Loan / Borrow legal documents?

[3legdog]

Is there a legal document in Thailand that I can present to a court to prove money has been loaned to a Thai person who agreed to pay it back? Do foreigners have rights in these matters?

Just a precaution to ensure I will not get screwed over, and the borrowing party also should know that they are legally obliged to pay the money back.

[fishy]

3legdog... Seeing you are a Newbie with 3 posts...and welcome to Burriram expats may I add...Maybe I am not answering your question but to me It sounds like you need to take your Rose colored Glasses off and do some thinking about what you are doing.... I am not a Lawyer but to guarantee a loan you need the person wanting money to put an asset up front so that if they do not repay you have claim over the asset if they default... You should have a solicitor draw up a contract...

[Wayne from Aus]

NEVER lend money  EVER EVER
Never pay for any services in advance (building, plumbing etc)

[Starman]

3legdog... Seeing you are a Newbie with 3 posts...and welcome to Burriram expats may I add...Maybe I am not answering your question but to me It sounds like you need to take your Rose colored Glasses off and do some thinking about what you are doing.... I am not a Lawyer but to guarantee a loan you need the person wanting money to put an asset up front so that if they do not repay you have claim over the asset if they default... You should have a solicitor draw up a contract...

Incorrect.

There is a contract that can be signed. You can buy them in any stationary shop. The document needs to be signed by the lender, the borrower and a witness. None of these people can be foreigners. They must all be Thai.

This document is legally binding and any lawyer can use this document to go to court.

One thing to think about is the cost. The initial cost of a lawyer's reminder letter is about 1000 baht. If the borrower ignores that then the lawyer will need to do searches to see what assests the borrower had. This can cost 15000. These amounts cannot be claimed back in court. If the case does go to court then the borrower must pay all court costs.

[fishy]

Starman I stand corrected then.... Does the document need to be in Thai script or can it be in English... If it is signed by a Thai national as you say and it is in English does it still stand up as a legal document?.. Would you by any chance have a scan copy of one or more info what the doc is called... Cheers

[3legdog]

This can cost 15000. These amounts cannot be claimed back in court. If the case does go to court then the borrower must pay all court costs.

Thanks for that Starman. Spot on, the system is then similar to what it is in my home country. I will be browsing through stationary shops tomorrow!

If it is signed by a Thai national as you say and it is in English does it still stand up as a legal document?

Thanks fishy. I will probably have to go the long road with this; get a copy of the loan document and consult a (non biased ) lawyer to shed more light. 

My issue is 90% solved already. Thanks guys.

[Starman]

Starman I stand corrected then.... Does the document need to be in Thai script or can it be in English... If it is signed by a Thai national as you say and it is in English does it still stand up as a legal document?.. Would you by any chance have a scan copy of one or more info what the doc is called... Cheers

The official legal language of Thailand, believe it or not, is Thai. So, no, an English version would not stand up in court. You would have to get an English version officially translated into Thai and certified.

As the loan needd to be completed by Thai nationals anyway, why would you want to ask them to sign an English document? I'm sure a decent lawyer would have a field day with that. "I'm sorry your honour but my client hasn't paid the money as they didn't understand and the contract".

I will dig one of the documents out and scan it for you.

@3legdog. Really no need to consult a lawyer unless there are problems. Don't get involved yourself. I was an interpreter at a court in Buriram a year back with a loan case going on. The judge said she could not recover the money for the "farang" as the loan was illegal. The reason was that money lending is a job and the gentleman in question did not have a work permit.

[eduardoinnorway]

NEVER EVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER borrow money to any one again in life. See this money as lost, no court will help you, not here or in any other country. If it was a lot of money I would sure make that person hurt badly, but that is me, don?t follow others examples, the price to pay to go that road can be really bad, specially here in Thailand.  Good luck.

[Starman]

NEVER EVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER borrow money to any one again in life. See this money as lost, no court will help you, not here or in any other country. If it was a lot of money I would sure make that person hurt badly, but that is me, don?t follow others examples, the price to pay to go that road can be really bad, specially here in Thailand.  Good luck.

Thank you for your input but, and speaking from experience, if you do everything correctly and use the forms ad I have explained above then the lender has the full backing of the law. Just remember it must be a Thai, ie. your wife, that lends the money and not you.

[eduardoinnorway]

I wish from the deepest of my heart you get your money back, there is nothing worse than trusting someone with your hard earned money and they just don't want to pay up. I done this misstakes to many times, so now I only borrow small amount to closest friends for family, and they must give me a really good explanation why they need to borrow money. Thai people have very very bad understanding of just spending what you have, they borrow from left and right constantly. I think they all should be sent to house hold economy course, talking from experience 

[Starman]

You obviously did not do things correctly. My wife had someone who borrowed money and stopped paying. A Lawyer wrote a letter explaining the next step. Cost my wife one thousand baht. Lawyer also offered to mediate Loan now being repaid.

Like I said it is not I that lends the money. It is my wife. Lending really can be quite simple and rewarding financially.

[eduardoinnorway]

Sorry, but correctly has nothing to do with it in real life. If your wife, or even the devil himself borrows out money and that person does not want to pay and will not pay, there is nothing you can do about it, with a lawyer or what ever. And some people will not even pay up with a gun pointed at their head. There is no such thing as safe private loans. Even the banks have a X% of loan discounts each year from people they know will never return their loans. If you want to run safe in life and not loose money on loans, then just don't borrow out money. A person who can't handle their own economy should maybe not handle money in the first place.

[Starman]

Sorry, but correctly has nothing to do with it in real life. If your wife, or even the devil himself borrows out money and that person does not want to pay and will not pay, there is nothing you can do about it, with a lawyer or what ever. And some people will not even pay up with a gun pointed at their head. There is no such thing as safe private loans. Even the banks have a X% of loan discounts each year from people they know will never return their loans. If you want to run safe in life and not loose money on loans, then just don't borrow out money. A person who can't handle their own economy should maybe not handle money in the first place.

I'm not going to repeat myself so, I suggest you go back and read my previous posts.

[nookiebear]

Sorry, but correctly has nothing to do with it in real life. If your wife, or even the devil himself borrows out money and that person does not want to pay and will not pay, there is nothing you can do about it, with a lawyer or what ever. And some people will not even pay up with a gun pointed at their head. There is no such thing as safe private loans. Even the banks have a X% of loan discounts each year from people they know will never return their loans. If you want to run safe in life and not loose money on loans, then just don't borrow out money. A person who can't handle their own economy should maybe not handle money in the first place.

After reading all of your comments,you are way out of touch with reality,my Thai lady earns a good income from loaning money .In 10 years never once a problem,she infact now owns 55 rai of land she didn't previously own!!People cannot pay so the land changes hands ,now tidy rentals from there too.
I wonder ....does your ass squeak when you walk??

[Starman]

Sorry, but correctly has nothing to do with it in real life. If your wife, or even the devil himself borrows out money and that person does not want to pay and will not pay, there is nothing you can do about it, with a lawyer or what ever. And some people will not even pay up with a gun pointed at their head. There is no such thing as safe private loans. Even the banks have a X% of loan discounts each year from people they know will never return their loans. If you want to run safe in life and not loose money on loans, then just don't borrow out money. A person who can't handle their own economy should maybe not handle money in the first place.

After reading all of your comments,you are way out of touch with reality,my Thai lady earns a good income from loaning money .In 10 years never once a problem,she infact now owns 55 rai of land she didn't previously own!!People cannot pay so the land changes hands ,now tidy rentals from there too.
I wonder ....does your ass squeak when you walk??

Indeed, Nookie. Can be worth it in the end. My wife usually loans smaller amounts so no chanote. However she now collects in excesz of 20k a month in interest payments.

Many of the loans are now old enough that the interest paid already exceeds the original loan. So every payment now is clear profit.