Long Struggle to Pay Water Bill

Last time I arranged to have my utility bills automatically drawn from my bank account was about 15 years ago, back home. That took about 30 seconds via Internet Banking. So, naturally, I thought the Thais would have been able to come up with something similar in those 15 years. I was wrong. Here, it took me 3 months, not 30 seconds.

After a lot of research, I came up with the following steps:

1. Go to your local Waterworks office and get an application form. Fill it out.

2. Go to your bank to get the form stamped. Bring your bankbook and the most recent water bill.

3. Go back to the Waterworks department. Bring the stamped form, the water bill, and a copy of the first page in the bankbook.

3b. If you forget to bring a copy of the bankbook, there is a copying service located somewhere in the vicinity of the office, but nobody is able to give you directions. Alternatively, you can try to bribe the staff to make a copy for you.

I was informed that customers of Krung Thai or Kasikorn Bank could have the draw in effect the next month. People who use other large banks like Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, or Bank of Aydhya had to wait three months. I have accounts in many banks here but, of course, not in the two favored ones.

I’m not exaggerating when I say I wasted two full days on this operation. The Waterworks office is located in Naklua, while my bank is on Central Road—where the traffic is at a standstill after 10 a.m. I tried to save time by using a bank branch in Naklua but that was not acceptable. The form had to be stamped at the branch where the account was opened.

I do most of my banking through my old account back home. I haven’t been in any of their branch offices in over ten years. That works fine. Here, I find myself running in and out of banks all the time. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Thai utility companies and banks don’t work for us; we work for them.

(From Thailands Tidende Nett 2012)