Can the PEA and PWA utility bills be automatically debited from a bank account or is this too sophisticated for the LOS?

[davidst01]

I find it tedious having to take the water and electric bills to 7/11 to pay each month. 

 

In more civilised countries one can have it automatically deducted from a bank account. Can this be arranged in Thailand or is it too advanced/ too much to ask?

 

I thought I would ask all the esteemed members of this forum first before I actually visited the local companies with my lack of Thai language skills

thanks kindly. 

[HampiK]

I don't know about the PEA, but MEA (Bangkok) this can be done.

 

Not have to think about paying this bill every month. Very easy to setup, so I hope the PEA is very similar to the MEA from Bangkok.

Also check if there is a PEA app, as in there I easily can check the amount used in the last 6 months, and more...

Edited January 10, 2022 by HampiK

[CharlieH]

Yrs, mine (PEA) is debited automatically each mmnth.

 

 

[Halfaboy]

In this respect Thailand is a civilised country. The PEA bill can be automatically deducted from your account without too many hassle. PWA bills I don't know. Never had to pay these to the PWA.

[sungod]

Yes its possible with PEA and PWA, get the form from them, take it to your bank and then return to each. It takes about 45 days to take effect for some reason. (or at lest did when I set it up) so you may have to pay next bill anyway.

 

Or, set it up on your banking app.

[RichardColeman]

Be fair this is a nation so far behind the rest of the world in technology they cannot even run and electronic lottery and have people distributing tickets by push bike. 

[FritsSikkink]

Your attitude is pathetic, ATM's in Thailand have had better functionality than those in the western countries for a long time. Ever heard of mobile banking? Works with a smartphone here for a long time too. My 9 year old knows more about banking than you do (she is half Thai)

Edited January 10, 2022 by FritsSikkink

[GrandPapillon]

jesus, who goes to TESCO or 7/11 pay their utility bills and get charged 10 THB for a 70THB water bill ? ????

 

everything can be done at the bank, automatically

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Be fair this is a nation so far behind the rest of the world in technology they cannot even run and electronic lottery and have people distributing tickets by push bike. 

What do you know about technology to start with?

[ChaiyaTH]

You can simply pay via Internet banking apps by entering your contract number, guess that is on the monthly bill too. I just check around 24th each month by entering the contract number and see the open amount + pay it. Same water and wifi, problem solved ????

[ChaiyaTH]

17 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

jesus, who goes to TESCO or 7/11 pay their utility bills and get charged 10 THB for a 70THB water bill ? ????

 

everything can be done at the bank, automatically

The majority of Thais, as they live on day to day earnings. Thus they also need to pay up to 100% more for baby milk, diapers, groceries etc.

[scubascuba3]

So easy to pay once a month on my phone, takes all of 10 seconds incl login

[NanaSomchai]

PEA and PWA can be paid online without ever setting a foot in a 7-Eleven to pay the bills.

 

However there are a few things you should be aware of; (I'm going to digress quite a bit on this one but you have been warned);

 

A few years ago I rented a house to some unscrupulous people who turned they were bad apples and as they were Thai nationals they thought they'd have the upper hand should we go to court, shortly after they refused to pay the rent, honour their internet/PWA/PEA bills and ultimately refused to move out of the property when they were asked to. I could not evict them by force at the time because as they had a tenancy agreement that would have been considered as trespassing so the only way to force them out of the property was using this trick;

 

As I still had the Thai title deed, the company stamps and was the directory of the Co. Ltd which technically owned the property, this is what I did;

 

Step 1) Walked into a bank I had no previous links/affiliations with, I was not a previous customer of.

Step 2) Open a regular debit account and deposit 1,000 THB in said account.

Step 3) Go to the PWA administration and set debit for the water bills on that brand newly opened account.

Step 4) Let the bank account run out of money/lack of funds/lack of provisions on it, intentionally.

Step 5) Wait for the next automatic bill to default payment.

 

At that point what the PWA administration does is:

 

1) They stop issuing paper bills in the mailbox (so the despicable lessee doesn't even know the PWA counter number nor that a new bill has been issued).

2) They PWA administration turns you off within the next 30 to 40 days of past due bills.

 

Within a month those pesky squatters moved out of my property on their own because let's face it; even if it was "free" rent to them, no matter how "nice" the property is, no one wants to stay in a house that has no running water, no power and therefore no internet/TV/WiFi.

 

Doing that was a cheeky move from my end but it was honestly the safest, no confrontational way, no lawyer fees involved and no need to wait on a court hearing date way to get rid of those malevolent people.

 

The reason why I'm telling you this story is for you to understand that in Thailand, setting a direct debit with either of those administrations can be seen as a legally binding, self protecting, non disclosable agreement, once it's been set-up it's nearly impossible for a third party to break, the involved administration will not reveal any details to a third party despite having a tenancy agreement in their hands, so use wisely.

 

And doing a such thing protects you by law, as the lessee has no ways to prove you did this with malicious intent in mind.

 

In this country it's an eye for an eye and you fight fire with fire.

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by NanaSomchai

[sungod]

7 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

What do you know about technology to start with?

Very little it seems

[superal]

9 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

PEA and PWA can be paid online without ever setting a foot in a 7-Eleven to pay the bills.

 

However there are a few things you should be aware of; (I'm going to digress quite a bit on this one but you have been warned);

 

A few years ago I rented a house to some unscrupulous people who turned they were bad apples and as they were Thai nationals they thought they'd have the upper hand should we go to court, shortly after they refused to pay the rent, honour their internet/PWA/PEA bills and ultimately refused to move out of the property when they were asked to. I could not evict them by force at the time because as they had a tenancy agreement that would have been considered as trespassing so the only way to force them out of the property was using this trick;

 

As I still had the Thai title deed, the company stamps and was the directory of the Co. Ltd which technically owned the property, this is what I did;

 

Step 1) Walked into a bank I had no previous links/affiliations with, I was not a previous customer of.

Step 2) Open a regular debit account and deposit 1,000 THB in said account.

Step 3) Go to the PWA administration and set debit for the water bills on that brand newly opened account.

Step 4) Let the bank account run out of money/lack of funds/lack of provisions on it, intentionally.

Step 5) Wait for the next automatic bill to default payment.

 

At that point what the PWA administration does is:

 

1) They stop issuing paper bills in the mailbox (so the despicable lessee doesn't even know the PWA counter number nor that a new bill has been issued).

2) They PWA administration turns you off within the next 30 to 40 days of past due bills.

 

Within a month those pesky squatters moved out of my property on their own because let's face it; even if it was "free" rent to them, no matter how "nice" the property is, no one wants to stay in a house that has no running water, no power and therefore no internet/TV/WiFi.

 

Doing that was a cheeky move from my end but it was honestly the safest, no confrontational way, no lawyer fees involved and no need to wait on a court hearing date way to get rid of those malevolent people.

 

The reason why I'm telling you this story is for you to understand that in Thailand, setting a direct debit with either of those administrations can be seen as a legally binding, self protecting, non disclosable agreement, once it's been set-up it's nearly impossible for a third party to break, the involved administration will not reveal any details to a third party despite having a tenancy agreement in their hands, so use wisely.

 

And doing a such thing protects you by law, as the lessee has no ways to prove you did this with malicious intent in mind.

 

In this country it's an eye for an eye and you fight fire with fire.

 

Interesting dilemma but I would like to ask you the following . If instead of setting up the new debit accounts for the 3 services , could you have approached the 3 companies and explained the problem and request that they cease providing their services immediately . That would have cut out the 30 or 40 day wait and also stopped the bills , for the waiting period , that I suppose you would have to pay . After all the 3 service contracts are assigned to you , or is there a legal aspect to this  ?

[superal]

18 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Yrs, mine (PEA) is debited automatically each mmnth.

 

 

I do online banking with my UK bank but not with my Bangkok bank as I have heard it is not straightforward nor reliable . Do you have to be able to read Thai or is the app translatable ?

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, superal said:

I do online banking with my UK bank but not with my Bangkok bank as I have heard it is not straightforward nor reliable . Do you have to be able to read Thai or is the app translatable ?

BKB app is in English.

[marcho]

Yes they can. Wifey has if come out of her bank sometimes, before the bin goes in the letterbox 

[dlclark97]

Been doing this for years with Bangkok Bank.  No issues.

[Mbolo]

Both...easy peasy...

[The Hammer2021]

What an ignorant patronising question deliberately phrased as an insult.

Edited January 11, 2022 by The Hammer2021

[sandyf]

19 hours ago, davidst01 said:

In more civilised countries one can have it automatically deducted from a bank account. Can this be arranged in Thailand or is it too advanced/ too much to ask?

I have been paying the PEA for electricity by direct debit since 2010. The only thing out of the ordinary was they insisted it came from a local branch, but I don't think that is still the case.

Edited January 11, 2022 by sandyf

[BWPattaya]

Third world country??

I used to pay bills direct through the bank 20 years ago.  Nowadays it is easy to pay from my armchair via my bank’s mobile app. 

[jayboy]

19 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Be fair this is a nation so far behind the rest of the world in technology they cannot even run and electronic lottery and have people distributing tickets by push bike. 

Personally I find Thai banks to be superior in service and technology compared with my UK bank.

[NanaSomchai]

1 hour ago, superal said:

Interesting dilemma but I would like to ask you the following . If instead of setting up the new debit accounts for the 3 services , could you have approached the 3 companies and explained the problem and request that they cease providing their services immediately . That would have cut out the 30 or 40 day wait and also stopped the bills , for the waiting period , that I suppose you would have to pay . After all the 3 service contracts are assigned to you , or is there a legal aspect to this  ?

Interesting "dilemma" indeed. I believe that after 15 years plus spent in the Kingdom, after witnessing scams, tricky situations, Thais siding with Thais even when the situations are plainly wrong, etc, etc, sometimes the sneaky way is the best way.

 

Going the non confrontational way walking into your regional administration office very casually with a big smile "Can you help me set direct debit on this service?" (plus they see a foreigner so naturally they think you have money) probably works wonders rather than walking in with a grim face "I'm sorry but can you turn my water/electricity/internet off?", that smells problems right off the bat, nobody likes problems.

 

Plus should this go all the way to the court, if a judge starts looking into the case, a case of "I did set-up direct banking to one of my accounts to make it easier to the lessee" as an argument sounds less scrupulous than "I did turn off water/electricity/internet to unease my lessee", so I believe the legal aspect matters.

 

To the Thai courts it's always the intent behind the actions that matters rather than the act itself, proving that you had bad intentions setting up a (failing) direct debit is much harder for the courts to demonstrate than a clear "cut them rascals off!!!", good luck defending your actions in court trying to explain a (Thai) judge you have had good faith but then decided to cut off running water/electricity to a (Thai) family.

 

On the other hand, a permanent service cut-off (due to unpaid bills defaulting payments method) is just that; a permanent service cut-off. Much easier to defend yourself in court and yet has a better effect; because even with a typical residential tenancy agreement or a recent paper slip in their hands, the lessee cannot restore the power/water to the premises, only the one with a legally binding contract with the respective administrations can.

 

Again I'm no lawyer but after years spent in the Kingdom, you eventually get to learn the ropes, sometimes the sneaky way out is the only way out.

 

This is Thailand.

Edited January 11, 2022 by NanaSomchai

[MJCM]

13 minutes ago, jayboy said:

Personally I find Thai banks to be superior in service and technology compared with my UK bank.

I agree, in my home country they just only a couple of months ago introduced Instant Transfers to accounts at a different bank, while this in Thailand has been already possible for years and years!

[Fairynuff]

Yes they’ve been doing for years, but only for sophisticated people.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, NanaSomchai said:

Plus should this go all the way to the court, if a judge starts looking into the case, a case of "I did set-up direct banking to one of my accounts to make it easier to the lessee" as an argument sounds less scrupulous than "I did turn off water/electricity/internet to unease my lessee", so I believe the legal aspect matters.

I did set up an account just for rental income and disbursements, so I could easily track the tax I needed to pay. But then the renters stopped paying the rent, so there was no money left in the account to pay the utils.

Sorry ...............

Edited January 11, 2022 by BritManToo

[NanaSomchai]

Just now, BritManToo said:

I did set up an account just for rental income and disbursements, so I could easily track the tax I needed to pay.

But then the renters stopped paying the rent, so there was no money left in the account to pay the utils.

Sorry ...............

That too works like wonders in court. Thanks for phrasing it differently.

[Eff1n2ret]

10 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

1) They stop issuing paper bills in the mailbox (so the despicable lessee doesn't even know the PWA counter number nor that a new bill has been issued).

Not here, they don't, the meter readers both for PEA and the Water Authority leave slips in the mailbox with the latest reading, the amount due and the payment date. My wife set up direct debits years ago. We no longer get a postal statement, however. Incidentally, two summers ago the missis must have left insufficient in the account to cover a bigger PEA bill than normal, but we weren't cut off, and they then collected the next month's as normal, showing an outstanding balance of the two months. This continued for several months until I nagged her into going in to the office to settle it.