Kasikorn closed my account

[The Hammer2021]

39 minutes ago, userabcd said:

Not making deposits and withdrawals in a year.

or transfers or DDs or SOS or bill payments

[The Hammer2021]

50 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

Just one more reason that I will not keep more than a small amount in a Thai bank.  They are a law unto themselves.

That could be construed   as ill informed nonsense  from a Thai basher with little knowledge of how excellent  Thai  banking services  are and perhaps...no money either...lol

Edited January 8, 2022 by The Hammer2021

[PAWNEESE]

It is not a Thailand bank querk to make accounts not used,  dormant and unaccessable.

 

I had 2 banks in the UK declare my accounts dormant after 2 years of inactivity.  I guess they assume the account holder may have died. Must happen hugely.

 

They held savings .. the point of savings being you SAVE the money till needed not spend the money .. was my point to them.  I no longer add money as I am retired, I said.

 

I naively thought logging in to the internet accounts often was registering usage  .. and was counting as them being active.  Durrrrrr !

 

Amongst other things they were my funds for medical emergencies. I did not like them being unaccessible.

 

Halifax restored accessability after one phone call and answering security questions.   Very polite. Very helpful.

 

Santander were and still are a nightmare.  4 long distant phone calls .. plus my son going into the local branch 4 times on my behalf ... have only partially resolved the problem.  He even showed them letters they had sent to my home address about the problem .. the address the account is connected with.

 

They restored the account as active.  Eventually.

 

BUT I had lost my mobile phone a few years back.  They have my old number.  They wont change my number on their system.  The people I have spoken to are suspicious. Despite me passing the security questions.   I need that changed for the OTP system of entering a code to move funds. I wont bore tooooo much re the many phone converstions I had but my last try ended with them saying they cannot change the phone number.  IT guys had to do it.  They would phone my new number. But never heard from them. Gave up.

 

Thus I cannot use the account that has tens of thousands of pounds in. Been like that for a year.   I dont need to use it .. but now send £5 a month into my UK savings accounts from my day to day account.

 

Writing this has concentrated my mind.  I am going to write to UK Finance Authority (or whatever they are called) and copy in Santander bank recorded delivery.  Then if not resolved after a couple of months I am sure I am going to have a further phone call to them .. ask for a manager and totally lose it. 

 

Hey Ho. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by PAWNEESE

[Nickelbeer]

21 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

That could be construed   as ill informed nonsense  from a Thai basher with little knowledge of how excellent  Thai  banking services  are and perhaps...no money either...lol

And your comment could be construed as rambling apologetics for a system that is unfair, immoral and just plain inferior.

[The Hammer2021]

2 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

And your comment could be construed as rambling apologetics for a system that is unfair, immoral and just plain inferior.

Which system is unfair  and immoral? Please explain in detail.

Regarding  banking here in Thailand.  It is just as good or better than the UK. No apologies  made  or needed...

[Ohyesuare]

My Kasikorn account was closed for inactivity, but I don't think I had much in there when it was. They refused to reopen it or another account for me without going through all the hoops again (work permit, residency certificate, etc..) I just opened a Bangkok Bank account through an agent instead of wandering around town into every bank and being told I needed to pay for the $6k insurance of the ones that even wanted to let me open an account.

[The Hammer2021]

11 minutes ago, PAWNEESE said:

It is not a Thailand bank querk to make accounts not used,  dormant and unaccessable.

 

I had 2 banks in the UK declare my accounts dormant after 2 years of inactivity.  I guess they assume the account holder may have died. Must happen hugely.

 

They held savings .. the point of savings being you SAVE the money till needed not spend the money .. was my point to them.  I no longer add money as I am retired, I said.

 

I naively thought logging in to the internet accounts often was registering usage  .. and was counting as them being active.  Durrrrrr !

 

Amongst other things they were my funds for medical emergencies. I did not like them being unaccessible.

 

Halifax restored accessability after one phone call and answering security questions.   Very polite. Very helpful.

 

Santander were and still are a nightmare.  4 long distant phone calls .. plus my son going into the local branch 4 times on my behalf ... have only partially resolved the problem.  He even showed them letters they had sent to my home address about the problem .. the address the account is connected with.

 

They restored the account as active. 

 

BUT I had lost my mobile phone a few years back.  They have my old number.  They wont change my number on their system.  The people I have spoken to are suspicious. Despite me passing the security questions.   I need that changed for the OTP system of entering a code to move funds.

 

Thus I cannot use the account that has tens of thousands of pounds in. Been like that for a year.   I dont need to use it .. but now send £5 a month into my UK savings accounts from my day to day account.

 

Writing this has concentrated my mind.  I am going to write to UK Finance Authority (or whatever they are called) and copy in Santander bank recorded delivery.  Then if not resolved after a couple of months I am sure I am going to have a further phone call to them .. ask for a manager and totally lose it. 

 

Hey Ho.

Absolutely  about Santander. Nightmare. Although I kept an account  open with them  I moved to Nationwide  years ago. I can't get an OTP from Santander or change my phone number. When people   criticize  Thai banks they seem to have no idea about lousy UK banks..

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

@paulsingle I have two accounts in my Bangkok Kbank branch. When I go online, it shows one account as Inactive. Did you log in to your account to look at it? I'm pretty sure you can reactivate it when you arrive.

 

Actually, I wonder if you can reactivate it by phone to the Kbank help centre. They would ask you some questions to confirm it's your account such as the number of the account, the last time it was used and how much money is in the account, plus another query or two. This ought to work. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Kaoboi Bebobp

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, bbko said:

Maybe download the K-Bank app and see if you can access it?

Thai Bank apps seem to require activating when in Thailand.

 

I think the Op will be able to re-activate his account when he comes back.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Just call them, they have a good hotline.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Nickelbeer said:

Just one more reason that I will not keep more than a small amount in a Thai bank.  They are a law unto themselves.

The Bank of Thailand confirmed several months ago that dormant accounts that are closed with credit balances will have the balances returned on application, they are not lost, neither are Thai banks a law unto themselves.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, paulsingle said:

I think I had about 10,000 baht in the account. 

Does anyone know if I will be able to reopen my account by going into Kasikorn when I get to Thailand in a couple of weeks time? 

If there was still a credit balance when the account was closed you will be able to reclaim that balance, it is not lost.   BoT confirmed that re dormant accounts some time ago.   Whether Kasikorn will open a new account/revive the dormant account will be up to them, I suppose.

[PAWNEESE]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Absolutely  about Santander. Nightmare. Although I kept an account  open with them  I moved to Nationwide  years ago. I can't get an OTP from Santander or change my phone number. When people   criticize  Thai banks they seem to have no idea about lousy UK banks..

I dont wanna thread ferk tooooo much but a big problem with Santander bank for us Expats is that they dont have email contactability. So not suitable if you are going to move abroad.

 

But my main point is, it is not a Thai bank oddity to close unused accounts after 2 years. It happens with UK banks too.  And no doubt in many countrys.  Thai bashers take note.

 

You got to phone Santander and go through multi option phone extensions to end up with a recent uninterested school leaver ( by sound of voice and empathy ) and get zero proffesionalism.

 

My fault in a way .. I was too polite. I should have asked for a manager. I was thinking my son visiting my UK branch with a wad of documents and letters would get it sorted.

 

With email, a record of their incompetence would exist.

 

I got £90k in that account I cant access.  I cant open an account with another UK bank remotely (I never go back) but if I ever get my OTP sorted a big chunk of that will be moved to my Halifax account on day 1.

 

Halifax can be contacted by email and seem interested in solving any problem. Other good banks are available.  ($miley)

 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by PAWNEESE

[RichardColeman]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Bad news. The moral of this story is to keep your  account  active during prolonged  absences perhaps via Internet  banking or app.

Exactly. Whilst outside Thailand for the past 22 months I have been sending money to the wife and family to my account for her to draw out to live on, for that exact same reason.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Nickelbeer said:

And your comment could be construed as rambling apologetics for a system that is unfair, immoral and just plain inferior.

"...a system that is unfair, immoral and just plain inferior".

It'd be interesting to see your attempted justification of that Thai bank-bashing nonsense.

[phetphet]

2 hours ago, big dendrobenaes said:

GOOD IDEA

Bear in mind that you might not be able to activate it from outside Thailand.

 

I tried activating the K Plus app last week here in Samui, and it wouldn't work. Had to go to a Kasikorn ATM and activate it with my card, plus a One Time Password sent to my phone.

 

Have you tried calling K-Bank helpline? 02 888 8888. From outside it will be +662 888 8888

Edited January 8, 2022 by phetphet

[CharlieH]

MOVED TO BANKING FORUM

[The Hammer2021]

9 minutes ago, PAWNEESE said:

I dont wanna thread ferk tooooo much but a big problem with Santander bank for us Expats is that they dont have email contactability. So not suitable if you are going to move abroad.

 

But my main point is, it is not a Thai bank oddity to close unused accounts after 2 years.

 

You got to phone Santander and go through multi option phone extensions to end up with a recent uninterested school leaver ( by sound of voice and empathy ) and get zero proffesionalism.

 

My fault in a way .. I was too polite. I should have asked for a manager. I was thinking my son visiting my UK branch with a wad of documents and letters would get it sorted.

 

With email, a record of their incompetence would exist.

 

I got £90k in that account I cant access.  I cant open an account with another UK bank remotely (I never go back) but if I ever get my OTP sorted a big chunk of that will be moved to my Halifax account on day 1.

 

Halifax can be contacted by email and seem interested in solving any problem. Other good banks are available.  ($miley)

 

 

You have my sympathy. I have both the  Santander  app and online banking so can use the bank but telephoning them is a nightmare.

[Mutt Daeng]

2 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Just spitballing here, but I recently read verification that Wise can only xfer to 3 banks in excess of 50,000 baht. Maybe Kasikorn can't accept a transfer of this ammount via wise and Wise erroneously reported the account closed?

Kasikorn is one of those 3 banks that can still accept transfers greater than 50,000 baht.

[userabcd]

30 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

If there was still a credit balance when the account was closed you will be able to reclaim that balance, it is not lost.   BoT confirmed that re dormant accounts some time ago.   Whether Kasikorn will open a new account/revive the dormant account will be up to them, I suppose.

If I recall it was about 3 years ago.

 

One of my fixed deposits had no transactions in a year and Bangkok Bank sent me letters notifying that I should make a transaction or the account would be rendered dormant. I went and withdrew the small amount of  interest and continue to do so once a year.

Edited January 8, 2022 by userabcd

[Liverpool Lou]

13 minutes ago, userabcd said:

43 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

If there was still a credit balance when the account was closed you will be able to reclaim that balance, it is not lost.   BoT confirmed that re dormant accounts some time ago.   Whether Kasikorn will open a new account/revive the dormant account will be up to them, I suppose.

Expand  

If I recall it was about 3 years ago.

I think you're right but I seem to remember it being more recent than that, perhaps it was just brought up again more recently when it was actually enacted into law.   

Edited January 8, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[Nickelbeer]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

But your bank account remains  active as you still have money coming in and out AND the ghost 800000k deposit  put in every year by the agent. People use agents for  convenience  not poverty. They still put 65Kbht  plus through  their account  every week.

 

I have monitored my bank account for the last two years and there has never been a deposit of 800 thousand Thai baht. The "rules" are simply waived for agents who qualify.

 

 

[Chelseafan]

3 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

I think it's 10 years but I stand to be corrected.

 

I know people who have had relatively low balances and the annual bank fees have whittled the balance down to zero and the account closed.

 

Otherwise maybe it's a case of fraud?

I had the same issue. As I am in Thailand I went into the bank and they said account still open. No its not I say. I can't use it. Its still active they replied. At this point I decided to conserve my future breathes and walked out. Just use the missus account now. 

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

2 hours ago, Farmerslife said:

According to their T&Cs they are meant to inform you if they are declaring the account dormant. 

That said, would they have had an updated contact address?

 

3 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

email address?

No, not acceptable. Must be in writing to the account holder's registered address. Standard banking practice worldwide.

[paulsingle]

8 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Just spitballing here, but I recently read verification that Wise can only xfer to 3 banks in excess of 50,000 baht. Maybe Kasikorn can't accept a transfer of this ammount via wise and Wise erroneously reported the account closed?

I only tried to send 5,000 baht just to make sure it was still operating OK. 

[paulsingle]

8 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Quite sure. About 2012 a mate went to Kasikorn with his age old "Thai Farmers Bank" book and his account was not finally terminated. He got his new Kasikorn bank book.

And as you had 10k in the account the annual fee could not have emptied the account.

Thanks for that. I'll take my passbook into the branch when I get there. 

I WON'T use the passbook update machine like I normally did in case it swallows my book. 

[worgeordie]

A bit off topic , my wife went to Kasikorn Bank to deposit 9 K Thb , and they

wanted to see her ID , that's for putting money in the bank  ! , the same day

I put a lot more in Bangkok Bank and they did not ask for ID, 

regards worgeordie

[Chivas]

9 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Bad news. The moral of this story is to keep your  account  active during prolonged  absences perhaps via Internet  banking or app.

Yep and the absolute easiest way (even without depositing) is just use the bill payment facility all the bank apps have and send 25 Baht to your mobile phone account

[david555]

Keep attention also when a planned leaving Thailand for some longer time ,   the valid period of your debit card , or  try to get a new one before leaving Thailand . 

 

Also the above suggestion to credit your Thai mobile phone is an excellent way to keep account(s) alive ..... doesn't need  millions to do that  ...  ????

[Encore]

The same thing happened to me.  I only discovered that my K-Bank account had been closed when a transfer was rejected. 

 

On querying this, K-Bank advised that if the available balance in the account is less than 2,000 baht and the account has no transactions or any movement in 1 year then an inactivity fee of 50 baht per month is deducted until the available balance is 0 baht and then the account is automatically cancelled and closed. 

 

K-Bank also stated that the account cannot be re-instated.

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Encore
Grammar