Iancharlton

Spotted on the BBC News website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8160923.stm 

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.  

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!    

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

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  

[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".

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.

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

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.

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

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]

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.

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.

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(]

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?

I know of one regional airport where the Fire Safety officer had made a surprise weekend visit to the airport's airside area. He'd walked into the staff rest room (a portakabin) and walked straight back out again, saying to his liaison, "I'll wait out here for five minutes. You go back in there and open the windows while I decide if I really did smell cannabis".

Teddy, I would think a taxi to & from Gerona will be horrendously expensive. From memory, it's about €45 from Perpignan to Argeles each way and that's for one person. The norm in that part of France seems to be to charge extra per person & extra for each suitcase. You'll probably get charged extra for the border crossing. I think tolls are around €12 each way. I'd be surprised if you're quoted less than €150. I've used Taxis Alazard in Argeles a few times. They're listed in www.pagesjaunes.fr. Frogbus runs from Gerona airport to Le Boulou & Perpignan Railway station, though I suspect that's not too much use. As for cheap long term parking at any airport; probably as rare as hen's teeth. If you do find some, let me know! This link from the GRO website has long term parking rates http://www.puntcentral.com/idiomes/eng.php but they cost an arm, leg & several internal organs. This site quotes €40-ish per person (no child reductions) each way for Gerona to Argeles transfers: http://www.shuttledirect.com/en/airport/GRO/&cod=YPK1211281919XAR  Don't suppose they could fly into Perpignan?

I recently flew to France with hand-luggage only. Forgetting the 100ml of liquid rule, I'd packed a small tin of soup (I was arriving late at night and being diabetic, thought I might need a standby). The security guy, in a very polite and good-natured manner confiscated it, explaining that if terrorists can organise hijacks, they can certainly put nasty substances into tins and re-seal them. Fair enough, I thought. Then it occured to me that all the confiscated tins, bottles, tubes etc. were being plonked on a long table behind the security people. So I thought to myself, "If this stuff is potentially dangerous, why stockpile it at the security desk? But if it's being accumulated in large quantities in one area, it must be considered safe(ish), so why's it being confiscated?" [8-)]  

I remember when I bought my first car, my Gran saying "I've always wanted to know how these things work". So I explained, in very simple terms, how an engine worked. She gave me a blank look, so I said "It's all done by science, Nan". She replied "That's all right then". Bless her little cottons.

No need to buy soda crystals. Just put the washer on its longest, hottest cycle with nowt in it except the normal dose of powder or liquid. Works better with the biological stuff. In fact, I use cheap bio-liquid in warm water as a substitute for all household cleaners. Works a treat. Just wipe the area over with a clean damp cloth afterwards, or it can smear.

I found this on their website: http://www.agence.francetelecom.com/vf/tel_maison/pdf/tarifs_fixe_ft.pdf. Under Abonnements, the first entry, €55. I think this applies to an existing line and I remember reading that it helps if you have the old occupier's phone number. Orange recommend that if you take over the old number, ensure the old account is closed on the day yours is re-activated. If there isn't a line, you get charged for the engineer's time to string one from the nearest junction box. I also found this: http://www.agence.francetelecom.com/vf/client/demenagement/frais.php You could try the English-speaking helpline: 0800 364 775 from France, or +33 1 55  78 60 56 from the UK. Hope this helps. Ian  

I picked up this link courtesy of Chantal on the Anglophone-Direct forum: http://www.linternaute.com/argent/banque/classement/frais-bancaires-les-banques-les-moins-cheres/3e-monabanq-139-50-euros.shtml?f_id_newsletter=699 It lists all the bank charges by bank & as comparison tables. Chek individual bank websites in conjunction, as it doesn't include current offers like free Visa cards for a year. Hope it's useful. 

I made a point of asking about ADSL suspension. He said because FT group the two services, taht was possible.  

I told him at the start of the call I don't have a French bank account & that I'd read on the Orange website that you could pay online. He agreed that this was the case and when he asked me for my RIB, I explained again. He said this was OK & took my card details, but as you say, the crunch will come when I try it. Fingers crossed.

This may be of interest to a few people: I've just come off the phone to France Telecom's English speaking helpline. Long story short: 1) The cost to install a ligne Maison Secondaire in a mobile home on a campsite is €99. This includes connecting to the junction box outside & putting a telephone point in the mobile home. 2) The appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday (4 working days' time!). Livebox installation at the same time. 3) The ADSL can be switched off with the phone line, so no ADSL charges when I'm not there. The package is called "Decouverte" (Sp?) 4) All charges can be paid on-line using my English Nationwide Debit card (he took the card number) 5) He told me what my telephone number would be! So hopefully, next visit I'll have phone, web & TV with no need for a French bank account and all done over the phone from the UK. They even answered my call in less than 4 minutes!