Jimbo

Guys...I never dreamed I'd get such a wealth of useful info on the subject, I'm truly grateful. There is one more dimension which just might be in my favour. I'm not a French resident, as I live and work in the UK, I can only get to stay in la belle France for about 45 days of the year, until my retirement in just under five years. All correspondence is sent to my address in the UK, so far. Not knowing what to expect, I imagined that the bailiffs might call round and take goods to the value, currently just passing through 500 Euros. Most of the time they'd find no-one there, but I also encourage friends, family and colleagues to go and make use of the place for free. It's the least I can do to help the local economy, after saddling them with an absent resident. I had visions of guests being confronted by belligerent callers, but then, maybe I'm just being pessimistic. It's time for me to re-assess all my correspondence and decide on a strategy. Incidentally, I have been following another blog (Astra 2F and 2E reception) here and on Rob's satellite, and seeing contributors from those blogs on this one made me feel at home. Thanks.

Wow! I had a feeling that others would have had similar experiences, thanks for all your replies. The renewal was due 1/3/14. I organised the new insurance on the day I got the quote from M*A, and sent a hand written letter to cancel the first policy, not sent recorded delivery. That was the 9/2/14, so the reminder was sent to me less than a month before it was due, as has been my experience from previous years. The debt collection agency letters have a different postmark, but they struck me as not being genuine for several reasons, not least of all because of stories in the British press about so-called debt collectors for banks, being just a desk in the branch with no actual debt collecting credentials. And yes, they have ignored every letter I've sent them. It seems a contradiction that, if you are obliged to give two months notice, you only see the quote for the next year's premium one month (or less) before renewal. And the moral of the story...if you are about to insure your French property...for goodness sake don't touch French insurance companies. To be fair, though, the one story I'd heard along these lines was from someone with a property in Spain. They are obliged to give two months notice, with the same penalties for blundering into the trap. Now...when I've worked up the courage...I'l open this new letter, postmarked 'Bourges'.

This must be an issue that affects British ex-pats in France from time to time, so hopefully someone will be able to tell me what my options are, or what to expect. When my house insurance came up for renewal, I found an English insurer who gave the same cover for about 60% of the price. I wrote to the French insurer (I probably wouldn't have bothered if they were English) in February, that I would not be renewing with them. The reminders kept coming, then the final demands, then the whole affair was passed to (apparently) a debt collection agency. As it stands now, the Huissiers have been engaged and the interest has been heaped on at an ever increasing rate. My nieghbour informed me a couple of weeks ago, that they require three months notice. As it happens I gave them under one month, but I didn't have a clue what was required. Can they really demand the whole year's premium, including legal cover? The insurance was organised by the immobilier ten years ago, and although I've systematically stored all documents and paperwork, I don't remember ever seeing a 'terms and conditions', nor is there one in my file. The feeling of hopelessness is overtaking me, what can/should I do? Jimbo