Hosemaster

Hi I am having problems with a garage that has carried out work on my van without a signed Devis. There is now a dispute over the work and the garage owner is demanding the money and I am refusing to pay. He says he will start charging parking fees if I dont pay up and remove the van even though he has not completed the work. He never gave me a devis (despite being asked) until he gave me the facture. I have refused to sign it as the work he has carried out is no good and the vehicle is still not finished.  As I have not signed the devis can he legally demand that I pay his facture. As far as i can see he has carried out the work without my authority. He says if I dont pay he will take it to court how do I stand.  I know there are two sides to every story and yes to some degree I verbally gave the ok. BUT I have offered to pay some of the invoice, which he refused and the work he has done is no good and the van is still not working. I do not see why I should pay for something that is not finished, and does not work. He should have a signed devi by law as well. I beleive. By the way this is a Renault dealer be it only a small one. I also wrote a complaint letter to Renault France re the garagiste but they have not bothered to reply. I am not really suprised as it is one of their dealers. I think i have tried to be fair to the garagiste and have tried to be amicable to no avail. Any advice or help would be appreciated Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my original post. We appreciate your time and comments. To answer a few querys we have tried to be sociable to these people on several occasions, out of the teenagers one or two of them seemed to be fairly amenable but they still continued to terrorise usually when they had had too much to drink. I have also used the more brutal method of holding them 3 foot off the ground and telling them to stop it politley. Not my usual way of doing things but my patience is streched. The mother will not even say bonjour never mind negotiate and her so called freind and associates are as bad and even abusive. We have now found out that the house is owned by the children after the father died, so eviction looks impossible. We are considereing selling and moving on If we can!!!! Thanks again please keep the advise and comments coming Phil

We moved out here to the Limousin in July of this year unfortunatley we have been plagued almost since we got here by a very unruly family and there associates 75 metres up the road in our village. They are a family of 3 teenagers (15-17) 2 smaller children and their single mother plus various hangers on, the teenagers do not attend college and the young ones sometimes attendschool. The mother has been in prison for drug supply and they are reguarly drunk and unruly. They have terrorised this village, which mostly consists of over 65 yr old residents, by being abusive, driving vehicles and motorbikes (some without exhausts) round the village at 3am, and stealing and vandalising etc. Most of the villagers we speak to say they want them out of the village but are too frightened of retaliation to do anything. Most recently an associate of these people who claims to live at the house, stormed down the road and threw our flower tubs that where at the side of the road opposite our house into the stream shouting that we where English scum and that he wanted this area to park his 4 cars on. Although this is public land there is plenty of space further down the road and the Marie had seen these flowers and said how nice they looked. If this person had asked we could have made some space if required. We have sent a letter of complaint, as have 2 other residents, to the Marie and incidents have been reported to the Gendarmes but very little action has been taken. Can anyone help with any advise regarding legal action that could be taken to remove these people bearing in mind they seem to own they house they live in albeit payed for by social services (who also dont listen or act on to our complaints) Any help appreciated. Thanks Phil

HI   Does anyone know of a cattery / cat kennels in the Le Dorat / Bellac area suitable for our cat for just over 1 week in the middle of July (18-27), She is 19 yrs old and we cant leave her on her own of course. Any help would be appreciated Thanks Phil

Hi Swissbarry Please dont stop writing your hilarious memoirs they have my wife and I in stiches and really brighten up the forum. By the way I also put down sourcide in a lid off a jam pot. Not only did the sourcide disappear but so did the stell jam pot lid which must have been heavier than the mouse!"!!! ( I hope it was!!) Either sourcide desolves everything it touches or there are some very strong mice in France!!  Keep up the great stories   Phil

Hi I have been looking into the solar heating system idea myself. We are still in the uk but move out to France next month. I have searched the internet and there are some interesting ideas and info out there especially (as usual ) in the USA. There are a number of self design and build ideas which if you are just heating a pool are probably Ok. I am not sure they are good enough for a whole house though. I have fitted an oil fired boiler to my house for hot water and the radiators, but I am interested in suplimenting this with solar power. I am fairly confident I can install it and I would be interested to know which UK company you used Pippa for your solar panels. I also beleive there are grants available in France of up to 40% of the cost of solar power heating, so if any one knows more about this I am sure we would all be interested. We are moving to near Le Dorat in 87 area so would love to meet up and exchange ideas with any one near. Any info at all would be gratefully appreciated. Many thanks Phil

Hi Have sent you a private message

Hi I wonder if anyone can advise about having a telephone line installed at our house near Le Dorat. We seem to have the line to the house but I have no idea how to get the service connected or any idea of costs, time, scales etc. I would like to have internet connection as well as fax services, does this make a difference, Sorry to be so ignorant but its something I take for granted in the UK. Any advise or help would be appreciated Thanks Phil

Hi We opened a French bank account with CA Britline before purchasing our house. We then used Hifx a currency agent to transfer the money in euros to our french account they gave us a good rate and you can pre purchase at a given rate if you want to so you know exactly how many euros you are getting. (No messing with rate fluctuations). We then paid by cheque in euros. Planning permission depends on the size of your extension in relation to your existing area. Probably best to look on the section on here re planning rules. If its over this size you have to use an architect. Not too cheap but ours did everthing including the permission. Worth its weight if you dont speak or write /read good French.   Hope this help Phil

[quote]Can anyone advise us where we can hire a mini digger for only 1 day, at a reasonable price . We are in dept 86, near Montmorillon. Carol & Rod[/quote] Hi have sent you a private message   regards Phil

[quote]Would be grateful if anybody knows where I can find a good architect in the 87 region if they could post some details. Its not a huge project like a barn but too big to tackle without plans i.e. reno...[/quote] Hi Caz We used an excellent architect from near Bellac in 87 he was very efficient and got our plans drawn and passed by the consul general in about 3 months from start to finish. He doesnt speak english though, but I dont speak much French yet! Even with this difficulty we still managed to get exactly what we wanted, he does seem to understand your basic ideas very well. He wasnt expensive or cheap about right for the work required. I am at the office at the moment but when I get home i will dig out his details and send them to you probably tomorrow now.   Regards Phil

[quote]Surely there can be no way, that price is for exactly the same sitiuation as the previous year? I seem to remember that there was a couple of ways of cancelling ones insurance policies. One was, as ...[/quote] Hi I have just renewed my insurance for buildings contents etc etc and the premium was about the same as last year 240 euros and we dont live in our French house yet so they know it is empty most of the time. I cant see that a rise of 600 is right I agre you should make a big big fuss. I would get a quote from someone else and wave it under their noses (as long as its cheaper of course.) Hope you sort it out Phil:

Hi I have an empty plant trailer 4ft 6" X 7ft 6" approx returning to the UK fron area 87 on 30th October if anyone requires anything taking to the midlands area would be happy to deliver for a bit of fuel money. Thanks     PHIL I dont think this is advertising Im just trying to help people!!

Hi We are moving permanently to our house near in Oradour-st Genest near Le Dorat early next year and have 11yr old son who will be going to school we presume in Le Dorat. Is there any one near this area that has similar aged children at a French school or could give us any advice or help our boy in his transition into French life. We would very much appreciate any help or advice. Many thanks Phil & Melanie

Hi everyone, Before I start please excuse my ignorance in all this as we have only just stated our research. We have a 11 yr old boy and are planning to move over to our house in 87 region early next year. Schools and the education system in general are now at the top of our list. I have read many of the postings on education and it seems to be a minefield from start times and length of day to lunch times and transport costs and medicals etc. Could any one perhaps put the process into straight forward terms as  to what we have to do find a school and register (also what school or type should he go too) through to what the basic costs required are in general etc. I would be very grateful for some help as it is worrying Thanks Phil & Melanie

LAST EDITED ON 22-Apr-04 AT 08:09 AM (BST) Hi all, I am over at our house near Le-Dorat on the 6th May and require a van to hire for a day to collect a boiler, flue, pipework, blocks, cement, etc. Does anyone have a van for hire for the day or know of anyone or any company near this region who may have one for hire. Any help would be appreciated. Also may be interested in purchasing a van if the right vehicle/price. Many thanks Phil

Hi I have a lgv class 1 licence and a bus/coach drivers licence can anyone tell me if they are valid in France and if it is possible to get a job with these or do I have to re-sit the tests! Many thanks Phil

Hi I am coming over to my house in 87 nr le-dorat at the begining of May with aplumber freind of mine and intend to fit a oil fired boiler to my existing central heating rads. Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a Le-Blanc boiler and above ground outdoor oil tank, near us or in the limoges area. Any help would be appreciated. THANKS

HI Carole, Where abouts are you, we are at Oradour-St-Genest about 15k north of Bellac. We are keen to make new freinds although we are still living inthe Uk at present. We are next over the week before easter until the Tuesday after. Would love to hear from you or anyone in the area. Regards Phil & Melanie

Hi I am using a Monseuir Chabrouix from near Le Dorat I dont know if he goes as far as Limoges but he seems very good and is on my wave length!! Only problem is he only speaks French so it may be difficult to converse I have used a interpreter to liase with him but you are welcome to his phone number. Regards Phil

Hi I have a large dry attic over a workshop at my house nr Le Dorat the house and workshop are empty at the moment but are very secure. If it is of any use to you I am sure we can come to some arrangement on a short to medium term storage E-mail me if I can help. Phil

HI If you find a good one, would you pass on his name and number I will also have some work of this type in the future. Thanks Phil