jrhartley

Just to let you know what has happened - I wrote a letter to Nationale Suisse setting out all the problems, most notably the failure of their agent to respond to my emails in May (and in fact earlier in the year) and also the fact I didn't receive a devis regarding my higher annual premium.  To their credit, I received a letter a week later saying sorry for all the trouble, and that they are dropping the action. Trouble is, I had already sent the cheque to the bailiffs as they said I had to pay with 48 hours of receiving the letter or face serious costs.  So now I've got to write to them and ask for them not to cash my cheque, or to send me the money back...  I suppose I'm in the clear now, so there's no reason why they can keep the money, but my notion of bailiffs is that they are not reknowned for their kind manner! Thanks to all for their help - I wonder if that mobile phone case and automatic renewals is having repurcussions in the insurance world?

Thanks - I did try to do this in August when I first received her "rappel" - but she was having none of it - it was the full premium for the year, no argument about it.  Hey ho, looks like I'll have to pay the recouvrement contentieux.  thank God for the lower premium at AXA, and if there's any karma in the world, the original agent won't sell many houses in 2005!    

Thanks for the replies.  But isn't it normal to actually get a devis before being chased for what you owe, 2 months after the event - surely I need that information in advance rather than in arrears? Also, what about the EC law angle - strikes me as a massively anti-competitive practice?  Maybe those boys in Strasbourg should be worrying less about Ryanair getting kickbacks from airports and more about people being swindled by arcane legal systems that should be outlawed.  And as I said, reading my contract, nowhere does it say that it renews automatically - my limited understanding of contract law is that there can't be "assumed knowledge" of national systems when contracts roll on like this, it needs to be something you actually sign. Either way, thanks for your help.  Strikes me as a particularly bad commercial decision by the agent involved.  I can at least reassure myself that even with this, AXA's premium being so much lower than Nationale Suisse's I'll recoup the difference quite quickly.    

Hello I was wondering if I could pick the forum's collective brain on a really annoying ongoing dispute about my household insurance that has now resulted in my being threatened by the debt collectors. In brief - when I arrived in France in July 2003 and bought my house, I needed to arranged home insurance straight away, so went to the local agent, who was selling policies with NATIONAL SUISSE.  I signed a contract for a year's insurance and paid cash there and then (it was about EUR360 FYI).  In May 2004 I did some shopping around and got a better quote from AXA (around EUR250) so I emailed my agent and asked what the premium would be with national Suisse for 2004/5.  I didn't receive any response.   So I assumed that the contract had reached its expiry in July 2004 without renewing and took out the cheaper policy with AXA. At the end of August 2004, I received a reminder from my agent that I owed EUR380 for my home insurance.  I say reminder, but this was the first letter I'd received about the policy renewal price - and I received this some 50 days after my initial policy with National Suisse had already expired.  I was insured with AXA by this stage, so I wrote back to say that I didn't need the National Suisse cover as I'd got a better deal elsewhere.  The agent then calls up and tells me that I have to pay as I didn't cancel my contract at least 2 months in advance by lettre recommandee.  My argument was that she had not replied to my email nor had National Suisse sent me a renewal reminder informing me of the new premium.  I said, as an extreme example, what if National Suisse had decided to increase my policy premium to, say €2000 without telling me the new premium price in advance - I'd still have to pay for it? What is more, I've found out that despite National Suisse demanding the full EUR380 odd for the full year's cover, they actually went and cancelled the policy in August 2004.... Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.  I thought that automatic contract roll-overs were illegal under EU law - I've got a copy of my original contract with National Suisse and its not written anywhere on that that it will renew every year unless I write to tell them not to.  thanks!  

[quote]You obviously had a bad experience. The system is computer driven and looks at individuals requirements before determining the best arrangement and certainly is not set at 12KW. I have used the servic...[/quote] Quote: "You obviously had a bad experience. The system is computer driven and looks at individuals requirements before determining the best arrangement and certainly is not set at 12KW. " I am not sure how true this is - the independence of the EDF computer.  I have been in France for 18 months and when I arrived I gave them a list of my circumstances (working from home, always in France, at that stage had electric ballon, couple of convectors, tv, video. PC, 10 halogens, etc, etc) and they came back and told me that "option base 12kW" was the one for me.  I hadn't really done a lot of work on the prices then, but now I've spend over EUR1,000 on electricity for one person for a year, I have.  So after reading this thread with interest and doing some research on the EDF price plans, I called them this morning to ask to change to "option Tempo".  The woman insisted it wouldn't be worth my while changing because of the higher fixed charge (a difference of EUR60 on the 12kW option over 12kW base I believe).  I fail to see how her maths adds up - for 300 days a year the electricity per KwH is 1/2 the price under "option tempo" than it is under "option base".  For the next 40 days it is the same price under "option tempo" as I am currently paying under "option base", and for the red 25 days of the year its is about 20% more expensive than under my current contract. Clearly I didn't need to do any calculations or have a fancy computer to tell me that unless I was planning on powering CERN's particle acclerator during those 25 red days, it wouldn't be long before I recouped the EUR60 I'd be paying in the higher standing charge.  Yet she's telling me that it would be worse for me.....   You've got to remember, government is looking to sell off this puppy, word has probably gone out to try to get the profits up ahead of the IPO. Any thoughts?

Thanks.  Sorry - should have said - LPG, not mains gas.

Hello Could I pick more experienced renovators brains on this one?  Next year I'd like to kick off some renovations on my property.  At the moment, my house is built into the side of a hill.  I'd like to firm up the cave area and floor above by replacing the current crumbling stonework with a retaining wall and a dalle on top of that.  Also, outside the house, I'd like to do something similar - replace the bulging stone wall that is holding a bit of garden / hill back, with some more heavy-weight industrial concrete blocks, and lay some drainage to take the water round the side of my house, rather than entering into my cave.  To be clear, as the house is built into the side of the hill, nothing would change that would be visible.  The terracing of the garden would change marginally (it would no longer be crumbling and bulging stone, but supported properly). Am I right in assuming that I can just go ahead and get a quote for these works and proceed without a declaration de travaux or any other paperwork from my mairie? Also, wereabouts is the current SH (surface habitable) of my property recorded? - I've checked on my Taxes Foncieres sheet, my account @ the impots website and also on my compris de vente but I can't find it anywhere.  Will it be at the mairie or at the cadastre? [my point being - how would they know if I had augmented my interior floorspace?] thanks

I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on why boilers in France are so much more expensive than in the rest of Europe.  I think we are all aware of the price differences between the UK and France for these appliances - what I find confusing is that if you look at, say, a CHAPPEE boiler (a division of BAXI) - in Belgium the boiler is EUR2550+VAT: http://www.baxi.be/fr/pdf/tarif/Tar_LUNADUO.pdf Whereas the exact same model in France retails at EUR3500+VAT.   That's some impressive market segmentation.  Why would this be? Of course, to an extent its academic, as the chances of finding a plumber who'll fit a boiler you have bought yourself are pretty low... Anyone have any thoughts on the merits of trying to install a UK boiler - my initial feelings are that it would NOT be a good idea (in terms of how it would go down if you tried to sell your house in France - clearly less attractive to have non-French systems installed) and also in terms of finding an engineer who would service it / repair it / find spares for it, if it conked out in mid-february.        

Who knows?  Maybe the told me to complete a SORN as it had taken them over 3 months to process an Export Certificate request, and even after that, they sent me someone else's certificate.  So maybe this was an "elastoplast" solution from the DVLA to deal with their mistake?  It worked though, it got me off the DVLA records and so I don't think there's any chance of the DVLA taking me to court for UK RFT.   What is clear from all this discussion is that there needs to be much more co-ordination on these matters, Europe-wide.  I find it amazing the haste to rush through things like the euro and weights and measures legislation, when the day to day matters like insurance, police & legislation remain so widely different between EU member states.

RE: Sorn - are you sure about this?  When I spoke to the DVLA they advised me that the "R" in the SORN referred soley to British Roads (as this was corresponding to the tax).  Clearly if you drive on a private road only in the UK, you can operate with a SORN, and don't need to pay road tax so I fail to see why a SORN shouldn't apply in Europe.   The SORN has nothing to do with the car not being driven, only that it is not being driven on UK public roads. In fact, thelady at the DVLA advised me to do a SORN whilst they sorted out the******up over the export certificate.  

Your French insurance should cover you for 30 days in the UK. If I were you, I'd buy a tax disc as soon as I was back in the UK and then send it back for a refund in the meantime.  I take it you registered a SORN (Statutory Off The Road) notification when you left for France?  I don't think you'll have any problems then.  When you leave the UK, you'll have to do another SORN.  Its annoying, but I think that might be the simplest solution.  The UK should introduce toll roads and scrap the RFT asap.  Pay for what you use, that's how it should be!    

My impression is that second hand car prices are about 20% higher in France than in the UK on a L4L basis.  I don't know why this is - but I suppose its the same way that when you go to Brocantes they are trying to sell stuff that most people in the UK would throw away or incinerate. 

Sure, but my point is that if, like me, you've got a UK registered car, are going through the motions of getting french immatriculation, and have insured with a french insurer (which allows me to drive for 30 days overseas each year) there would be no reason to continue paying the UK RFT.  It does get complicated when you're in this transition period trying to take the car into the UK - not helped by the ineptitude of the DVLA who I have contacted more times than I care to remember about obtaining an export certificate.  They sent me one - unfortunately it didn't have my name on it, nor my car.  Quality, eh - now some bloke in Reading is waiting for the export cerficate for his Triumph Stag (well, he's probably not, as I posted it to the correct address). I think a lot of the reason so many people don't bother jumping through the hoops that they are supposed to jump through is that most of the civil servants and bureaucrats that you need to deal with on these matters are so thick and incompetent at their jobs that it actually saps your lifeblood trying to complete the process.  I'm not saying that makes it right that there are so many vehicles in a state of limbo, but I think its a significant contributing factor. Moreover - why is it that its still impossible to find a Europe-wide insurance policy (i.e. one which allows you to drive for more than 30 or 60 days in a country other than which the car is registered in).  Freedom of movement of people & capital, and all that.  I'd have thought that this would have been one of the first things to be enacted.  I suspect its because the likes of AXA charge Brits a fortune for their car insurance, and if there were Europe-wide policies, people would shop around and eliminate some of this profit through market segmentation.  

[quote]Absolutely Gay. The car must be ROAD LEGAL in the UK - i.e. MOT'd and taxed, for the insurance to be valid. If any of these drivers are involved in a road traffic accident they are in for a shock! (If...[/quote] Well - that's assuming its insured in the UK.  If you've insured your car in France then you don't need to worry about paying for UK RFT.  Why would anyone choose to pay UK RFT if they are living in France and never taking their car to the UK?

But isn't it the case that 1/3 of French households don't actually own a telly license?  the enforcement can't be THAT good or the fines THAT punitive if around 8 million households are claiming they don't watch the box.

Level-headedness and tolerance weren't the things that crossed my mind as the motorcyclist who aimed for me at 60mph+ whilst I was crossing the TCR in London.  When I looked at him in disbelief at his recklessness, he dismounted his bike, took off his helmet, and started shouting obscenities at me.  As I walked away, he followed me, meaning I actually had to run down into the Underground to escape him.  He was a courier. Or the time at Tower Hamlets when an aggrieved motorcyclist who was sure I'd somehow interfered with his divine right to use both sides of the road parked his bike in front of my car, dismounted, and with his helmet threatened to smash the windscreen of my car in. So, I'd definitely have to take issue with the notion of the UK roads being a more tolerant place if they were occupied solely by bikers. 

My advice on those 24 H petrol pumps - don't use the ones that actually take the card inside the machine to read the card details - just use the ones where you can still pull your card out at any moment.  I used a "card swallower" in Super-U and it mashed my card.  I tried to get it out using my Swiss Army knife, but to no avail.  The following day I went to reclaim it, but Super-U refused to give it to me unless I paid EUR400 for the repair of their machine - they claimed that I had broken it.  So I had to cancel my French cash card - a lot of hassle for the 2 weeks+ I had to wait for a replacement. So now - always the swipe at Champion for me!  

Even with the demand for Brits buying LHD 4x4s - I'd concur that the price of my Landcruiser is still probably 20-30% more for similar mileage, etc than I paid in the UK.  Second hand cars seem a lot steeper near to me - I reckon I probably saved EUR3-4K by getting it in the UK, plus I had the transport down. RE: Chains on a 4x4 - I thought this was "deconseillé" anyway - the size of the wheels means they rip off with alarming regularity, doesn't it?  at least that's what my neighbours and my garagiste warned me.  Hasn't been an issue - the low ratio on my Toyota has always sorted me out to date.

Thanks for replies.  I'd seriously question 20L per minute for a decent shower though.  I've got a 30L electric ballon that lasts for 5-6 mins at 40'c.  It's not so powerful that it blows you across the shower floor, but its not bad - a perfectly fine shower.  20L per minute seems a bit OTT. FYI - the spreadsheet was for energy cost calcuations for the 3 types of energy I mentioned, not for plumbing flow rates or combi boiler selections.  That's why I posted here to ask about that. 

Seems costly.  Pay EUR50-60 per stere (coupe en 33cm ou 50cm) in Haute-Savoie.  

 Hey Studied at IFALPES at Annecy last year (3 months 20 hours a week).  Its a reasonably good school, and good value for the lessons.  My take on the two towns would be that Annecy is more upmarket, richer, slightly "older" and more refined - Chambery is marginally edgier and a bit more boho.  Both are great places.  Annecy would probably have the edge for me because of the lake and also because you're only 45 mins from La Clusaz in winter, closer to Geneva if you need to nip back for anything.  If you can get a flat on the canals (IFALPES have a few as part of their accomodation book) then that's great - one of my friends was there and it was wonderful taking drinks on his balcony after classes on Friday afternoons. PM me if you want to know anything else about the course  - I'm assuming its IFALPES as you're mentioning both Annecy and Chambery.  Oh - and re: accomodation costs - bank of about EUR500 a month through IFALPES in town.  You can walk everywhere in Annecy - you don't need a car, same is true for Chambery.

Most of my neighbours sport Toyota Landcruisers of various eras.  Great cars - I picked myself up a LHD FZJ80 from a north london dealership before I came over - great as it doubles as a van, so I got a good amount of my gear in it and the car here at the same time. 

To be honest, I don't know if you can really call where their chalet was "Les Gets" - I'm 90% confident its on Mont Caly, which is a bit like calling Luton part of London.  If it was EUR250,000 for the site, then that's probably a bit toppy for Mt. Caly - I think their chalet is at the top, so its not snow-cleared in winter, so that obviously affects rental potential / valuation.  Also a fairly long and windy drive down to the lifts - you could ski from the door in the morning, but put it this way, it would be ski touring.  I thought he said the price for the kitchen was EX-appliances, in which case I think that's bonkers. Anyone interested in buying in Gets should be aware of the problems that the Maire is creating - he recently went to Brussels to try to put an injunction on Brits buying any more property in the town (he got told to stop being so silly).  He also has been recently placing compulsory purchase orders on places and there is an awful lot of planning blight owing to the l'egout / water issues.  So plenty to think about for those looking at Gets.  Its too British for my liking anyway, I'm happy just down the road in my sleepy hameau.

I think you'll find you'll always need the English channels to get any real world news.  It amazes me how the French are so anti-American when they are so alike in many respects - their parochial newscasting being just one similarity!  Thank goodness for BBC News 24!  

I think that the figures about fuel efficiency are very old from the French government site – I have run some numbers on a spreadsheet and it seems that the cost of fioul vs propane / butane is only about 15% cheaper with oil at the current price.  Natural gas is a lot cheaper than delivered gas.  Electric is obviously off the scale unless you're in a very well insulated shoe box, visiting for one weekend a year.   I'm also getting some prices for chaudieres - what I'm interested to learn is why a combi boiler is no good for multiple bathroom households - surely if the flow rate is good (14L/minute, etc) - won't that be fine?  What do people thing about chaudieres with ballons built in - what are the advantages there? Aside from the difference in pipes, is it really a huge hassle to get a boiler from the UK and install it here, then get it certified?  After all, many of the big manufacturers just brand their systems differently in different countries, but the guts of them are largely the same?    Interested in any views.  Incidentally - if anyone wants a spreadsheet to evaluate annual running costs of propane, fioul and electricity based on a KW heating / hot water requirement, PM me - I did this the other night.