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

[56sav]

Greetings all,

I spent around 6 months living in Chiang Mai last year. While I was there I signed up for 3BB's home internet service with a one year contract. When I signed the contract they photocopied my passport since I did not have Thai identification.

A few months after I signed for the service, I got sick and abruptly had to return home to America. I didn't get a chance to talk to my landlady, but I left behind for her the entire 7,000 baht deposit from my apartment. Since I left the place clean and undamaged I'm assuming she used some of it to pay the 5,000 baht cancellation fee as she knew about the service, but I don't know for sure. Neither the landlady or anyone @ 3BB speak good English so it may be tough to call and ask them.

I am returning next month and have a non-refundable ticket. Is there any chance I'd be denied entry because of this unpaid bill? I'd really hate to get there and get rejected because of it.

Any advice you could offer would be most appreciated!

Cheers,

Ben

[transam]

3BB do have staff on their help desk that speak English. You can also download your monthly bill on the Net. It shows all received payments and debts. Perhaps send copy with payment to them from USA.

[PattayaParent]

Very unlikely you'll be refused entry for an unpaid bill.

[Soutpeel]

highly unlikely you will be denied entry, however once in country they could chase you for the bill if they know where you are, do what "transam" has suggested and everything will be cleared up

[56sav]

Thanks for the responses guys I really appreciate it! Feel a bit silly asking a question like this but I get nervous before a trip and this will help bring me peace of mind.

Cheers!

[NHJ]

cancellation fee is 1000 baht.

[kuffki]

You have nothing to worry about and do not need to keep paying. This contracts have 0 meaning.

if you stop to pay they will cut off the service, so really you have not used the service. foreigners do not get black listed in Thailand(for some weird reason)

I had disagreement with True few years ago and did not pay the bills. Just the other month i connected to their phone service and was told that True does not black list foreigners.

I also had TOT internet line, which did not work for 3 months after the connection, no bills arrived for 6 months, i was on 1 year contract. Since my Internet did not work for 3 months and despite me calling them everyday, after 3 weeks i simply changed. the bills after 6 months i ignored and nothing happened.

now moved house and got the phone line with TOT with no problem(again foreigners do not get black listed).

I know it sounds like i am a non payer, but its not the case at all. But i refuse to pay for services which i do not receive, and even if you take into account the 1 year contract, usually Internet is down or way to slow every single week and they never credit customers for being without the service.

Edited March 7, 2011 by kuffki

[mkawish]

You have nothing to worry about and do not need to keep paying. This contracts have 0 meaning.

if you stop to pay they will cut off the service, so really you have not used the service. foreigners do not get black listed in Thailand(for some weird reason)

I had disagreement with True few years ago and did not pay the bills. Just the other month i connected to their phone service and was told that True does not black list foreigners.

I also had TOT internet line, which did not work for 3 months after the connection, no bills arrived for 6 months, i was on 1 year contract. Since my Internet did not work for 3 months and despite me calling them everyday, after 3 weeks i simply changed. the bills after 6 months i ignored and nothing happened.

now moved house and got the phone line with TOT with no problem(again foreigners do not get black listed).

I know it sounds like i am a non payer, but its not the case at all. But i refuse to pay for services which i do not receive, and even if you take into account the 1 year contract, usually Internet is down or way to slow every single week and they never credit customers for being without the service.

Check again, your name might already have been posted with the Thai credit bureau....

Why are there so many wise farang congregating in slummy Phuket or Chiengmai.... anyway....? L O L

Edited March 7, 2011 by mkawish

[kuffki]

You have nothing to worry about and do not need to keep paying. This contracts have 0 meaning.

if you stop to pay they will cut off the service, so really you have not used the service. foreigners do not get black listed in Thailand(for some weird reason)

I had disagreement with True few years ago and did not pay the bills. Just the other month i connected to their phone service and was told that True does not black list foreigners.

I also had TOT internet line, which did not work for 3 months after the connection, no bills arrived for 6 months, i was on 1 year contract. Since my Internet did not work for 3 months and despite me calling them everyday, after 3 weeks i simply changed. the bills after 6 months i ignored and nothing happened.

now moved house and got the phone line with TOT with no problem(again foreigners do not get black listed).

I know it sounds like i am a non payer, but its not the case at all. But i refuse to pay for services which i do not receive, and even if you take into account the 1 year contract, usually Internet is down or way to slow every single week and they never credit customers for being without the service.

Check again, your name might already have been posted with the Thai credit bureau....

Why are there so many wise farang congregating in slummy Phuket or Chiengmai.... anyway....? L O L

Please read my post again!

I thought i made it very clear that foreigners do not get black listed in Thailand as advised by 2 company's

and to prove that i had no problem reconnecting with both of them at a later dates.

Common sense would suggest if foreigners can not borrow money and do not have ID cards they can not be added to TCB.

[Soutpeel]

Common sense would suggest if foreigners can not borrow money and do not have ID cards they can not be added to TCB.

Your talking absolute rubbish..I get a letter every year form SCB stating my credit rating, as I have a Thai credit card, and it states that this info is sent to the TCB for inclusion in their data base and when I purchased a new car a few years ago without a Thai co-sign, the fianance company had checked my credit rating through TCB.

So yes there is a credit rating system in place and Yes farangs are on that data base.

True/TOT most likely does not black list farangs as it is not worth chasing them for such small amounts of money, but it does not mean they are not entitled to and if a farang happens to be on the TCB data base they could put a black mark against your name.

[kuffki]

I think we are talking apples and oranges . You must keep in mind that for local credit card you need to provide endless documents including work permit etc etc etc so they have way too much info on you, and also you are given money( sort of speak). In regards to just bill payments they do not have nearly enough Information on you to be placed and as I have already said twice both company's advised me that they do not black list foreigners ! Clearly it's not satisfactory for you, so may be you can ask them yourself.

I have no doubt that when you get local card they will create a file on tcb but again to obtain one, you do need to provide 100s of paperwork and sign I believe 25 times( I lost the account after 14)

Ps. Correct me if I am wrong but work permit ( and you need one along with few year history to obtain card) is as good as local Id , so how could anyone be put on tcb without local Id

[Soutpeel]

I think we are talking apples and oranges . You must keep in mind that for local credit card you need to provide endless documents including work permit etc etc etc so they have way too much info on you, and also you are given money( sort of speak). In regards to just bill payments they do not have nearly enough Information on you to be placed and as I have already said twice both company's advised me that they do not black list foreigners ! Clearly it's not satisfactory for you, so may be you can ask them yourself.

I have no doubt that when you get local card they will create a file on tcb but again to obtain one, you do need to provide 100s of paperwork and sign I believe 25 times( I lost the account after 14)

Ps. Correct me if I am wrong but work permit ( and you need one along with few year history to obtain card) is as good as local Id , so how could anyone be put on tcb without local Id

Just to refresh what you said:

"Common sense would suggest if foreigners can not borrow money and do not have ID cards they can not be added to TCB"

You made a blanket statement as fact.....which has shown not to be true....so nothing to do with apples and oranges.

Again believe you are wrong as regards, "100's of paperwork to sign, 25 signatures etc for a credit card".....If memory serves, I signed 1 document + WP + PP and that was it.

And as regards bill payments companies do have enough information, they will have a copy of your passport (your ID number of sorts) + and address, that's generally all a company needs anywhere in the world to "blacklist" someone.

Even with a Thai work permit, the number that is always referenced is your passport number...not the WP number..!....I have yet in all my years here yet to see a "legal" document reference the WP number other than the WP itself.

I will stand by my comment that some companies will not go after farangs who do not pay small amounts/bills as it will be more hassle than its worth, but this doesnt mean they couldnt blacklist somebody if they chose to.

[kuffki]

I think we are talking apples and oranges . You must keep in mind that for local credit card you need to provide endless documents including work permit etc etc etc so they have way too much info on you, and also you are given money( sort of speak). In regards to just bill payments they do not have nearly enough Information on you to be placed and as I have already said twice both company's advised me that they do not black list foreigners ! Clearly it's not satisfactory for you, so may be you can ask them yourself.

I have no doubt that when you get local card they will create a file on tcb but again to obtain one, you do need to provide 100s of paperwork and sign I believe 25 times( I lost the account after 14)

Ps. Correct me if I am wrong but work permit ( and you need one along with few year history to obtain card) is as good as local Id , so how could anyone be put on tcb without local Id

Just to refresh what you said:

"Common sense would suggest if foreigners can not borrow money and do not have ID cards they can not be added to TCB"

You made a blanket statement as fact.....which has shown not to be true....so nothing to do with apples and oranges.

Again believe you are wrong as regards, "100's of paperwork to sign, 25 signatures etc for a credit card".....If memory serves, I signed 1 document + WP + PP and that was it.

And as regards bill payments companies do have enough information, they will have a copy of your passport (your ID number of sorts) + and address, that's generally all a company needs anywhere in the world to "blacklist" someone.

Even with a Thai work permit, the number that is always referenced is your passport number...not the WP number..!....I have yet in all my years here yet to see a "legal" document reference the WP number other than the WP itself.

I will stand by my comment that some companies will not go after farangs who do not pay small amounts/bills as it will be more hassle than its worth, but this doesnt mean they couldnt blacklist somebody if they chose to.

You are correct i should have made myself more clear, but considering OP's question it did not cross my mind that some foreigners get local credit cards and borrow money.

Anyhow, not sure if you understand or get confused but going after a foreigner for unpaid bills and placing one on TCB is 2 very different things.

Placing someone on TCB is not a hassle but takes few mins and few clicks on computer. So it really is not a cost nor a hassle for a company to do so.

Also in regards to WP, you would also get Social Security ID card, again another form of identification.

I do not know how you managed to get a local credit card just with WP and 1 signature, totally contradicting to my own experience and countless threads of experience even on TV.

It takes 3 signatures just to get post paid sim and a copy of passport, wp, drivers license and sometimes bank book, you managed to get a credit card from the bank with just WP and Passport and 1 signature is pretty amazing.

[theoldgit]

Correct me if I am wrong but work permit ( and you need one along with few year history to obtain card) is as good as local Id , so how could anyone be put on tcb without local Id

I am retired so don't have, and have never had, a Work permit, so no local ID. I have a car loan and a Thai credit card, I get a printout every year from the car finance and the credit card companies advising of the information they have supplied to the Thai Credit Bureau.

[kuffki]

Correct me if I am wrong but work permit ( and you need one along with few year history to obtain card) is as good as local Id , so how could anyone be put on tcb without local Id

I am retired so don't have, and have never had, a Work permit, so no local ID. I have a car loan and a Thai credit card, I get a printout every year from the car finance and the credit card companies advising of the information they have supplied to the Thai Credit Bureau.

May i ask how you managed to get Thai credit card without WP

[Soutpeel]

I do not know how you managed to get a local credit card just with WP and 1 signature, totally contradicting to my own experience and countless threads of experience even on TV.

It takes 3 signatures just to get post paid sim and a copy of passport, wp, drivers license and sometimes bank book, you managed to get a credit card from the bank with just WP and Passport and 1 signature is pretty amazing.

I had my SCB credit card within a couple of weeks of being in country, opened a bank account with them for my salary and they asked if I wanted a credit card, at the time I only had a WP & PP, no driver license or anything else, not even a "proper" home address at the time......

[kuffki]

I do not know how you managed to get a local credit card just with WP and 1 signature, totally contradicting to my own experience and countless threads of experience even on TV.

It takes 3 signatures just to get post paid sim and a copy of passport, wp, drivers license and sometimes bank book, you managed to get a credit card from the bank with just WP and Passport and 1 signature is pretty amazing.

I had my SCB credit card within a couple of weeks of being in country, opened a bank account with them for my salary and they asked if I wanted a credit card, at the time I only had a WP & PP, no driver license or anything else, not even a "proper" home address at the time......

Truly amazing

[theoldgit]

May i ask how you managed to get Thai credit card without WP

I filled in an application form, submitted it, a couple of days later they asked for copies of my last three months bank statements, a couple of weeks after that they couriered my credit card, Amex Platinum, to me.

All really straightforward, work permit was never mentioned.

[kuffki]

May i ask how you managed to get Thai credit card without WP

I filled in an application form, submitted it, a couple of days later they asked for copies of my last three months bank statements, a couple of weeks after that they couriered my credit card, Amex Platinum, to me.

All really straightforward, work permit was never mentioned.

Interesting and i always thought that to get a credit card one needs to show source of income and to get Platinum one needs to show "high" income and a minimum salary. Not sure on Thai salary's but in AU to even qualify for Platinum must be on $65K

[theoldgit]

Interesting and i always thought that to get a credit card one needs to show source of income and to get Platinum one needs to show "high" income and a minimum salary. Not sure on Thai salary's but in AU to even qualify for Platinum must be on $65K

Really don't know about that, my only income is my occupational pension, though that would have shown up on my bank statements. I got mine about 30 months ago, don't know if things have changed since then.

Just to add there is probably no rhyme or reason why they should approve a card for me without too much difficulty and the next person has to jump through hoops.

Edited March 8, 2011 by theoldgit

[Soutpeel]

May i ask how you managed to get Thai credit card without WP

I filled in an application form, submitted it, a couple of days later they asked for copies of my last three months bank statements, a couple of weeks after that they couriered my credit card, Amex Platinum, to me.

All really straightforward, work permit was never mentioned.

I may be splitting hairs here, but my understanding is that an AMEX card is not a credit card , but a charge card, ie you pay the full balance of the card every month and no credit per se is extended.

From a functional point of view AMEX & credit cards operate exactly the same way...ie you can buy some thing and "pay" for it later...but believe the definitions of an AMEX card and a credit card differ somewhat.

[kuffki]

May i ask how you managed to get Thai credit card without WP

I filled in an application form, submitted it, a couple of days later they asked for copies of my last three months bank statements, a couple of weeks after that they couriered my credit card, Amex Platinum, to me.

All really straightforward, work permit was never mentioned.

I may be splitting hairs here, but my understanding is that an AMEX card is not a credit card , but a charge card, ie you pay the full balance of the card every month and no credit per se is extended.

From a functional point of view AMEX & credit cards operate exactly the same way...ie you can buy some thing and "pay" for it later...but believe the definitions of an AMEX card and a credit card differ somewhat.

Amex has both, credit and charge card.

[theoldgit]

I may be splitting hairs here, but my understanding is that an AMEX card is not a credit card , but a charge card, ie you pay the full balance of the card every month and no credit per se is extended.

From a functional point of view AMEX & credit cards operate exactly the same way...ie you can buy some thing and "pay" for it later...but believe the definitions of an AMEX card and a credit card differ somewhat.

As kuffki points out, Amex do credit cards as well charge cards and have done so for years, mine is a credit card with a credit limit.

[Soutpeel]

I may be splitting hairs here, but my understanding is that an AMEX card is not a credit card , but a charge card, ie you pay the full balance of the card every month and no credit per se is extended.

From a functional point of view AMEX & credit cards operate exactly the same way...ie you can buy some thing and "pay" for it later...but believe the definitions of an AMEX card and a credit card differ somewhat.

As kuffki points out, Amex do credit cards as well charge cards and have done so for years, mine is a credit card with a credit limit.

Who said you dont learn something new on TV ?.....been through many years thinking there was only one type of AMEX card....the debit variety...