Banks

[bubbles]

Hey all;

my friend who is still married but separated; has had her passport taken off her until she pays off her and her ex's loan (ok i guess mortgage) arrears by the bank.

the loan was taken some 8/9 years ago and they are expecting her to pay back 250000 baht back before she can have passport again so i guess they have only paid back a small part.

i know you can have your passport taken if for all kinda things but defaulting on a loan? surely not.

can anyone confirm yes or no whether or not this is true?

thanks

bubbles

[Chaimai]

Hey all;

my friend who is still married but separated; has had her passport taken off her until she pays off her and her ex's loan (ok i guess mortgage) arrears by the bank.

the loan was taken some 8/9 years ago and they are expecting her to pay back 250000 baht back before she can have passport again so i guess they have only paid back a small part.

i know you can have your passport taken if for all kinda things but defaulting on a loan? surely not.

can anyone confirm yes or no whether or not this is true?

thanks

bubbles

Sounds like total bullshit, but anything is possible in Thailand. Is she going anywhere ? I doubt it would be too difficult to get a new passport on the basis that the old one was stolen.

If they had defaulted on a mortgage the bank would take the house back. I think there is more to this story than meets the eye.

Slightly off topic but a colleague who worked in a bank in the UK took the passport off a British olympic athlete - he had defaulted on loans and was way over his OD facility. Commendable action and clearly acting in the interests of the bank. Unfortunately, when "The Sun" newspaper headlined with the story that our best hope for a (shot putt ? can't remember) medal could not go to the olympic games because his bank had confiscated his passport...... the sh1t hit the fan quicker than you could say "perhaps that wasn't such a good idea afterall"

[Norrad]

I don't know about banks taking your passport but I did have a run in with a very unsavoury photo studio. Prices were changed when they noticed I was a "farang" and I had reached my ATM withdrawal limit (I had cashed more than enough for the "Original quote"). They demanded that we give them both our passports and my wifes ID card.

[Ijustwannateach]

Passports are the properties of the issuing countries, as I understand it, and only properly authorised agents of governments can seize them (for example, police or immigration authorities). I very much doubt your bank's employees are authorised in this way.

[petedk]

Why would anyone hand over their passports to a bank or any other business for that matter? Surely a photocopy is enough.

[jayjayjayjay]

The bank in question is playing blackmail. Take them to court over this one, sue them for 5,000,000 baht for distress and settle out of court for the remaining loan amount. They have taken the first illegal step, have your friend take the micky out of them. They have no right (consult with a quality lawyer) to hold your or anyones passport. What happens when this ladies visa expires and she has to tell immigration the bank has her passport. Are they going to provide photocopied pages for immigration to process her visa, I don't think so, are immigration going to accept photocopies, I don't think so!! They are playing hardball, she needs to up the stakes and play hardball back at them.

If she it the guarantor for the loan she has a legal obligation. Most farang are not in a position to be the lendor in Thailand under present regulations, but she might be the guarantor. In this case, if he is not paying, regardless of her present relationship with him, she would have to legally come up with the money.

[TheDon]

Maybe she should of thought about how to repay the loan before she took it out

[cynthialee]

r farangs involved here?

techniclaly bank shouldnt blackmail. but tell people to pay back, not much moneyinvolved, 6000$. farangs got a lot.

Edited August 5, 2008 by cynthialee

[DualCitizen]

If she is a Thai national, she can claim that her passport was lost by going to the police and claiming it as lost and have them fill out a report. Then she can bring that report as proof to the passport office, and have a new passport in about three days. The new passport system is completely computerized and it was super easy for me to get my Thai passport renewed. My girlfriend did not like her old passport picture, and simply got a new one by claiming that she lost her old passport.

Now, if she is not a Thai national, this is a completely different situation

[astral]

If she is a foreign national I suggest she seek advice from her embassy, immediately.

[bubbles]

thanks all,

she is thai and married a fellow thai at 21 when they got the mortgage. there now estranged but still married.

after not paying it back for so long; the house was repossessed and they owe 250k and they both had there passports taken off them.

you guys think the bank wouldnt do this, but would the thai government in anyway, shape or form do this? even under thaksin reign?

thanks again

[Heng]

Doesn't ring true to me. There's no point in taking a local's passport as policy (nevermind that that would be illegal and open up a completely different can of worms) because at least 95% of locals never leave the country. You default, they seize your collateral. If no collateral, they just file it away and wait for you to purchase property in the future and then they sue you and attempt to seize it then. That's SOP.

[Maizefarmer]

Hey all;

my friend who is still married but separated; has had her passport taken off her until she pays off her and her ex's loan (ok i guess mortgage) arrears by the bank.

the loan was taken some 8/9 years ago and they are expecting her to pay back 250000 baht back before she can have passport again so i guess they have only paid back a small part.

i know you can have your passport taken if for all kinda things but defaulting on a loan? surely not.

can anyone confirm yes or no whether or not this is true?

thanks

bubbles

Not on .... some notes regards using both Thai and UK/European passports:

Thai passports: while I do not know the actualy wording, the rule is in principal much the same as it with respect to UK passports (see comments 2 para's down) - it is the property of His Majesty's Government and cannot be used as a garuntee or sureity for business dealings and/or monies owed. Thai's who hand over their passport as a form of security do so on their own back and usualy ignorant of the rules and regs pertaining to the issuance and use of their passport ... and as far as a bank goes, asking for and holding a passport as security!! - well, I'm little suprized - they must know that it is not allowed.

For Europeans on holiday the most common example in Thailand is when renting a car or motorbike. It happens a lot, and most folk don't have a problem with it, but there is no law allowing a creditor to insist holding your passport as a sureity. Of course you may then have to look elsewhere to rent your car or bike, but there are loads of places that will rent without holding your passport (e.g. Hertz .. and most of the international car rental companies in Thailand do not hold your passport as security).

In the case of a UK passport - it is explicitly the property of Her Majesty's Government and if you read the small print rules you will note that you are expressly forbidden from using it as a garuntee or sureity for business or monies. It is a breach of terms under which you are issued a passport - no exceptions - simple as that, case closed. If you do agree to surrender your passport for any reason, not withstanding the fact that you have done something you are not supposed to do in the first place, a creditor cannot withhold it if you request it back. Report it to your embassy - who wil ask you to get a police report, and will then ask the police to retrieve it and return it to you, or as often is the case, they ask the cops to return it to the them (meaning the embassy). The issue is then between you and your embassy, and in the absense of a formal request to withhold it from you, which usualy means criminal proceedings - not civil disputes - they will return it to you - along with some legal advise and a bollocking for breaching the rules related to what you can and cannot use your passport for in the first place. Of course when it comes to passports and embassies, you're on thin ice. They can do as they wish - so best you tread with real care if matters go this far down the line.

Something to keep in mind (tourists and holiday makers): a dispute regards car/bike rental (the usual one - but there are others) and/or your inability to pay damages is actually a civil matter - not a criminal matter, and by its self not something the police or a car/bike renter can hold or arrest you for - and car/bike renters are all to well aware of this. By the same token, they can be very "clever" and what you need to be careful about, is that you do not allow or conduct yourself in any way that lets the matter degenerate into a conflict, placing you at risk of having a criminal complaint made against you - at which point you promptly get nicked. It would be impossible to cover all the variables, legal points and arguments that arise from these situations (e.g. refusal versus inability [to pay for a trashed rented bike]), but these sorts of claims are civil matters - not criminal and not grounds in themselves for detention or holding your passport. Tread carefully if you intend to dispute/refuse a claim - whatever the reason.

[bubbles]

thanks to all; thats what i thought.

i didnt think the Government would seize it. need to ask more questions me thinks.

im not dating her either; she's just a good friend who told me about her troubles, before you start thinking that lol

[mgjackson69]

The bank cannot legally take the passport....however, there is no reason they cannot ask for it, or even bullshit the daft young lady into handing it over. You know the Thais will not challenge anyone with any perceived authority...that includes anyone who works in a bank.

She needs to go back to the bank and ask for the passport. If they refuse to give it back, then she can either peruse legal remedy as some here have suggested...or report it stolen and get a new one.