Emergency help for British nationals in Thailand

[Pilotman]

11 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"The British Embassy the World over are a pitiful excuse for representing UK Nationals abroad and helping where they can.  They don't help at all.  Even if trade and commerce are involved, they are next to useless".

You base that (incorrect) assertion on what rationale?

 

 

"They would be the very last people I would approach if I needed help".

Who would you approach for help in the circumstances that most people would ask the Embassy?

Depending on the problem, family, friends, veteran support organisations.  

Edited May 24, 2019 by Pilotman

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

Embassy staff will never go out of their way to help, if by doing so, they may upset the host country.  For example, look at UK Nationals that are detained in the Middle East on ridiculous and often false charges (kissing on the beach when not married) and get not an ounce of help from the local Embassy or the UK Government.  It's often quoted that the Embassy don't want to upset the locals over 'cultural based issues' of that country, by complaining about something that is clearly stupid and pointless and /or a genuine mistake.  The lady caught and jailed in Dubai with having over the counter pain killers is a good example.  She got no help whatsoever and the Embassy just warned people not to carry anything drug related into the Country, very helpful for her.  The support you will get (next to nothing) will be dependant almost entirely on the diplomatic requirements, not on the right or wrongfulness of your particular case. 

Embassy staff are not lawyers, they do not claim to be able to provide specific legal advice and it is not their job to get British nationals out of trouble by stepping in on an this-is-the-British-Embassy-we-have-influence basis that British nationals have put themselves in, that is the legal system's job.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, colinneil said:

23 hours ago, simon43 said:

Wow - so many negative comments here.  The British Embassy are not hear to hold your hand.  But in times of crisis/emergency, they can and will certainly help or give advice, such as contacting relatives, providing a list of lawyers or (as I know from personal experience when working as a tourist police officer at Phuket Airport) - contacting a local TPV to visit a British national who has just been arrested.

 

 

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

 

Unbelievable comment, colinneil.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, simon43 said:

Since these are my own personal experiences in dealing with the British Embassy over a period of about 18 years, I think I do have an idea of what I'm talking about ????

 

The purpose of an embassy is diverse, primarily concerned with diplomatic relations.  They provide consular services and help British citizens in distress, such as at time of bereavement. They implement the policy of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).  If you want to moan about what the embassy does or doesn't do, go moan to the FCO.

 

I've never had any problems with my dealings with the embassy staff, from security staff right up to Consul.  My ex-wife (then my GF) had no issues when successfully applying for a UK tourist visa.  Everyone was polite at all times.

 

Your mileage may vary of course! I think some people have preconceived ideas about what the embassy can do and get frustrated when their expectations aren't met.

Perfect comment that most posters should take note of.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, colinneil said:

You clearly have no idea.

He clearly has a very good idea of the Embassy's obligations.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, CharlieH said:

What they do

What they cannot do

What people expect them to do.

 

Those are the things where it all falls apart.

 

Embassies/consulates are one of those places that people know little about until you actually need them for something and then expectations/understanding seem to exceed there actual function and abilities.

 

My own experience was the requirement of documentation to marry. Very easy in and out in 20 minutes (long ago). Since then annual "income" letters. All done easily and quickly, (extortionate for a template "fill in the blanks" paper ! ).

 

Individual experiences based on specific individual circumstances generally dont paint a pretty picture and interaction seems to be mostly negative.

 

But I suspect that mostly is a result of expectations against actual function and ability leaving people disappointed and with a negative view for not getting what they wanted or thought they would get.

 

 

Absolutely right.

 

"Individual experiences based on specific individual circumstances generally dont paint a pretty picture and interaction seems to be mostly negative".

Neither are they in any way representative of the Embassy's actual services in general.

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, portly said:

In 1984, I was offloaded in Bombay,an Air India flight. On the way to Sydney.

Chronically overbooked as per usual, was offered accom Air India Hotel.  Immo insisted on passport     being handed over.     On arrival, desk informs .me that my ticket not confirmed according to computer, agent mess up, or their computer, cannot stay.

Now I Have  no passport!   Manage to call Calcutta, did   not have bombay embassy then.

Told situation.can you help please.     NO  .....HUNG UP

You did have a passport, it was just not in your physical possession according to your comment.  The Embassies are not travel agents.

 

"NO  .....HUNG UP".

The staff member said just one word and then abruptly hung up?  Really?  No more to it than that?  Yeah, right.

[CharlieH]

Troll remark removed.

[monkeycu]

On 5/23/2019 at 3:29 PM, colinneil said:

Is this someones idea of a joke?

Call for emergency help, when my wife called the British embassy consular section asking for help/advice, just after i came out of a month long coma..... The clown she spoke to said and i quote..... Not our problem.

You were lucky, they at least answered the phone

Australian mob just the phone ring out

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, Formaleins said:

The British Embassy in Bangkok has been a waste of space for British Nationals for many years, going back more than 15 years. It is primarily a front for British trade, nothing in the way of assistance to its citizens. 

Back in the early 2000's, it was difficult, but not impossible as it appears to be now, to actually get an appointment and actually speak to someone in person, 

"Back in the early 2000's, it was difficult, but not impossible as it appears to be now, to actually get an appointment and actually speak to someone in person..."

It's so easy to speak to a real person at the Embassy, just try calling the Embassy's phone number, it's always answered!  Getting an appointment if you do it the correct way is easy also.

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, Bert got kinky said:

Who'd want to be consular staff at an embassy in Bangkok

Who'd want to hold a position where you work minimal hours, sit around doing sod all during the hours that you do work and getting grossly overpaid for the pleasure?

God, knows, where does the queue start?

You must be God, then, if you know.  Obviously, you don't know anything about the work or the hours that Embassy staff work, I doubt that you know what their salaries are either. 

[Just Weird]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

You say you have no personal experience with them, well i have, been jailed here.

British embassy contacted by Jipp99, what help were they..... NONE.

jUST OUT OF A 1 MONTH COMA, IMMIGRATION THREATENING TO DEPORT ME FOR OVERSTAY.

I was on life support, my wife was in a hell of a state not knowing what to do, who to contact, a friend gave her the British embassy number, she was put through to a very unhelpful arrogant woman who said.... Not our problem.

They are a total waste of space.

"You say you have no personal experience with them, well i have, been jailed here".

Me too, twice, police jail and Klong Prem, so I'm not speculating, I am commenting from personal experience. I did not say that I have had no personal experience.  I've also been a prison visitor so I do know what the Embassy does for those in that position.

 

Sorry, Colin, but if you were in hospital, on life support, I do not believe that you were being threatened with deportation at that time, it just would not happen like that.  How could anyone be deported while were on life support?  Did you get deported?

 

"...she was put through to a very unhelpful arrogant woman who said.... Not our problem".

Yes, you've said that's what your wife told you a few times before but there must have been a bit more to it than that.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Just Weird

[CharlieH]

Personal remark and response to it removed.

 

7) You will respect fellow members and post in a civil manner. No personal attacks, hateful or insulting towards other members, (flaming) Stalking of members on either the forum or via PM will not be allowed.

[metisdead]

Some more baiting posts and replies have been removed. 

[Traubert]

It seems as usual this topic has degenerated into a bun fight all too quickly.

 

I think we Brits need to take a step back and understand why the Embassy will only do what it can and will do and why.

 

The warmonger Blair and his thief sidekick Brown (remember when he wanted to plunder all the dormant bank accounts in Britain?) withdrew all the overseas mission funds to pay for their risible National ID Card scheme. The Embassies were told to fund themselves by selling visas, notarised documents and the like, hence the sky high charges for any paper based service that they do offer. They don't sell al that many.

 

Under another administration after Blair moved on to selling his ar-se to the richest buyer, the FCO in it's infinite wisdom subcontracted visas and passport renewals to VFS so they could reduce the wage bill. Or put another way, sacked all the staff and replaced them with infinitely cheaper and less empathetic local staff who they could pay at local rates and not have to offer extras like accommodation and other allowances.

 

So, they have no money and they have skeleton staff. They can't offer the service that people want, but when did that ever bother Westminster? It's just the British way <deleted> you, Jack I'm alright. Maybe you can understand if they are occasionally short with people, they're over-worked and under-staffed.

 

Of course the National ID Card system came to nothing, it was just another multi millions spunked up the wall like the NHS, Probation Service, and DWP computer systems. Fuji must be laughing their heads off.

[Fairynuff]

On 5/23/2019 at 3:55 PM, Just Weird said:

"...the British Embassy is nothing more than list of phone numbers and one woman employed in an office to 'put you through' to an extension in London".

You couldn't be more wrong with that assessment.

 

"...I remember when they cared and offered personal advice".

They still do.

 

"They really have become the joke of foreign embassies in Thailand".

Nonsense, unless you're only referring to the usual bunch of Thaivisa irrational haters who love to spit their vitriol in the Embassy's direction.   How have they become the joke of foreign embassies...specifically?

Please share with us some of the excellent service you’ve had from the British Embassy that’s led to you attacking Colinneil

Edited May 24, 2019 by Fairynuff

[balo]

What about the Irish ?  Asking for a friend. 

[SteveK]

7 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Embassy staff are not lawyers, they do not claim to be able to provide specific legal advice 

No- embassy staff are uneducated, rude and ignorant people who almost certainly got the job through their dad who went to Eton. The great unwashed would never be able to get such a role.

 

But the joke's on them. The 16 year old spotty twerp who served me in McDonalds in London actually listened to me, did his job, and gave me what I asked for, for a small fee. The UK embassy does exactly the opposite. They don't care about you, don't want to help you, and want to charge you more than what most Thais spend in a month.

 

They could not give a rat's backside about British ex-pats in Thailand, not sure if it's because they are hungover from last night's gin-fest or because they are looking forward to this evening's BBQ, but in either case you are bothering them, and they are not scared about making that obvious! What a bunch of useless jobsworths!

 

As a hard-working, tax-paying British guy, I was expecting to be treated with a certain degree of respect by my embassy - how wrong I was. What a joke the UK has become. Maybe if I had turned up in a niqab they would have taken me into a private room and offered me a cup of tea, but as a middle-aged caucasian male I am treated like a cancer, thanks to all the lefty idiots, despite the fact that I have been paying over £2000 a month in income tax and national insurance, FOR DECADES.

Edited May 24, 2019 by SteveK

[fhickson]

On 5/23/2019 at 1:29 AM, colinneil said:

Is this someones idea of a joke?

Call for emergency help, when my wife called the British embassy consular section asking for help/advice, just after i came out of a month long coma..... The clown she spoke to said and i quote..... Not our problem.

What did you expect them to do about that?

[colinneil]

39 minutes ago, fhickson said:

What did you expect them to do about that?

Seeing your comment suggests that reading is not 1 of your strong points.

Read my post again, and this time stop and think, before making a ridiculous comment.

Me just out of a month long coma, on life support, totally unaware of anything happening around me !!!

[CharlieH]

Off topic removed.

[Crossy]

Whilst it is true that the embassy is limited by ministerial regulation as far as the actual assistance they can provide (which in itself shows just what our government thinks of expats) I'm afraid that the customer-facing (at the prices they charge we are definitely "customers") staff come across are rude and arrogant, evidently insufficient (no) training in dealing with the general public.

 

By far the most friendly, helpful and efficient staff members are the security chaps on the gate.

 

[oxysong]

Good job at embassy right now..security  140 gbp per day plus expenses  

[simon43]

From the comments in this thread, clearly some of the posters feel that they have been treated very badly by some staff at the embassy.

 

As I previously said in this thread, I've visited/liaised with the embassy staff on many occasions, and have always been treated very politely by all staff.

 

That begs the question:  Why am I always treated with politeness by the embassy staff and other posters feel that they are not?

 

[colinneil]

6 minutes ago, simon43 said:

From the comments in this thread, clearly some of the posters feel that they have been treated very badly by some staff at the embassy.

 

As I previously said in this thread, I've visited/liaised with the embassy staff on many occasions, and have always been treated very politely by all staff.

 

That begs the question:  Why am I always treated with politeness by the embassy staff and other posters feel that they are not?

 

Easy answer to that is, you have not been involved with them for yourself, but on the behalf of others, completely different ball game.

[SteveK]

17 minutes ago, simon43 said:

That begs the question:  Why am I always treated with politeness by the embassy staff and other posters feel that they are not?

Luck?

Edited May 25, 2019 by SteveK

[simon43]

8 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Easy answer to that is, you have not been involved with them for yourself, but on the behalf of others, completely different ball game.

On the contrary, I have been involved several times for myself, such as for a certificate of income letter, a certificate of residence, some other document for a police clearance etc.  I've never ever had any complaints about the manner in which I was treated by their staff.

 

Maybe I'm doing something different from all those who complain... ????

[Just Weird]

15 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Please share with us some of the excellent service you’ve had from the British Embassy that’s led to you attacking Colinneil

I wasn't attacking him, I was exchanging comments with him.

 

It seemed that he couldn't expand on a claimed one word refusal to talk to his wife by the Embassy and also a claim that, whilst in a coma and on life support in hospital, Immigration were threatening to deport him.  

 

I gave him the only specific details I'd be willing to share with anonymous strangers here about my two unpleasant incidents with Thai jails that justify my comments about the Embassy's services to those that need them.  

[homeseeker]

Last year I needed some urgent advice from the British Embassy following a theft from my home including loss of passport . The next day I suffered at home a unconnected accidental bad leg injury rendering me temporarily unable to walk.

I needed some help and advice so I phoned the British Embassy.

The person I spoke to  was uncouth and impolite and even refused to give me the phone number or contact details of Trendy and he was sarcastic suggesting everyone knows Trendy deals with lost passports etc.

I was distressed by the treatment I received and I made a formal complaint but the response was in effect the staff member was following procedures, blah blah blah.

I was and continue to be appalled at the arrogant, lazy and useless people who appear to be employed by the British Embassy.

 

 

[Pilotman]

15 minutes ago, simon43 said:

On the contrary, I have been involved several times for myself, such as for a certificate of income letter, a certificate of residence, some other document for a police clearance etc.  I've never ever had any complaints about the manner in which I was treated by their staff.

 

Maybe I'm doing something different from all those who complain... ????

no, just very lucky.