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As said earlier we will be setting up our business as a French business, however there are many similar business's that are run from England with full knowledge of the French authorities. I am not sure of the full operating status of said business's but am aware that the authorities are starting to clamp down on what they see as a 'loophole' in the system. All said and done I am not really interested in how or where other fisheries are operating but am interested in a solution to my present problem - how to reduce my social payments during a period of nil income. Thanks.

Thank you Nick. The problem with this years business is that due to unforeseen problems we were not ready to advertise the business at the end of 2005 when most anglers are looking to book their holiday for 2006 so in effect we have lost the battle for business in the first half of the year. The World Cup has also had a dramatic effect on the angling holiday business with many well established fisheries well down on bookings for this year. Yes we have made provisions for lack of business in first year but that does not mean we are prepared to pay more than we have to in social charges. As for your final advice I thought I had made it clear in my original post that we wanted to operate within the French system. I did not imply that competitors were operating  illegally but rather they have set up English business's to operate their French fisheries. At the moment this is quite legal but it appears that the French authorities are looking closely at the situation.

We will be setting up a micro enterprise - the problem we have is when to do so. We are setting up a fishing business and whilst most U.K. owners of such businesses remain registered in the U.K. we would like to set up as a French micro enterprise for the first few years, or at least until turnover reaches a level that it would be necessary to change to some other business format. The problem is that if we register now and commence advertising the chances are that this years earnings will be little if any at all - most bookings taken now will be for next year. This being the case it appears that by simply registering we will be liable to social charges of around 3000 euros's even if our earnings this year are nil. If we advertise this year without registering it could be seen as possible 'working on the black' so we are reluctant to risk upsetting the local mayor,etc. Any suggestons as to the most cost effective way of solving this problem would be appreciated. Thanks,Jim.

We used our sky box and card in France for about 6 months until they found out and then were cut off !! It seems that the new occupiers of our U.K. home applied for a sky subscription and were informed that there  was already one listed for the premises. They very soon 'turned us in' and the disconnection was the result.

Hi all and thanks for the replys,we have only recently got back online so have not been able to keep up to date with the forum. Anyone living within visiting distance would be very welcome, we are living like gypsies at the moment as the house has had to take back seat to getting the carp fishing business up and running. Slow,slow going i'm afraid. We have managed to have electricity installed, a fosse installed, a well dug (the water stinks of sulphur so an expensive filter system seems to be called for) and we have telephone and internet (at last) so we have all mod cons but are still sleeping on camp beds !!! Any help or contacts we can pass on we would be only to happy to help. If anyone is in the area and would like to make contact for a chat our website is www.carpdreams.com and e.mail is [email protected]. Cheers,Lottie and Jim.  

Hope someone can help ! I seem to have a problem with my e.mail (wanadoo) in as much that the recieved e.mails seem to be deleted and not retained. My sent e.mails are fine and remain on file but I just seem to lose all incoming e.mails soon after viewing. Any help would be appreciated.

Could someone please tell me where i can find out about these mortgages - they sound very interesting. Problem is that at the moment my French is rather sketchy !! Thanks,Jim.[8-)]

We have a property that we completed on in November 2005 but as it was not habitable on the 1st Jan due to not having Fosse,water,etc we were informed by our agent that tax would not be liable. I hope this is correct ??

Mr trollope,                  it is now 2 hours since i took your advice and the dog is still swimming strongly !! I have told the wife to get changed so she can take over at midnight - will let you know if the smell improves.  Thanks,Jim.

We have just gone with Teleconnect thinking that calls would be cheaper - our first bill for 1 week was 138 euro's. A lot of the calls were to a U.K. mobile but the bill was the highest we have had from anyone for just 1 weeks calls. Am now looking for a way to phone my daughter (U.K. Mobile) without having to mortgage the house !!! Any sugestions welcome...

We have recently had a beautiful well dug and lined with clean,clear water coming from chalk but.........the water has a strong sulphur smell when heated up. Naturally we are arranging to have it tested but in the meantime i would be interested to here if any other forum members have experienced a similar problem.

An update on this question - I have checked my documentation and it appears that the building in question is classified as a storeroom not an agricultural building and it also appears that in one small area the deeds read 'ancient toilet' so would this make a difference ?? Thanks again,Jim.

We are planning on turning an agricultural building that up to now housed junk plus an old tin loo (the only one on the property as the house does not have a bathroom/loo etc at the moment) into a wash and toilet facility for visiting anglers plus converting another area of it into a kitchen/dining area for their use.There are no external changes taking place at all. My question is what planning requirents,if any, are there for such a change and in the case of the toilet facility does the fact that the old tin loo was housed there mean that technically it will not be change of use ? Thanks,Jim.  

Thanks - thats sorted then.[:D]

Thanks for the prompt answers to my question - I have been on the website suggested and find that my commune does have broadband so thats one obstacle out of the way.The French information is (i am ashamed to admit) rather beyond my translation skills so if anyone could give me a translated version I would be very grateful. Thanks again[8-)]

We are moving from a gite in Limousin to our property near Chateauroux at the end of the month and would like to know whether we can take our wanadoo box and account with us ? We are hoping to have a line installed within a couple of weeks of moving but need to be on the internet as soon as possible after this.????

I am also looking for a plumber to quote for a complete system including central heating.We are in Pellevoisin, not far from Chateauroux.  Any help in finding a decent plumber will be greatly appreciated.

We are about to have a well dug to supply water to our millhouse but wondered whether mains water may be a financially viable option ?? The problem is that our house is about 500m from the nearest water point and I imagine that I would have to foot the bill for connection to my property. Any idea of cost would be appreciated and helpful in deciding our next course of action. Thanks,Jim.

Winter let required within 20k of Pellevoisin,Indre for the months of Feb.,March and possibly April. We are in the process of renovating a property and need home comforts to make life bearable!!!

Thanks for all those who have offered advice - we now have various options to consider.

We have an ancient millhouse and are looking for the best solution to a couple of damp problems that we have encountered - any advice from fellow sufferers would be very much appreciated. Firstly,we have original terracotta tiled floors that are really lovely but must have been put down straight onto the earth as, whenever we return to the property after a few days away, there are several damp patches showing up on the tiles.We have been told that to dry them out and then seal them will solve the problem,alternatively we have been told that the only solution is to rip them up and start from scratch with a waterproof membraine.We would love to keep the original floor if at all possible but obviously the damp problem must be solved. Our second problem involves a back wall that is dug into the bank behind which has a large damp patch always evident.It is not possible to dig away behind the wall for a variety of reasons so we are contemplating waterproofing the inside of the wall and boxing it in with wood paneling.Is this the best way ?? All suggestions greatly appreciated.

 We are looking for a roofer/general builder for work to our ancient millhouse at Pellevoisin (near Chateauroux). Any help in this would be much appreciated. Thanks,Jim.

Deimos raises the issue of having a river or stream running close to septice tank site,we also have a problem in as much as we have 2 streams running around our millhouse and at no point can a tank be 35m from them.Is the sealed tank system the only solution to this problem ?? Thanks,Jim.

Your husband should visit the nearest fishing tackle shop where he will find all the info. on local fishing lakes. The English owned lakes are all geared up for the booming English carp angling holiday business so are rarely available for day ticket fishing,however as the holiday season usually ends in November he may be able to obtain a winter day ticket on some of these waters. I hope you are succesful.        Cheers,jim.

I have just signed up for a deal with France telecom that costs 79 euro's per month plus line rental which then gives 100% free calls to all French,U.K. and North American land and mobile lines. After just paying a bill of 697 euro's this deal seems just to good to be true !! Am I missing something ?? The deal is the Atout Illimité %100.