Paying (or not paying) condo power bill from overseas

[sikishrory]

I will be going away for a few months soon and am wondering what I am going to do about the power bill for our (rented) condo.

My wife usually takes care of it while I go away but this time she is also overseas.

For my internet and rent I can pay online from abroad. Water can be a few months late with little issue but power is tricky and I thought I would ask here hoping to save a trip to the power office if possible.

My bill is from PEA provincial electricity authority (purple) not the metropolitan one (orange). This is unfortunate as with Bangkok, kasikorn and scb banking apps you can pay MEA bills but not PEA bills.

PEA do have a standalone android app and EPAY option on their website that you can register for but the first thing it asks for is your Thai ID card number. Passport numbers are not accepted and my bill is in the foreign owners name anyway and not my name.

So any ideas how I can sort this out?

I suppose another question is what happens if I just go overseas and don't pay and deal with it when I come back. I guess it will get disconnected but can I just come back and pay then get it connected in a few days easily with no issues?

Another option is to have a friend pay them for us but that seems a hassle.

[Halfaboy]

Long time ago I set up auto payment for my electricity bill. Works perfectly and no headaches about paying in time or electricity cut off....

[jackdd]

With the Truemoney app you can pay the PEA bill. But how do you get the bill? Could the person who sends you the bill not just pay it?

I would call PEA and ask them what to do in your case. Maybe you can just pay money ahead? They can also automatically deduct the money from your bank account, no idea how this works exactly, but definitely possible

The problem with not paying it is that they would most likely remove your meter and when you come back it takes a day or two until they put the meter back in and you have electricity again.

 

[colinneil]

OP set up a direct debit at your bank, then you need not worry about electric bills.

Peace of mind, just set it up and forget about it, ours is paid by dd every month, never had any problems.

[sikishrory]

10 minutes ago, jackdd said:

With the Truemoney app you can pay the PEA bill. But how do you get the bill? Could the person who sends you the bill not just pay it?

I would call PEA and ask them what to do in your case. Maybe you can just pay money ahead? They can also automatically deduct the money from your bank account, no idea how this works exactly, but definitely possible

The problem with not paying it is that they would most likely remove your meter and when you come back it takes a day or two until they put the meter back in and you have electricity again.

 

That sounds like a good idea. 

I recieve the bill in our mailbox but if I am overseas I guess that wouldn't work. 

[sikishrory]

13 minutes ago, colinneil said:

OP set up a direct debit at your bank, then you need not worry about electric bills.

Peace of mind, just set it up and forget about it, ours is paid by dd every month, never had any problems.

To organise that would I talk to the bank or the PEA office? 

Not sure but it may be the same as the epay thing I tried to setup from PEA website this morning. Aborted because I don't have a Thai ID number and it wanted the details (DOB etc) of actual bill holder. 

It would be ideal though as I can't use their app. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by sikishrory

[colinneil]

2 minutes ago, sikishrory said:

To organise that would I talk to the bank or the PEA office? 

Not sure but it may be the same as the epay thing I tried to setup from PEA website this morning. Aborted because I don't have a Thai ID number and it wanted the details (DOB etc) of actual bill holder. 

It would be ideal though as I can't use their app. 

 Is the bill in your name or wifes name?

When ours was set up, PEA  office got the form took it the bank.

[sikishrory]

Just now, colinneil said:

 Is the bill in your name or wifes name?

When ours was set up, PEA  office got the form took it the bank.

Foriegn condo owners name

[colinneil]

1 minute ago, sikishrory said:

Foriegn condo owners name

Well you cannot set up direct debit, pity as it works for us, me being stuck in a wheelchair, wife busy at school, it makes life a lot easier.

[sikishrory]

Just now, colinneil said:

Well you cannot set up direct debit, pity as it works for us, me being stuck in a wheelchair, wife busy at school, it makes life a lot easier.

Ok thanks. Doesn't look like there will be a solution. Its annoying that I can't just sign up to their phone app because I don't have a Thai id number. I might try wifes number or call them to ask. 

[YT3k72Em]

I second the overpay idea.  Pay 2000 more than the bill is, and while you are away there should be almost no usage.  They should show you as a credit balance on your account.  You can even try it right now before you go to make sure it works.

[JohnC]

I was in the same position years ago, I got the DD form from PEA in Naklua and took it to my branch of Bangkok Bank and set it up, worked perfectly for more than ten years now! I needed passport and blue house book . 

Edited July 10, 2018 by JohnC

[Ks45672]

2 hours ago, sikishrory said:

Ok thanks. Doesn't look like there will be a solution. Its annoying that I can't just sign up to their phone app because I don't have a Thai id number. I might try wifes number or call them to ask. 

I registered my sim cards years ago on the automated service with an x-gf's Thai id 

 

Haven't seen her in years but the phones are working fine

[sikishrory]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I was in the same position years ago, I got the DD form from PEA in Naklua and took it to my branch of Bangkok Bank and set it up, worked perfectly for more than ten years now! I needed passport and blue house book . 

Ok, so either way I will need to go down there to get the form. Sounds kind of promising. Is the bill in your name also or someone elses? 

[sikishrory]

1 hour ago, YT3k72Em said:

I second the overpay idea.  Pay 2000 more than the bill is, and while you are away there should be almost no usage.  They should show you as a credit balance on your account.  You can even try it right now before you go to make sure it works.

They always give me change at 7/11. Would i just tell them to put it all (extra ฿฿฿) towards bill? 

[JohnC]

Bill is in my name 

[scorecard]

19 hours ago, Halfaboy said:

Long time ago I set up auto payment for my electricity bill. Works perfectly and no headaches about paying in time or electricity cut off....

Same, auto. deduction from savings account, easy to set up, never failed to work in 10 years, just make sure there's always plenty of funds in the bank account. 

 

When we set it up we had to ensure the last bill had already been paid, even if just issued, the PEA staff said if last bill not cleared there is a block in the processing to set it up. Not sure if it still works like that.

 

[scorecard]

16 hours ago, YT3k72Em said:

I second the overpay idea.  Pay 2000 more than the bill is, and while you are away there should be almost no usage.  They should show you as a credit balance on your account.  You can even try it right now before you go to make sure it works.

 I think that needs to be checked. It's possible their accounting system doesn't work like that.

 

Years back I made a large extra payment on my landline phone without checking anything, blindly thinking it would carry forward.

 

It didn't the extra payment remained as a large credit balance only within that accounting period. Next accounting period stands alone, not interconnected to past accounting period.

 

Phone got cut off and TOT sold the line to another neighbor, took 4 years to get a new line, overpayment never refunded. 

 

Maybe PEA use a similar accounting method, best to check on this. 

 

[Formaleins]

You can pay in advance, just go to the office and put a few thousand into your account. They will draw it down each month.

[jippytum]

At our condo you deposit funds with the manager .Utillity bills are paid by the management and a service charge of 30 baht is charged.Problem solved for all owners and tenants who are absent at billing time

[sikishrory]

Incase anyone reads this in future...

I got to the bottom of this today

Rather than go to the office they have a service on the PEA website where you can live chat. The person I chatted with had good English and answered everything.

They suggested I pay with their Android app to which I replied it needed a Thai ID number to use the service. They said I could use a friends, so I used my wifes along with my phone number and my email address. They will send a password via SMS but there seems to be no checking any details with the Thai ID number. So I am positive you could use any Thai ID whatsoever to enter the app.

Once inside you can add your meter. I started typing it out but there is an option to scan barcode or QR code which I tried (from a previous bill) and worked perfectly. Now in the app it shows this meter and status and amount outstanding if any.

Payment options are by card or online banking.

Very easy and I would recommend this app.

I also asked customer service if I was able to change the bill to be in my name and they were adamant it couldn't be done and that the bill can only be in the owners name. So this is different to my experience with the MEA where my name was always on the bills.

Also, I asked my condo if they provide a service to pay electricity bills for tenants that are away as I think someone mentioned that. Unfortunately they don't.

Edited July 25, 2018 by sikishrory

[KittenKong]

When I was a tenant I paid my PEA bill by direct debit from my TMB bank account without changing the name on the bill. I now own the same condo and continue to pay the bill every month from my TMB bank account by direct debit. The bill is all in Thai so I have no idea which name is on it, nor do I care as long as it gets paid automatically.

 

Interestingly, and for no obvious reason, it is not possible to pay a PEA bill by direct debit from a Krungsri account, though it is possible to pay an MEA bill that way from an account with them.

[NancyL]

We set up autopay from our Bangkok Bank account for our PEA bill even though the bill was in the condo owners name, not ours as a renter.  No problem.  Got a form at the bank, went to the local PEA office and then back to Bangkok Bank.  

 

The problem came in terminating the autopay once we moved out.  Our former landlord had a month of free electricity courtesy of his former tenants.