Taking Cash Out Of The UK

[domus]

Hi, anyone had any experiences, or knowledge regarding taking cash, in your hand luggage out of the UK.

I am thinking somewhere in the region of 5000 pounds.

Are questions asked at customs?

Do thai banks readily exchange this amount?

Thanks for any help

rgds

[GuestHouse]

Customs have the right to question you about anything you are taking out of the country - including cash.

Thai banks will be happy to change £5000 for you, but you may need to pay the cash into a local bank account in order to get them to do the whole sum in one go.

[esprit]

Hi, anyone had any experiences, or knowledge regarding taking cash, in your hand luggage out of the UK.

I am thinking somewhere in the region of 5000 pounds.

Are questions asked at customs?

Do thai banks readily exchange this amount?

Thanks for any help

rgds

Such a small amount is not a problem, lets face it, a decent piece of ladies jewelry is worth more than that. From personal experience there has never been any concern expressed or asked when I go through UK immigration with sums in excess of that figure you quote. If you have a Thai bank account no problem either making sterling deposits.

[rgs2001uk]

Customs have the right to question you about anything you are taking out of the country - including cash.

Thai banks will be happy to change £5000 for you, but you may need to pay the cash into a local bank account in order to get them to do the whole sum in one go.

ah guesthouse, if only it were so easy.

a couple of years ago i brought cash from the uk (pounds sterling), went to bangkok bank between sukhumvit soi 8 & soi 10, waited in line for about 20 minutes to pay into my account, eventually get to see clerk, no can do she tells me, why i asked, bank rules, you must go outside and change at money changer, buts thats the money changer from your bank, no problem sir you change to baht and bring back.

can i talk to your supervisor? is she available, she tell you same , why farang no understand, no problem let me talk to her, 2 minutes later, supervisor appears, i explain everything again, what do you want me to do she asks, well you are the line manager make a desicion i replied, farang ba, why not understand. do you want my money or not, i can go elsewhere if you dont want it, not my account not my problem she replied.

you are quite right its not your problem, but in 2 minutes it will be your problem, and by the way can you please spell you surname for me, why you need to know she asks.

well when i have finished talking to you, i will be getting into a taxi, taking the money you are refusing to exchange, plus i will be emptying my account, please give me a minute to fill out a withdrawl slip.

you can see the wheels turning, major loss of face coming up, sorry sir , i have an appointment, no problem let me talk to your boss, but i am the supervisor, yes i know you are a supervisor, let me talk to your supervisor, him no here, no problem can i please talk to his supervosor then. you need to talk to manager, thats not a problem, please make an appointment for me to see him, him busy just now him no have time, thats quite all right i understand, now can you please action this withdrawl for me please.

bank book and withdrawl slip handed over, first clerk, almost wets herself and makes an excuse to go to the toilet, hands book to her manager, why you no tell me you have this money in your account, because you didnt ask, you also told me i would need to go outside and change my money, then come back in and wait in line to pay it into my account.

no problem you can pay in, no need to go outside, you give me money now i do for you.

no thank you, i dont want to pay this cash into my account, i would like to withdraw the money from my account.

why you want to give me problem she asks, i dont want to give you a problem, i just want my money please. if you are unable or unwilling to give me my money, thats not a problem, i can go to your banks headquarters and withdraw it there.

thats exactly what i did, put the money into the hsbc, and never had a problem with this bank or its staff. its no wonder the bangkok bank has such a reputation, i will never recommend it to anyone, i thought the 1997 crisis had sorted out these yes minister type of practices and institutions, it appears not, this bank is the product of a bygone era and typifies everything thats wrong with thailand. tit

[GuestHouse]

^I'd have just gone and changed my money at the money change desk outside.

But then I'm not much of a drama queen.

[chiang mai]

UK Customs introduced sniffer dogs last year to detect those carrying more than £1,000 in cash. If stopped and found to have in excess of that amount you will need to provide documentary proof of the origin of the money. Unless I am mistaken the amount has now been reduced to a paltry £500. I know the foregoing to be true because I was stopped when the sniffer dog started to bark at my carry on and I was carrying slightly under £5,000. Fortunately, the two gentlemen from HMRC were satisfied with the paperwork I had and my explanation but the chat lasted for about 45 minutes.

[Thaicoon]

Three years ago i took 20k to Thailand in my hand luggage, changed 5 gran in the Airport, and paid 15 gran into my SCB Account, no questions asked.

[rgs2001uk]

^I'd have just gone and changed my money at the money change desk outside.

But then I'm not much of a drama queen.

guesthouse

i will take the second remark as tongue in cheek, because you would be going down in my estimation if i thought you were implying i was.

as for your first statement, i tried, the girl didnt have enough to change the pounds into baht, it was she who told me just to go inside and exchange the money.

perhaps you can enlighten me and tell me what i should have done, this is after i explained it to the birds nest like bouffant supervisor, i am always willing to listen to the old china hands.

sometimes i have to pinch myself to make sure i know what century i am in, and i can see from your location you may suffer the same frustrations.

[Ricardo]

UK Customs introduced sniffer dogs last year to detect those carrying more than £1,000 in cash. If stopped and found to have in excess of that amount you will need to provide documentary proof of the origin of the money. Unless I am mistaken the amount has now been reduced to a paltry £500. I know the foregoing to be true because I was stopped when the sniffer dog started to bark at my carry on and I was carrying slightly under £5,000. Fortunately, the two gentlemen from HMRC were satisfied with the paperwork I had and my explanation but the chat lasted for about 45 minutes.

I believe that the current limit is 10,000 Euros, or approx. 6,500 Pounds, sums larger than this are now required to be declared, going-in or leaving the UK, with supporting paperwork as to its source. I was stopped a couple of years ago, carrying cash from a re-paid personal-debt, after the increased-security on hand-luggage spotted it & was required (!) to call them. I can confirm that HMRC seem interested in the source of the money, not just anti-money-laundering, as I had always assumed, but also to check that income-tax & VAT & whatever had all been paid.

Was more-recently on a flight out of Gatwick, where we had 8 uniformed-officers, plus sniffer-dog at the boarding-gate & on the airbridge stopping & questioning boarding passengers about their residency, reasons for travelling, employment & cash being carried etc. Which delayed take-off by 30 minutes so we missed our slot, and the 45-minute scheduled-connection in the Gulf was therefore very tight, I had never seen anything like this before. Very off-putting to the casual traveller, with a few grand in cash, on his way for a month's jollies in the sun.

Meanwhile HMRC sold all their offices a couple of years ago, on a sale-and-leaseback deal, to an offshore tax-haven company, and against the advice of their own in-house experts, but of course nobody got fired for this embarrassing event. One law for the rich, or well-connected, and another for normal citizens.

[LaoPo]

UK Customs introduced sniffer dogs last year to detect those carrying more than £1,000 in cash.

Don't carry more than 999 and the dog won't detect you.

LaoPo