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Is it best to take pounds to the phils and exchange them there

Discussion in 'Money Matters' started by SoldierRJ88, Dec 25, 2016.

  1. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    As I mention above they are hard to find these days, this is the closest I can find on a quick search (I tried lots of non Amazon sites as well)



    but it might be a bit big for you as I guess you are a fit and trim young man whereas I am an old fat bas***d :D
    • Funny Funny x 1
  2. SoldierRJ88
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    SoldierRJ88 Active Member

    Thank you Oss I will try to have a look aswell cheers for taking your time to give me your advice I just hope I can get one now as I would feel alot more comfortable knowing my money is safely tucked away.
  3. SoldierRJ88
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    SoldierRJ88 Active Member

    Haha I will take a look mate and I'm sure your a fine figure of a man yourself.
  4. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    Oss ............ much less likely to be noticed by a robber who is more likely looking for the soft elasticated belts that tourists tend to wear beneath their clothing wrapped round their stomach

    Well thanks Oss if I were a robber and had not known , I do now !

    As a former police detective I can assure readers that `professional robbers’ i.e. those who rely on it for a living are pretty well informed on such things, it’s their job to know and they do !

    Anyone who carries large sums of money, unless they are trying to avoid the authorities knowing where it came from, are foolish. “A fool and his money ……….. “

    Having assisted many victims of crime who were smart so ‘knew it would never happen to them’ I can assure you that a lot of people get parted from their cash. Even thousands of pounds. (Soldier. That includes people who have not posted their travel details online for all to see and the name Lancaster Hotel they will be travelling to from the airport).

    Be sensible; use a credit/cash/debit card. Even then make sure you have a back-up card carried separately, as if you lose the card and your passport you may not be able to get funds sent to you as you will not be able to prove who you are without your passport. I have assisted a few victims who lost their cards and ID, by getting them to transfer cash to my bank account and then they going with me to my bank so I could draw the money and give it to them.
  5. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    Whilst I agree 100% with what @johncar54 wrote, I think Oss is more concerned about the chancers - the sneak thieves - that hang around airports, bus terminals, bars and ATMs looking for a fool to part from his money. Many, many more of them in Manila than there are "professional" thieves.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  6. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    Markham I think Oss is more concerned about the chancers - the sneak thieves

    But a person carrying more cash than sensible cannot choose who might target them. I would never take the chance especially as there is no reason for doing so if one has a bank card.

    Thread title: Is it best to take pounds to the phils and exchange them there

    Never.
  7. Bootsonground
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    Bootsonground Guest

    Years ago I used to travel bringing a few grand over spread equally in my trainers!!(souls removed)
    Never untied the laces till I was in the safety of my hotel...
    Never lost a Penny!
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  8. Anon04576
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    Anon04576 Well-Known Member

    Depends on the scenario. Chancers want a quick 'smash and grab'. If a thief has time then a credit card potentially offers more vulnerability to the holder with a possibility of being held at knife point as they demand the pin number.
    • Agree Agree x 2
  9. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    If a thief has time then a credit card potentially offers more vulnerability to the holder with a possibility of being held at knife point as they demand the pin number

    But such a loss is covered by your bank, providing you took reason care. Cash from your shoes etc is not.

    So why take a chance unless it is to avoid paying tax etc.

    And now shoes get removed at airports and body scans might lead to embarrassing questions.
  10. SoldierRJ88
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    SoldierRJ88 Active Member

    I'm actually staying at the family home now and I won't be travelling from the airport alone anyway so I'm sure I will be perfectly fine but cheers for your concern.
  11. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    As Markham says it's the chancers in Manila that I am more concerned about apart from that I agree with everything you have said.

    Carrying money is no worse in my opinion than carrying other valuables, even with travel insurance my camera and computer kit would not be covered, on each trip I have maybe 6 grand worth of electronics in my camera backpack, that's replacement cost of the lenses, bodies, hard drives memory cards flashguns, laptops (yes I have had two in my camera bag :)), I have made the trip to Manila 27 times and that backpack has often also had 2 grand in cash concealed in it, in addition to the cash in my belt.

    Now you might ask why in gods name would I be carrying that much cash on what ostensibly is a holiday and the reasons are simple, the exchange rate I can achieve and the purpose of the money, one example in the early years I had to pay the rent annually which was 120,000 peso small shifts in the exchange rate get expensive with that much cash and going to cash machines over and over again is not terribly safe in Manila also the fees mount up.

    The other major expense I have every year is the kids school fees (and books and uniforms) which amount again to about 120,000 these days getting on for 2000 pounds now, the school does not accept credit cards or bank transfers, so I would have to get that much cash out somehow.

    Of course robbers know about these belts but the street snatcher in Manila probably does not, they are opportunistic and usually not confrontational and will more likely run off if they bungle a snatch.

    It's a gamble taking anything valuable to a place like the Philippines and maybe one day I will be unlucky but I have a good record so far.
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2017
  12. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I accept your point that it is covered by your bank, but try getting a police report in Manila to back up your claims of what happened, I would be more scared that inviting the attention of the police would result in me being taken into a back room and suddenly discovering that a stash of cocaine had magically appeared in my hand luggage :)

    I shouldn't use a smiley there as it's no laughing matter, Ana once had to bribe two policemen to let me go because I had hesitated for less than a couple of seconds trying to work out if a street was one way or not and I got pulled over for that (streets can change direction in Manila from morning to afternoon :D) the car I was driving did not have dark windows otherwise I might not have drawn attention.
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  13. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    I know it is not generally known but you can make a crime report in almost any country about a crime in another. The report is then sent via INTERPOL (which not a police force but a liaison facility between police forces internationally) to the county where the crime happened. So report a Manila crime in UK.

    I appreciate that some may not believe this, but I say it as a former UK police officer and from knowing (personally) that people have made reports in UK about crimes in Spain.
    • Informative Informative x 2
  14. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    That's all very fine but there's one crucial "gotcha" that you're overlooking. An Interpol report for the burglary of a foreigner will, quite simply, be ignored: "the victim is a foreigner and all foreigners have unlimited wealth" is the predominant mindset. A foreign victim reporting the same crime, in person, at a local PNP nick may be led into believing his crime will be investigated - but as I discovered in December 2006, that is simply an opportunity for the Police Officer, his partner and their commander to make some easy money under the guise of "oiling the wheels". Again the mindset is that all foreigners have money-trees.
  15. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    sorry but I thought your post was "but try getting a police report in Manila to back up your claims of what happened".

    I was explaining how you get a police report if you cannot get one in Philippines.

    One made in UK is acceptable for insurance claims in UK for crimes elsewhere. That when sent, it may not be investigated makes no difference.

    Most allegations of crime are not investigated anywhere, including Spain and UK. Unless thee is a good line of enquiry then it would be waste of resources. Better to concentrate on solvable ones. The perpetrators thus arrested will also have committed many unsolvable crimes.
    • Informative Informative x 1
  16. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    That was my post John, not Markham's but like him I wonder if a UK bank would accept a report made in the UK regards a foreign financial crime without challenge.
  17. johncar54
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    johncar54 Active Member

    I did say I had personal knowledge that it would be
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2017
  18. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Very interesting and as I had marked your earlier post, very informative, thanks.
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2017
  19. Bootsonground
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    Bootsonground Guest

    Back in the day, there were no ATM`s that I can remember of,certainly none that I could access my money from in the R.P!!..
    When I left the UK it was for a least 6 months,so I needed a heap of cash which made me appear 2" taller!!
    Tax paid on every last penny mind...Had they found my stash,I would have not been in the least embarrassed... Very easy to explain in those days.
  20. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    That's probably not at a branch of Lloyds in the UK which, when I informed it I had been mugged in Cebu and my debit card had been stolen plus £200 in travellers cheques told me I need a Police Report from Cebu.

    At the time, Cebu PNP to whom I attempted to report the crime suggested I refuel their fleet of personnel carriers and the chief's car and pay Php5,000 for a Police Report (didn't I know they have more important things to do?). The chief said "You are a foreigner and rich, they [the muggers] are poor as are we."

    The bank did replace my debit card quite quickly but did not refund the lost travellers cheques and I switched banks (to HSBC).

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