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Enforcement Of Thai Debts On My Way Out?


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Posted (edited)

funfon , having just seen your post of a few days ago in the topic , giving bonuses to household staff ,

you say you give your servents 2 months bonus every years , but you cant pay your rent ,

some thing just does,nt add up , maybe its the bullxxxx ..............

Edited by metisdead
  • Like 2
Posted

It's a bizarre day indeed when I find myself agreeing with Beetlejuice, but that time has come. The OP has been able to remain in Thailand for the last 12 months, presumably finding money for everything but the rent ?? How many here would try to leave a hotel without paying the bill ?

funfon, if this is a windup, you have a bloody perverse sense of humor. I'm particularly stunned that you would bring this to a board that you know (courtesy of roughly 50-posts-per-day) is extremely judgemental, particularly of Farang who add to the negative image many Thai people already have of foreigners. It would seem that you found one of the few genuinely trusting souls in LOS and rewarded her for her trust by spending your remaining funds on everything bar the rent - extremely poor form, IMO.

I expect that there is a failed business or somesuch in there somewhere, and some sort of heroic 'I did everything I could to salvage my life in Thailand', but you pay your freaking rent before you do anything each month, Amigo. Those of us who have to put up with the weekend warrior tag - not to mention the bloody depressing taxi ride back to Swampy - cop plenty from expats : to come here and read this kind of bleating ('ooh, will they try to stop me fleeing the country ?') just turns my stomach. Man up, <deleted>, and dont post another word until you've repaid every Satang. I'm all for people digging themselves out of holes, but I'd prefer to hear about it AFTER you've extricated yourself from said hole - if they throw you in the monkey house, I doubt that too many here will shed a tear.

jesus i to find myself agreeing with mr.w.you have done a lot of criticising of tv members in your short time with us,so knowing what can happen to anyone farang or thai if they do a runner when owing money to a thai someone will have to pay wether you like it or not[more than likely you wont like it] if you do manage to get out of the country unscathed you better not come back.you say you will pay every satang back well dont forget to add the interest,just wonder how many more do you owe money to.people like you make me angry you get married knowing full well it cant last and bring children into this world i just hope your x-wf.finds someone she can trust.so have a good journey home and dont come back.sorry i am being so harsh but you deserve it.

  • Like 1
Posted

Not personal experience but there was the recent case of the gay couple and the landlord that forced them to stay here for 4 years,during appeal after appeal over some allegedly broken furniture.

I think the reality here is you have to put yourself in your landlady's shoes and ask how you'd feel if a tenant owing 12 months rent told you that they were off to their home country...but they promised they'd pay you back some time in the unspecified future?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions and I think your best bet (and you must know this) is just to disappear in the middle of the night with whatever you can carry.Otherwise you may find that the smiles disappear very quickly and you may find yourself in a whole heap of trouble!

If you're planning to pay off the landlady anyway what difference does it make how you leave?Do yourself a favour and do it extremely covertly,anything else would just be foolish and naive in the extreme!

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The problem is she's good friends with all the neighbors, so I think the best I can do is get the amount of stuff out I'm heading home with without attracting their attention.

The rest is a very solid moving lorry's worth of stuff, more than you could pack into three regular song taews.

So if I start moving all that stuff out without having discussed the issue with her she'll obviously think I'm trying to do a real runner on her and make it more likely that she'll take that kind of drastic action.

Basically my plan is to do as you say but contact her before she knows what's going on, let her know of my intentions, and then if she's going to try to take drastic action anyway - which as I said I honestly think is very unlikely, as evidenced by the fact that she's cut me that kind of slack - nearly 14 months at this point over the last three years, never mentioning interest etc!

If she is going to try, I've basically already done the runner, but it will still take another few weeks to get one of my child's passports issued, have to transfer the ex-wife's visas etc, will be camping out at various family and friends couches for the time between vacating the house and actually being able to leave the country.

Hence my very specific key question as to specific practicalities . . .

If anyone can point to the thread about the gay couple, maybe that discusses the actual police/court/border mechanics of how they were prevented from leaving the country.

One year’s back rent to my landlord is owed? This lady is either extremely stupid or a saint. Unusually patient must be the under statement of the century.

If you knew you had severe financial problems over a year ago, you should have taken the appropriate action at the time and not left the situation until it reached this level. Do you really believe that people will sympathize and want to advise you on how to hoodwink this kind, generous lady? Out of interest, how much do you actually owe this unfortunate lady? Must be literally in the thousands. Renting a home that you could not afford. Not only is she out your one year`s rent, but also another year`s rent if she had rented to a proper paying tenant in the first place.

You are typical as one of my main reasons that I try to avoid other expats here. A sneak and irresponsible. If you had been my tenant, your ar-e and junk would have been out the door months ago.

Why should your problems become this nice lady’s problems? If I personally knew this lady, I would grass you up with no hesitation.

Here is an answer to your question:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/628326-british-man-trapped-in-thailand-for-four-years-is-back-home/?hl=landlord

I sincerely hope that you get pulled in before boarding the plane and making your escape route and there is a strong chance that you will.

Perhaps we maybe reading about you in the news clippings section next week?

BTW: running away from a debt with intent, is a criminal act.

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I hope my post made it clear that I will pay off the debt in full as soon as I can. The landlord may be "stupid" in your view from a strictly business POV, but we have established a good relationship of trust over the years, she visited us when the kids were born and has been watching them grow up over the years and I would much rather credit her with kindness and patience rather than insulting her. I guess by your expression of wishes for harm to befall me and my family, whether well deserved or not, you and your "likers" have self-identified as to where you stand wrt to those human virtues, I guess no further comment is required from me on that.

Thanks much for the link though, which led to a total of three threads and four outside articles, all of which I've read in full.

Posted

Considering all she needs to do is notify the BiB that you are a slacker and may try to leave the country, they only need to put a passport hold on you and you are off to jail when you try to leave. Depends completely on how fast they can notify Immigration. You signed a lease and she has all the information she needs. Ask the question. "do you want to visit a Thai Jail as a permanent resident?" You are taking advantage of a very trusting Lady. I would have kicked you out by now.

I'd suggest you find a way to get the money and pay her off before you leave. Be it credit card or friends and family.

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Thanks for the constructive advice.

Believe me I've done all the mass-market campaigning among family and friends they can stand, and the pledges I've received so far are enough for the airfares, paying off utilities, passport and visa fees and bare-bone living expenses while waiting for those to come through, probably six to eight weeks. Trying to exit before then isn't an option.

I can probably give her another 2-3 months out of the 14, obviously would be better if I didn't incur further rent there, am trying to get out by the end of this lease-month. If I'm blocked from leaving the country will probably have to send the kids to the ex-in-laws dirt shack in the rice fields as opposed to getting them into a good government school back in farangland.

Haven't had a credit card for 15 years now. . .

Posted

Could be possible and also, if the landlady does not live on or near the premises, the OP could just do a runner without her noticing and by the time she actually does visit, he is long gone.

He did say that that the landlady knows all the neighbors in that area and he is afraid that they may get wind of what he`s up to. Even if he does manage to do the rotten deed and go abroad, there will probably be an arrest warrant waiting for him if he returns to Thailand.

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My thanks to you are proportionate to the degree your answers are intended to be helpful.

Note that wrt to morality as opposed to perception and "the law", leaving the country isn't actually "rotten", as that is what is going to enable me to actually pay the debt off, it is actually much more constructive and in the landlord's interest than remaining here limping along month to month without being able to make a serious dent in the backlog.

Since it will take some time before I'm able to do so, I'm hoping to use that time to pack and dispose of my stuff in an orderly manner, just disappearing at this point would be much more likely to trigger the border stop than would approaching her to negotiate in good faith once I've got my little bit of critical stuff out of the house and am staying at locations unknown.

Posted

Run forest Run .... Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

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I just hate to destroy the goodwill and trust I've built up over the years with the lady, she's been very patient and kind, as are most Thais IMO.

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A Thai landlady that let you slide for 14 months on your rent?

Nice try, but I'm not biting on this fairy tale.

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Well you'd be wrong. I supposed like many here you've built up an overly-generalized negative opinion of the whole population extrapolated from the very small sampling with whom you've been associating, perhaps mixing with the the wrong sorts, living in areas where they are greatly concentrated. . .

If it were in my interest to convince you of the truth of everything I've said (have ever posted here) I'd be happy to do so, but I can't see how it would be worth the trouble.

But thanks for your concern in any case. . .

  • Like 1
Posted

I thought you had lifetimes experience in Thailand Funfon? Surely as a grown man you can sort your money problems out without asking us?

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Actually I was hoping for some specific information regarding the mechanics and timing of the possible (IMO very unlikely) border stop, which you can see at the bottom of my OP.

If you'd rather not be bothered by my request for information do please refrain from reading the thread any further, I won't mind.

I've been here 14 years now this trip, a very small fraction of my lifetime so far, but have to admit the financial side of my intelligence hasn't improved during my stay.

I'm hoping the reboot back home in more supportive circumstances will help me get some of that back and I'll benefit from lessons learned.

Thanks for your concern.

Posted

Hey, times are tough all over - even for self-made millionaire expats living it up in BKK. How the hell was the guy supposed to pay his rent AND 6-10K worth of Cowboy checkbins every night ? Man, with the explosion in ST rates, I can see how easy it might be to let a few things slide on the home front .......

Priorities are a bitch. wink.png

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It's true when I was averaging over 100K/mo I spent an inordinate percentage on the ladies, but I haven't engaged in the explicit p2p scene for over ten years, and haven't frequented the gogo areas and other barfine places since my first few months here, very low value for money even if you've got tonnes IMO.

And since the birth of my children and subsequent collapse of my financial situation I haven't indulged at all. I have had basically free opportunities, bartering arrangements etc but I've found any discussion of the details of those arrangements result in my inability to communicate here to get advice and information from you fine folks.

Posted

For some mysterious reason I don't think he's that smart. Can't manage his money, doubt if he can manage several passports. And I have to agree...he is a man of mystery.

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Not so much lack of intelligence (of which of course there are many facets), just haven't gone to the trouble or expense of taking up citizenship in an additional country.

Or if you meant doing something illegal, I'd prefer not to do so. And just from a practical POV, given the increasing computerisation in recent decades that's probably getting more and more difficult even in countries like Thailand.

Posted

In these sad days of countries seizing savings in banks and companies declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying creditors, bad debt from private individuals is becoming the norm. The only way to avoid it is to not allow credit. The landlady by allowing debt to accrue must take some responsibility for the loss. Same with anyone Thai or foreigner, if you lend without security, then you must be prepared to accept loss.

This sad situation that Funfon finds himself in can happen to anyone, anywhere, no reason to condemn him.

For those of you who think yourself safe with pensions, savings, investments and employment, please remember, they could all easily disappear with no warning.

Fellow Americans can find all their assets frozen at the drop of a hat these days, by many government agencies, I can't imagine it's much different for other nationalities.

We could all very easily end up in a similar position.

By the way

I don't believe you can be jailed for bad debt in Thailand.

It isn't a jail-able offence in most countries around the world.

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Thanks for your kind words, brave of you in the negative culture cultivated here.

WRT to your last point, my understanding is that debtor's prison is alive and well here, and as hundreds of news stories and threads here have attested, never mind western ideas of rights and justice, even the letter of the Thai law isn't relevant to real life here.

If someone with more power than you (in the case of a kee nok farang that's almost every Thai) wants to stitch you up on whatever pretext they like you can find yourself in a world of hurt no matter what the truth of the situation may be.

I completely realize I'm relying on the kindness and humanity of the Thais around me, and I'm afraid bottom line is that's true for 95% of the foreigners here, the kinds of activities and circle you run in plays a large part but luck of the draw certainly seems to be more of a factor here than it would be back home as well.

Posted

funfon , having just seen your post of a few days ago in the topic , giving bonuses to household staff ,

you say you give your servents 2 months bonus every years , but you cant pay your rent ,

some thing just does,nt add up , maybe its the bullxxxx ..............

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Not sure why you'd think so.

Since I'm a single father of young children, having a nanny to help me take care of my kids isn't an optional expense but required to allow me to work and look for more work.

The "bonuses" in my case aren't discretionary based on my financial condition but part of my contractual agreement with her.

Paying off my debt to her is of higher priority to me than rent from a moral POV since she is supporting three others herself from her wages - basically we're all one family unit over the past four years - and she's very very poor, whereas the landlord is very wealthy, as obviously evidenced by the fact that she was willing to let so many months slide on by over the years without taking harsh action. Plus I have actually needed the nanny's help more than I've needed to remain in that house - in fact the nanny has offered to put us all up in her husband's one-room hovel down the road if needed, but so far haven't had to take her up on that. Finally, the grand total of what I owe her is a very small fraction of what I owe the landlord.

Since I've got an initial sum on its way from my support group, I've been able to at least give her 30K of what I owe her so she can take her tribe back to her home upcountry for the holidays, which is a big load off my mind, I "kreng jai" her mak mak. . .

Does that clear things up for you?

Posted

I was caught leaving Thailand on a business trip without paying company VAT a few years back.

My accountant was at fault as he had no paid the VAT on income above 1.8million baht and had not informed me of my requirements.

Bottom line, I was caught at immigration, taken by Officers to a back room, informed of the issue and told that I cannot leave the country and because it was late at night on a Friday, could not leave the airport. I was in the airport lockup for the weekend. No big deal.

On the Monday it was explained that I was Blacklisted from leaving Thailand, had to deposit 1million baht as guarantee for the VAT and had to wait on an official Government audit to clear everything up. I was allowed to leave on business, but required special permission and documents - that was a hassle, but doable. It took 1 year.

So, I believe that if the landlady has sufficient evidence (contracts) then she could stop you leaving the country until payment of the debt.

My advice would be to settle the debts and not risk the detention and costs that will come with that. She may be all smiles to your face and then straight to the police after you tell her...unless you do it from transit in Korea.

I will not comment on situation...because it would get ugly.

Posted

jesus i to find myself agreeing with mr.w.you have done a lot of criticising of tv members in your short time with us,so knowing what can happen to anyone farang or thai if they do a runner when owing money to a thai someone will have to pay wether you like it or not[more than likely you wont like it] if you do manage to get out of the country unscathed you better not come back.you say you will pay every satang back well dont forget to add the interest,just wonder how many more do you owe money to.people like you make me angry you get married knowing full well it cant last and bring children into this world i just hope your x-wf.finds someone she can trust.so have a good journey home and dont come back.sorry i am being so harsh but you deserve it.

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Thanks for your concern and good wishes for my family.

I hadn't planned to get married nor indeed to have more children - I have a first set from nearly forty years ago, my grandkids with that crop are older than my new ones.

But these things happen, and I chose to do the right thing and married my GF when she got pregnant, since she was terrified of the karma/ghost consequences of getting an abortion even though safe ones are easily and cheaply available here.

In fact the ex-wife has agreed to accompany us back home and look after the kids because she's just as concerned for their welfare as I am. We won't be husband and wife anymore but will do our best to live together in harmony as best we can for their sake.

I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but at least I will be able to look for full-time work paying as well as possible - most likely a 90+ minute commute away from my mum's house - rather than being stuck living at home on handouts having no one to look after the kids, trying to make do on online work-from-home or part-time work only while they're in school.

She has matured a lot over the years and has spent many months since we divorced training in the temples learning meditation, so most likely - I'm hoping - she'll be able to control her tendency toward fits of rage and even occasional violence.

Prayers and blessings from those inclined not just now but in the coming months would be most appreciated.

Posted

OP you are a pathetic specimen, you owe 12 months rent and you are going to run away.

Landlady only has to call the police ,and they contact immigration ,then you are listed on the system as a bad debtor, stopped at the airport !!locked up!!

That is exactly what needs to happen to you, bet youve always got money for beer.

Man up ,pay up , people like you make it bad for other farangs.

Posted

@Dlock

Owing the government money, and owing a private person (or company) money are two entirely different subjects.

Perhaps, but the question was more to do with technology and the ability to stop a person leaving, and my example was to show that it is possible.

...but I have also had experience of a person trying to skip out on a sizeable payment. It took my lawyers only one phone call to get him in the immigration system, and the person was able to confirm that he was. He paid, but it did take 2 weeks before he was removed again. So, I never tested the system fully, but my belief is that it works.

Posted

But.... you've got a transfer coming in but probably delayed by Songkran.... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632463-impact-of-songkran-on-intl-transfer-from-new-york-bkk/

your complaint there is that it is ''Major PITA can't bring the family upcountry''

How about using it to pay your landlady instead? The family can go upcountry when you can afford it.

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I've since been able to borrow the B1500 required to send the kids upcountry, and give the maid some of what I owe her as explained above. Altogether less than 10% of what I owe the landlord. And sending the kids to the ex-in-laws is required not optional giving the situation, no matter how unlikely, I'd rather not take a chance on their standing witness to Dad being dragged off to jail. I'm thinking now they'll have to stay up there until we're ready to leave Thailand.

Amazing that I can picture a fair number of the "community" here taking satisfaction in the "justice" of that scenario, considering perhaps even the suffering of my kids to be well deserved. Hard to imagine but I'm afraid some of you guys are making me realize even that's possible.

OK, on my way to the train station and getting some offline things in order for a while, possibly not getting the chance to check back until tomorrow.

Again, realize it's unlikely some of you will be so kind, but I'd greatly appreciate it if your further discussions could be as limited as possible to constructive advice and information rather than seeking to help me further see the error of my ways, I believe I see that aspect pretty clearly and am doing my best to take care of my responsibilities from now forward best I can and find a way to do right by all concerned.

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

If the landlady hasn't been paying her tax on the rental income (common in Thailand), reporting the unpaid rent to a government agency may not be worth her while. The tax man can ask for back taxes over many years.

She many not have the option of reporting your debt.

Edited by AnotherOneAmerican
Posted

I'm not going to (further) dump on this guy. For his sake, those to whom he is indebted, and especially his children, I hope things all work out. But that voice of sage wisdom we've been reading for the last 30 days and any semblance of credibility is gone.

Posted (edited)

But.... you've got a transfer coming in but probably delayed by Songkran.... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632463-impact-of-songkran-on-intl-transfer-from-new-york-bkk/

your complaint there is that it is ''Major PITA can't bring the family upcountry''

How about using it to pay your landlady instead? The family can go upcountry when you can afford it.

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I've since been able to borrow the B1500 required to send the kids upcountry, and give the maid some of what I owe her as explained above. Altogether less than 10% of what I owe the landlord. And sending the kids to the ex-in-laws is required not optional giving the situation, no matter how unlikely, I'd rather not take a chance on their standing witness to Dad being dragged off to jail. I'm thinking now they'll have to stay up there until we're ready to leave Thailand.

Amazing that I can picture a fair number of the "community" here taking satisfaction in the "justice" of that scenario, considering perhaps even the suffering of my kids to be well deserved. Hard to imagine but I'm afraid some of you guys are making me realize even that's possible.

OK, on my way to the train station and getting some offline things in order for a while, possibly not getting the chance to check back until tomorrow.

Again, realize it's unlikely some of you will be so kind, but I'd greatly appreciate it if your further discussions could be as limited as possible to constructive advice and information rather than seeking to help me further see the error of my ways, I believe I see that aspect pretty clearly and am doing my best to take care of my responsibilities from now forward best I can and find a way to do right by all concerned.

If your own (prolific) posting on this board had been limited to constructive and helpful posts, I expect that you may have received more of the same in kind.

Edited by MrWorldwide
  • Like 1
Posted

If the landlady hasn't been paying her tax on the rental income (common in Thailand), reporting the unpaid rent to a government agency may not be worth her while. The tax man can ask for back taxes over many years.

She many not have the option of reporting your debt.

Great idea, why not just report the benevolent land-lady as a tax evader, and claim that you have been paying the rent all along, but that she refuses to provide a receipt. Hey, maybe you could move out and claim she owed you a big security deposit as well?

Posted

Are there actually any REAL people who ACTUALLY live in Thailand posting to this forum anymore.

A few months back the OP was ripping into me with his financial advice and tips for living here.

What a crock...snoozer can't even pay his rent.

And PLEASE TELL ME if you were behind in your rent...why weren't you working...or seeking work...rather than wasting your time flaming me on this forum?

Just another particle of the farang detritus layer removed from Thailand...good bye...

thats what i am thinking,here he is on his arse no money yet he says he is taking his wf.and kids with him,he also states he has a grown up family from 40yrs ago,how old his he to go back to work,and it dont end there his ex and kids are following as not to break up the family,what will they live on FRESH AIR.

Posted

Are there actually any REAL people who ACTUALLY live in Thailand posting to this forum anymore.

A few months back the OP was ripping into me with his financial advice and tips for living here.

What a crock...snoozer can't even pay his rent.

And PLEASE TELL ME if you were behind in your rent...why weren't you working...or seeking work...rather than wasting your time flaming me on this forum?

Just another particle of the farang detritus layer removed from Thailand...good bye...

thats what i am thinking,here he is on his arse no money yet he says he is taking his wf.and kids with him,he also states he has a grown up family from 40yrs ago,how old his he to go back to work,and it dont end there his ex and kids are following as not to break up the family,what will they live on FRESH AIR.

I think you are being a little unkind.

In Thailand it is very hard for a foreigner to get work legally. In many of your home countries low level work is easily available.

In some of your home countries there are extensive social services to give money to unemployed families with children.

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