 

 

Who cares what happens in other countries if you live in Thailand?

 

 

 

I do.

 

My money is in the UK.

 

 

I live in Thailand.

 

 

Not difficult to comprehend, mai?

[mfd101]

5 hours ago, AGareth2 said:

This just seems wrong to me

 

Why? Seems perfectly sensible to me. Money sitting 'idle' in a bank - particularly if not earning interest - is of no use to anyone. Money needs to circulate in the economy as a national asset, to everyone's benefit.

 

If my (Thai) family are anything to judge the local situation by, there will be millions of unused accounts all over the place with a few baht left in each one. They just walk away as they move on along life's path. Too much trouble to close it down or transfer it. Just open another.

 

A bit like the people who change their phone number every other week, for 'goo lak'.

[Jip99]

20 minutes ago, NextStationBangkok said:

The main target is Taksin Assets. Because he is exiled from 2006.

 

 

They are already frozen.....

[VocalNeal]

5 hours ago, Dipterocarp said:

In the US I think it is after 5 years it is transferred to the State 

 

If you contact later you get your funds back.

Canada similar, goes to BofC

[fred110]

6 hours ago, robblok said:

Just imagine all the 400.000 or 800.000 (married / retired) funds that are never touched of farangs... hmmmmm 

They probably withdraw the interest once in a while like I used to.

[QPRFC]

6 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

If your balance is less than 500 Baht for 1 year they deduct a fee. This has been in place for many years already.

Bangkok Bank told me in October 2017 that my balance must remain above 2,000 baht to avoid any ongoing fees. I mentioned that I was leaving Thailand for a period of time but will be returning next year. 

[BuaBS]

53 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Why? Seems perfectly sensible to me. Money sitting 'idle' in a bank - particularly if not earning interest - is of no use to anyone. Money needs to circulate in the economy as a national asset, to everyone's benefit.

No , because of fractional banking , the bank can lend nearly 10 times more . Idle money in a bank is of use ... to the bank.

[johnarth]

I can remember the gov talking about doing this in Australia several years ago. One thing they did was to spend much of super money, they sent a couple of companies broke, one of my mates lost thousands, he showed me the letter he got, they didn't even say they were sorry. 

[Media1]

Failed governments that spend the tax payers money on billion dollar tanks subs railway dreams at the point of desperation. Turn to the most extreme ways of extracting cash. This is just the start. We need a quick election. Remove them lift the burden bye bye.

[Grumpy Duck]

5 hours ago, pearciderman said:

 

Oh yes it is, and the bill has not even been drafted yet. Don't confuse individual banks' policies with what will become law - and of course instead of the banks, the money will go to the public coffers.

I am curious about "public coffers" more essential submarines or a new rice deal? Or maybe just transferred to officials personal accounts, for "safekeeping"?