Pickles

Apparently, December's "Skiing in Sete" had to be postponed but will now take place at the end of January. Skis and boots supplied on-site if previous editions are anything to go by. Snow has in the past been brought down from the Pyrenees http://www.ot-sete.fr/neige-a-sete-8eme-edition.html

[quote user="mint"]So, Teapot, do you recommend the ones that run off mains? [/quote] Have a look at the web pages below which have some useful information: http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/mains-smoke-alarms

At university, I occasionally drove Transit crewbuses for various groups. On one occasion, I had to take one that was new to me (but had been bought second-hand) and refuel it. Bearing in mind that this was 1984, and that petrol was less than £2 per gallon, and bearing in mind that in those days most pumps were still fitted with those trigger clips which meant that you could insert the nozzle, start pumping fuel, engage the clip and let go, I was daydreaming a bit and suddenly realised that time had passed, the pump was still going, and the price was heading towards £50. I glanced under the vehicle to check that the fuel wasn't spilling out from a rusted petrol tank seam (seen THAT one before). No, and the pump is still going. It stopped at just over £50 - the most I had EVER put into a vehicle at that point.  When I handed back the keys and logged in the vehicle (and my expenses claim!), I expressed my surprise at the fuel tank capacity. "Oh yes, we bought that from British Airways - they used it at Heathrow and had fitted a bespoke extra-long-range tank". I seem to recall the receipt being for around 130 LITRES - nearly 29 gallons.

[quote user="NormanH"]This afternoon [URL=http://s253.photobucket.com/user/bfb_album/media/10881526_10152966961640680_824055496198210_n_zpsd6895570.jpg.html][IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/bfb_album/10881526_10152966961640680_824055496198210_n_zpsd6895570.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] Grrrrrrr .....! Thanks a lot for that, NH(!) We do sometimes say to each other "Shall we nip down to Palavas for a walk on the beach? Are you SURE that we sold the right place?" However, we have the option of going down and hiring other people's places (ie gites, B&B, hotels) now. Just have to put a little bit more effort in, that's all!

Torygraph article (open in a private/incognito window)  : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11303443/France-launches-campaign-against-British-plot-to-dethrone-it-as-worlds-food-capital.html Apparently French govt. officials are concerned that English-speaking nations are denigrating French cuisine to such an extent that a counter-attack is vital. Really? Paranoid? But at least they recognise that there is a need for improvement when 70% of French restaurants are serving what Dave on this forum has described as pre-plated Brake Bros food.

[quote user="parsnips"]Hi Pickles,      What I am saying is that the social security system of the country of last employment is responsible for the payment of the accumulated pensions. So any pension due in respect of NI paid in the UK is paid , but it is paid via the french "caisse" which pays the french part of the combined pension. You can read the mechanism for combining the pensions in the UK social security abroad leaflet on the UK govt site.        I do not know whether the UK recompenses the french for the NI portion , but I suspect they do.  In any case, the pensioner gets all the pension payments -from the various regimes- to which he is entitled . [/quote] Ah. Much clearer, thanks.

[quote user="idun"]Pickles, it depends on where one lives when retired too. [/quote] I'm afraid the more I wrote in that post, the more I realised that I was just digging a hole for me to fall in! Apologies for taking up the time of all of you in explaining this to me! [quote user="NormanH"]In fact the system is that if you have a pension from the country you live in whatever the amount and whenever it was gained it is that country that pays for your Health care.   If you have worked in several then the one in which you paid in most is responsible. In my case this means that I paid in enough in the UK to have an OAP, and so according to parsnips to have acquitted my dues as far as being covered for NI payments, yet because I have a small French pension I am counted as a French pensioner also for the purpose of social charges. That seems a little like paying into two systems to me; one that I have paid up in full to, and the other ongoing. [/quote] So in your case the UK will have not made any payment to the French social security/health system at any time? But the UK in your case will be making payments of a pension based on your NI contributions, will it? Or only a pension based on contributions to a pension scheme? [quote user="NormanH"] My case will become more and more common as others who have worked in France had a business or been an AE come to full retirement age (I think perticularly of those who were early retired and started AE schemes to obtain health cover) [/quote] I can see that, but the numbers are still small enough in the overall scheme of things for reciprocity to be allowed to balance things out ... or are they? [quote user="parsnips"]Someone whose last employment  before retirement was in France , and who paid social charges on their income , is automatically subject to the french social security system , and has to claim their retirement pension via their french "caisse retraite".   A pension is calculated based on all their contributions during their working life within the EEC, including their UK NI contributions , but it is paid by the french caisse, and as they are subject to a french regime , the UK will not issue a form S1 .    Like all other french pensioners they have to pay "social charges" on their pensions.   This was a trap which many in the past did not foresee when they started businesses, or took employment,in France in order to gain access to the french health system , in the period between their ceasing UK employment ,and reaching UK retirement age.  [/quote] So you are saying that the UK will not make any NI-based pension payment to someone who ends their working life in France despite having perhaps spent the majority of their working life in the UK? And it will not make any contribution to the French system on their behalf either?

[quote user="NormanH"]"nobody can be subject to more than one regime of social security" But I am. I have a OAP  from the UK which should have  paid for my health care by your logic, but  as I also have a French pension I also pay French social charges and the UK contributes nothing despite   the taxes I still pay there and the NI contributions in the past. [/quote] But isn't that just an artefact of the existing rules which have been negotiated across the EU, in which in retirement you are covered by the social security system that you were in last before retirement (if that's how it works; please forgive my ignorance if that's not the way it works), and the reciprocal arrangement has been agreed on the basis that someone who worked in France for some time but then for the last few years worked in the UK is covered by the UK in retirement, and that the number of these cases is relatively small.

I, and I think a substantial number of people living in England, were very saddened to get the impression that a significant part of the SNP's strategy for the independence issue was to foment hatred of Westminster and the English in general. And "hatred" was not too strong a word to be used in this context. This has created two issues: 1) having irresponsibly stirred up antagonism against the English, the SNP has created something that it cannot direct or control 2) Because those of us south of the border heard the language that was being used and heard anecdotes from across the border about what went on, it has guaranteed that in the event of an eventual independence for Scotland by whatever back-door methods are proposed, there will be an inexorable pressure on any organisation which serves English customers from Scottish locations to move south. In the event of a "yes" vote in the independence referendum, Scottish-based financial institutions were going to have either move south or face massive withdrawals. I for one would not have wished to hold assets in an organisation staffed by people who I felt despised me (OK, so why bank in France, you might say?!) or have dealings with Scottish-based suppliers in such an event. In the event, the voters in Scotland voted by a significant majority to stay in the Union, and on that basis I continue to hold accounts in banks and other financial institutions headquartered and with service centres in Scotland, and to deal with energy suppliers based there.

We bought one of those cheap combined car battery booster/electric tyre pumps, probably from Aldi. Great investment as, like the insurance value of taking an umbrella with you, it basically guaranteed that we never needed to use it on our own car. Used it on those of plenty of our French neighbours though ...

[quote user="NormanH"]We have the same thing at the moment in Béziers where the Maire (elected with the support of the FN) ands married to a fundamentalist Catholic wife has put one in the Mairie. He has resisted attempts by the Préfet to remove it. It is in fact illegal and by putting it there he is (in my opinion) saying that in effect anyone can ignore a law they don't agree with. [/quote] Ah, but now he's made it all better by putting up a menorah for Hannukkah as well ...

[quote user="Quillan"]It does seem to vary across the different departments. Our nearest Intermarche is open at midday and has always been open on Sunday mornings. I was told the Sunday morning thing was something to do with them baking bread there but I am not sure. Our local Mr Bricolarge (which used to be Weldoms) does not object if you rush in at 11:55 and grab something quick, pay and leave. I wonder if it is something to do with this not liking 'rich' people, companies and functionaires in France and that people who work in places like supermarkets and DIY stores do the basic just to get the money and try to cut their working time at every opportunity? They don't seem to have much loyalty to those that pay them. Another gripe of mine with our local (Carrefour) supermarket is stockage. You wander round the supermarket and see something interesting, buy it, take it home and try it. It's rather nice so next time you go back you buy two. The third time you go back there are none left, just a big vacant hole on the shelf which stays empty for weeks. Another strange thing. We are in winter now but our Carrefour has BBQ lighting and cleaning stuff on the shelf, no glass cleaner or firelighters for our fire. Come the summer months they have all the stuff to clean your fire and little BBQ stuff. They also have special offers. The publicity arrives in your letter box after the event or it arrives before or during the event half the stuff is not there. Claire put me on to the idea, which is quite within your rights, of going to the 'welcome desk' (thats an oxymoron in a French store) and ask them to order it for you and they can't refuse which is what I do. In general I find the way the French run businesses makes we wonder how any ever survive. [/quote] I think that the Sunday morning opening thing is primarily down to size: if the store is less than 300 sq m in area, then it can open legally on Sunday. It may be a requirement that they are primarily selling foodstuffs as well, but I can't remember. There have always been exemptions for shops in holiday areas. We experienced the "near lunchtime BUT welcome" on one occasion: we went back in, occupied the time of a saleperson for about an hour running hither and yon, drawing up a list, getting prices and availability, then didn't buy. It was a wet day. We found that when shopping in Carrefour we had to be very careful of items being out of date: at one time Carrefour were running a campaign where if you found an item out of date they would give it to you free - the one time we tested this with an item that was the only one in the store, they tried to charge full price even after the date was pointed out and the in-store notice was pointed out. We left the item behind. On another occasion half of the fresh milk was out of date: no action was taken after this was pointed out. Carrefour's loyalty card was quite a good offer when it came out: now the "points" are meagre to say the least: the only reason why we keep ours is that we can use the "scan-while-you-shop" system, which still saves time, even though they have done their level best to negate the system by making you queue up to be introduced to a self-service pay till by a staff member.

Incidentally, any non-resident who sold a property in 2012 and had a capital gain on which they were charged social charges now has until 31st December to file a claim with the tax office for repayment. The same goes for claims for repayment of social charges paid on eg rental income which arose in 2012, and was charged in 2013. For social charges on rental income which arose in 2013 and was paid in 2014 and capital gains arising in 2014, non-residents have until 31st December 2015 to lodge their claims for repayment. "Connexion" suggests a suitable form of words for the claim.

[quote user="Chancer"]I know the UK doesnt as I now I think of it I have already been the guinea pig for testing the M20/M25/M23 average speed cameras, as outside of those sections I am the slowest guy on the road I dont slow down in them unless conditions and prudence dictates, I'm probably 5 or 10 mph faster than the other vehicles so reckon my number must have been taken a score of times yet never recieved a ticket.[/quote] Mind you, until fairly recently, apparently, the M25 average speed cameras weren't working and hadn't worked since their introduction. There was a report in Autoexpress and elsewhere saying that the variable limit enforcement cameras were to be switched on in autumn 2014, but again, apparently, these do not enforce the 70 mph limit when the variable limit signs are switched off.

[quote user="dwmcn"]Chancer, And now that they have got rid of the people working in the toll booths, they have upped the return charge from £4 to £5. David [/quote] £3.34 if you have a prepay account, but still an increase.

[quote user="Chancer"]Chancers Charter says: Its free for drivers of foreign registered vehicles. Their statements on the subject are contrary to the above, not as concise and have the intent to scare and make you believe the opposite. In simple terms to ensure compliance. A caveat for those who permanantly reside in the UK with a foreign registered vehicle, who work in central London and dont pay the  congestion charge and who will now pass free through the Dartford crossings, rip the proverbial out of it for long enough and your vehicle will probably be towed away, they wont be able to enforce any of the penalties but will likely use the penalties for not re-registering a vehicle.[/quote] They reckon that they will use the same debt collection agency/process that has been used "so successfully" for collecting the central London congestion charge from foreign-registered vehicles. I haven't a clue how "successful" they have been. Since we didn't sign up for free exchange of registration details (or did we eventually, despite saying that we didn't?), I have a sneaking suspicion that Chancer is right, again.

[quote user="suein56"][quote user="Pickles"]Does he have a French driving licence or a UK one? If it is a UK one, then he needs to change it for a French one, IIRC, because his UK one will have expired when he turned 70.. [/quote] Pickles I think the heading answers your question : Re: Driving with a French driving licence in England Sue[/quote] I was just checking in case a senior moment had been taking place when the OP was posting!

Incidentally, for those wishing to set up an account without wading through the acres of junk, go to: https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]My wife contacted them about this as I have a Luxembourg registered car. They had no clue Later, my number plate could be registered on their website but since the structure and layout of the charaters is nothing like UK plates I will be amazed if I am charged but at least I tried. I'll find out when I go back next week. How is it going to work with Frnch and Italian style numbers?  They are in the same series and style except for dashes between blocks.  How will they send bills for those? [/quote] My understanding is that they use ANPR and that this will automatically recognise the vast majority of the plates of the vehicles using the crossing. Those that aren't recognised are viewed manually, and I suspect that all non-payers will be viewed manually if they don't correspond to a UK vehicle.

[quote user="Gluestick"]Just a short advisory. I established a pre-payment account on Saturday and then, suddenly, had to drive to la belle on Tuesday. As is invariably the case, since the whole process is now online, the UK government have made a fist of explaining, simply and cogently, how the new system actually works! Post signing, one receives a "Welcome Pack": which simply goes on and on about Dart Tags; (The old system was similar to the French Péage system of a transponder.). Eventually, after trawling umpteen government websites and thereafter, sitting on the phone to the advice line (premium rate number!) for ten minutes I did eventually, manage to speak to some girlie. I explained the welcome pack simply banged on about the new Dart Tag, which I don't have, therefore how do I pay? Since non-payers will be later prosecuted, I had already worked out they must be using ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). Conclusion: if you have a pre-payment account, then the ANPR system picks up your crossing and deducts the appropriate sum: in theory! One cynical comment: as there are increasing numbers of cases of people fighting the London Congestion Charge non-payment summonses, due to cloned number plates, the situation at Dartford will become rather interesting, I believe! [:D][/quote] We set up an account late in November when the system allowed. We drove over on Sunday and when I checked the account, the crossing had been logged and deducted from my £10 initial deposit. The system allows for the logging of any registration number, UK or foreign. You can add the details of a foreign-registered vehicle to a prepay account.  

[quote user="gardengirl "]A friend here in France is very worried about driving in England at the start of 2015. He is 71, and has read on the internet that he can be stopped and prevented from driving when travelling in England because he won't have had his driving licence renewed at age 70 as he doesn't need to in France. He's really worried about being prevented from driving to various relatives' homes while in England. Has anyone on the forum come across that; has it happened to anyone you know? Or is it just internet myth? I looked myself but didn't find such info, and have also looked at the DVLA site with no luck.[/quote] Does he have a French driving licence or a UK one? If it is a UK one, then he needs to change it for a French one, IIRC, because his UK one will have expired when he turned 70..

[quote user="JeanS"]I want to send a cheque to my grandson who lives in Eire (Southern Ireland) - as they use Euros.  Would the Irish bank accept a cheque drawn on a French bank?  Any thoughts???? [/quote] We have been faced with this situation. The Irish bank will treat it as a "foreign" cheque, as Irish banks are not in the French bank cheque clearing system, and vice-versa. They will therefore charge a fee, the level of which you will find unreasonable. The best way is to do a SEPA virement from your account directly to his.

[quote user="PaulT"]Pickles 'As a non-resident, selling a property with a capital gain where the property value exceeded €150K, we were required to engage the services of a fiscal representative - in this case SARF. This adds cost to the transaction but until France starts taking notice of the European Court you are stuck with it' Out of interest what does the EC say should happen? PS well done for getting a sale[/quote] Under EU rules we should be treated in the same way as French residents except in regard to social charges, which should only be levied on French residents since EU-resident non-French residents are already covered by the social security systems of their home states. French residents do not have to employ a fiscal representative. The European Court has ruled on social charges with regards to income, is about to rule on social charges with regards to capital gains (for which an initial opinion has been lodged) and I understand a complaint wrt use of fiscal representatives is ongoing but an initial opinion has been given. All have gone against the French thus far.

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="CeeJay"]Q Thanks for that, I actually removed all the apps I had downloaded and thus far it seems (!!!!!) to be working alright, so I shall now download them again one at a time and see what happens. Presumably update 5, is it called Lollipop ?, will come along soon naturally so will wait until then, I have a horrible failing that to force an update will be my undoing!!!! Pity I'm having trouble as it is a great piece of kit, when it works, and I shall be taking it to New Zealand for Jan & Feb so will be relying on it. [/quote] Mrs 'Q' was in the UK and she got the (automatic) update to 5 whilst there as part of the normal updates (possibly the second or third week of November). Her Nexus is not rooted or changed in any way from a standard Nexus 7. Perhaps there is a delay in France for some reason. She took a lot of work data with her as well as several applications and as I said none of them were affected. Being her first time using a Tablet I am 110% sure I would have got an ear bashing over the phone had she lost her data. The only application she has a problem with is Accuweather which keeps stopping for some reason but I am sure a fix will be released soon, they normally are within six to eight weeks. So I can categorically say that you will not loose your data nor will you lose your applications. You should not have to force a Nexus to update (mine has done it three times since having it) it will happen autmatically which is probably the reason AnOther is getting confused as the two links he is giving is to force an upload of an unauthorised version, possibly a beta release.[/quote] Whilst we were over in France my Nexus 5 received an upgrade to Android 5. Since we were in "Ohhelldon'ttrustthisdon'twanttopossiblyloseeverythingjustatthismoment" mode, I held off installing the update until we returned to the UK. I have now let it install and everything has worked impeccably. No need to reinstall anything or reinsert settings or owt like that.

Since I have just gone through this, I thought it might be a good idea to post about the peculiarities of selling French property as a non-French resident, EU- (UK-) resident owner. As a non-resident, selling a property with a capital gain where the property value exceeded €150K, we were required to engage the services of a fiscal representative - in this case SARF. This adds cost to the transaction but until France starts taking notice of the European Court you are stuck with it.. One of the things that SARF requires is some form of certification of residence from the tax authorities of your country of residence in order to prove that you should be paying the EU rates of capital gains tax rather than the non-EU rates. In fact, what they are asking for is what HMRC calls a "letter of confirmation" and not a "certificate of residence". The format of this letter is shown on the following web page: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/intmanual/INTM162140.htm The easiest way to apply for this letter appears to be to use the online application form for the certificate of residence, filling in the boxes in such a way that it is clear that what is being requested is a letter of confirmation rather than a certificate of residence. Thus the financial details required are much much more simple. In our case, the letter of confirmation was received within a couple of days of the application. The online application form is at: https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/shortforms/form/PT_CertOfRes?dept-name=&sub-dept-name=&location=26&origin=http://www.hmrc.gov Strangely, despite both forms having been pretty much identically filled in, HMRC decided in its wisdom to give me a Letter of Confirmation but a Certificate of Residence for my other half.