Just going through the process of buying a condo in pattaya.

i believe that the correct proceedure is to swift transfer the money for the condo purchase from your uk bank in sterling and its converted when it reaches thailand.

 

problem is stupid nationwide sent it in baht 

not sterling.

is this transfer still acceptable when you show the bank transfer receipt to the land office?

No, it's not. You need to show a Foreign Exchange Transfer form at the land office. To get that form you need to exchange foreign currency, not import baht.

 

On a side note you probably got a poor exchange rate too. People tend not to buy baht outside of Thailand due to the poor rates.

 

You need to see if you can have the transaction reversed, because otherwise it might not be easy getting that much baht back out of Thailand.

 

 

If you didn't explicitly specify that the funds be sent in sterling (with a record of that) I don't think you would have a good case to get it reversed. 

 

Even worse, I don't think the Thai bank will easily allow you to reverse it yourself even taking a big loss in the conversions. Easy in, hard out. 

I believe if the condo cost is only 1million baht I don't need a FET form only a advice note/receipt from my thai bank showing the inward transfer.

does it still matter if some of the funds where transferred from my uk bank as baht not in sterling?

So far I have only transferred 1/3 of the money the rest should be sent properly in sterling not thai baht.

do you think this is still ok for the land office to accept ?

4 hours ago, supersomchai said:

I believe if the condo cost is only 1million baht I don't need a FET form only a advice note/receipt from my thai bank showing the inward transfer.

does it still matter if some of the funds where transferred from my uk bank as baht not in sterling?

So far I have only transferred 1/3 of the money the rest should be sent properly in sterling not thai baht.

do you think this is still ok for the land office to accept ?

 

 

Never heard about this and I bought many 1 million condo...

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, supersomchai said:

I believe if the condo cost is only 1million baht I don't need a FET form only a advice note/receipt from my thai bank showing the inward transfer.

does it still matter if some of the funds where transferred from my uk bank as baht not in sterling?

So far I have only transferred 1/3 of the money the rest should be sent properly in sterling not thai baht.

do you think this is still ok for the land office to accept ?

 

I don't think that's true, you need the FET or its equivalent for the full purchase price, regardless of how much it is.

As mentioned, if you are certain that the bank made the mistake and not you then you should get them to fix it, not least because the rate they applied was probably much worse than the rate you would have got if your Thai bank had made the exchange. However all UK banks I have come across that allow international transfers to be set up online have a very simple selection system regarding the currency to be sent and who pays the fees. So it is much more likely to be user error than bank error.

 

All that said, if you ask your Thai bank nicely they should be able to arrange an exchange to GBP and back to THB which will be enough to satisfy the FET requirements (your bank already knows that the funds came from abroad and can verify this). As this should be a paper-only transaction the cost should be negotiable and minimal. At the very worst you can export the money officially and import it back again which should cost you a maximum of a few percent, again negotiable.

5 hours ago, KittenKong said:

(your bank already knows that the funds came from abroad and can verify this).

 

Not sure a branch would be aware of the source especially if the UK bank used a Thai correspondent bank to shift the baht.

Baht coming from abroad means the bank in Thailand would have no information concerning the currency exchange transaction that took place and there would be no foreign exchange benefit for the bank or Thailand.. Maybe his Thai bank's head office would have some evidence concerning the sourcing but I doubt a branch manager would have that information or be too bothered about tracing it back to UK.

 

If the O/P told his home bank to transfer xx GBP to Thailand then they ought to be willing to back out the transaction and start again. If he told them to transfer xx baht to his account then he's probably stuck. Maybe use that amount for current living expenses and start over with money intended for the condo. If he sent 1/3 of one million baht or roughly Baht 330,000 then that would only amount to a few months living expenses especially if he's furnishing the condo.

 

10 hours ago, supersomchai said:

I believe if the condo cost is only 1million baht I don't need a FET form only a advice note/receipt from my thai bank showing the inward transfer.

does it still matter if some of the funds where transferred from my uk bank as baht not in sterling?

So far I have only transferred 1/3 of the money the rest should be sent properly in sterling not thai baht.

do you think this is still ok for the land office to accept ?

 

As you mentioned, for the foreign currency equivalent of one million baht you will get a bank letter.

 

However I guarantee you the land office will not accept the import of baht. It's not them being fussy, it's actually the law. Several land office employees are not going to break the law for you.

 

You need to talk to your Thai bank and see what they can do for you. They are going to be more flexible than the land office. Either that or import foreign currency and keep this money for expenses.

 

 

Did you go to a branch or do it online?

 

Either way, there will be a copy of the form showing the currency to be sent

 

The online banking copy will be in "My Messages" and the form will reflect EXACTLY what you selected and added to the (compulsory) notes section.

 

If that form shows that you asked for it to be sent in Sterling but they used Baht, then you will have a case against the bank.

52 minutes ago, The Fat Controller said:

Did you go to a branch or do it online?

 

Either way, there will be a copy of the form showing the currency to be sent

 

The online banking copy will be in "My Messages" and the form will reflect EXACTLY what you selected and added to the (compulsory) notes section.

 

If that form shows that you asked for it to be sent in Sterling but they used Baht, then you will have a case against the bank.

and if it is their fault and they refuse to help you can raise a complaint with  The Financial Ombudsman

thanks for all your replies....I did the transfer at the branch and I specifically told them to send it in sterling...so what does speed typing Sharon airhead do...sent it in baht ,but my fault too I didn't notice it on the form ...anyway they said they can recall it for me but I lose the exchange rate difference...not really sure they helping me ...bottom line I lose from the mistake

13 minutes ago, supersomchai said:

thanks for all your replies....I did the transfer at the branch and I specifically told them to send it in sterling...so what does speed typing Sharon airhead do...sent it in baht ,but my fault too I didn't notice it on the form ...anyway they said they can recall it for me but I lose the exchange rate difference...not really sure they helping me ...bottom line I lose from the mistake

As i said before raise a complaint with the UKs The Financial Ombudsman and they can order the bank to pay compensation, i had a problem with Santander two years ago and they paid 200 GBP compensation when the The Financial Ombudsman became involved

On the FX loss you have suffered and on the return of currency if you have evidence it is their fault and your instruction was crystal clear they will have to suffer the FX loss. The ombudsmen will force them if their complaints team don't do. If its your error the best you can hope for is small compensation for stopping you moaning and leaving the bank.

Suggest you get an appointment with the branch manager and ask them to compensate you for the loss and ask for the next SWIFT fee to be paid by NW, if you decide to send it from that account.

 

Go armed with the Sterling TT Rate from your Thai bank for the day the transfer arrived, usually easy to find on their website (pick the most favourable as they can update 3-6 times a day) so you can calculate your loss.

 

Best of luck !

 

It seems that U.K. banks can no longer send funds abroad in sterling.  My bank (Barclays) states you cannot send funds in the currency of your account with them.  It has to be 'bought' in a separate 'deal'.  As you say the rate is much worse.

I have contacted Barclays and am awaiting their reply as of this moment.

Ask land dept 1st?

 

Yes this could be a problem for you. The bank needs to give you a F.E.T. Form (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form) for your Condo Purchase. If they agree to do that now then you are okay. If they do not, which is more than likely, you need to send it back and try again. 

 

The F.E.T is not only important when you buy, but also important when you sell and want to send the money back. So it is best to get it right from the start. 

Just surfed around the main UK banks' sites, seems BARCLAYS are the ONE bank I can find that do not offer STERLING to ASIA, however they do offer it to the USA, so I guess it's their own rules that the Old Guy has been advised about.

 

Every other bank I tried allows ANY currency to ANY country by SWIFT

Basically too late now but a warning for everyone that make explicitly clear to send in sterling Oz, US or other.

The banks (at home) will give you a much worse rate than Thai banks converting here.

As to your purchase of property you should not have a problem,,, until when or if you want to repatriate the funds later

1 hour ago, Old Guy said:

It seems that U.K. banks can no longer send funds abroad in sterling.  My bank (Barclays) states you cannot send funds in the currency of your account with them.  It has to be 'bought' in a separate 'deal'.  As you say the rate is much worse.

I have contacted Barclays and am awaiting their reply as of this moment.

 

This is a Barclays only rule, the other banks will send Sterling anywhere.

20 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

Not sure a branch would be aware of the source especially if the UK bank used a Thai correspondent bank to shift the baht.

Baht coming from abroad means the bank in Thailand would have no information concerning the currency exchange transaction that took place and there would be no foreign exchange benefit for the bank or Thailand.. Maybe his Thai bank's head office would have some evidence concerning the sourcing but I doubt a branch manager would have that information or be too bothered about tracing it back to UK.

 

That could indeed be the case. However the matter should be discussed with the local Thai bank as they alone will know what they can and cant do to resolve the problem (even if they have to phone head office to get an answer to every question, which seems to be very common practice here).

19 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

That could indeed be the case. However the matter should be discussed with the local Thai bank as they alone will know what they can and cant do to resolve the problem (even if they have to phone head office to get an answer to every question, which seems to be very common practice here).

 

Possibly, but the problem/error lies with the sending bank or the customer who arranged the transfer not the Thai bank.

 

I think it's overly optimistic to expect a local manager or his head office to do anything since they simply received the funds sent. Since they apparently did exactly what was expected of them I'm not sure what they could be expected to do about the "mistake" made by the sender. They cannot accept a baht transfer and change it to a foreign exchange transaction since they had no involvement in the exchange from GBP to Baht. In fact the baht transfer was probably made from another Thai bank on instructions from the British bank with whom they have a correspondent arrangement.

 

 

 

Regardless of that I would still talk to the local bank first. It's surprising what they can do if they want to and either way it costs nothing to ask and may save a lot of expense/inconvenience compared with doing it via the originating bank (unless the originating bank was actually at fault, which appears to not be the case).

Nationwide now accept full responsibility and said they will refund all the exchange rate losses I have incurred (nice of them).

problem is the thai bank cant send the funds back (they are sitting in my thai bank now)until I authorize them in writing which I will have to do in person I think ?

So ill have to wait till I go back to Thailand and send the money back to the uk  and get someone to send them back to Thailand while iam there.???

what a headache.

incidently  once this is sorted what should I ask my thai bank for what kind of form to show the land office since a FET form doesn't apply with a cheap condo under

$50,000, should I ask them for a credit note remittance of foreign currency....will they understand what the hell iam talking about or do I need to take a specimen letter note in with me ??if so has anyone got a copy ?

 

On ‎06‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 7:58 PM, KittenKong said:

As mentioned, if you are certain that the bank made the mistake and not you then you should get them to fix it, not least because the rate they applied was probably much worse than the rate you would have got if your Thai bank had made the exchange. However all UK banks I have come across that allow international transfers to be set up online have a very simple selection system regarding the currency to be sent and who pays the fees. So it is much more likely to be user error than bank error.

 

All that said, if you ask your Thai bank nicely they should be able to arrange an exchange to GBP and back to THB which will be enough to satisfy the FET requirements (your bank already knows that the funds came from abroad and can verify this). As this should be a paper-only transaction the cost should be negotiable and minimal. At the very worst you can export the money officially and import it back again which should cost you a maximum of a few percent, again negotiable.

Slightly off topic, but does this mean a Thai bank can issue a FET on US/Foreign cash that is

brought physically into the country ? 

35 minutes ago, Ulic said:

Slightly off topic, but does this mean a Thai bank can issue a FET on US/Foreign cash that is

brought physically into the country ? 

 

Yes, as long as it's declared at Thai customs.

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

 

Yes, as long as it's declared at Thai customs.

 

And not after the fact...

...
incidently  once this is sorted what should I ask my thai bank for what kind of form to show the land office since a FET form doesn't apply with a cheap condo under
$50,000, should I ask them for a credit note remittance of foreign currency....will they understand what the hell iam talking about or do I need to take a specimen letter note in with me ??if so has anyone got a copy ?

Ask the bank for a signed printout of the credit advice or credit receipt. (Different banks call or by different names)

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

Below is an example of a "credit advice / receipt" issued by Kasikorn Bank in 2013.