POST BAG

Well i am sure your all quite aware how this OLD BAG like to write to the POSTBAG at Bangkok post, but for some reason unknown they don't publish me very often. Here is a piece submitted today in relation to an article on credit card debt.

BANGKOK POST 19TH MARCH 2007
I found your article on credit card interest charges most interesting

“People wilting under the burden of credit card debt have set up their own "club" to fight what they say are unfair interest rates charged by non-bank credit firms.”

I would be interested to know if these people had read the agreement and taken any notice of the interest rates before spending, or if like many in the world just ran out with their newly found WEALTH and spent like crazy or were the rates raised after the event?. The interest rates of 28% are equal to those charged by UK credit card companies.
"Department chief Niramol Asawamanee said the BoT had to allow the 28% charge by non-bank creditors because they were usually lax in inspecting the financial records of debtors and could easily end up losing money."
I find the excuse given above by Mr Asawamanee feeble to say the least, it is up to the companies concerned to assess the customers ability to repay and not penalise everyone else for their LAX policies.
I understand that for those that have had little for a long time the sudden ability to gain possessions may be alluring. However I think the blame is with the Thai thinking and FACE, is it good to show your friends you’re doing well, even if it is with the bank or credit card company’s money, and when you cannot pay, to save face shoot yourself and the family, face has come and gone. Shooting yourself does not save face; it just means you don’t have to be around when you loose it.
If such importance was not put on this from a very early age I am sure there would be less of a problem. How many people drive a huge 4x4 not because they need one but because they look like they are successful even if it’s on a 25 year loan?
On the few occasions I have shopped at Tesco’s, I prefer to give my money to the local economy and I want them to survive not just a few multi nationals, I have seen few Thai’s pay cash for their purchases no matter how small, and I am sure they base their success on this factor.
Did Mr Thaksin have any hand in encouraging this kind of spending to make his economy look stronger?
Gareth Chiang Mai