suein56

Simon You will be getting 'frais de notaire reduits' though wont you - if the house is under 5 years old - and that is worth about 3% or so. Sue  

or even http://www.infobel.com/france/ which is also useful if you know the number but have forgotten the surname, or only know the address. Sue

Hi Have a look at the small ads posted up in your local supermarket[s] and also in the local paper - whole kitchens are often for sale and often a few odd units. Sometimes they seem cheap, sometimes they appear expensive but there are always quite a few advertised in our area. Sue

***I only mention this because I have a few thousand points which I can't use for anything and it grieves me a bit getting something for nothing then not being able to use it.*** Quillan Re the Goldfish points: I ordered Asda vouchers and gave them to my daughter - result: free shopping for her and brownie points for mum. Of course if Asda is not your cup of tea ... Actually, I think most of the value of the vouchers was spent on 'George' clothes for daughter and granddaughter - and that brand has a nifty rating. Re the paying off of UK credit cards with a French euro cheque: I am stunned that that is possible and even more stunned that there are no charges made for doing so. Perhaps I have just got used to the French [Bank's] way of charging for everything, even if they should not. Sue    

Quillan Forgive me if my question seems nosey, but I am intrigued as to what you are buying with your UK credit cards if you here in France most of the time. Maybe I am missing something, but we only use our credit cards when we are in the UK , also to pay for a ferry crossing or flight if it is with a UK company. Do you know something I don't about UK credit cards?[:)] Sue

Paula IMHO everyone is right. If the car is UK registered and will only visit France, then as long as the tyres are UK legal you are fine. If, on the other hand, the car will remain in France then your daughter will need to have 2 tyres with matching tread and depth of tread on the same axle or it will fail its CT - and she will need to buy 2 new tyres at that point! This was the case with my OH's car when we came over last year - mixed tyres = fine for a holiday, no good for reregistering the car in France. Sue

Yup, I was aware of this too. Distressing isn't it? Sue

Fulchrum I have replied to your pm to me with a pm to you! Good Luck Sue

Nick 'tout à l'égout' is definitely mains drainage. We have only a little of it in some of the villages close to where we are so when it does exist the estate agents are most forceful in letting you know this  or that particular house benefits from it. Mind you, where we are our neighbours prefer 'fosse à toutes eaux' as it is so very much cheaper!!! Sue  

Crikey - what is happening to me? I have just scored 3; I couldn't understand some of the questions at all, others were all about people and places I have never come across before  -  I feel a total ignoramus. And, to cap it all, every single one of my guesses was wrong. Move over Twinkle - the bottom slot is mine today!! Sue

Hi All the houses we have looked at with tout a l'egout have been on mains drains. I think the rest says 'connected/joined up to a [stand alone?] cleansing system by means of main drain'. Someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon! Sue

[quote user="Cassis"]They don't tax you on equity investments for this very reason, so I would have thought from a common-sense point of view the same principal should apply.  Phil [/quote] Out of interest - which equity investments do you mean aren't taxed and who are 'they'? Sue - going quietly crazy trying to fathom the whys and wherefores of French tax forms [eg 3916] for the very first time.  

[quote user="Leslauriers"][quote user="Spg"] But this is assuming that premium bond wins are dividends - and they aren't, are they? Sue [/quote] From Taxation In France by Charles Parkinson "France does not tax lottery winnings, but correctly regards the prizes on Premium Bonds as interest, because the bond is a negotiable instrument (and therefore the "gambler" can recover his "stake)." [/quote] Still not dividends though, are they? Sue

*** I've experienced appalling 'service' from banks, removals firms, garages, supermarkets, you name it. They just don't do customer service here, it's one of the quirks, I suppose!*** Good grief Rosebud - what part of France do you live in? It  sounds horrendous. It is very different here - perhaps we are just fortunate where we live. Sue [:)]

But this is assuming that premium bond wins are dividends - and they aren't, are they? Sue

[quote user="Benjamin"] I know what our income is but with the UK and French tax years being at variance I need time to get a revised certificate of interest earned from a UK Building Society which could seriously hold things up. Benjamin [/quote]   Hi Is that right you can ask for revised certificate of tax? I had no idea. That might be quite useful. Though you don't want to delay returning the french tax form by the due date as I understand there are quite serious penalties for doing so. Sue [also a newbie to french tax forms]

***We had a great time in France - opened our first French bank account (easy - but never signed so many papers in my life!), found a perfect rental, but most important of all - met TRESCO & her lovely OH!!*** Yes, yes - I agree all very important, but, crucially - how was the weather???[;-)] Sue PS  Lovely to have you back.

Hi Fay Have you tried emailing the airport re the taxi situation? Sue

***If they fit the wrong part, you will be hearing further from me.*** Ooh help! You would upset a very petite person, would you? Good Luck for tomorrow - I hope all goes well. Sue

Hi Perhaps ... if this is wrong then someone wiser will know better than me. When I took my 9 year old Saxo to the garage for an oil change they asked me if I had had the 'courroie de distribution' changed; having no idea what that was but by dint of pointing and expansive hand movements etc we all agreed that perhaps this might be the timing belt and, yes, it had been changed at 8 years by my garage in the UK. Sue    

You might well be right about the military Ian. We think we drove too near to 'something' one day when we were area-hunting in Aquitaine as some military-looking guys started to walk towards our car and they were carrying guns/rifles/something fireable. We couldn't see any buildings at all or anything at all military-looking apart from them so I have no idea what it was. As my french at that time was not brilliant we turned round and drove away. Sue 

***Returning to the thread, I can't seem to get the aerial photo to load. There is a vue aerienne icon, but nothing comes up. I'm on dial-up, but even after 10 mins, nothing. Should I be more patient? *** Hi Ian After reading Will's words about the time the page would take to load using dial-up I was expecting a long wait, but I was pleasantly surprised how quickly it loaded - about 1 minute, and I am with wanadon't. So I would have another go if I were you - hopefully this time it might go work! Sue

We always used to stay in the Hotel Saint Nicolas when we visited La Rochelle - but we haven't stayed there since our last visit to La Rochelle in 2002. If it hasn't changed hands, and I don't think it has, then it is great - central, family owned and run, modernised with a characterful renovation of old buildings. The rooms were all a good size and all different. It used to cost 48€ a night but I see prices now start from 60€ - inflation! The hotel does breakfast (if you want it) but no other meals, but then La Rochelle must have the most amazing amount of superb restos ever in one place. http://www.choicehotelseurope.com/hotels/hotel?hotel=FR262 is the closest I could get to a web-site - it looks a bit grim on that site - it looks a lot better in the flesh and it is very well-located. And they can manage some English - if you need it, of course. They have cheap secure parking too, which is crucial in La R. Sue Edit: Gosh! How things change - it says on the site that the hotel does lunch and dinner - wow! [:)]

James is usually very helpful - perhaps he, or someone else, will establish why you are having problems. Sue

Hi This is probably not why you cannot achieve your aims, but I've found that it is impossible to do anything major - like adding an avatar, changing details etc - when the forum is busy. I kept getting a server error or a timeout or equivalent. So my advice is to try these adjustments at a quiet time - if you can find one. I experimented with an avatar yesterday, and it worked, but I deleted it 'cos it wasn't the 'right' one. Keep trying.[:)] Sue