I also got my phone line and ADSL without needing a guarantor. Signed a two year contract, no deposit. All they wanted was a photocopy of my ARC. I also asked them to send me my bills in English, which they did. Not only for my own line but also for the line in my landlords name, which has nothing to do with me as the line was already conected when I moved in. No problem… Is it blind chance or maybe it has something to do with locale?
I don’t know … I got mine done at the main Chunghwa Telecom office on Minzu Rd. in Panchiao, right across the street from the Foreign Affairs Police office. The woman at the counter at first said she thought foreigners needed a guarantor unless they had a two-year ARC, and I told her that the government doesn’t give two-year ARC’s (she didn’t know that) and that she could walk across to the foreign affairs police station to ask, and she just said “forget about it” and gave it to me. The whole process took about 15 minutes. The guy is coming out tomorrow afternoon to hook everything up. 
You’re lucky she was so ill-informed 
- since when doesn’t the government give 2-year ARCs? I’ve had two previously and now have a three-year ARC - doesn’t the length of your ARC depend on your employment contract? Or does it depend on which ministry you’re with? SURELY they don’t discriminate between TYPES of foreigners with regard to the need for guarantors? 
I work for one of XYZ Bank’s subsidiary companies and they have just refused my credit card application. When the company that pays your salary won’t give you a credit card it is interesting. I am going to see what I can do internally within the bank to get a card. No explanation, just a “fuck off” letter. I make far in excess of what’s required. Then I’m going to apply to every bank in Taipei continuously until someone gives me a card.
So the outcome of all this is that it’s simply a matter of luck, and the only way to get a card is to get a Taiwanese person to act as guarantor for the first one so you can get a second one in your own name.
So I have to just find a Taiwanese person to act as a guarantor for a card I will never use.
[quote=“Ben”]I signed up for a card with Chinatrust about 2 months ago, and to my surprise, they told me a guarantor wasn’t necessary. I insisted that it was, and that I wanted to fill out the guarantor form along with the application, in order to save me the hassle of finding out why I was rejected, then making another trip. They kept reassuring me that it wasn’t necessary, and after I filled out an application, sent me on my way.
The Chinatrust card came in the mail a couple weeks later! No guarantor needed!! Hehehe, unbeknowst to Chinatrust, the floodgates are probably opened now.
By far the most pleasant credit card application experience in Taiwan to date. I encourage all of us to give Chinatrust more of our business![/quote]
I have just been refused a ChinaTrust credit card without a reason. I make in excess of their requirements, have an ARC, and work for one of their subsidiaries. Beat that.
I went into ChinaTrust on Friday to ask why I have had no response to the TWO applications I have submitted. After about 30 minutes of phone-calling I was informed that I failed to pass credit-scoring - because I don’t have a Taiwanese credit-card.
They recommended I apply for a visa debit-card, but I screwed that up by asking if I can use it to buy things over the internet. Answer: If you pass credit-scoring!
So I got a bit pissy and forgot to ask about securing the card by means of a cash deposit. As I only want the thing for convenience there’s not really any harm in me doing that, although I still object in principle. I am fed up with this!!
Maybe we should take a delegation to their head office? I asked for the address.
Wow! I think I just successfully accomplished my first thread-surgery! Everything pre 2004 is now locked away [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/old-discussions-about-guarantors-wherefore-a-guarantor/1237/1
Please share your experiences with credit card, mobile phone, or other forms of credit applications below. I’m started to feel motivated to try and find out if this issue is big enough to matter - ie are there enough of ‘us’ to make someone somewhere take notice?
Avoid Chinatrust. In addition to the lousy service, they try to screw you as much as they can.
Got a credit card from them and it didn’t go through when I was in Thailand. Called them when I got back to Taipei and they said that they had to be more than careful because there were a lot of credit card scams in Thailand. So they went ahead and temporarily “canceled” my card. After a pleasant exchange with the lady on the phone, I canceled my card “permanently”.
Chinatrust is also one of the few banks in Taiwan that charge their credit card customers NT$7,000 for lost or stolen card. Their reason is that users will be more careful with their cards if they get penalized for losing them.
:loco:
Apparently, Chinatrust is converting all of their ATM cards to the new VISA debit cards, and it is supposed to be fully implemented by early next year. Unfortunately, foreigners aren’t able to get the VISA debit card. I asked them how we’re supposed to use the ATMs if they’re doing away with the old ATM cards and won’t give us the debit card … they said the old ATM cards can still be used at Chinatrust ATMS, but not other banks. I was really baffled when they said that I could apply for a credit card without a guarantor, though … 
I think Chinatrust is the worst. Receiving an international wire is a pain in the ass, their service is terrible, and their policies towards foreigners have got to be the worst. The only reason I use them is because my company requires it. Bastards … :fume:
Been trying to get a bank loan for a motorbike recently. I went to the bike shop and they said they would check with the bank they dealed through for financing. They called me back a few days later and said that it was fine as long as I had a Taiwanese co-signer. I later found a second hand bike for a bit cheaper and decided on that. I then got someone to agree to co-sign. We asked around, but all the banks refused us. Even with a semi-wealthy co-signer the banks refused to lend me money.
On the other hand, I recently got a credit card by having someone co-sign.
It seems like I could get the bank loan if I went through the bike dealership, but not on my own.
P.S. The loan was for a “big bike”.
[quote=“Mordeth”]Been trying to get a bank loan for a motorbike recently. I went to the bike shop and they said they would check with the bank they dealed through for financing. They called me back a few days later and said that it was fine as long as I had a Taiwanese co-signer. I later found a second hand bike for a bit cheaper and decided on that. I then got someone to agree to co-sign. We asked around, but all the banks refused us. Even with a semi-wealthy co-signer the banks refused to lend me money.
On the other hand, I recently got a credit card by having someone co-sign.
It seems like I could get the bank loan if I went through the bike dealership, but not on my own.
P.S. The loan was for a “big bike”.[/quote]
Two years ago, I got my 250 through bank financing. No co-signing, no money down. I told the dealer that I would buy one if I could get the same no-interest, no down-payment, installment plan that Taiwanese got (it was a special promotion for Yamaha’s Majesty 250). He went to bat for me, and I was approved in a couple of days. He didn’t stop when the initial rejection came through, so perseverance certainly had something to do with it.
The other side of the coin… China Trust was ever so friendly recently when I put a wad of $ in a fixed term deposit with them. Azz holes. :raspberry:
China Trust have come up with a new rule now that I’ve never heard of: They are telling me the law requires them to issue credit cards which expire when your ARC expires. That sounds like horse shit to me, but I am aware how much they dislike foreigners.
I have asked for a copy of this “law” to be faxed to my office. My current card expires in Nov 2007, but they want to issue a new once which expires in Oct 2006, when my ARC expires. This means my old card will not work and I will have to wait for a new card to be posted to my house. Of course I will be at work, so some Saturday morning I will have to traipse off to the post office and queue up to collect my new card simply because China Trust don’t like foreigners.
Has anyone ever heard of any other bank doing this? Those of you who have credit cards without guarantors - are the expiry dates of your cards linked to the expiry dates on your ARCs?
I really feel like making an issue of this. If the legislative bloody yuan or the ministry of finance have actually passed laws on this I am bloody well going to find out what they are playing at. I mean, Taiwan didn’t used to be like this. 
They are not. :fatchance:
I asked about the credit card expiration date being linked to the ARC expiration date and they said that they did do that … but they said it was “bank policy,” not “law.”
My First Bank - Yes, and after 10 years I still get a new one every year that expires the next April.
My Citibank - No , this one is actually valid for 5 years.
:loco:
Well folks, I have it in writing. I am struggling to believe this, but here we go… (if it’s true I owe ChinaTrust an apology for badmouthing them 
)
Here is the text: (I couldn’t scan the Chinese)
Dear Members:
The fifteenth clause of the "Operational Rules for Banks Engaged in Foreign Currency Exchange [銀行業辦理外匯業務作業規範 第十五條] issued by the authority stipulates “When issuing credit cards for natural persons over 20 years old who hold the foreigner’s resident certificate [meaning “ARC”, et seq] in Taiwan, the person’s resident certificate should be valid for more than
one year [有效期限須在一年以上], and the expiration date of the credit card issued to the person should not exceed the expiration date of the card holder’s resident certificate”.
[I’ve checked the Chinese and the meaning is the same]
To assure your rights and interests, please provide us the copy of your resident certificate in front and
rear, 16-digit card number and your phone number for registration by March 31, 2005. If you fail to
provide required information, we are going to suspend your credit card according to the related
regulation. Your extra attention to this matter is requested.
After we receive the required copy, all the current cards will be re-issued (the old cards will be disabled).
New cards will be delivered by registered mail in 3 working days. Considering your financial security, we
request you to cut and destroy the original cards after you receive and activate the new ones. We plead
for your kind understanding of the inconveniences caused to you.
You may choose one of the following ways to send us the information requested.
Fax: 02-87805936
Mailing Address: Data Processing Division, Central Operation Department, Consumer Banking
B1, No. 89, Songren Road, Sinyi District, Taipei
Please send us required information as soon as possible in order to meet the related rules. If you have
any question, feel free to call at 02-27680505#5794 or 0800-024-365 and press “1” for credit card
service. We’ll try our best to assist.
We wish you a happy family and a joyful life.
Director of Credit Card Service
Chinatrust Commercial Bank
It was signed: “Michael C Chang, Director of Credit Card Service, Chinatrust Commercial Bank”
Great to see the irrelevant authorities have such pressing matters to deal with that they feel it necessary to pass a law on how long foreigners’ credit cards can be valid for. The people of Taiwan will be sleeping easier in their beds after 31 March 2005, that’s for sure.
They are not. :fatchance:[/quote]
Yes, and I would like to find out why Chinatrust is doing this if no other bank is. I cannot find any reference to this law anywhere. Furthermore, a (foreigner) colleague of mine has the same card I do and has not been put through this bullshit. Interesting, eh? I think they just don’t like me.
Just typed the same info in another post. :s
Another pain in the ass.