Are You A Sexpat Or Do You Ride The Backwards Morality Train?

[how241]

I would like to open a safe deposit box at either Kasikorn or Siam bank to hold my passport and condo ownership papers. I already have accounts there. Can anyone share their experiences concerning costs, fees, available locations, safety ? Thank you for your help.

[FarangBuddha]

It might help if people had some information on your location!

Funny you should ask this question, i just went into a spanking new K-bank branch here in Pattaya yesterday and inquired about safe-deposit boxes. They had them available but the daft girl I was speaking to about them kept saying I needed "insurance" to get one. "Insurance" I said, insurance on the contents...buy an insurance product from K-bank...what did she mean. We were never able to clarify what she meant. I asked if I opened an deposit account if I could get a box...free or for a fee, and she went back into her "insurance" speech!

I left the bank totally confused! She did say that the safe-deposit box area was "suay maak maak" as theirs was a new branch, like that would have any bearing on my decision.

Edited January 19, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[how241]

I am looking for a Siam or Kasikorn Bank location in Pattaya, which offers safety deposit boxes for rent. I have a motorbike so almost anywhere in Pattaya would be OK.

Edited January 19, 2011 by how241

[FarangBuddha]

I am looking for a Siam or Kasikorn Bank location in Pattaya, which offers safety deposit boxes for rent. I have a motorbike so almost anywhere in Pattaya would be OK.

The branch I went to was the new one on the west side of Sukhumvit between Central and South Roads (next to the McDonalds).

If you have any luck, please PM or post the details of getting a safe-deposit box there

[djayz]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

[Guest mascot]

I opened a safe deposit box at krungsri bank about 5 years ago and the requirement then was minimum 100,000 in the bank and 500 per year, we still have it. Safe deposit boxes are in demand and hard to get. The insurance may be the minimum account ballance but that is only a guess.

[FarangBuddha]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

[Canada]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

This is Thailand where most people do business in Thai except for a minute minority. Why would you be surprised?

Ever try to have a conversation with a Thai english teacher in english? Better to have it in Thai.....

Safe deposit boxes....no luck finding one in Chiang Mai

Edited January 19, 2011 by Canada

[thrilled]

I had read where there is A high demand for safe deposit boxes.I believe A waiting list.I believe by selling insurance it's just A way for the bank to make more money.

[FarangBuddha]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

This is Thailand where most people do business in Thai except for a minute minority. Why would you be surprised?

I knew someone would pipe-up with that ad-naseum reply and in most cases it is true, I don't expect most Thais to be fluent in English. However, I am surprised that a person I am assuming is a college graduate and working for one of Thailand's biggest banks cannot even form a simple English sentence about what is required to obtain a safe-deposit box at her bank branch. I mean, it's not a discussion of nuclear physics or philosophy, where complicated ideas or abstract concepts need to be conveyed. Only a sentence about a rental fee or making a certain amount of deposit account in the bank need be mentioned., which are everyday concepts, especially in a banking context.

As to my surprise in general, well yes, I do expect better as the Thai government itself is always proclaiming its wiish to improve standards of English profeciency of students, it spends lots of money teaching English in the classroom, and recently almost was about to make English the official second language of Thailand. Thailand also wishes to continue to advance economically and a population, or at least the business/commercial elite, profecient in English is basically a prerequsite for this, as China, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Korea, and many other nations have shown.

[how241]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

This is Thailand where most people do business in Thai except for a minute minority. Why would you be surprised?

I knew someone would pipe-up with that ad-naseum reply and in most cases it is true, I don't expect most Thais to be fluent in English. However, I am surprised that a person I am assuming is a college graduate and working for one of Thailand's biggest banks cannot even form a simple English sentence about what is required to obtain a safe-deposit box at her bank branch. I mean, it's not a discussion of nuclear physics or philosophy, where complicated ideas or abstract concepts need to be conveyed. Only a sentence about a rental fee or making a certain amount of deposit account in the bank need be mentioned., which are everyday concepts, especially in a banking context.

As to my surprise in general, well yes, I do expect better as the Thai government itself is always proclaiming its wiish to improve standards of English profeciency of students, it spends lots of money teaching English in the classroom, and recently almost was about to make English the official second language of Thailand. Thailand also wishes to continue to advance economically and a population, or at least the business/commercial elite, profecient in English is basically a prerequsite for this, as China, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Korea, and many other nations have shown.

Let's get back to the "SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX" question.....Where, in Pattaya, get I rent one at a Bank?

[noodle]

Yes I know...old topic. But no solution.

I inquired at Kbank on Suk in Pattaya and the girl tried to explain something about insurance etc. The upside is that they do have deposit boxes available at that branch.

I went to the Jontiem branch and it was explained thus:

The box rental is peanuts.

But you must have either a minimum of 5,000,000 on 13 month (rolling) term deposit at an effective interest rate of a bit under 3%, or you take out a 15 year term life insurance with yearly contributions for the first 6 years of 220,850. So after 15 years and a total contribution of 1,325,100 during the first 6 years they pay you 1,715,000.

Unless you have something really valuable to keep out of sight neither of these options seems particularly cost effective.

[chiangmaibruce]

Only a sentence about a rental fee or making a certain amount of deposit account in the bank need be mentioned., which are everyday concepts, especially in a banking context.

1. All they would need is a prepared flyer half the size of an A4 sheet with the procedure and FAQ printed on it in English. They tear it off the pad and hand it to you. I have difficulty in fathoming this lack of initiative ... I guess it's what happens in an organisatonal culture where it is seen as appropriate to select bank staff on the basis of their appearance.

2. I have been through this process myself ... another example of the lack of brain-power being applied is the fact that you seemingly can't go into one branch of a bank and have them look up in a database to see which other branches do/don't have spare safe deposit boxes. Instead they will just say you'll have to go and ask at each bank to find out

[letitbe]

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

Tried to open a safe box in mid 2010 at a Bangkok Bank branch in BKK - and they too told me that I would have to pay insurance on the safe box - I can't remember if the yearly premium was Baht 50,000 or Baht 500,000(!!!!).

This "safe insurance" seems to be a new thing. I opened a safe at a Kasikorn Branch just outside Hua Hin in January 2010 - no insurance needed - and the yearly fee is Baht 500.

It's just another form of income for the banks... as far as I can tell, there's no way around this insurance. Alternatively you could buy your own safe (e.g. HomePro) for a couple of thousand Baht and have it installed in your house/condo.

Interesting...so we still don't know what they are talking about

I would guess it's not insurance on the contents (wouldn't say much about what they thought about their own security if that was the case). It can't be the yearly rental fee as nobody would pay such large amounts of money for a safe-deposit box. I would suspect it must be the amount of a savings or checking account deposit.

It is still a bit amazing that even a presumed college graduate, working for one of Thailand's largest banks, can't string together a relatively simple sentence in English regarding the procedure for opening a safe-deposit box at her bank well enough to be understood in that language.

you have not been here long have you. Most graduate staff here cant speak a word of english and are totally useless. To get anywhere you might get some sense from the manager but not always.