Lizfjr

That's a relief. There have been a number of people who 'lost' their licences when they were replaced with card ones. Even one case of a police motorcyclist who discovered it had gone. I saw DVLA on a programme (watchdog I think) squirming over this one. Terrible. I took my bike test in 1981 before car test in 1985 and still have pink paper one so will be very careful when it comes to getting a card one.

It is very helpful though, to know that these things are being checked and I find the information gleaned very helpful. Unfortunately I have had a negative experience as a result of a company which exceeded its remit and tried to do stuff they neither had the capacity, skills or documentation to deliver. If it hadn't been for this site, and being able to ask questions of people, I wouldn't have had the knowledge and confidence to take a rogue business to court and get the money back they owed me.  

[quote user="Jonzjob"] When we moved over we saw plastic bottles full of water next to gate posts, against curbs in gardens and all sorts of places. We wondered what the hell they were for. When we got round to asking one of our French neighbours we thought his answer was taking the mickey. It deters cats because they see their distorted reflection and they don't like it. In for a penny,,,, so we now have several bottles spread around the garden where the crats used to cap (I wonder if the lang monitor will spot that one???) and now we have a crat cap free garden!! This is not a wind-up, it really seems to work... John. [/quote] I've seen this in use in Spain ... but didn't know that was the reason. Does this stop dogs too?

You do have another option, you know. Have you thought of the Tribunal D'instance? I had cause to pursue a company (in very similar circumstances) because they had supplied a devis and not done the job, then tried to keep some of the deposit back for non existent work. I went to an avocat and briefed him on the case. He wrote a letter to the company and they replied to him in English (!!). He warned them that if they did not repay, they would go before the tribunal. The case appeared in the tribunal in April, and days beforehand they sent a cheque to my avocat, though it had not cleared by the date the case appeared  in court. The case has now been scheduled to re appear next Thursday because if the cheque bounces things get even more serious. The cheque was for  the money they owed me, plus damages, plus all my fees which the lawyer had claimed. It was a good experience to go to the court and I tell you what, has sharpened up my French no end! The worst thing to overcome was my embarrassment of taking another English company to court, and the fact that they thought that they could use English. It didn't put us in a great light. Neither my avocat nor the Juge were impressed at their use of English. But my avocat was most helpful and sympathetic to me. If you want any hints, happy to answer a pm. Liz  

Oh how I sympathise with this. We have a home in Spain which, like most homes in Spain, is very echoey. We are plagued by dogs next door which bark whenever anyone comes to their door and continually when the neighbours are out. If someone has an answer to this, I'll have 10 please.

[quote]I always move over for bikers because I love the way they stick their right leg out to say thank you. Cute or what? Is this just a French thing zrx1100? Benjamin[/quote] It took me a while to get used to that thing where they stick their legs out: I thought they must have pretty uncomfy leathers. But I must say: drivers and riders in France are fantastic in their attitude to other bikers. Every year, we ride from Zeebrugge to Alicante, and France is wonderful. One year we made the mistake of setting off on the first Saturday in August. The roads were at a standstill, but it was like the parting of the dead sea (or was it the red sea?) as they moved to let us through. Mind you, it does make it horrible when you have to come over in the car, which I am doing this week. (80 year old mother draws the line at being a pillion. No sense of adventure I say).

So, FN,  did he supply you with the details of the artisans and their insurance? How did you get that information?

Good one.

But it's not big.

Val's advice is spot on as I know to my cost. Six months ago I had a devis from someone who was supposed to project manage my job. After numerous delays the job was supposed to start last week. It has never been made clear to me exactly who was doing the job so I asked for the insurance details as well as the names of 'teams' who would be on site. After a week, this was not supplied so I have instructed them that they should not be on site unless I have this information. I can only presume that since they have not sent it, they are not insured and I am not prepared to take the risk. I am now taking legal steps to recover my full deposit (40% of the job, paid in April). I would be keen to have a conversation off line about this: would you like to PM me? Have you considered a report to the gendarmerie too?

Alcazar mate, you're dead right. You stay put in your lovely car. Sounds perfect for you.    Just where you should be.

Well you're right. Self preservation is the only reason I'm still unscathed after 25 years' riding. That's why I made my daughters take their compulsory bike training before ever getting behind the wheel of a car. There's a fascinating survey in MCN this week about motorists attitudes to bikers. Motorist perception of bike speed is often very poor and they fail to realise that a bike that is filtering through near stationaery traffic may well only be going 10 KPH faster than they are. I had a lovely filtering experience on the M6 last week. Had a couple of car drivers doing that thing where they pretend not to see you (headlights and hii viz jackets can be difficult o see when you're fiddling with your mobile/radio/shopping). Behind them was a police range rover which swung out of my way and flashed them to move too. So they did.

              

Dinks, even worse than those with trailers are those with BLACK bikes and trailers. Now they really really are the selfish ones and asking for it in my opinion. I mean how on earth is a person in a car supposed to know they're there? Oh yes. Lardy panniers too. I mean how much beer do bikers really need to carry? And while we're having a rant, what about all those over powered British bikes. I mean do you know that there are people riding around France on 145+bhp bikes who think that 100 just isn't enough. Now can you get back in line please all of you and form an orderly QE QUE KEW. There you see. It's so long since I did it I can't even spell it.

If there is room, motorists should respect motorcyclist's ability to get through. Riding in France is usually a revelation compared to the UK: there is far more awareness of bikes and making progress is much easier. Motorcyclists don't own bikes to sit in queues. Well. Not unless they ride those big fat bikes with great lardy panniers and even then they have been known to take certain liberties.

Cheers.

I received my bill for Taxe fonciere here in the UK and have paid online. I haven't received one for habitation. Just in case it's gone missing, where do I get further info about the bill, how much and where to pay?   Liz

Val, As ever, many thanks. This is very helpful.   Liz

Thanks for taking the time to read and answer this. And I am correct in thinking that this insurance is compulsory aren't I?   Liz

Quick couple of questions (and yes, I have tried a search). What's the name of the insurance that should be acquired by artisans and if a devis has the words TTC, does that imply that they are registered for TVA? Liz

I am thinking of making a complaint against a rogue trader. Can anyone advise me whether a porte plainte should be made at the gendarmerie where the work was to be undertaken, or at the gendarmerie where the trader is based?

It depends what you want to do. I submitted plans for some window installation and internal remodelling. I'm  not a professional but it seemed like a lot less detail about types of materials and fewer calculations than you need here. Having said that, you have to provide some details of increased floor space which needs thinking about. The permis de construire form from the Mairie has all the detail. I have to say that for me the process was very straightforward and efficient. Now all I need to do is convince my contractor that it really is time to start work!

Thanks for this. I paid a deposit because acceptance of the devis was subject to that. Yes, I have a good idea where this person will be on quite a few dates, so could do a personal visit and do have otherplans to contact him. However what I'm really asking is what is the status of someone with a SIRET and can SIRETs be removed from unreliable businesses?   Oh and by the way, yes, years of experience of builders in the UK has taught me never never to part with money up front. But this guy was very credible in the beginning.  

I paid 40% of the costs to my builder after signing a devis (English but with a SIRET which checks out) nearly 6 months ago. Our start dates has been changed many times by them and contact with them difficult. I am now at the stage where I need to take matters a bit further and would welcome your advice. In particular is there any authority which quality assures SIRET registered companies, in other words, is the SIRET dependent upon companies being an honest and reliable? Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks, Liz

Might I add an Item? Tell customer what the schedule is. I have someone who is supposed to be doing a job for me. He has twice sent me an xls file with no data in it and thinks I am stupid enough not to know he is sending me empty files by way of stringing me along. Quite apart from the fact that I know the software inside out, I also used to be a teacher and have heard the 'but I thought I handed in my homework complete' too many times.