Pickles

[quote user="Silvergrumps"]Hi, does anyone know of a French site equivalent to the Environment Agency Flood Maps? [/quote] You need to do a google search for the "Plan de Prévention des Risques d'Inondation" or PPRI for your commune. This document is mandatory in the sale or letting process and has to be supplied to a purchaser or tenant at the outset - in the case of a sale, the 7-day cooling-off period could not start without all the relevant documentation being made available to the purchaser. In our case, of course, the purchaser didn't start to read the damn things until we were at the Notaire's office to sign the acte authentique, but that's how it goes.

[quote user="gardengirl "]I haven't heard that it's been found yet - really difficult search area. I've heard that a film of the last few minutes/seconds on the plane has apparently been seen by some journalists; that somebody found the memory stick or whatever it was on and then concealed it and contacted journalists is unforgivable in my eyes. Those poor people, and it must be unbearable for the families. [/quote] To put this at its most banal, this appears to have been a high-speed impact into a very solid object.According to reports, the cockpit voice recorder was quite damaged and most of the aircraft was utterly destroyed into small pieces. The flight data recorder is very tough but this is an extreme accident. Regarding the film of the last few seconds: we need to beware: within minutes of the announcement that the plane had gone missing, there were fake pictures of the crash site circulating the Internet. It is possible that this film is real but unfortunately just as likely to be a fake.

[quote user="Hereford"]We have just tried to apply for the Granny Bonds and got stuck! At the point you add your address it wants a UK postcode to "find" the address. We do not have a UK address.  Putting a French postcode just gets an error message and we cannot complete the rest of the info.  We went to the NSI page to apply. Can anyone tell me how they got past this seeming impasse please? Many thanks [/quote] Use the download option to give you a hard copy?

Since I have mentioned and recommended Joemobile several times, I thought I'd better update this thread. Since SFR and Virgin Mobile were recently taken over by Numericable, Joemobile has been scrapped with effect from today - there is a run-out period in which you can transfer your number elsewhere but basically it is closed to new customers and is being scrapped. The replacement offerings are of course continuous subscriptions which cannot be turned on and off at will.

Depending on where you are, you may find that a mobile solution (eg Joemobile) may work for you. Internet that can be turned on and off at will is not something in which the French service providers are (in general) interested - it smacks rather too much of "listening to the customer"!

[quote user="Jonzjob"] Safer to fly to the airport??? [/quote] Only if you can do it on a commercial airline ... General aviation accident statistics I believe are somewhat worse, and statistics for small helicopters worse still.

It's a scam, and the email address given is fraudulent. However, there IS something that people need to be aware of: some are, some aren't. It was pointed out at the time, but many people haven't taken it on board. At the same time that the paper tax disc was scrapped, the UK rules changed such that as soon as a car is sold, the new owner has to immediately re-tax the car: the new owner does not get the benefit of the remainder of the month that the previous owner has paid for - and the previous owner does not get paid a refund for part-months remaining. There is an article in the Grauniad's Money section on such a problem.

The thing is, the main reason why air accidents are news is because there are relatively so few compared with the number of flights per year. If aircraft were falling out of the sky every day, they would be less newsworthy, in a morbid way. You are still more likely to die on the way to the airport than in the aircraft. The trouble is, when an air accident occurs, a large number of people are affected in one go - like the school group on this flight. When it's a bus going off the road in Asia or South America, or a ferry sinking in Indonesia or the Phillipines, it seems to have less impact on Western media.

[quote user="Loiseau"]I had to watch a lot of House (mostly in French!).[/quote] You did find the button to change the audio from French to English, didn't you? (Although I agree that we found that some episodes of American TV series were broadcast only in French - usually for some reason the 4th of a chain in an evening - haven't a clue why). And "Stargate" always seemed to be broadcast in French only. Mind you, it was a bit strange to hear the French-dubbed "Montalbano" ...

[quote user="PaulT"]Whilst the £ to euro is high thinking of transferring from UK bank to French bank 4k to 5k in euros - will we have any problems doing that?[/quote] I doubt it: but be prepared for an enquiry from your French bank asking what the source of the funds it. See previous thread here: http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/3221671/ShowPost.aspx

[quote user="parsnips"] Hi, How long before they make us give them all our money, and dole out weekly pocket money for us to spend? [/quote] Look around you: are you absolutely sure that that isn't already the case?

According to Midi Libre: http://www.midilibre.fr/2015/03/18/les-paiements-en-liquide-bientot-limites-a-1-000-euros,1137711.php The French Government are introducing the following measures: The maximum payment that you are allowed to make in cash will be reduced from 3000€ to 1000€ for people who live in France. For non-residents it will reduce from 15K€ to 10K€. All cash deposits or withdrawals of more than 10K€ will be notified to the specialist fiscal fraud unit The maximum spend per month on a prepaid card will reduce to 250€ Face-to-face foreign exchange transactions of more than 1000€ will require presentation of an identity card. They also reckon that they are going to tighten up on consumer credit ... All in an attempt to tackle "low-cost terrorism"

We've seen Sherlock, House and the West Wing. The West Wing is primarily a vehicle for the liberal media in the US to try to educate the population that not everything is black and white in politics and that simple solutions to complex situations don't work - very entertaining but occasionally bordering on being sanctimonious. Sherlock - occasional annoying bits (from a stylistic point of view only) but generally excellent. House ... very good but the formula started becoming a bit strained the longer the show lasted. I have seen odd episodes of some of the others but never got into them. "Lost" was extremely over-hyped IMHO - and from what I have read it seems to have been a one-series storyline that then was recommissioned for a second and subsequent series which seem to have completely lost the plot somewhere along the way. After a couple of episodes of the first series I really couldn't care what happened - all the cast could have been eaten by poor-quality special-effect giant lobsters and I wouldn't have cared at all. 

[quote user="woolybanana"]In this context, what is the status of the agents boards outside a property; surely they do constitute an introduction as they let you know that the place if for sale?[/quote] I don't think that any immo has ever tried to assert that someone who has gone directly to an owner on the strength of a board outside a property owes them anything. Or at least they don't seem to have tried to take it to court. Yet.

[quote user="PaulT"]I thought that the Law required the vehicle in the country where the person is officially resident and in this case it would be the UK.[/quote] Not at the moment. Although the general case is that the vehicle should be registered where the keeper is officially resident, there is a specific clarification in that if the car is based at the second home of the keeper, and spends most of its time in that country, then that's where it should be registered. There is a proposal that would remove this exception, but AFAIK it has not been enacted yet.

I thought that I would do a little research on the topic. Obviously what follows is my understanding of cases reported in French and is therefore limited in its accuracy by my capabilities in French. The law governing transactions through an immo is "loi Hoguet n°70-9 du 2 janvier 1970" The most important thing in the transaction is the mandat between the seller and the immo, and it is important to distinguish whether it is "exclusif" or "simple". The Bon de Visite itself has some issues: from the cases that I have seen reported, the BdV's main purpose is evidenciary, in terms of proving to the seller that the immo is actually doing some work. Its other purpose is to dissuade buyers from trying to go around the back of the immo. It can also be used as evidence that a buyer was introduced by an immo. French courts have ruled however that simply signing a BdV alone is not necessarily sufficient to require a payment to the immo. In the case where an immo has a mandat "exclusif" then only the agent that has the mandat can claim payment. However, in the instance where a property is on the market with several different immos at different prices (mandat simple), then the buyer appears to be generally able to choose to complete the transaction through a different agent from that through which s/he originally saw the property. What matters in this case is who brings the transaction to completion, and only that immo can expect payment, irrespective of who made the initial introduction, unless the introducing immo can prove that there was an intention to defraud the introducing immo of the commission. If however, the buyer signs a "mandat de recherche" rather than a "bon de visite" with the immo, that creates obligations between the buyer and the immo which the buyer would find difficult to circumvent. Turning now to the issue of what happens if a buyer, having been introduced by an immo, then tries to do a deal with the seller directly: the seller is in breach of his contract with the immo. One of the cases I saw reported concerned a sale where the seller and buyer actually knew each other (they were neighbours) but the buyer was introduced by an immo: in this case the court determined that the immo had made the buyer aware that the property was for sale, which is the fundamental part of his/her task, and therefore commission was due. Turning to the circumstances which the OP raises: if the immo can show to the satisfaction of a court that the sale transaction was achieved through an introduction that s/he made, then the court will require the payment of commission (or damages and interest) to the immo. Thus, even though the name on the BdV is not the same as the name on the acte de vente, if the immo can show that (for example) the actual buyer became aware that the property was for sale because his/her partner visited the property via the immo, then you would be on VERY dodgy ground if you were to try to avoid paying commission.  

[quote user="mogs"]Anyone know if it's possible to buy the special glasses in France, and if so where? What's the best way to project an image? (I never was very good at science or physics).[/quote] At its simplest, just a piece of card with a small hole in it, held in one hand and a piece of white paper in the other hand to project the image onto. During the partial eclipse mentioned earlier, in the north of England it was interesting to see that where the sunlight filtered through trees with leaves on them, the illuminated spots on the ground under the trees became crescent-shaped.

[quote user="JSKS"]What I don't really understand is the random nature of the ''feel at home'' countries - there seems no logic to it![/quote] The logic is actually quite simple. The original "Feel at home" destinations were countries in which the parent of Three, Hutchison Whampoa, held mobile phone service provider licences. They have since added countries where they have been able to negotiate deals with major mobile phone service providers.

[quote user="Loiseau"]Exactement... I never would be abroad for anything like that period in one go, so must be sure to use it at home a fair bit. [/quote] Our periods abroad have likewise not been anything like that in one go - there is "totting up" across months going on, and even then they have assumed more periods abroad in "Feel at home" destinations than I have actually had.

Incidentally, JoeMobile uses (and is owned by) SFR, so if you wanted to go that route you would need a good SFR signal.

[quote user="Loiseau"]Like you, Pickles, I am a very light user of my mobile. This is actually the first time I have splashed out on a monthly contract - partly cos I like to do the occasional spot of geocaching. This can be more spontaneous with a mobile app as against remembering to copy the search data from computer to dedicated GPS device. If I understand right, it seems that, as a monthly user, I'd have to use up all my monthly allowance at least twice before I'd be in trouble: "Since Feel At Home is designed for UK residents on holiday or business trips abroad, if you exceed the above allowances abroad in any two months within a 12 month period, it may affect your roaming services and prevent you from using international roaming in the future." I had better make sure I use the phone a fair bit when I am at home in the UK. Not much help to you, though, Pickles. :-( Angela[/quote] I think that it's the second restriction that you need to be careful of ... "Three reserves the right to suspend the service in the event the UK allowance is used exclusively abroad for three (3) months within a twelve (12) month period"

[quote user="Loiseau"]Oh crumbs, guys! I am with Three mobile, but on a monthly contract, and am delighted to have the free roaming for my trips to France. I make regular visits to France of about two weeks' duration, though overall spend more time in the UK. I must check the Ts&Cs again.... When are roaming charges due to be abolished generally? It keeps being deferred[/quote] The latest info is that instead of abolishing them this December, the industry lobby groups have succeeded in deferral to at least 2018 (and at that point it will simply be "reviewed"). This means that the home country use price rises that the service providers have been putting in place to cope with the abolition of roaming will stay in place whilst the cause of them will not happen. Similarly, having pretty much killed the market for "Alternative Roaming Partners" (another way of reducing your roaming costs, which was supposed to be mandatory from June 2014), the service providers get to keep the high roaming costs. The service providers get to win both ways ... at the cost of both roaming and non-roaming customers. [quote user="Loiseau"] EDIT Hmm, just checked here: http://www.three.co.uk/Privacy_Cookies/Terms_Conditions?content_aid=1220482374514 ....the following limits per month shall apply: Data: 25GB SMS: 5,000 Voice 3,000 minutes Three may contact the customer if the above limits are exceeded in any given month. Three reserves the right to suspend the international roaming when in a selected destination if the customer’s use exceeds any of the above limits for two (2) months within a twelve (12) month period... ....Three reserves the right to suspend the service in the event the UK allowance is used exclusively abroad for three (3) months within a twelve (12) month period.[/quote] Yes, I was well aware of the Ts and Cs. How they apply to PAYG customers is not quite as transparent, but Three has decided that despite my not having a "UK allowance" to use abroad, and despite not using the service exclusively abroad for 3 months in 12, they have still pulled the plug on my roaming service. Incidentally, I posted on their blog about this and they pulled my post!

If you have a reasonable mobile phone signal, why not try a "Mi-Fi" device which connects to the mobile phone network and gives you a WiFi connection. This can be used with eg a JoeMobile SIM for which the service (and the subscription) can be switched on and off as you need it..

I have a strong suspicion (and I think Chancer hinted at this way back) that this all comes down to restrictive "non-competition" clauses in Clarkson's contract: if he leaves of his own volition, he may not be allowed to present a similar show for a couple of years, whereas if he is pushed, then he may be able to go straight to another channel.

I changed over to the Three mobile phone network in the UK last year. One of the things that they tout is a "Feel at home" charging system by which, in 16 countries, they allow you to use your monthly allowance as if you were in the UK. If you are on PAYG, (like me) then it says that you must buy an "add-on" to avail of this. It also says that if you spend 3 complete months abroad in a year then they will remove your roaming priviledges. I don't use the mobile phone very much, so was quite happy not to buy the add-on and thus I have paid normal EU-sanctioned rates for sending and receiving calls. We have spent time in several different EU countries, returning to the UK, and never being abroad over a month. Now I have received a text from them giving me a few days' notice that they are stopping my roaming service - so I can't roam at ANY price! The reason given is that I have been abroad in "Feel at home" destinations more than 3 months in the last 12. It doesn't matter that I didn't avail of the "Feel at home" service. It also doesn't matter that I haven't spent complete months in any destination. It seems that my case is not unusual. Back to GiffGaff ...