Musicmonkey<ADDRESS><STRONG>Musicmonkey<STRONG><ADDRESS>

Me too.  Thanks anyway!

Adrian,   Try this link http://forums.livingfrance.com/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=264&MessageID=79160 I had this problem recently when we had a new computer.  If this doesn't sort it do a search and you will find the answer as I was told exactly what to do by Forum Admin.  

Saligo Bay, The food things seem ok, but what about exercise?  Is that in this equation?  Forgive me if you have mentioned this before but there are just too many posts on this topic for me to go back and check! If not, that may be the missing ingredient. By the way there is nothing wrong with toast and marmite (provided there is little or no butter) as long as its healthy wholemeal bread.   

I have a telephone number for Kate Hardy: 01544 231550.  I have spoken to her recently over the problems I am having ie.  map reference for our property shows a part of France 3 hours away, and also pictures I had uploaded, still did not show up 2 weeks later.  Part of this has now been fixed, but not all. Also there is still a problem with the links on the Admin page.

On a minor level, though it really annoyed me at the time, I tried to buy a casserole pot that I wouldn't give house room to (I wanted it for the lid which was fine), the man at the depot vente peeled off the sticker which said €1 and revealed a €5 sticker underneath, which he expected me to pay!  Dual pricing policy? On a major level, we made what we thought were friends of our French neighbours, entrusted the keys to our second home to them and arranged for them to do changeovers for us.  They were promptly and well paid for any tasks required of them and, in addition we said, when we were asked, that the mother could use the house when we had no guests to compose music in peace. Things started to go wrong when she and her family 'created' jobs that took hours to complete and expected us to pay when they had not obtained our authority first.  We agreed to end the business relationship at the end of last year, but said that she could continue to use one room in the house in exchange for emptying our dehumidifier. When we made a surprise visit a couple of weeks ago, we found that she had been doing her washing and ironing at our house and had not put the dehumidifier on at all, presumably to disguise the extra electricity usage.  When we asked for our keys back - she point blank refused saying that she had to follow French law and post them recorded delivery ie. after we had left for the UK.  We offered to give her a receipt for them but this did not satisfy her.  This involved us in having to get the locks changed and a lot of stress. We had wanted to integrate and 'put something back' into the community.  Now we will use British employees as there will be less room for misunderstandings.  We are deeply hurt to be treated like this.  It was increasingly clear from her communications with us that she was not happy about Brits taking property that would make it hard or impossible for the young to buy property of their own. In the UK where traditionally people have strived to own their own home the average age for 1st time buyers is 35.  Not so very different?  

Sue,  my information pack is actually a ring binder which covers all sorts of information broadly as follows:- 1.  Welcome 2. Quirks of the house, important info 3.  Emergency contact nos, also local doctor, dentist and who to contact in case of problems at the house.  Where to find candles and matches. 4  Electricity as in charges, usage, not being wasteful, etc.  Meter readings and where to find fuse box just in case 5. Water, questions as to whether safe to drink or not, heating it, etc 6.  Use of WC and ensuring no undesirable 'extras' are placed in there because of the fosse, also kitchen waste mentioned here 7.  Rubbish disposal - where? 8. Where to find the various appliance manuals and translations into English for those that are in French 9.  Use of TV, stereo, etc. 10. What's available to guests to use, barbecue, etc 11.  Restate no smoking, no pet policy 12. Tourist information, backed up by leaflets 13.  Details of local shop, and opening hours,  local market day and nearest supermarket location   Naturally, your own situation will depend on what you need to impart to your guests about your particular house/region.  We do not normally supply a welcome pack but we did at Christmas and supplied, bread, milk, juice, tea, coffee, jam, eggs, water, wine, chocolates and butter and it cost €16.   Having just re-read your post, I may have got the wrong end of the stick as I think you meant to send out to guests before they have booked with you.  I don't have anything as grand as an information pack.  Most of the information will have come from the website, and or booking form, conditions.  Then about two weeks before the holiday commences, we send keys with directions telling them that there is information at the house.  

<'And as for the polystyrene - do not under any circumstance put it under wallpaper. If you are unfortunate to have a house fire the polystyrene has the effect of putting an air gap under the paper which results in an instant inferno with added toxic fumes. It was banned in the UK years ago - I'm surprised its still around'.> Oh no!  We already have flock wallpaper upstairs which is another potential toxic risk and also very difficult to remove.  Now you have made me feel really safe (not).  Just when I thought we had got it sorted!    

I claim no knowledge of laundry costs but would not be prepared to pay such high charges for beds/towels.  If you can find someone who can strip/launder and make up beds for you, you could pay them by cheque d'emploi.  They receive the face value of the cheque and you pay more (a larger sum is debited from your bank). There are other posts about this method of payment on this forum if you do a search.  Good luck finding someone.  

If I don't start getting booking enquiries, and they do not respond to my account problems, I shall definitely not be renewing.  

Dave, Thanks for posting that link.  I found their item on condensation very interesting and reassuringly we have taken most of the steps they suggest.  The only trouble is, they suggest getting rid of the black mould (potentially harmful to health) with bleach or a special paint and I doubt my wallpaper would survive that!  Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  

We have suffered from damp though ours is supposed to be caused by condensation.  There is a product called Dépron, a sheet of polystyrene.  this comes in very thin sheets. We have had this glued over with a kind of fibreglass glue to strengthen it.  We have papered over this.  With increased ventilation, the problem is much improved though not completely solved.  However, we are not keeping constant temperatures as we use our house as a holiday home (also rented out).  

We had a letter too this week cancelling our Easter booking.  We have decided to go with Speedferries and it was £80 - we had paid £99 for Newhaven Dieppe.  We didn't fancy an 8 am start from Dover!  We have had to change our dates so we are not very happy.

I have tried to have VF upload pictures that I submitted about 3 weeks ago and I am still waiting for a response of any kind.  They also have the wrong map image coming up despite the map reference being correct.  They have not responded to my query about that either.  As it is the season to get the most bookings I am not at all happy. In desperation I tried calling their tel. no. but there was no reply, not even an answer phone message.  It is looking suspicious especially in light of the Siemens blurb still not being sorted.  

Does anyone know exactly how the changes announced to this service last week will affect employers? The information I have read indicates that the tax burden will reduce for employers paying their employees by this system but didn't give any indication when or how, ie. does one have to do anything? As we have been users of this system I'm surprised not to have been advised by the CES but perhaps the announcement is too recent.  

There has been an announcement reported by Reuters (16th Feb) about the inroduction of a 'cheque d'emploi service universel' which appears to promise that there will be reduced taxes due by employers to encourage this type of job and to encourage training.   Does anyone know any more about this such as do we have to do anything and when it takes effect?  

I think there is a big difference between those using cannabis who are fully developed (?) adults, and children or teenagers whose brains have not fully formed.  Apparently, medically there are grave concerns about heavy use by teenagers for this reason.  That is aside from the risks of addiction to tobacco.  

Janey, try not to think of dieting, but instead of a healthy eating plan.  As soon as I think diet, I start obsessing about all those foods I can't eat.  Whearas if I am on a healthy plan I can eat plenty and not feel hungry or deprived.  Small treats are good. It must be hard when you are feeling low but I hope you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.    

<It even has a very nice lady who volunteered to act as coordinator for regular chats but seems to sit there on Sunday evenings waiting for somebody to talk to her> I resent that!  Maggie and I talk most weeks... though I have to admit it is just the two of us normally.  It would be great to have more people join in for a chat.  Ironically, won't be there this Sunday as off to France for the weekend.

"this enabled me to get into the Social Security system and get cover for myself and my husband"   Can I ask what you had to do to register.  Was is straightforward?  

I was assuming someone being paid by cheque d'emploi where the employer pays these charges.  Naturally someone who runs their own business would charge more as they have to cover these costs themselves.  

I have double checked the Cheque d'emploi website and confirmed that it does give the employee insurance cover.  

This is an interesting issue.  We have just renewed our insurance (through Britline) for our maison secondaire which we rent out.  We were told last year that we could rent within our existing cover as long as the rentals were short term, (ie less than 2 months) but we only have this verbally.  However, being cautious I rang again to check the info on receipt of renewal notice and they have confirmed this again. We don't pay any extra for this cover.    

Try getting someone to do it for that!  I have yet to find anyone who will work for the SMIC and would love to hear from anyone who has.

Hereford, that is how I understand it but don't quote me!

We use these cheques to pay our caretaker.  It is up to the employer to obtain the special cheque book (though I think there is a new system whereby you can pay with another payment method - once you are set up with the URSSAF).  The employee needs to give you their details, social security no. etc so that these charges will be credited to them and debited to your account on top of the face value of the cheque. If you go to www.ces.urssaf.fr and click on the 'presentation' option you can see a specimen (though not v. clearly) of the document you send to the URSSAF on a monthly basis. This system is a simple (if expensive) way to pay for casual labour such as described above.  This is detailed in the website too. Hope this is helpful.