ssomon

Actually, my first post was written after reading one made 25 minutes earlier...........

This year I decided to declare my Paypal and Wise accounts, although I never keep any funds in them, as they were specifically mentioned in a pop-up warning which appeared whilst making my tax return. This took a considerable time, as after searching for and noting the postal and web addresses and account numbers, several of the fields to be completed accept only alphanumeric characters, and the system throws up an error message and deletes the entry if it doesn't like it. Paypal has no account numbers, as only email addresses are used, and both companies' addresses contain punctuation marks, symbols, and accents, which are not accepted, together with the format of Wise's address. After several failed attempts I edited out all the punctuation and accents, wrote my email as "myname orange fr", and everything was accepted. But what an idiotic way to format the fields. Maybe someone thinks that foreign addresses don't have accents, and account numbers the world over are formatted like French ones.

Many years ago, when computers were coming into commercial use, I was involved in introducing an developing a planned maintenance system for the company I was with. We had operations in several countries, each of which had their own warehouse, so there was always a possibility that someone could be in desperate need of a spare part which was unavailable immediately, but might be sitting happily on a shelf in another operation's warehouse. After the first step, sharing warehouse stock lists, was made, it became clear that there could be many different descriptions for the same item. Someone in the head office decided we needed an list of standard names, each standard name showing all the possible common names to be replaced by this one. A consultant was hired to produce this. I began to receive pages of parts lists, suggestions for standard name structures, and definitions, asking for my ideas and comments. The scope of the project was mind blowing. Two years later the idea was abandoned, as he only got about as far as the letter "D".

Is the confrontational attitude in the responses of some/many members responsible for the waning popularity of this Forum? Just wondering .................

As an aside, I was thinking of Putin's long table, used to keep him at a distance from foreign diplomats etc.. I have read opinions that this is used because his fear of Covid. Could it possibly be used to keep people far enough away that they don't realise that the person at the other end is not Putin, but maybe a body double? The real Putin being in hiding far away.

To be (half) fair to Iran, the telephone sockets had a small phone symbol on them, but this had often been painted over. Thinking about my plans over the weekend I realised that i will lose my regular email addresses, which are all Orange, when I cancel my current contract. I have resurrected a gmail address I used years ago, but will have to make sure I inform all my contacts, and put the new address on dozens of online accounts. Also with my now 5G mobile SIM card in the router, my mobile number will become our home number, so I will also have to check and inform everyone who has our fixed number, about to be lost, of the "new" home number. I bet there are some entities with software which won't accept what appears top be a mobile number as a fixed one. There is definitely software which does the opposite.

I well remember those cabinets in French Post Offices where one could make a call - after waiting while the operators made the appropriate connections. I used to play with the Minitel, looking for old penfriend's numbers while I waited. We had many telephone adventures over the years. In the 1960's I was a Shell country rep in a small town in W.Australia. Our phone had a wooden box under my desk, containing its batteries, which I think supplied only the bell. When I had a call the operator used to ring to say she was going to connect me. Occasionally I would be puzzled about the lack of people calling, until someone from the phone company came round to tell me I had kicked the box and disconnected the battery. The late 60's found us in Teheran, where the telephone system was as good as that in the UK at the time. But there was a small problem due to the telephone sockets being identical to the 220 volt sockets in many houses. Everyone had to be told that if their phone started ringing immediately it was plugged in, they should quickly unplug it, and on no account pick it up. Doing so would cause the handset microphones to explode, not nice if you had managed to get the thing to your ear. We were in Algeria for a couple of years from 1969, and waited some weeks for a telephone to be installed. They eventually turned up to do this just as we were sitting down to Christmas dinner with visiting relations, who were most entertained by the procedure. We didn't dare tell them to come later, as there was no telling how long we would have to wait for another rdv. To make a call I had to wind a handle and tell the operator "Bonjour, c'est le 158 à Bouisseville" and ask her for the number I wanted. She would reply "Bonjour Mr *****" , as there were only a few dozen phones actually in use, and she knew most of the subscribers. If I wanted an overseas call she would call me back when the connection was made. I just received a text and an email from Free, confirming of my 5G "migration" together with the T&C's and a tariff brochure, and have ordered a new nano SIM card from my Espace abonné, as my current phone's SIM is too big for the router. A big improvement already on Orange, who, after I agreed to a new fibre contract, emailed me an outdated contract and the wrong charges. When I went back to their meeting at Mairie where I had made the contract I was told curtly that I would get the correct paperwork after a couple of weeks. That was on March 16, and I never got the line, let alone the paperwork.

I'm actually quite happy using the PC I built in 2015 with a processor which was even then a bit old, as all we really need is to send and receive a few emails, keep an eye on the banks, and other mundane stuff. Most of what is on offer is overkill and over priced for our needs. The best leap forward ever for us is still the fax machine. I paid about £1,000 for our first one, which was a lot in the early 1980's, but it transformed our business. Previously we had sent telex messages from the main Post office in Palma. A painful and expensive process, with the operator bashing the keys with one finger while he struggled with the English text of our messages. Even this was faster then the telephone had recently been, before STD was introduced - but from the capital only.

Thank you for the reassurance. I have just accepted the Free offer, and ordered the router, which I should have by Monday. Looking forward to ditching Orange for good. They have cost me a lot of aggro and time, the final insult was 9€35 to return their Fibre Livebox. I will report on the result of the installation.

Thank you both very much. The Forfait Free offered on my phone says "For (my name), le Forfait Free à 9.99€/mois pendant 1 an puis 19.99€/mois, avec 210/moisen 5G/4G. Sans engagement. 14 jours pour changer l'avis. En zones couvertes. Pour en bénéficier repondez "Oui" à ce SMS avant le 24/04/2022. It doesn't correspond exactly with an offer on their web site, so I can't easily check the T's & C's. When I check similar Free offers, on searching their FAQ's for "mode modem", I get a mass of results, looking through which I see instructions for "Partage de connection" using a phone as a hub, but otherwise they only seem to mention their own rented modems/routers in this context. I think I will take the 9.99€ offer while I have the chance, buy the Huawei router, and try it out. Anything to get away from the chaos that is Orange. If it doesn't work or provide the expected speed I have 14 days to to return the router, and can buy a suitable smart phone to use as a hub. I realise the utility of this, but at 84 we don't travel much any longer, and our first need is a phone and internet connection in the house, so that we can continue to use the Gigaset system with 3 phones around the place rather than run around a large plain pied looking for a mobile. I also have 14 days to change my mind about the Free offer.

Double post

Well, a very pleasant lady called me on time for the Orange rdv téléphonique. Very pleasant, but after 30 minutes' discussion she could offer no new advice. If I can't get the neighbours' permission, they can't connect us. I don't want to talk to them any more, so that's it. It seems Orange doesn't have carte blanche to dig trenches to run cables, other than on private property. I suppose that means they would have to apply individually for every connection requiring digging in the public domain, and they don't want to spend money on that. Before I move on to consulting lawyers I thought I'd consider a 4G SIM Router with a Free 5G/4G card being offered on my mobile for 9.99€ per month for the first year, rising to 19.99 after that. Can anyone please confirm that this Free card can be used in a router without restriction? The best router for the job seems to be the Huawei B535-333 HERE However, I came across this information in the commentaries, which seems to suggest that the performance of the SIM card may be downgraded if the supplier detects it is being used in a router. Commenté en France le 15 septembre 2021 Achat vérifié Un produit excellent, avec la fréquence 700 mhz (b28), possibilité de brancher un téléphone fixe etc... facile à paramètrer sur un navigateur (192.168.8.1). J'utilise une boxe SFR adsl qui tourne en up à 1mb/s et down entre 5 et 8 mb/s, léger pour du streaming hd. Lorsque j'ai fait mon 1er essai avec l' Huawei en d. 20 à 25 mb/s et en up 5 mb/s c'était l'Amérique ! Le lendemain, mon débit chute à 3,5 ou 4 mb/s en down. Après plusieurs tentatives redémarrage etc. rien à faire débit largement plus faible que mon l'adsl malgré une excellente réception (3 leds allumées). Opérateur Syma mobile réseau Orange. J'ai souscrit un 2ème abonnement chez Free mobile même topo. Malheureusement j'ai dû retourner le routeur avec regrets. Méfiez-vous il y a Excellent routeur, mais 2 ans l'ARCEP oblige les opérateurs à laisser les clients utiliser des routeurs mais MOBILES. Voir peut-être dans ce sens. Pour ma part je laisse tomber, avant de commander soyez sûr de votre coup, bon courage. J'en déduit, les opérateurs ont plus intérêt à louer leur propre routeur 4g à 40€ par mois pour 150 Go Google translation: Great router, but Reviewed in France on September 15, 2021 Verified Purchase An excellent product, with the frequency 700 mhz (b28), possibility of connecting a fixed telephone etc... easy to configure on a browser (192.168.8.1). I use an SFR adsl box which turns up at 1mb/s and down between 5 and 8 mb/s, light for hd streaming. When I did my first try with the Huawei in d. 20 to 25 mb/s and up 5 mb/s was America! The next day, my speed drops to 3.5 or 4 mb/s down. After several attempts to restart etc. nothing to do much lower speed than my adsl despite excellent reception (3 leds on). Syma mobile operator Orange network. I took out a 2nd subscription at Free mobile, same topo. Unfortunately I had to return the router with regret. Beware 2 years ago ARCEP forces operators to let customers use routers but MOBILES. See perhaps in this direction. For my part I give up, before ordering be sure of your shot, good luck. I deduce from this that operators have more interest in renting their own 4g router at €40 per month for 150 GB ARCEP is the French telecommunications regulating authority.

In case you can't see the existing wiring in the pictures above, it runs below ground from the manhole to a vertical conduit on the wall of the first house, up to the level of the low roof, then horizontally along 2 facades, below three windows and a verandah, across the gap between our and the 2 neighbours' houses, then up to the top of our roof, where it goes through the wall into the loft space. Yesterday I explained the problem to one of the ladies at the Mairie. I just phoned her, and was told that the only response she got from Orange is that I have to get the neighbours' permission, and that there is no other possible solution. I also received yet another text from Orange, asking me to make a telephone rdv to specifically discuss works which their technicians have indicated are necessary to complete the fibre installation. I have made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, with a remark in the space provided that I just want Orange to honour our contract. It would be quite possible to dig a trench to bury a conduit from the manhole to the wall of our house, but I believe Orange are doing their utmost to reduce the costs of running services below ground, as legally required, by bullying subscribers into paying charges for which Orange are responsible. If there is no satisfactory solution offered, it seems the next stop will be to try to enforce my contract, using the Protection Juridique provided with our house insurance, under the section covering litigation in regard of the provision of services by public or private organisations.

I plan to discuss the problem at the Mairie this week, when they reopen. The two neighbouring houses are semi detached, ours is separated by an alleyway, which was bricked up with 5cm briques some time ago, to stop the local population using it as an urinal. Our building includes a previous shop, the front part of which is now a store room, with the rear part bricked off as an office. The plan was to run the cable along the inside of the store room and through a hole which I have drilled through to the office near a power point and my desk. See pics. The manhole in the first pic is right where it says Google Earth.

Our house wall is right on the pavement of the main road passing through the town. All electrical and telephone lines are below ground and overhead wiring is not allowed. Our telephone "hub", if that's what it's called, is in a large manhole in the road, about 35 metres from the point where the telephone cable enters our house. Our existing copper line runs across the facades of two neighbouring houses, buried under several coats of crépi. On March 16 we attended a meeting in our Mairie with Orange counsellors and technicians to discuss and "discover their Fibre offer". Anticipating problems routing the new cables, I took pictures of the manhole and facades with me, but was reassured that their technicians would have no problems with our installation. We agreed to the new contract we were offered, after being assured we would lose none of the free calls to fixed and mobile phones which we enjoy at present, especially after we were told that our copper line would be removed if we didn't agree. The technicians arrived fairly close to the appointment, but their first question was if we had permission from our two neighbours to run the new cable across their facades. I replied that I consider where or how they run their cables along a public road to be Orange's problem, not mine, but I would ask. Our immediate neighbour was home, and said she didn't mind, but the other neighbours were out. They had just moved into the house, and neither I nor the neighbour knew how to contact them, so the technicians left. The neighbours returned later that day, but refused absolutely to have anything fixed to their wall. The following day I went to the Orange boutique in Carcassonne, where I thought it might be possible to sort something out, but was told I should wait to hear from Orange what they intend to do. Next day I got a text message telling me that the technicians had been to our house and found there are works to be done at our expense, and to contact them when these are completed. Since then I have phoned every Orange number and help line I can find, including a nice lady in Tunisia who works on the English help line, with no success whatever. Emma in Tunisia last told me that the problem is that my file shows work has to be done, but no-one seems to know what to do about it. I continue receiving text messages. The latest one says, yet again, that there are works to be done, and they want to accompany me in making a telephone rendez-vous, but I am quite sure that, as with every other discussion I have had, they will simply tell me I have to persuade my neighbours to allow the cable to be fixed to their wall. If you were unfortunate enough to meet them you'd realise why I don't want any further contact with them. So I'm just waiting to see what happens next.

I understand that the customer will still be able to ask for a receipt. "Plusieurs grandes enseignes ont annoncé vouloir mettre fin à l’impression automatique du ticket de caisse papier" SOURCE I'm sure they do. Carte blanche for supermarkets etc. to make even more "mistakes" in charging - which usually somehow manage to be in their favour. On a large percentage of our visits to supermarkets there are significant errors in the charges shown on the receipts, so we check these immediately after we have paid, while the goods are still in the trolley, and can be checked by the staff on the enquiries stand, who often have to run about checking the prices shown on the shelves.. The errors are usually due to special offers shown not being recorded on the till data because it hasn't been updated. We don't have smart phones (and probably wouldn't carry them everywhere if we did), so won't be able to check for discrepancies until we get home. So we then have to balance the amount overcharged against the inconvenience and cost of driving back with the goods, plus the likelihood of the staff believing there was a mistake. If the government and knee-jerk environmentalists really want to save money on useless paper, how about banning election posters and leaflets, the piles of commercial publicity stuffed into our letter boxes, and the propaganda magazines produced by towns, communes, and communes de communes (agglos)? While on the subject of till receipts, we record the petrol we put in our cars in notebooks for that purpose, as a change in fuel consumption can be an indication of developing problems. After filling up in Spain last week, I checked the ticket and told my wife how many litres I had just put in. She had actually already checked the pump, but said the amount I gave her was more than she had recorded. So I went back to the cashier to query this. He replied that he had altered the number of litres to cover the cost of a couple of packets of sweets and doughnuts I had bought, as "this was simpler". We're still wondering what the fiddle is, as I don't think falsifying the records of fuel sold is "simple". Is it connected to the 30 cents per litre government subsidy, or, as my wife suggests, does it mean there is more petrol left in the tanks than there should be, so that someone can fill up their car without its being noticed?

That seems a good idea. Next time we visit Lidl I'll try to remember to ask the guy who hangs around outside shouting "Bonjour" if he would like us to buy something for him.

As you suggest, the Notaire probably wants to establish whether or not you are liable to social contributions on any capital gain you will make on your sale. As you are not French residents you are liable to these payments, so I suggest you inform the Notaire of this.

I was bit surprised by Indel being the biggest producer of lemons - I thought they make fridges.

One thing bothers me. Many of his comments about the military might still be valid if "The USA" were substituted for "The Russian Federation".

Most people, including ourselves, were not wearing masks in the supermarket on Thursday, the few, mainly elderly, who were wearing them probably did so because they thought the masks protected them. However https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/l-ars-occitanie-attire-l-attention-sur-un-rebond-des-contaminations-au-covid-19-2504779.html#xtor=EPR-521-[france3regions]-20220319-[info-bouton2]&pid=726375-1589636708-4e8a2cdb If we are worried about infection, we have no choice except not to go shopping in person.

Thinking about the way Russian conscripts live and are treated, which I have seen at close hand in my wanderings, I had some of the same thoughts when watching the inept "invasion" of Ukraine.

On CNN, the banner below the re-broadcasting of parts of Arnie's speech covered half of his face and most of the subtitled translation, but (yet another) banner running below the other banners said that over 700,000 people had watched it. Presumably that figure was meant to impress, but as it was probably the worldwide number, only about 0.2% of the US population, the percentage of people in Russia who saw it is probably infinitesimal.

Headline HERE shows that the total lack of understanding the meaning of a foreign word doesn't inhibit its use.

Unfortunately I don't believe that the meek will inherit anything, let alone the earth. Although they might possibly inherit the timidity of their forbears, or the results of it.