After having my electric service terminated once by the electric company for nonpayment because I was out of town for about two months, I have decided to institute automatic payment thru my bank. There is an authorization form whereby the electric company will send a debit notice to my bank and get paid automatically. I don't particularly like this idea but it is better than having the service turned off, a freezer full of food spoiled, and the incredible hassle of getting things turned on again.

Experience anyone? Suggestions?

After having my electric service terminated once by the electric company for nonpayment because I was out of town for about two months, I have decided to institute automatic payment thru my bank. There is an authorization form whereby the electric company will send a debit notice to my bank and get paid automatically. I don't particularly like this idea but it is better than having the service turned off, a freezer full of food spoiled, and the incredible hassle of getting things turned on again.

Experience anyone? Suggestions?

I've been doing this for about a year and a half; and have not had any problems with it. Always paid on time. Always pays the correct amount.

No problems at all, paid by automatic direct debit on my house in Jomtien for seven years and now have the system in place on my new house for over one year. Bit of a pain to set up but worth the effort.

When I came to cancel the old standing order however the bank clerk wanted me to close my account and open a new one one as he was too lazy to search for our instruction. The power company however canceled the instruction so the issue with the bank continuing to pay it did not arise.

I have had both the electricity and the water on automatic bank withdrawal for a couple of years.

Works quite well for me.

After having my electric service terminated once by the electric company for nonpayment because I was out of town for about two months, I have decided to institute automatic payment thru my bank. There is an authorization form whereby the electric company will send a debit notice to my bank and get paid automatically.

Experience anyone? Suggestions?

Once you pick up an authorization form from the electric co, you need to take it to your bank and get it processed and stamped, then they keep one copy and give you a duplicate that you need to take to the electric co in Banglamung.

The direct debit then becomes activated for the following months bill, so its advisable to do this as soon as you have paid your last bill to give enough time for the process to take effect.

we call this a standing order in the uk. i have standing orders on water/elec/phone. pushing 7yrs now . no probs. recommend.

I actually opened a small bank account just for the purpose, to auto pay electric and TOT bills. I did this because I didn't want to tie it to my larger bank account I use for visa extension purposes. Of course, this means always tying up extra money in reserve just for this account, because I wouldn't want to find out how they react to a no funds action. Being a US person, I found out I have to also report this account every year to the US treasury department because the TOTAL of my Thai bank accounts go over 10K USD. Happy happy joy joy. Once i got this set up, it has been a pleasure and totally painless. The only issue is remember to monitor the account every once in a while to make sure its slushy enough.

we call this a standing order in the uk. i have standing orders on water/elec/phone. pushing 7yrs now . no probs. recommend.

I am not being pendantic. There is a big difference between a standing order and a direct debit.

A standing order will pay a set amount on a regular date into another's account.

A direct debit gives another the authority to withdraw money from your account.

Direct debit is necessary for most utillity bills and mortgage payments as the amount differ's from month to month

I always pay my bills thru online banking. But I don't have them set to pay automatically.

I get the mailed bills at home, and then simply use online banking to pay them from my bank accounts on the days/time that I decide...

But then again, I'm rarely gone away from my home for such an extended period as to not know or receive my monthly billing statements from the various providers.

I have been doing the direct payment by bank for 9 years for electric and tot. works great. I think there is a small fee deducted by the bank,seems like 5 or 10 baht, wife takes care of it so not sure of charge.

I have been doing the direct payment by bank for 9 years for electric and tot. works great. I think there is a small fee deducted by the bank,seems like 5 or 10 baht, wife takes care of it so not sure of charge.

My bank - Krung Thai - used to charge 10 baht for the service every month but I see that, since June, they have reduced the fee to 5 baht. First example I've come across of a bank (or anyone else for that matter) halving their charges!

I have been doing the direct payment by bank for 9 years for electric and tot. works great. I think there is a small fee deducted by the bank,seems like 5 or 10 baht, wife takes care of it so not sure of charge.

My bank - Krung Thai - used to charge 10 baht for the service every month but I see that, since June, they have reduced the fee to 5 baht. First example I've come across of a bank (or anyone else for that matter) halving their charges!

I also pay my electric bill via direct debit from my Krung Thai bank account (have been since 2004), and pay no fee at all for the service.

Sophon

I have been doing the direct payment by bank for 9 years for electric and tot. works great. I think there is a small fee deducted by the bank,seems like 5 or 10 baht, wife takes care of it so not sure of charge.

My bank - Krung Thai - used to charge 10 baht for the service every month but I see that, since June, they have reduced the fee to 5 baht. First example I've come across of a bank (or anyone else for that matter) halving their charges!

I also pay my electric bill via direct debit from my Krung Thai bank account (have been since 2004), and pay no fee at all for the service.

Sophon

I'm being robbed!