Siam Commercial Started charging 50.-- per month on my account without informing

[wailee]

I have held an SCB savings account with passbook and ATM for some years, with a fairly respectable balance. However, for the past few years I've been ensuring that I've got around 500THB in the bank, so that each February, they've sufficient to take their 200.-- THB ATM card fee.

This year, being personally busy and generally outside of Thailand, I've just noticed quite late, that in February they took the 200.-- fee out of the account and then since March, have been removing an additional 50.-- THB with no notification to me whatsoever.

If I had not used Internet banking to check my account this evening, I would not have known and the balance eventually would have become zero. Presumably some sort of minimum balance is required now? Does anyone know what this is? I have never known about this in the past. They did not do this last year when the balance was a similar amount. They did not inform me in the various papers issued with the new account back in 2007.

I can't seem to find any information on SCB's site to say there is a minimum balance needed. Why don't they write to their customers or drop them an e-mail?

I see in the news, there's a current ongoing complaint from a Singaporean customer, a Mr. Tan, who's a frequent traveller to Thailand and has pointed out that Thai banks charge greater fees than Singapore. His letter seems to have received a pithy and worthless response from SCB's customer services dept. I think it's about time clients voiced their dissatisfaction about the relatively high fees which Thai banks charge for small insignificant transactions. Quite simply, they get away with it due to Thailand having a dysfunctional consumer power, to work on their behalf.

Needless to say, my relationnship with SCB will end tomorrow and I shall be writing to express my feelings. I hope others do too. I opened an account at Kasikorn recently and found them to be very foreigner-friendly. I recall when I was opening my SCB account years and years ago, the reception I received was very unhelpful. That said, I think the way the Thai banks operate here is based on the fact that they have little overseas competitiion to contend with and can therefore be run like wasteful and inefficient organisations, making money from customers who care not to complain, instead of building useful and effectiving banking services which benefit both the customer and the bank. I urge anyone else keeping minimal balances to check their accounts too.

[Soutpeel]

_{THB 50.--/m = $1.61/m....}

_{Rest assured there will be T&C's within the bank doucmentation which allow them to do this, which also rest assured you signed when you opened the account, therefore they are not obligated to inform you about something you have already agreed to.}

_{Thailands bank fee's in the scheme of things are not high in comparision with a lot of countries.}

_{high fees which Thai banks charge for small insignificant transactions...in this statement you have already answered the point of your whole post....whether for THB 1 or THB 1.millon transaction the administrative costs are the same for the bank, therefore they penalise people for doing small insignificant transations, as the admin cost is most likely higher than the transaction value.}

_{Let me give you some comparaitive costing related to Singapore...I hold an account there and if my miniumum balance falls below the specified minimum I incur an monthly cost of S$ 25.0/m and this T&C is spelt out in the documnetation I signed when I opened the account}

Edited July 18, 2013 by Soutpeel

[dave111223]

with a fairly respectable balance

I would not have known and the balance eventually would have become zero.

These statements seem to contradict each other.

If your balance is low enough that 50 baht per month fees can bring your balance to zero then you are probably below the minimum balance and all Thai bank charge a fee for this (so that they can close out inactive accounts with only a few baht in them)

Generally the balance has to be above 2000-5000 (depending on the bank/account type) or they start charging low balance fees

Edited July 19, 2013 by dave111223

[Pib]

Needless to say, my relationnship with SCB will end tomorrow and I shall be writing to express my feelings. I hope others do too. I opened an account at Kasikorn recently and found them to be very foreigner-friendly.

Well, don't let your account with K-bank drop below 2,000 baht and go inactive like you did with SCB because K-bank will charge you the same 50 baht per month fee until the account hits zero baht. I expect most to all Thai banks do the same...probably the most used expat Thai bank of Bangkok Bank does the same thing. See below cut and paste from the K-bank web site.

You might want to consider setting yourself a new lower limit you will allow your account to reach....like maybe 3,000 baht. That would be enough to cover the annual 200 bath debit card fee without broaching the 2,000 baht minimum account level when associated with account inactivity. Now for those with more pricey debit cards, like say 500-1000 baht per year, usually due to accident insurance being included these folks might want to pick a 5,000 baht level if they plan to leave the account inactive for several years. Generally with most/all Thai banks when an account reaches 2,000 baht with no account activity for a year (i.e., you do not accomplish a transaction such as add money, withdraw money, transfer money, pay a bill, etc.,...a bank initiated fee like the 50 baht account inactivity fee does not count), then the bank starts applying the 50 baht fee/month until it reaches zero and then the account is closed.

With that it mind you might want to consider a lower limit of 5,000 baht (approx. $150) to keep in your account which should cover several years of account inactivity, even with a pricy annual fee debit card, before being drawn down to the 2,000 baht level where Thai banks start applying an inactivity fee after one year.

[John 1]

Wailee,

SCB can do without you if you can't afford to keep a reasonable balance in your account. Maybe you need to have a PIGGEY bank.

[Ticketmaster]

I have a TMB "no fee account." I really like it because I can transfer money between provinces or between banks by ATM or Internet, and there's no fee. However, for this account, if the balance drops below 20,000 baht, there's a 50 baht a month service charge. That's the price of free at TMB (Kind of poetic, isn't it?).

By the way, the OP asked a question and now it looks like a lot of you have him down on the ground kicking him. <deleted>? For the true answer, you ought to go into Siam and ask them. I had forgotten about the 50 fee at TMB and when I saw it posted on my account, I telephoned them (English language staff is a plus, too), and they told me. I now remember it, but never thought the account would go below 20k, so had disregarded it . . .

Edited July 19, 2013 by Ticketmaster

[John 1]

I have a TMB "no fee account." I really like it because I can transfer money between provinces or between banks by ATM or Internet, and there's no fee. However, for this account, if the balance drops below 20,000 baht, there's a 50 baht a month service charge. That's the price of free at TMB (Kind of poetic, isn't it?).

By the way, the OP asked a question and now it looks like a lot of you have him down on the ground kicking him. <deleted>? For the true answer, you ought to go into Siam and ask them. I had forgotten about the 50 fee at TMB and when I saw it posted on my account, I telephoned them (English language staff is a plus, too), and they told me. I now remember it, but never thought the account would go below 20k, so had disregarded it . . .

If you check again the "No fee account" mean's you need 20,000bt in the account then there is no fee to do a transfer. If the balance fall's below 20,000bt they do not charge a monthly fee.

[John 1]

I have a TMB "no fee account." I really like it because I can transfer money between provinces or between banks by ATM or Internet, and there's no fee. However, for this account, if the balance drops below 20,000 baht, there's a 50 baht a month service charge. That's the price of free at TMB (Kind of poetic, isn't it?).

By the way, the OP asked a question and now it looks like a lot of you have him down on the ground kicking him. <deleted>? For the true answer, you ought to go into Siam and ask them. I had forgotten about the 50 fee at TMB and when I saw it posted on my account, I telephoned them (English language staff is a plus, too), and they told me. I now remember it, but never thought the account would go below 20k, so had disregarded it . . .

If you check again the "No fee account" mean's you need 20,000bt in the account then there is no fee to do a transfer. If the balance fall's below 20,000bt they do not charge a monthly fee.

[John 1]

I have a TMB "no fee account." I really like it because I can transfer money between provinces or between banks by ATM or Internet, and there's no fee. However, for this account, if the balance drops below 20,000 baht, there's a 50 baht a month service charge. That's the price of free at TMB (Kind of poetic, isn't it?).

By the way, the OP asked a question and now it looks like a lot of you have him down on the ground kicking him. <deleted>? For the true answer, you ought to go into Siam and ask them. I had forgotten about the 50 fee at TMB and when I saw it posted on my account, I telephoned them (English language staff is a plus, too), and they told me. I now remember it, but never thought the account would go below 20k, so had disregarded it . . .

If you check again the "No fee account" mean's you need 20,000bt in the account then there is no fee to do a transfer. If the balance fall's below 20,000bt they do not charge a monthly fee.

[Tomtomtom69]

with a fairly respectable balance

I would not have known and the balance eventually would have become zero.

These statements seem to contradict each other.

If your balance is low enough that 50 baht per month fees can bring your balance to zero then you are probably below the minimum balance and all Thai bank charge a fee for this (so that they can close out inactive accounts with only a few baht in them)

Generally the balance has to be above 2000-5000 (depending on the bank/account type) or they start charging low balance fees

Bangkok Bank does not do this - not as far as I'm aware anyway. My account normally has a respectable balance, but when I am overseas for an extended period or when I get paid into another account, my Bangkok Bank account sits fairly empty. I know that it is standard practice in many other countries to charge account keeping fees if either the account holder's balance is below a certain threshold OR if a minimum monthly amount is not deposited by the end of the calendar month, each month. The latter practice is common in Australia, the former in Switzerland (these are two countries where I am familiar with banking practices as I have accounts in both countries).

[isawasnake]

You shall be "writing to express your feelings", but you will see nothing a happening.

The way I see it, Thai banks have their base customers - the Thais. If and when their actual customers start to complain, they will do something. Until then, they will just treat complaints like they are dust in the wind. So, don't waste too much of your precious time.

[dave111223]

Bangkok Bank does not do this - not as far as I'm aware anyway.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/WebServices/HelpCenter/Pages/FeeTable.aspx

If a savings account has been inactive for more than one year and the account balance is less than 2,000Bt. (Please note: When the balance is at zero, your account will be automatically closed)

50Bt

If a savings account is automatically transferring funds into a current account, but has a balance of less than 10,000Bt

50Bt

If the monthly current account balance is less than 1,000Bt

100Bt

[Pib]

^^^^^Beat me to it. Also at the Bangkok Bank webpage regarding Accounts Frequency Asked Questions, Q&A 13 states the following regarding savings and current (checking) accounts:

13. Are there any account maintenance fees?
If your savings account balance is less than 2,000Bt and if the account has been non-active for more than one year, 50Bt will be deducted from your account each month. When the balance is at zero, your account will be automatically closed without prior notice.

If the monthly current account balance is less than 1,000Bt, you will be charged 100Bt per month, excluding any overdraft charges.

Whether it's easy to find certain policy/fee info on Thai bank websites (or maybe it's not even on their website), it seem this rule of when your regular savings account drops below Bt2,000 and has been inactive for a year then the Bt50/month fee starts kicking in until the account hits zero...and then it's closed. And no, I don't expect any of the banks are going to send you an email, SMS, or letter alerting you that your account is below a certain limit/has been identified as inactive, a fee will now be charged, and the account could be closed.

Thai banks vary greatly in the quality/detail of info, English and Thai language, on their websites with Bangkok Bank appearing to have the greatest quality/level of detail from my review of various Thai bank websites. Heck, the Bangkok Bank website is a good website to get info about Thai bank policies/fees in general due to the level of detail/quality on their English & Thai pages and since most/all Thai banks seem to vary very little in their policies and fees because they are all marching to the beat of Thai banking laws and Bank of Thailand banking regulations...combine that with not a great amount of serious competition among Thai banks IMHO and what you end up with is a banking system that has very similar policies and fees from bank to bank.

[drbeach]

On 7/19/2013 at 8:03 AM, dave111223 said:

 

These statements seem to contradict each other.

If your balance is low enough that 50 baht per month fees can bring your balance to zero then you are probably below the minimum balance and all Thai bank charge a fee for this (so that they can close out inactive accounts with only a few baht in them)

Generally the balance has to be above 2000-5000 (depending on the bank/account type) or they start charging low balance fees

I think it's a balance of below 1000-2000 Baht with no transaction made in the past 12 months. That's off the top of my head from something I read on the Bangkok Bank website. SCB is probably similar. Make sure to use your account at least once every 6 months - can be just a simple withdrawal or deposit.

[treetops]

16 hours ago, drbeach said:

I think it's a balance of below 1000-2000 Baht with no transaction made in the past 12 months. That's off the top of my head from something I read on the Bangkok Bank website. SCB is probably similar. Make sure to use your account at least once every 6 months - can be just a simple withdrawal or deposit.

Things may have changed in the 7 years since the post you quoted was made.

[digbeth]

on some of my older accounts bank books when I went and had it updated to a new book, Bangkok bank stamped some text in the front page in Thai about the inactive account rule, so it must have been a recent rule change hence they feel a  need to inform customers about it.

 

I've had some accounts at zero balance for months and there's no charge, just make sure to transfer small amount in and move it around so it's not considered 'inactive' you can keep 1-5 baht in your accounts and use internet banking to move it around every 4-5 months