Down under or Thai? Aussie mum trades Oz for Land of Smiles

[Thailand]

Been a LloydsTSB customer for over 30 years and their service has gone from bad to worse to derisory in the last 2-3 years.

Al I have left with them is a cheque account which I have only kept to receive my pensions later this year.

Just received a letter from them saying that from the 18th April 2011 they will change the name of the account to the Premier International Account for that privilege I will need to keep a balance of 2500 sterling in the account failure to do so will result in a monthly charge of 20 pounds.

I have contacted them to ask if they offer any alternatives to this rip off, no suggestion of any in the letter-take it or leave it.

I guess I will not be alone so will probably use Bangkok Bank in the UK to collect the pension and make a transfer via them to Thailand.

If you have received the same letter their email for "feedback" is //removed// - I have already given them my thoughts.

Edited February 23, 2011 by Tywais
e-mail removed as per forum rules

[SantiSuk]

The UK has a long history of offering free current account banking as a loss leader. I for one am pleased to see it is now coming into line with normal economic practice of charging for a service. Ask your mates from other countries, I'll wager that few if any give free current account banking. £20 is a bit steep though. £10 a month is fair o

if you want to maintain a current account with not much money in it. I would be surprised if Bangkok Bank offer free banking.

There are a number of UK banks that still offer free banking if you put your monthly income cheque into it. Lloyds are not one of them (someone whose money I shepherd had several thou going in a month to his Gold Vantage current account and they still wanted £12 a month). If you have over £1,000 a month then Halifax will give you a free account and £5 a month 'reward' but I'll bet that will not last once they have hooked enough new business.

As always, shop around and vote with your feet - complaining letters are a waste of time to deaf ears at UK retail banks. Bankers are the new estate agents in the hate league! Just remember we need to pay their staff bundles of filthy lucre because it's essential they keep the best people (puke)

PS - I deal with many banks as I look after money for elderly relatives under powers of attorney. They are mostly all truly awful to deal with. Incompetent people and poor systems overburdened by an over-complex set of products designed to hoodwink their customers, but which end up confusing their staff. Lloyds have expensive current accounts but competitive savings products (unlike HSBC and Barclays) and I like Lloyds internet site. If you think Lloyds are bad, you should see Nat West; a class act in terrible.

[paulchiangmai]

Why wouldn't you simply request the U>K> government pensions department to send your pension direct to your bank account here in Thailand. I have been doing this for a few years now without any hassle whatsoever. The U>K> government makes no charge for this, you get the TT rate. Another option available to you is for the U>K> government to post you a sterling cheque, this takes about 10 days to arrive and you then take that cheque in to your bank and again receive the TT rate and no charges. First time doing this they may make you wait for clearance on the cheque but after the first time the money is available on the spot. The cheque can only be paid into your account and not a joint account, you will not get a debit card for use on this account but can always open an internet account and transfer the money to whichever account. I have used both these methods over the past nine years and never had anything go missing or any other problems. Viva the U>K pensions department.

[Thailand]

Why wouldn't you simply request the U>K> government pensions department to send your pension direct to your bank account here in Thailand. I have been doing this for a few years now without any hassle whatsoever. The U>K> government makes no charge for this, you get the TT rate. Another option available to you is for the U>K> government to post you a sterling cheque, this takes about 10 days to arrive and you then take that cheque in to your bank and again receive the TT rate and no charges. First time doing this they may make you wait for clearance on the cheque but after the first time the money is available on the spot. The cheque can only be paid into your account and not a joint account, you will not get a debit card for use on this account but can always open an internet account and transfer the money to whichever account. I have used both these methods over the past nine years and never had anything go missing or any other problems. Viva the U>K pensions department.

I will still be receiving some irregular payments other than pension. Do you have a UK Thai Bank account or simply have your pension alone tt'd (what cost?)

I have Bangkok Bank & Siam Commercial accounts here so I guess I could use their UK branches. Happy to say I have hardly ever had a problem with banks here, they do everything so much better and quicker than UK banks.

[David Barker]

If you think banking in the UK is bad you should try Spain charges are astronomical and anyone who has your name and account number can get their bank to request a payment from your account and if you don't call it back within 15 days you have lost it.

[aurelius]

£20 is a bit steep though. £10 a month is fair o if you want to maintain a current account with not much money in it. I would be surprised if Bangkok Bank offer free banking.

Bangkok Bank current account is free unless the monthly average balance is under 1,000bt in which case there is a charge of 100bt

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Web%20Services/Help%20Center/Pages/Fee%20Table.aspx

[PattayaParent]

You're lucky that the mnimum deposit requirement is only 2,500 Quid.

I left HSBC because they intoduced a monthly fee which was applicable even if you had the minimum balance of 25,000 Quid.

[theoldgit]

How about opening an account with Nationwide International, it can be opened from Thailand though you have to send certified documents, or if you are visiting the UK you can get on of their branches to copy yours docs and send them to the IOM for free.

The basic account only needs an opening deposit of £1, though the rate of interest is next to nothing. Your pension can be paid into your account and it can be transferred electronically to a bank in Thailand at twenty quid a pop.

You can have your pension paid into a Thai bank though they buy Baht in the UK and send that. Not sure what rate they give but I suspect it will be less than competitive, I can tell you that my Civil Service Pension is paid the same way and it costs me in the region of 1.75 Baht in the Pound over what I would get if I transferred Stirling and converted here.

I am in the process of opening the account as I would certainly save money and more so when I reach state retirement age.

Certainly worth a look http://www.nationwideinternational.com/