I wouldn't trust my own parents with two grand. let alone anyone else's... I think you've only got yourself to blame there.
Filipinos are famous for indefinite IOUs in my experience. I don't have too great an issue with a 2000 or 4000 peso iou that I'll never see againsimply because they become too afraid to ask for another one
OH TIM !! What have you done?
Her parents are not big hearted loving anything!! They are THIEVES ,and they have stolen from YOU!!.
Did they fetch the Barangay captain and report a theft?
No..I didn't think so. That is a huge amount of cash to lose and a really painful lesson to learn..
Its no consolation but it would have gone eventually anyway in the kind of businesses that you had in mind to start.
How long is your visa valid for? How much cash have you left?
Do you have a return ticket?
Whose paying for your apartment?
Whose paying for daily expenses?
If this happened to me I would visit a local policeman and offer him 30%/40% what the hell 50% finders fee..That might help the cash turn up..
Where are you exactly?
Let us know how you are doing. Keep us updated.
Let me know if you need emergency accomodation..No promises but I might be able to help.. Not that far from Binan.
Hi Fred,
Many thanks for reading our story and for your kind offer of help.
To answer some of your questions:
My visa is no problem i have 2 year visa here, i wont say how i got it lets just say i now have a friend in the Phillipine Embassy!
Return ticket - no.
We are lucky in the fact we have met a family here where the husband is British, the appartment we are living in is free at the moment as this family owns the block and i did manage to keep some money so we have 2 video games that we rent out which just keeps us living here.
Yes i could of gone to the Police and Judith said too, but i know the legal system here and nothing would happen, i would just be the stupid "Joe" who let his money go.
I do have a friend here who works for the NBI and he said i,m wasting my time trying to get the money back.
Looks like i am going to have to return to England on my own and go from there.
Where abouts are you in Laguna?
Once again thanks for your offer.
OK Tim as long as you are reasonably safe..
Im not convinced about your stamp as there is no such thing as a 2 year visa..
Sounds very suspect to me..
I overstayed for aprox 3 years once and money did fix my problem but not in the way you describe..
Friend in Phillipine Embassy?? In the U.K you mean?Or do you mean Immigration? What has he done for you?
Give me the details of what is actually stamped in your passport please.
You are right,police are a waste of time UNLESS there is something in it for them and thats why I suggested a finders fee.
I guarantee this will get them moving.anyway you have nothing to lose!!
We have a place in Cavite which is in the next province to yours.
Hi Fred,
Yeah your right i,m getting mixed up with Embassy and Immigration, i have Embassies on the brain right now!
I went to Philippine Immigration department in Manila, initially they gave me a 3 month extension on my original 3 week stay then when i went back to see the same guy and took Judith and explained my situation he gave me an extension for a further 18 months.
Was quite cheap actually and i got my visa in about 10 minutes!
With regards to the money i know it was my fault giving it to Judiths parents to hold but hindsight is a wonderfull but useless thing!
At the time we didnt think that her parents would be holding it for more than a few days and you dont expect your asawas parents to mess up there daughters future!
Yes they are theives, but mostly un educated and because of the english culture they think money grows on trees!
All most filipinos see here is English and American guys coming here and spending money like water, so when you say to your asawas parents that this money is all we have for our future, they dont believe it.
I,m not saying all Filipinos have this attitude, but a proportion do.
I have learnt my lesson and Judith too, and no she didnt have any idea where the money went and yes she did ask her parents what happened but of course no real answer.
I know where it went, all of a sudden white guy turns up and lives in the neighbourhood, all of the neighbours become even more friendly they all ahve there problems and Filipinos like to help so i become Mother Teresa without me knowing.
The part that annoyed me most was i tried to tell them that if they had of waited until we were succesfull helping her family in the future was part of my plan but greed took over.
Brits are just the same in England though right? Except we do it different there we have friends called "plastic" and "loan" and use money we havent got. Which is why Britain is now living on credit.
Anyway its another gorgeous day here and i,m always grateful for what i do have and i have learnt not to think to much about what i dont have.
Tim.I went to Philippine Immigration department in Manila, initially they gave me a 3 month extension on my original 3 week stay then when i went back to see the same guy and took Judith and explained my situation he gave me an extension for a further 18 months.
Please take note of the visa prosses below..
You will see that there is no such stamp for 18 months.
You must leave the country after one year when the proccess below is complete..This trip can even be a day trip to HK and on return the process will start again.
Be careful because if you are blacklisted for an overstay this means that you will not be able to return..
Up to you what you do with this information.
1. Visa Waiver for 38 days after initial stay of 21 days without visa
Visa Waiver 1,000.00
Application Fee 500.00
Legal Research Fee 20.00
Express Lane Fee 500.00
Total 2,020.00
2. Visa Extension after 59 days good for two months
Visa Extension 1,000.00
Application Fee 300.00
Alien Certificate of Registration 1,000.00
Head Tax 250.00
Emigration Clearance Certificate 700.00
This was explained to me as being the equivalent of the airport exit fee, which I now don't need to pay
Legal Research Fee 40.00
Express Lane Fee 500.00
Total 3,790.00
3. Visa Extension good for 2 months going from 5 to 6 months stay
Visa Extension 1,000.00
Application Fee 300.00
Legal Research Fee 20.00
Express Lane Fee 500.00
Total 1,820.00
4. Visa Extension after 6 months stay
Visa Extension 1,000.00
Application Fee 300.00
Cert. Of Residence Temprary Visitor (CRTV) 1,400.00
Legal Research Fee 30.00
Express Lane Fee 500.00
Total 3,230.00
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Filipina a born survivor!
Thanks Eljean i am trying my best
Fred you mentioned in one of your earlier posts you overstayed for 3 years what happened?
" Express Lane Fee 500.00"
Nice one - they charge you to use the faster queue
Don't let Gordon Brown see your post Fred about Visa fees - he might get some ideas
He he..I used to drink with an air force colonel in my local..Fred you mentioned in one of your earlier posts you overstayed for 3 years what happened?
After I knew him for 6 months I got brave enough to show him my passport..
I told him that he could either help me or arrest me!!
He got his seargent to take my passport to MIA as it was called then (Manila airport) departures and had my passport stamped leaving the country 2 years 8 months previous to that day.
They then took it to arrivals and stamped me arriving back up almost to date..Then another guy stamped in some extensions and Bobs your uncle,fannies your aunt I was legal again.
I was stone broke in the R.P for almost two years and I was really very lucky to know this guy as he had no intentions of charging me..
However I did manage to buy him a couple of SMB`s and he was more than happy with that..
Again Tim..I was very lucky because if I hadn`t met this guy I would have been black listed for life.
I know exactly what you are going through..Just keep your wits about you and trust no one.
Best to find out the facts in regards your visa and confront the problem now before you get in to0 deep.. Its not hard to sort if you act quickly..
Keep on truckin,and dont let the *******s get you down ha ha..
Just think.. 6 months from now you will be laughing about this!!
How long before your blacklisted? Friend of ours overstayed 2/3 days, and paid for the visa fine on the way out.
Keith - Administrator
How long is a piece of string?
Its the R.P we are talking about here Keith !!
2/3 days is nothing. A simple visa waiver at the airport and a slapped wrist.
Under 6 months is usualy nothing a nice bung wouldn`t fix through a travel agency fixer.
1 year and you are supposed to leave anyway.(visa trip)
I guess the bottom line is the longer you stay the more expensive it gets and the more you are unable to pay the more they will blacklist your white **** !!
Money is always a good equaliser though..You just need to know who to pay.
Forged stamps and immigration officer signitures can be spotted at a 100 yards at the airport so it needs to be done by real immigration officers.
We will get there eventually i hope. Me and Judith have had a long talk and i also have done alot of thinking.
I have the chance to borrow some money for a business here or return to the UK.
If i return to the UK i have nothing, no work no house, no furniture, no car etc, ex wife did really well uh?
I could go for the messy 50% thing but i dont want anything from her now.
So if i return i,m worse off than here, and as we all know England is not a nice place either with no money or no job and most important for me if i return i have not got Judith to be my rock like she is here.
If i stay here and use the money for a business at least we can make a start to rebuild things.
I asked Judith why she wanted to stay in England and i can tell she has this rose coloured spectacle view of it.
I told her that its just as hard there when you have no money and England is going down hill in many ways.
I,m not going to give up, i love Judith and Jenny with all my heart and you get put on this earth once so i have to get on with it.
Fred i will sort my visa thing out. On one of my visits here i overstayed 3 weeks when i got to the airport they charged me 2000 pesos fine, but the immigration officer said if i had brought my Fiance to the desk with me they would of waivered it?Not sure how i could do that as Filipinos are not allowed through the airport that far without a ticket are they?
Our friends here are very well respected in Binan and have a very good lawyer when we know we have enough money for food etc, i will pay the money and get legal.
Are you in the Phils now Fred? Would be good to meet up sometime and chat.
Hi Tim..Unfortunatley Im in the UK at the moment..Back in around 6 months though (For good).
Well you have made up your mind to stay I see..
The only thing I can say is keep enough by to get a ticket out and to keep your visa straight.
One positive is that the experience you are gaining now is something most people will never discover in all of their lives.
Good luck and keep us updated!!
Fred.
And i thought the Brit awards were eventful tonight.What an amazing series of events.And it seems as though it still has a long way to go.We can say a lot of things to Tim about this and that and that he should follow this path but tha bottom line is that people will always follow their hearts however much turmoil and grief they face on the way.We dont choose who will fall in love with with.How much easier life would be if we had that selfcontrol.I have been in a similar situation but not nearly as eventful.So have a lot of the people i know.Just wish you all the best.I dont think i will sleep tonight
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