Loss Of Money From Room And Valuables.

[scorpio]

hello,

only a question but i need to know what i can do in the event if i have a loss whilst in thailand. i am in uk at minute but fly out on january. my friends have had valuables and money stole before from rooms whilst on holiday, last time my friend had 2500 gbp stolen from his safe in the room, the culprit even had the decency to leave him 400 pounds ? strange !!! and that was from a very new top class hotel in pattaya they dont even have security cameras which is strange again considering its a year old hotel.

anyway, i am in uk, in event of claim should i take out uk insurance ( anyone know which is best ? ) or thailand companies insurance. also if say i did get my suitcase pinched from airport or hotel is it a lot of hassle etc involving thai police and such. in uk it can be reported at police station and the police will issue a report for the insurance company, is it the same in thailand ?

i called atlas direct uk but they only cover up to £250 per single item, i am bringing about 4000 cash, i do n ot use card in thailand .

any help most appreciated thanks

[Bangkokhatter]

Take out decent UK travel insurance, re-think your stance on credit cards, most have decent insurance , stop worrying so much or you'll never enjoy your holiday. That is a lot of cash to carry around, are travellers cheques not available in the UK anymore ?

If you do suffer the mis-fortune of having stuff stolen just get a local police report and claim back on your travel insurance.

[endure]

You need to buy travel insurance before you leave the UK but I suspect that you won't find any insurer that will insure £4000 cash.

[transam]

Thailand has an ATM virtually on every street corner. Noooooooooooooo need to carry bundles of cash, a couple of cards is enough.

[aussiebrian]

You can get thai bank account easy and if you convert your money into thai baht, you can keep it in there but you don't like cards so no good.. Not sure why you don't like cards.. As suggested travelers cheques sound like an easy option. I have a citibank debit card from Australia, money converted from aussie dollar to thai baht in Thailand, better rate and no fees to take money out on Australian side only fee of 150 baht in Thailand from Thai atm. Most cards have large fees, so check. Maybe you can get something like that in the UK. Never had anything stolen from my ROOM here or any other country, but you can always be unlucky. Must have been an inside job if your friend had something stolen from the safe. More likely as it was Pattaya, may be it was the story he told his wife and everyone but really lost it another way. Still easiest use cards.

[fakename]

I dont think insurance covers cash, since everyone would declare millions were taken. Use the ATM, not the hotel safe. Seems there are many individuals here that know how to get them open.

[endure]

You might want to consider getting a Halifax Clarity credit card. There are no foreign currency fees anywhere in the world and you only pay interest on cash withdrawals during the time that the debt is on your account so if you draw some cash today and make a transfer into your Halifax account a couple of days later you'll pay very little. The interest rate is 12.9% per annum so you'd be paying fractions of a per cent if you had the debt for only a few days.

[bangkokburning]

Bring cash - convert it and open a Thai acct

Never leave valuables in your room

Leave your pp at the desk, reciept if possible - carry photocopies

Cheap mp3 player, buy speakers

Cheap throwaway phone

Use Internet cafe

Pattaya is full of thieves and hotels will offer less than zero help when staff rip you off. Assume everyone is iut to get a piece of you in Pattaya and you will be ahead of the game.

In the end, I guarantee you will never ever ever get your gear back so why leave to chance?

As you well know the dangers already having friends ripped off, dont be stupid.

[JAS21]

Beware using Hotel Safes .. I have a small safe and it has a master password. I have found on several ocassions that the hotel I'm staying in has the same type of safe as mine AND they haven't even bothered to change the master password! I have been tempted to change it for them ... but never have! Best to use the deposit box in reception if you can.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

"i am bringing about 4000 cash, i do n ot use card in thailand"

Insanity, pure and simple.

[TheWalkingMan]

Like another poster said... Open a bank account when you arrive in Pattaya and get the ATM card. No way would I carry around 4k in cash and no way would I leave that amount of money in a hotel safe. That is just asking for trouble.

[transam]

"i am bringing about 4000 cash, i do n ot use card in thailand"

Insanity, pure and simple.

Why.

[endure]

"i am bringing about 4000 cash, i do n ot use card in thailand"

Insanity, pure and simple.

Why.

Because it's a single point of failure. If his cash gets nicked and he has no alternative method of funding he's stuffed.

[puuchai299]

Just bring your cash,open a KASIKORN bank simple savings account,for which you will get a passbook.Then if you don't do cards,just go into the bank and draw out money when you need it.easy and safer..

[jbrain]

Scorpio, I understand from your posting history that you are a long time Pattaya resident.Married with Thai lady, owning a house in Pattaya, having a bank account in Thailand with a few Million baht in it etc., so you know very well how easy it is to use an ATM card from a local bank.

Strange that insist on keeping 4000 Pounds in a hotel safe this time, and want to insure it because you're afraid they gonne steal it. Not?

[bangkokburning]

Consider anything placed in a safe is the same as just giving it away. Yeah, Im that cynical. In fact, hiding something in your room with safe is better. Safe is diversion.