Bank Refusing To Transfer Funds

[SOTIRIOS]

...........hmmmmm.......

[pumpuy]

All banks in the " Western World " are not to be trusted !

All liars , hypocrits , and only want to profit from you .

Best would be to avoid 'em all , take your money off in cash . If everybody would do this , they would become less arrogant very fast .

Anyway banks in the EU and the US are only living from taxpayer money !

But some Thai banks seem to be ok , only avoid HSBC an Co >>>

Moving to Banking forum

[8OA8]

HSBC pulled out of Thailand a couple of years ago and ever since then it has been a problem sending money from an HSBC account in another country to Thailand. The only solution for a friend of mine with a HSBC account in the UK was to transfer funds to my UK bank account, not HSBC, then I transferred it to a Thai Bank, there is a cost involved but at least it works. Recently I had to ask for a new replacement card, it was delivered to my UK address within three working days and then couriered out to Thailand by Airmail, arrive four days later, no problem.

That is simply not true, a transfer from HSBC UK to a bank in Thailand if reliable, quick, cheap and trouble free and this from someone who makes over a dozen transfers a year between the two. Ditto replacement bank cards, I've been receiving them here directly from HSBC UK for over ten years, never a problem.

How long does it typically take for the card to arrive ? Week, 10 days maybe ? The OP is stating a month

Sorry to say, but maybe never!

I can confirm that my bank in Europe will not send a credit or debit card to Thailand.

My accounts are registered to me at my Thailand address, however Thailand is on their embargoed list for sending cards to.

The initial contact with the bank when I enquire well ahead of expiry date (normally 1+ year's beforehand), no worries we'll post it to your contact address in Thailand, now realising that all is not so simple, I ask them to please recheck if they definitely can. Oh yes no problem to post to you in Thailand. Please recheck. Oops they can now see in their system, sending to Thailand is a big NO.

I have to collect them directly from the bank branch my account is held, or have my address changed to a previous EU address that they can send the card to and I can have it brought out, or sent to me by a friend.

We are talking specically about HSBC in the UK and as "chiang mai" has stated HSBC has been sending him cards in Thailand for the last 10 years, the OP banks with HSBC so would it fair to stay HSBC will send the card to Thailand ?

Yes I can also remember when HSBC used to do all kinds of services, then one day they decided to not allow me to keep an account in a particular part of the world (as I lived in Thailand) and when I didn't advice them of another bank they could transfer my balance to, they transferred it all (emptied and closed the account) to an account I'd had with another bank in Thailand. No explanation to BOT that the funds were perhaps to purchase a Condominium etc, so the funds couldn't easily be used for that purpose. I actually ended up depositing a small percentage into my HSBC account in Bangkok to use for expenses.

I'm mentioning the above, as I've found to my detriment, that many things do change very quickly in the global banking business.

[chiang mai]

I don't understand the problem some guys here have with HSBC, they work just fine for me, perhaps they don't keep enough money in their accounts or perhaps they simply don't have any - not trying to score points here but banking is a business, just like any other where there are good and desirable customers and then there's the rest!

[Pib]

If I read one of the OPs earlier post right he got HSBC to send him $500 via Western Union....I expect that's their limit for such a transfer to protect the account owner and bank from possible fraud due to identity theft. Although they will apparently wire a much larger amount to another HSBC branch were the customer's identity could be better confirmed in person, HSBC don't have branches in Thailand anymore. Water under the bridge now, but never travel with only "one way" of accessing money back in the home country....debit cards can get damaged, lost, stolen, expired, etc., while traveling...great way to get money but don't let it be your only way.

[Sviss Geez]

Given the circumstances described, and limited information, my suggestion given that it is apparently short term, would be to ask family or friends to assist whilst the card arrives. Then when it arrives you can use it to pay them back.

Not ideal, but a possible solution.

I wonder how the new card is being sent. If it were sent by one of the courier services or EMS and this situation has been going on for any length of time, the card should have arrived by now or very soon.

Depending on the country in which the O/P's bank is located and if he had an account at Bangkok Bank (and maybe one of the other larger Thai banks) he could ask/instruct his home bank to do a domestic transfer to Bangkok Bank in NY or London or wherever using his local Thai account number.

Or possibly he could visit an HSBC branch in Thailand for help. If he could present them with his passport to verify his identity, possibly that would help since I assume his bank is worried about potential fraud.

Which HSBC branch in Thailand do you suggest? Maybe he can pick from one of these:

http://hsbc.banklocationmaps.com/thailand

There are none in Thailand now.

Apart from the massive one on Rama 4.

[Sviss Geez]

All banks in the " Western World " are not to be trusted !

All liars , hypocrits , and only want to profit from you .

"...and only want to profit from you "

As is the case with any business, anywhere in the world, without exception.

[chiang mai]

I wonder how the new card is being sent. If it were sent by one of the courier services or EMS and this situation has been going on for any length of time, the card should have arrived by now or very soon.

Depending on the country in which the O/P's bank is located and if he had an account at Bangkok Bank (and maybe one of the other larger Thai banks) he could ask/instruct his home bank to do a domestic transfer to Bangkok Bank in NY or London or wherever using his local Thai account number.

Or possibly he could visit an HSBC branch in Thailand for help. If he could present them with his passport to verify his identity, possibly that would help since I assume his bank is worried about potential fraud.

Which HSBC branch in Thailand do you suggest? Maybe he can pick from one of these:

http://hsbc.banklocationmaps.com/thailand

There are none in Thailand now.

Apart from the massive one on Rama 4.

Which doesn't have anything to do with retail banking.

[sead]

Cant you transfer money nationally to family or friend and ask them to send you?

[Michael8511]

This happened to me for some years ago, also HSBC in U.S. I lost my card and they said they sent a new but did never received it. A friend had to log on my account and do a wire to his account and then send the money to me. I changed to chase when I came home. The HSBC in U.S. Have terrible customer service. Last year when I was here chase had to issue new debit cards due to a hack at Home Depot. I called them told that I was here and they fed ex my new card to Thailand, got it in 3 business days, they have excellent service if something happens. I also learned that it's a good idea to have someone you trust have access to your account in case something happens.

I binned HSBC years ago cos they were crap

I'll second that.

[Michael8511]

Second what. The problem I had was that they said they will send me a emergency replacement card and they failed to do so. That time I didn't have a Thai bank account so I did not want a transfer, just needed a replacement card.

[Soutpeel]

I don't understand the problem some guys here have with HSBC, they work just fine for me, perhaps they don't keep enough money in their accounts or perhaps they simply don't have any - not trying to score points here but banking is a business, just like any other where there are good and desirable customers and then there's the rest!

I had an HSBC Premier account for years and they are crap, or to put it in management speak, i was not satisfied with their customer service

moved over to Citi Gold in Singapore and couldnt be happier with service received, seeing as it appears your trying to have a dig

Edited September 3, 2015 by Soutpeel

[chiang mai]

I don't understand the problem some guys here have with HSBC, they work just fine for me, perhaps they don't keep enough money in their accounts or perhaps they simply don't have any - not trying to score points here but banking is a business, just like any other where there are good and desirable customers and then there's the rest!

I had an HSBC Premier account for years and they are crap, or to put it in management speak, i was not satisfied with their customer service

moved over to Citi Gold in Singapore and couldnt be happier with service received, seeing as it appears your trying to have a dig

Not trying to take a dig, as stated previously. But OK, if a person wants to compare say HSBC Premier, Citi Gold and the other accounts that operate at that level, that's a totally different discussion.

[Spleen]

HSBC Premier account is pretty grim now, they gave me a load of rubbish about they could open account for me anywhere in the world where they had a Branch. I though I would test them out and asked them to open me an account in Singapore. They cannot do it because nearly all banks want proof of address and work permit residency pass. After giving them a good slagging on the "Contact us" messenger on their website my "Personal Banking consultant " called me and told me they could not open the account for me, I asked him why they said they could do it when I got premier account. I opened a DBS account here linked to the post office , internet/phone banking Nets/Credit card. The Nets card you can use for anything, none a that minimum of x amount of dollars rubbish. I would pull my money out of HSBC Malaysia but the ringgit is very low 8.4 from 9.9 baht to the Ringgit and my Interest on time deposits is 3.25%

[Soutpeel]

HSBC Premier account is pretty grim now, they gave me a load of rubbish about they could open account for me anywhere in the world where they had a Branch. I though I would test them out and asked them to open me an account in Singapore. They cannot do it because nearly all banks want proof of address and work permit residency pass. After giving them a good slagging on the "Contact us" messenger on their website my "Personal Banking consultant " called me and told me they could not open the account for me, I asked him why they said they could do it when I got premier account. I opened a DBS account here linked to the post office , internet/phone banking Nets/Credit card. The Nets card you can use for anything, none a that minimum of x amount of dollars rubbish. I would pull my money out of HSBC Malaysia but the ringgit is very low 8.4 from 9.9 baht to the Ringgit and my Interest on time deposits is 3.25%

That thing about a Singapore address/ work pass is a falsehood,

i have neither a Singapore address or work pass and had a Citi gold account opened with an ATM card and internet banking within a few hours

[misterphil]

If someone is living in a foreign country and have to rely on borrowing $500, then there's something seriously wrong and shouldn't be here.

Question 1. Why don't you have a contingency plan? Such as several bank accounts with money in all of them, and several ATM cards?

Question 2. Why don't you have a credit card for emergencies?

Question 3. Are you on holiday or working here?

Question 4. What will you do if you have an accident and have no means to pay for treatment?

[sandyf]

I don't understand the problem some guys here have with HSBC, they work just fine for me, perhaps they don't keep enough money in their accounts or perhaps they simply don't have any - not trying to score points here but banking is a business, just like any other where there are good and desirable customers and then there's the rest!

I use HSBC with no real problem, had transfers come within hours. Only slight problem was last January they sent out a replacement card to my UK mail address and it never turned up. They wouldn't send a replacement, my son had to go and collect it from a branch.

[gk10002000]

assuming the story is real and the OP has a bank account with funds in it, and the account is not locked or had any special limitations on it except for the allegedly won't transfer to Thailand issues, there are several ways to get the funds out of the account.

1: Go To western union online, transfer the money to yourself. Western union to Thailand works very well. I have done it. You give your account details in a minute or two the online form is filled out and submitted and money flows very quickly.

2: If you have friends or relatives that can send you money but maybe can't afford to, then transfer money from your account to their account first and let them transfer money to your account, or let them send you a western union. If you can't transfer money for whatever reason, then send them a check via airmail. They can cash/deposit it and then send you money. A bit round a bout, but doable.

[catman20]

why get in this position ??????? keep enough funds here in case of emergences

Edited September 3, 2015 by catman20

[gemguy]

Yes indeed.......a strange tale indeed.

Normally if you call your bank and talk to a person who recognizes you and or you can prove you are the owner of the account and it is you personally asking for the wire transfer service ( or emails or faxes with code numbers and private pre arranged information to verify and prove that you are the account holder ) then the bank should and or will transfer the money......as long as the amount that you are requesting to be transferred does not exceed the amount in the account.

Possibly you do not have that amount of money in the account and if you are 1 dollar short of the amount and or the added bank service charges ....they will not wire transfer the money......Bank to Bank.

The money first comes to the receiving countries central bank and is usually held for a day or 2 until it is cleared and then further transferred into your existing in country savings account or current account.

Banks will not wire transfer money to Western Union and then request Western Union to further forward the money....at least not that I have ever heard of.

However upon proof and verification you can have your money transferred to another persons account and then they can withdrawal the money and send it to you by way of Western Union....however, after all is said and done with all the foreign exchange rates and the service charges included the amount of money you would receive would be about 450.00 US dollars...probably less

Cheers

[rawhod]

Last year I had what appeared to be an attempted hack on my account in the UK and I was locked out of on-line banking. Only when I phoned them did I find out. They said I needed a replacement pin (number) which they would send to my UK address. I pointed out that my UK address had a tenant and that I was in Thailand, no problem, download the change of address form, change it to my Thailand address and post it to them. All done, I got a letter of confirmation at my Thailand address.

So...phoned them and asked for my new pin.

No problem.

Waited a month and nothing. Phoned them and they said they would re send.

Waited another month and nothing. Phoned the complaint line and discovered that Thailand was on the "unsafe list" and nothing was sent.

had to go through the change of address process over again with my daughters address in the UK and eventually got my new pin...

So...be aware that the people manning the phone lines are not always fully aware of all the rules and conditions.

[Fallangpakwan]

Going back to stories about HSBC when I was so sick of them a few years back, (Singapore branch), and decided to bail out; I had to make many online and phone contacts and each time a different name would get involved with apparently no record of what had previously gone by. I finally jumped up and down and told them to put one only person on my case which they finally did.

[Cheesekraft]

bank funds -> bitcoin -> service, or exchange bitcoin for local currency. cheaper than western union and nobody can refuse a BTC transfer.

[IMA_FARANG]

Some banks refuse to send a new card to anything but an address in your home country.

I had this problem a year or so ago.

I used by brothers U.S (home) address.....and then had them mail it to be by registered U.S. mail.

It worked.

You may still need to activate the new card.

That can be done by giving a pin number by phone to your brother, having him activate the card in a local bank ATM, and then mailing the ATM card to you.

A trusted person can also, as my brother once did, can use your card (knowing your pin) withdraw money from your account with the card and send you funds by Western Union.

Their will be a fee for the Western Union transfer.....which he can pay from the amount he withdraws, and remit you the remainder of the funds.

He will get a code number, and a receipt shoeing the amount sent to you.

Have him phone you and tell you the code number.

Then you can pick up the funds in Thailand with your passport as I.D. and that code number.

My U.S. bank stopped wire transfers to me for about 10 months.

Took me nearly a year to get my money out of their bank.

Long story.

[Fallangpakwan]

All sounds very complicated; I go online to one of my banks in my home country,fill in a form and add an OTP (one time pin) that comes from a "TOKEN" they issued me that ticks over a new number every minute;the results are my funds are in my Thai Bank usually within about 24 hours.

[lopburi3]

But OP does not appear to have had any such access arranged - as said banks normally will require signature of an electronic agreement absolving them of some responsibility if they act according to your instructions - without that on file they will not open themselves to possible later claims of negligence.

Do not believe poster ever said he was in Thailand - he should state his location.