A topic on this subject was recently closed on the grounds that an illegal activity could not be discussed.

I think that this was a shame because money lending is widespread and many wives/girlfriends (or their families) will be caught up in it.

Some knowledge of experiences may help people to deal with such situations.

I wonder if it possible to hypothesize that such money lenders ARE registered so a reasoned discussion could take place.

Ray

I fear you are unfortunately fighting a losing battle as the rules here say...

16) Not to post about gambling,

Its a shame but it seems to cover any type of communication.

Actually, if you (or spouse) do lend money you can resort to Thai courts to recover the debt if the debtor lapses, whether you have a license to lend or not. My wife was in such a position and took the debtor to court through a solicitor. After a few false promises to repay through the court the court put the debtors' assets up for sale to repay my wife at an interest rate set by the court.

Lending money is a common practice in Thailand and is carried out quite openly with full knowledge of the authorities. It's somewhat like banning the motoring forum because some motorists exceed the speed limit!

Ray

I fear you are unfortunately fighting a losing battle as the rules here say...

16) Not to post about gambling,

Its a shame but it seems to cover any type of communication.

What????

M O N E Y L E N D I N G............slightly different to gambling nah?

Actually, if you (or spouse) do lend money you can resort to Thai courts to recover the debt if the debtor lapses, whether you have a license to lend or not. My wife was in such a position and took the debtor to court through a solicitor. After a few false promises to repay through the court the court put the debtors' assets up for sale to repay my wife at an interest rate set by the court.

Lending money is a common practice in Thailand and is carried out quite openly with full knowledge of the authorities. It's somewhat like banning the motoring forum because some motorists exceed the speed limit!

Thanks for that, it adds a legitimacy to the topic.

I have heard stories of some horrendous rates of interest being charged - 10% p.m. and upwards.

Similarly, I know of someone who successfully lends in their local community at 2% - 4% per month.

I think it is important to know that our spouses/families may be involved with money lenders and we need to be aware of the 'system'. It may be that we can directly help or, possibly introduce alternatives.

Slightly different to pawning gold but I have previously 'bought out' the gold shop and retained the gold until the loan (without interest) was paid back to me. In reality this was achieved by wiping out the debt as a birthday present.

My mate's wife is a professional money lender in Nong Kai. They take papers for cars/motorbikes/condos/houses, and never go to court to repossess them as they already are the owner effectively. Part of the deal is the paperwork is already transferred to her, and then transferred back when settled.

It is illegal to lend money at more than 1.5% p/m in Thailand. Simple workaround is the contract says 1.5% p/m, the rest (normally around 10% p/m) is added to the initial capital in the contract. So rather than borrowing 100k over 1 year (as an example), the contract will say you have borrowed 220k at 1.5% interest! Nice way of compounding and silly amounts of money they make.

My mate's wife is a professional money lender in Nong Kai. They take papers for cars/motorbikes/condos/houses, and never go to court to repossess them as they already are the owner effectively. Part of the deal is the paperwork is already transferred to her, and then transferred back when settled.

It is illegal to lend money at more than 1.5% p/m in Thailand. Simple workaround is the contract says 1.5% p/m, the rest (normally around 10% p/m) is added to the initial capital in the contract. So rather than borrowing 100k over 1 year (as an example), the contract will say you have borrowed 220k at 1.5% interest! Nice way of compounding and silly amounts of money they make.

Does the 1.5 p/m month limit only apply if you aren't licenced since all credit cards charge more than this and I think some bank loans are more than this as well.

BTW a good idea to start this topic again. Even if money lending is illegal it doesn't stop people who may be poor and vulnerable being caught up in it so anything that might help avoid this is welcome. Maybe the original post was stopped with good intention but without realising all the circumstances. I'm sure moderating a forum is more difficult than it might seem.

I have said it before, discussion of an illegal activity not allowed. If you do not understand that rule, please contact:

[email protected]

16) Not to post about gambling, betting, pornography, illegal drugs, fake goods/clothing etc and other activities that are officially illegal in Thailand.

Thaivisa is not your personal domain to interpret the rules as you wish.