Jump to content

Mrs Trellis

Members
  • Posts

    300
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

Everything posted by Mrs Trellis

  1. Her French is pretty good and she probably has more support from friends here than she'd have in UK. I
  2. Thanks for a very helpful response. The couple have been in France a good few years. The hospital people, presumably social workers, have been unhelpful and sometimes hostile, for example saying it's her fault her partner is not eating. I think for the moment my friend would be better to stay in France. Selling the house could take a long time anyway. It is hard for the patient as he is of course surrounded by French people and is confused. Not sure how good his French was, but anyway people with dementia seem to lose their second language.
  3. An elderly friend is at her wits' end. Her partner has been in hospital for some time with various problems including early stages of dementia. The hospital is pressuring her to get him out but they no funds to pay for a nursing home. She is not in good health and would struggle to care for him. Their modest house is in joint names. The authorities want to contact his children in UK for contributions but they have no money and are estranged from him. Bills are piling up. My friend is wondering if she'd be better off trying to get him back to UK but what would happen then? Has anyone faced similar problems?
  4. My husband was on my CV till last year when he had his 65th birthday. We started the application process for him in August..... Stupid delays like 'we need the photocopy of your birth certificate on A3 paper' even though all the info was visible on A4 and the image was the same size. Recently my husband had to have X-Rays and we found he was no longer covered by my card. I rang CPAM and explained and was told 'it takes 3 months'. If you are lucky. Meanwhile we got a snotty letter from the hospital saying he would have to pay for the X-Rays (even though he is still on 100% and we showed them the attestation).
  5. I am lucky as I find our village pretty friendly. We have 2 Brits on the council and the British are encouraged to join the remembrance day ceremony and lay a poppy wreath. We have had jokes about the English who used to rule the south west but are now coming back, albeit more peacefully but many locals recognise that we help the local economy. I think if you are friendly and speak the language the majority of people are OK. Particularly if you get involved in local events, charities etc.
  6. Today I thought I'd try the edf English line. I listened to recorded messages and music for 20 mins then a recorded voice announced they could not take the call! Back to the normal phone line and very helpful woman listened to my saga. I asked why they seem to have set up a DD for 94 euros when they promised 21. I was told another bill is in the post. I asked about the code they sent and that is to be sent to them to confirm the DD. She did not know which of the 2 codes apply, so will send a DD agreement in the post. So long as they don't fine me for not paying the bill meanwhile.
  7. Oh dear! I just noticed that the bill for the house we are living in is low because they've put it on prelevement - which I did not ask for. Why am I not surprised? I resisted having a DD at all after I tried to set one up years ago and they only set it up for the insurance - which I had refused 3 times - and not the actual bills.
  8. We keep getting high bills for our old house, now empty. Every time, I phone EDF and give them a meter reading. I was told there is no way they can send a realistic bill. Oddly enough, the bill for the house we are living in is over 200 euros less than for the empty one so they can adjust that one. Last week I phoned and was told the only way is to have a direct debit for 21 euros a month. The man took my bank details and said he would email a code number ('So someone else won't pay your bill' - I wish!) The email didn't arrive while I was on the phone to him, I told him they are not always instantaneous, and later I got 2 emails, so 2 codes. I have no idea what to do with the code - anyone know?
  9. I accept it's a problem and the UK can't cope with huge numbers of immigrants but think of it from their point of view. Many of them are fleeing horrendous conditions and it can't be an easy decision to leave one's family and country. Some of those on the TV item were from Syria where the people have suffered horrendously under the current regime. You try 'fighting corruption' there and you won't live long.
  10. There is no information on our profile and our Skype name is a combination of both our names so not gender specific and - if these people read the name it is obviously 2 people. Even so we get messages such as 'I read your profile and my heart goes out to you' and 'I am looking for a lady friend'. I assume these people just contact any Skype address, like those emailing pretending to be banks, in the hope someone is gullible enough to respond. As I said, I don't see why there is no option to only be contacted by people in your contact list. Friends just say 'Are you on Skype?' and we exchange Skype names.
  11. Not many photos of the interior - one would expect loads for that price. One of our local agents had terrible photos on her website: sometimes not even the right way up, some so dark you couldn't see anything. My favourite was the one with the bike parked by the bed - surely she could have suggest they move it?
  12. 'I think the etranger bit might relate to non-EU citizens who are resident in France, as does the certifciate of right to a licence from your home state.' The woman at the counter must have known they were British and she pointed out the paragraph about the letter confirming the licence has not been suspended. I wonder if we go back and ask again we'll get a different answer! But the sheet of requirements is from the prefecture so I suppose we'll get the same.
  13. I went with friends to the prefecture in Montauban, 82, and they were given a printed 2 page sheet and I have a copy. It is headed 'Echange de permis etranger'. It says all original docs must be accompanied by photocopies. And everyone must provide: * 4 recent photos - passport type and not scanned * original driving licence plus colour photo of both sides. 2 justificatifs de domicile, dated max 3 months ago other docs may be requested! Then under 'Etranger avec un permis etranger' It adds: * titre du sejour or long term visa valide par lOFII and less than 1 year. Passport I don't know why the two sections as the whole thing is about exchanging a foreign licence. It's enough to make me want to go back to UK or pretend we're just here for holidays. Having said that, we have had good medical care which makes up for filling in those wretched tax forms. (Tho I know several Brits who have also benefited from the health system without bothering with tax.)
  14. What are the changes? Nothing on the website now. I have noticed a negative one: I am about to print out my boarding cards but find that unless I have paid extra for an allocated seat, I can only do this 7 days before. As I am going next week, for a week, that means I can't print the boarding card for my return flight before I leave.
  15. It seems to me ridiculous that it varies depending where you live. Surely there should be a national ruling on how to get a French driving licence rather that make it different in all departments? Rather makes me wish I was one of the many I know who live in France but never re-register their car or complete a tax form. So much simpler, if not legal. We still have a little house in the UK so could have pretended!
  16. I started this thread as I went with friends to help them but unfortunately we were pulled over by the gendarmes last week. They set up a speed trap on a very empty road with no buildings on. It must have been just after the town sign. So now OH has to go through the circus of getting a French licence. I have a copy of the info friends were given by the prefecture and it says 'attestation recente (moins d'un mois) des autorites etrangeres precisant que le titulaire ne fait pas l'objet sur le territoire......... mesure de suspension, de retrait ou d'annulations...' and it must be translated in French! It also says if you have a foreign licence a titre de sejour is required. How do we get that? Maybe we should move to a more tolerant department. What was really silly was that one of the gendarmes looked at the UK licence and said 'Why have you got a licence from the Ukraine?' Must be new on the job!
  17. My husband likes English beer and I have heard several people on TV property progs who, when asked what they miss, say 'Real ale'. However, many supermarkets have Brit sections with beer, not always cheap, one local bar sometimes has it and it is very popular. Another bar in our village has a French ale which is not bad. Also home beer making kits are not at all bad these days!
  18. The blackberries weren't that great! The land around our bit is owned by the children of the farmer who sold off a bit to the people who built our house and the old farmhouse to Australians. They don't live very near. I think OH was thinking of things like ground elder, dock, thistles.
  19. OH is burning off brambles and weeds on a bit of bank next to his veggie patch. It overlapped onto our land but isn't all ours. The owners of the field don't live here but might complain if they did visit. OH says never mind because there are laws stating certain weeds should be destroyed. I'm just wondering which! I know friends were told they must cut the grass on some land they own because weeds could spread.
  20. I agree, it must be a coincidence. The most recent bill was for 409, which is a bit steep for us, but I now realise that it said they were paying us! The total for June-April was 976. I've no idea why they decided to send a refund without being asked, nor why they overestimated by so much. I must read the meter when the next bill arrives. I'm now thoroughly confused about applying for a refund! Which I probably won't get anyway.
  21. I was struggling to find all the EDF bills for the last two years (heard about the refund thing a few weeks ago but wasn't sure how to apply) and getting ready to write off to EDF. I nipped out to get the post and there is a cheque from EDF for over 400 euros! It says 'eremboursement CPTE crediteur'. Is that the same refund as I thought the one judged illegal is CSPE? It's complicated because we have not sold our old house and have been getting wildly overestimated bills for it - but in that case the cheque should be to my husband as he was the client in the old house. And I have phoned them to explain and got refunds before. I get the bills for the current house as I phoned to set up the account. The ref number is neither a client number or contract number, it's 702xxxxx. I have no idea why I should get a refund as we pay bills as we get them. (When I tried to set up a DD they set it for insurance which I had refused, and not the bills!)
  22. No, as I already have two oldish rescue dogs. When I mentioned it to Poor Paws, the reply was nothing can be done if this dog doesn't get on with cats or other dogs but......
  23. It's ridiculous as previously this was not demanded. If someone's licence was suspended surely they would not have it any more? Or it would have been endorsed with that fact. Some else has just attempted to get a French licence and says the DVLA aren't really interested in replying! I think we might just hand on to our UK ones but our friends hoped to change as they live here and their licences are coming up to the date for changing (and one is over 70).
  24. Well, we went along this morning, and were given a printed sheet listing the requirements - one of which is that the driver must get an attestation from DVLA to state they are not banned from driving. And it must be translated into French. Then there is proof the person has lived in France for at least 6 months, the 4 photos etc. So it isn't going to be quick!
  25. So, having got a French licence, if someone returns to live in the UK is it a simple process to get a UK licence again? Presumably a UK resident should have a UK licence? If someone is over 70, is it more difficult to get a UK licence again. (Just a thought as I haven't yet got a French licence, am not yet 70 and have no plans to leave France, but you never know.)
×
×
  • Create New...