I owed my Thai daughter £1500. Instead of paying her in sterling to her UK bank account, I put 70k THB into her Bangkok bank account. Then realised she has no access to it from the UK. No online banking, no card, no book. My branch of BKK bank just said she'd have to come to Thailand in order to access her account. That's as far as I've got. She's no plans to visit Thailand this year.

 

I thought maybe if she closed her account she'd have to nominate another account to which to transfer the balance. I didn't get as far as asking in my branch if that would be possible. I'll go back tomorrow and ask. She has Thai id and passport. But, has anyone else got themselves into this jam? And found a way out? Stupid me, as I said.

Just transfer it using the likes of Wise?

Bangkok Bank has an office in London. I don't have experience with this bank in such circumstances but in a similar circumstance in another bank it was possible to remotely do the transfer with the help of the branch in the other country.

43 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Bangkok Bank has an office in London. I don't have experience with this bank in such circumstances but in a similar circumstance in another bank it was possible to remotely do the transfer with the help of the branch in the other country.

Maybe. I used to use it years ago to send money out to Thailand. It was in St Mary Axe. Another good suggestion.

transfer it from one account to another.

1 hour ago, it is what it is said:

transfer it from one account to another.

She has no access from abroad

You're stuffed, pay her in £ again if she agrees to pay you the baht back....

 

 

I have a UK bank account.  Pay my Bangkok Bank account and I will pay her (for a suitable  reasonable fee of course). You can trust me. 

16 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Pay my Bangkok Bank account and I will pay her (for a suitable  reasonable fee of course). You can trust me. 

LMAO! You can trust me for a small fee.....

42 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You're stuffed, pay her in £ again if she agrees to pay you the baht back....

 

 

I did transfer £1500 and will have to wait for het to visit me here in due course to get the THB back. Hopefully this year!

The obvious solution is - as I think suggested above - that she go to the BKK Bank office in UK & set up electronic transfers with their help, then does the transfer herself.

They cannot help her at the BKB in the UK.

It is only a commercial outlet.

The money will keep until she gets here

Not sure if the UK office of Bangkok Bank has access to the Retail system, i.e. every day bank Accounts. Use to work for a High-Street Bank, and despite having Offices / Branches across Europe and the Middle East, short of the ATM (i.e. Visa or Mastercard) this was the only way to conduct business not having an International Bank Account in those jurisdictions. Suggest a phone call to 33 St. Mary Axe before making any trip.

Your comment "No online banking, no card, no book.", how will your daughter access the funds on her return to Thailand?

I'm sure people make mistakes and transfer to the wrong bank all the time.

 

Could you contact your own back and ask that they rescind the transition ?  (just a guess, I'm not even sure if this is possible).

 

 

 

1 hour ago, RayWright said:

Not sure if the UK office of Bangkok Bank has access to the Retail system, i.e. every day bank Accounts. Use to work for a High-Street Bank, and despite having Offices / Branches across Europe and the Middle East, short of the ATM (i.e. Visa or Mastercard) this was the only way to conduct business not having an International Bank Account in those jurisdictions. Suggest a phone call to 33 St. Mary Axe before making any trip.

Your comment "No online banking, no card, no book.", how will your daughter access the funds on her return to Thailand?

She'll have to visit the branch in person. 300km from Bangkok. She has Thai id which should match their records. A Thai ID never changes. I think that's the only possible outcome.

 

As for St Mary Axe, I used to visit there, and after I gave them a copy of my tax return certificate, they allowed me to transfer over the usual limit. I got quite friendly with them. So they can do branch to branch transfers.

Use Wise, Western Union or else!

3 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Use Wise, Western Union or else!

You can't. Maybe Dee money but it takes a bit of setting up. KYC etc.

When she visits, have her go to the bank and set up (install) their mobile app so if it ever happens again she can transfer it back using her phone. I do it all the time with my Thai phone.

Buy her a ticket to come over and sort out. Will be cheaper then shelling out the 1500 quid again !!

1 hour ago, mrwebb8825 said:

When she visits, have her go to the bank and set up (install) their mobile app so if it ever happens again she can transfer it back using her phone. I do it all the time with my Thai phone.

Quite agree. I've no idea why she never did this before.

1 hour ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Buy her a ticket to come over and sort out. Will be cheaper then shelling out the 1500 quid again !!

She'll be over one day. It could just be a long wait.

19 minutes ago, bradiston said:

She'll be over one day. It could just be a long wait.

Could she give you power of attorney for a single withdrawal from her account?

7 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Could she give you power of attorney for a single withdrawal from her account?

I've no idea. POA is possible in certain circumstances. The bank is incredibly unforthcoming. I made a final appeal to them today. Just wouldn't go away until they came out with something other than "my die". Yes, I know it was my fault, but they were just incredibly unhelpful. Of course, I got no result. But I couldn't even get their brains into gear. Like, maybe thinking?

 

Learnt in the process the Beach Rd branch is closing, and all of the Soi post office customers have been, or are being, relocated to what they call the Pratamnak branch. Joke. It's nowhere near Pratamnak. It's on 2nd road, the Indian end.

Never forget me of being a “farang stranded abroad” for 10 months from March 2020 No access  to funds until completed a dog and pony show culminated in 15 nights locked in a room for nothing 

On 5/9/2024 at 12:33 AM, Will B Good said:

Just transfer it using the likes of Wise?

How would she transfer funds from her BBL account to her Wise account?

On 5/9/2024 at 12:33 AM, eisfeld said:

Bangkok Bank has an office in London. I don't have experience with this bank in such circumstances but in a similar circumstance in another bank it was possible to remotely do the transfer with the help of the branch in the other country.

BBL does not operate retail banking facilities from it's London office.

On 5/9/2024 at 1:28 AM, it is what it is said:

transfer it from one account to another.

How?

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

BBL does not operate retail banking facilities from it's London office.

 

That is not true, they offer retail remittance services from there. For the OPs case they just have to assist in remote attestation for the Thai office. Some international banks offer this. I don't know if Bangkok Bank specifically does it. Worth a call/visit.

4 hours ago, eisfeld said:

 

That is not true, they offer retail remittance services from there. For the OPs case they just have to assist in remote attestation for the Thai office. Some international banks offer this. I don't know if Bangkok Bank specifically does it. Worth a call/visit.

I used them years ago when purchasing a property in Thailand. My daughter works nearby. She might give it a whirl.

your best bet is probably go to your bank that you sent the original funds from and ask that they reverse the transfer, say your daughter doesn't have access to the account or whatever