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Iancharlton

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  1. Spotted on the BBC News website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8160923.stm 
  2. I agree with Benjamin. I used to have a mobile home at Camping Les Amiaux and frequently went there in September. Although things are winding down at that time of year, the weather is still nice and there are plenty of restaurants open.  
  3. If you're letting your mobile home through the campsite, pre- and post-stay cleaning should be part of the service. Past experience has shown that it doesn't always get done, though. I've seen it offered to holidaymakers as an option at €30 to €40 for private bookings. This doesn't include external cleaning or the proper "deep" clean you need to do at the start of the season, when the van's been idle over winter. Best to tackle that yourself, if you're able to - that way you can see if any minor repairs or adjustments are needed. A third party won't do it to your satisfaction anyway. They won't remove the abandonded wasps nest that you'll find in the vent or skylight either!    
  4. Hi, Call centre computers use two techniques. Either they dial random numbers to see if they're real & if someone answers, the number is added to a list for a cold call, usually later the same day. Or, they queue calls up for the staff & then try to connect when they get an answer. If all the staff are busy, the computer cuts the call & tries later. Ofcom stamped on this in the UK a couple of months back. Presumably, there's a French equivalent who'll act if there are enough complaints. "Call centres" asking you to "press x to call back" put you through to an expensive recorded message in Nigeria. Since the calls are of the "throw enough mud & some of it sticks" variety, Liste Rouge won't stop them. My tactic: say nowt & hang up. Ian
  5. Hi, Having been in a similar situation, here's my (rather more than) two-penn'orth: The mobile homes made by IRM & O'Hara are meant for holiday use. They're neither intended as, nor are they suitable for, residential occupancy. Having seen them in the flesh, I think the British-made mobile homes are far more robust; but again, they're not intended as a full-time residence. The holiday homes sold as "Lodges" are built to a different (i.e. residential) BS/ISO standard . BUT: Both types are sold with towbars, axles & wheels attached. In the UK, this allows them to be classed as caravans. Hence you only pay VAT on the fixtures & fittings (freezer, carpets, furniture, telly etc). That's why there's only £1K VAT on a £53K Willerby Lodge. French legislation defines them as Mobil-home de Loisirs (http://www.irm-sa.fr/particuliers/services-infos-pratiques-legislation.php). By law, you have to install Mobil-homes de loisirs on a campsite. You must get permission from your Mairie to install one on your own land. I believe they only issue this for temporary accomodation while you're building or renovating a house. Notwithstanding the legal side, there are the day-to-day things to consider: Think about the amount of stuff you've got in your current house & how you live throughout the year. No mobile home/lodge really has adequate room for long-term living (where do you put the washer, dryer, dishwasher; where do you keep the hoover, iron, ironing board; where do you store winter clothes & duvets in the summer & vice-versa?). Sorry if it sounds like I'm pouring cold water on your ideas. That's not my intention. I've had 3 mobile homes over the last 12 years. I often stay for up to 3 months at a time. I encounter all these little niggles which make me seriously question the viability of full-time living. Then there's the installation side to think about: How are you set for getting electricity, water and sewerage supplies to your land? What about gas? As you get older, do you want to be lugging bottles around? Is mains gas an option? Mobile homes with central heating are quite gas-hungry. Would reversible air-conditioning be a better & cheaper option?  What would it cost to install a telephone line? Is there an access road to your land? Come to think of it does your land have permission for residential development? Since you've already got the land, look up some builders in Basse Normandie. You could get quite a nice house for what you'd pay for a posh caravan or modest lodge; and they'll handle permits & installation of mains services for you. Regards, Ian  
  6. [quote user="Pickles"]I have had a look at their site, and I can't find any reference on it to such a facility: could you indicate where you've seen this please?[/quote] They'll accept an initial deposit by Debit or Credit Card if you apply online for the account. In the FAQs it specifies that you can make card payments and in the online demo, there's a menu item on the left of the screen "reglement par carte bancaire".
  7. Hi Steve, The thing with Internet tranfers is that they mostly just initiate a standard bank transfer. You cop for the usual mediocre transfer times, bad exchange rate spread & higher costs. If you do it by debit card, it's instant, free & the exchange rate is generally good.
  8. I'm looking to open a non-resident's account with a French bank that allows me to deposit money online using an English (Nationwide) debit card. Monabanq have this facility, but they only accept French residents as clients; 2nd home owners don't qualify. Does anyone have direct experience of transferring money this way? Thanks, Ian
  9. Have you checked the outgoing e-mail server in your e-mail accounts? I had problems when I first connected my Livebox. Apparently all outgoing e-mails have to go via smtp.orange.fr using your orange account & password for the outgoing mail server. Something to do with Orange's attempts to prevent spamming.
  10. According to the contract they sent me, the €39 package is a 12-month minimum commitment and no ability to switch anything off, so no saving when I'm not here. The 1 megamax with seperate line rental is a no commitment package. I save on line rental when not here and could switch to a different ISP at 1 month's notice. The maximum line speed on either package is 1Mb, due to my distance from the exchange. I haven't tried the TV - it probably wouldn't work well with that line speed. Free phone calls apply to mainland France only. Everyone I want to talk to is in the UK. Orange charge 7cents/min + 5cents connection fee. Skype costs 1.2p/min. Unless I'm missing something, I can't see the advantage of having the "all-in" package
  11. Phoned the English-speaking helpline and was told that my package could be suspended FOC. Didn't believe this, so asked a French neighbour to phone 1014. She was told, no, the Optimale package could not be suspended. The operator could see that the package had been changed from Residence Secondaire and changed it back, commenting "off the record" that someone had tried to upsell me something I didn't want...mind you, her parting shot was "does he have a parabol?..." [blink]
  12. Well, I now have a working telephone line & internet. Not quite according to plan, however. The line was originally set up as Residence Principal, then  it changed to Residence Secondaire. Now it's changed to Decouverte internet at €39month & I've lost the ability to turn it off. As another forum member confirmed (and NOT as FT stated), Facture sur Net is only available with a prelevement against a french bank account. Not to worry, you can still see the total of outstanding bills in espace client and I succesfully paid my first one with a Nationwide Debit card. Good enough for me. I've been charged for April & May for a ligne residence secondaire, €55 for line installation and nothing so far for internet or for the Livebox. Bizarre! FT also charged me €49 at account opening via my debit card. I assumed this was for installation. Turns out it's the deposit for the TV decoder. Hopefully a call to their helpline tomorrow will sort out splitting the phone & internet into 2 seperate bills.
  13. They're the big, flat, open mushrooms that you grill or barbecue. Like this http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4698/portobello-mushroom-melts. Heaven on a plate, with or without a topping.
  14. I know the feeling. I was served breakfast on a BA red-eye flight once. I dug into what I thought was a Portobello mushroom, only to find that the black pudding and plastic tray had melted together.[+o(]
  15. That's what got me pondering. We aren't supposed to actually analyse the situation. The spin doctors just want us to feel safe, so they ensure that we go through this little ballet to make us think that's the case. If a burning log dropped out of the fireplace onto the hearth, how many people would pop it onto the sofa for safe-keeping? If we believe the hype, that's what the security people are being asked to do. And exactly how difficult would it be for two terrorists to get through security and pour their 100ml each of explosives into a bottle they bought from Smiths once they were in? Come to think of it, those trolleys full of airline food come straight into the airport. Now what could you strap under one of them, I wonder?
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