tenniswitch

You can't be too careful.  Did you check to make sure the mailing address was exactly the same one you have for your bank?  That being said, we've twice gotten this request from our bank (CA) and I returned them with copies of our US utilities bill, property and income tax forms (with social security #s, etc., carefully obliterated).  They were perfectly satisfied with these. We'd been making rather large deposits to cover the purchase and repair of our new maison secondaire, and I think the bank just wanted to cover their assets in case they got queries about not reporting these to the taxing authorities.

[quote user="ErnieY"] If you can't send via a web based email system like Gmail it suggests to me that there is a problem at your ISP. Try signing up for a free Yahoo A/C and see it that works. [/quote] I guess I didn't explain very well.  I have no trouble sending/receiving mail from/to my gmail accounts, or my US ISP's email accounts via Outlook.  I have no trouble receiving emails to my wanadoo account via Outlook, but I can't send any mail from my wanadoo account via Outlook.  As a test, I tried to send an email via Outlook to my gmail account from my wanadoo account, but got the same error message that I'd gotten trying to reply to messages sent to that wanadoo account: Sending reported error 0x800CCC0D. "Unable to find the e-mail server.  Please verify the server information in your e-mail properties." (Need I mention that they are the same settings I've been using for months?) Oh, and actually I do have a free Yahoo account, but mail to/from those accounts can't be accessed through Outlook or OE.

[quote user="5-element"]I am having the same problems, but only with two email correspondents. I wonder if perhaps it is not their email box which is full, although strangely, it looks like the problem is from my end. No idea what's going on.[geek][/quote] I even tried to send one to my gmail inbox (which I know isnt full), but no go.

[quote user="cooperlola"] [quote user="5-element"]Perhaps an epidemic called "Christmas parties"?[:P][/quote]Well, almost, as it turns out!  Actually Christmas cards.  I looked back at this thread and took tenniswatch's suggestion and googled the error number (which was the same as on the previous occasion that this happened.)  It turns out to be an anti virus problem.  There was an electronic Christmas card which I was trying to send to FHI as it was addressed to them via me.  I knocked it out of my Outbox into another file and whammo - everything which had been collecting in there for the last two days suddenly got sent. At least I know what the problem is now, although the others still haven't got their Christmas card.... [/quote] I still can't send, and haven't got your excuse; there's nothing sitting in my outbox.  I haven't changed my account from wanadoo to orange.  Do you suppose that's causing my problem?

[quote user="cooperlola"] [quote user="5-element"]Perhaps an epidemic called "Christmas parties"?[:P][/quote]Well, almost, as it turns out!  Actually Christmas cards.  I looked back at this thread and took tenniswatch's suggestion and googled the error number (which was the same as on the previous occasion that this happened.)  It turns out to be an anti virus problem.  There was an electronic Christmas card which I was trying to send to FHI as it was addressed to them via me.  I knocked it out of my Outbox into another file and whammo - everything which had been collecting in there for the last two days suddenly got sent. At least I know what the problem is now, although the others still haven't got their Christmas card.... [/quote] Very interesting.  I received Christmas greetings (not a card, but with photo attachments) addressed to my wanadoo account today.  Wanted to forward it to the DH, but could not do it through my US ISP until I changed the sending address (mine) to my Gmail account.   I haven't tried to send anything else from my wanadoo address lately;  I'll give it a day or two and try again before changing any settings.  I do wish that wanadoo/orange would learn to play nicely with the rest of the world. Merry Christmas, all. Tw

Actually, we were in the US when the sales of both our French houses closed.  The notaire's office made all the arrangements for insurance through CA for us.

[quote user="Cathy"] That's interesting, Barbel (although the school insurance wasn't expensive). Where do I get hold of Credit Ag insurance division (I do have an account with them)?  Do they have an English language service?   [/quote] If you're in France, you can drop by your bank; there should be a conseillor there, although probably not any English speakers.  The CA website has links and info on it (at least for CA Haute-Loire).

[quote user="maude"]Hi Folks.I keep getting a "freeze everything " box when Im on the ,net saying "stack overload"!!! What does this mean and how do I get round this frustrating anomaly.I have to come out of Explorer-with difficulty and start again.Very  mais oui,donc,alors!!!!!Maude[/quote] Have you tried googling the exact wording of the error message?

[quote user="londoneye"] Thanks both.   Tresco, I was trying to think of a word to describe how he looks, and you have hit the nail on the head, he looks bereft.   He only had a few biscuits but he has now crept over to as near as my cat will let him sleep near him, and is curled up in such a tight ball. I think neighbour needs to get him a new companion myself, but it's up to him. [/quote] I think you've acquired a new member of the family.  I hope your neighbor won't take offense.

This has been a very interesting thread for me as Mr. TW and I have been coming to France for more than 25 years and neither of us can remember the last time (if ever) we were asked for ID info when checking into a CdeH or hotel.  And, being from the US, we are most definitely not "European".  Can it be that Mr. TW's fluency in French makes the difference?  But, no, he didn't speak French any better than I did when we started. Maybe it's because we always use credit cards?  

[quote user="bixy"]I bought a printer from Amazon UK, brought it over to France, wouldn't work. It was 3 months later that I took it back to the UK and sent it back to Amazon. Full refund, no quibble. Now that's what I call service. My question is can one expect the same kind of service from Amazon France? I have certainly bought stuff from them - very fast delivery but so far have not had to send anything back. Perhaps other people have had to do so. I would be interested in their experiences. This could be the way to go. Patrick [/quote] I've not yet needed to return anything to Amazon, but here is a link to their "politique de retours": http://www.amazon.fr/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=548582

[quote user="Richard"] We are in the process of buying a 2nd home in France and will need a basic phone service, with a broadband connection. What's the best, and cheapest, way to do it?   Thanks all. [/quote] I imagine that you'll get a lot of different opinions as to which is best and cheapest.  We have the ligne fixe abonnement maison secondaire and ADSL via France Telecom and find that to be satisfactory and convenient.

[quote user="ErnieY"] [quote user="hoverfrog"]chocolate on a conventional 'nipper' trap.[/quote]I'll second that. Only had the occassional "visitor" but my record for catching one was inside of 3 minutes from the setting of the trap [:D] Peanut butter is also highly effective I'm told but I have not personally tried it. Several threads on the subject, just search for mouse. [/quote] About every 5 years a family of field mice will find its way into our house.  I've had excellent results using conventional traps baited with peanut butter (preferable the "chunky" variety). It may take 3 or 4 days to ensure that you've gotten all the little darlings.  

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="ErnieY"]The idea of overwriting with several passes is to totally destroy the information so that it cannot be retrieved and it's generally accepted that 7 passes are required to do this but we're talking here military strength security which is obviously completely over the top for the average domestic user. Claire, you are paranoid but if it helps you sleep at night............[:D][:D][:D] [/quote] Told you![:D][:-))] PS: I had a shredder long before identity theft was on the news and I remove address labels from all packaging before bining it...[/quote] I do that, too.  The DH will be surprised to hear that I'm not the only one.[:D]

Sorry, somehow managed to duplicate.

This should not be difficult if you're going to be using the same browser in the new machine.  In Internet Explorer you would export the bookmarks to a file and then copy that file to your new computer (either by using a CD or by linking the 2 computers).  I imagine that you would do something similar if you use another browser.  If you need further details, please post again, and someone will help walk you through it.

Don't you feed your wildlife in Sevres? 

[quote user="cooperlola"]We were asked for a deposit for our very extesive works and like you, t/w, we didn't think this was altogether unreasonable.  Also, the cheque wasn't cashed until the very day that they arrived on site, so although 30% may look steep, they were very honest about it and the money remained in our own bank until the builders needed it to start buying materials and paying staff.[/quote] In my experience, whenever I've paid our French artisans, the check has not been deposited for at least two weeks (frequently longer- sometimes I've wondered if they've lost the checks).  Our English artisans are much more prompt about making deposits. 

We have used French and English artisans.  The English artisan has asked for advances when he was having to put out significant amounts of money for materials.  The French roofer, electrician and plumber never asked for deposits before completely replacing the roof, electrical wiring and plumbing (even though the not inexpensive plumbing fixtures sat in the house for 6+ months before installation). This week, for the first time, the French electrician (who is also a plumber although he did not install our plumbing) asked for a 30% deposit before purchasing and installing 3 rather pricey woodstoves.  This does not seem unreasonable to us. FWIW, in the US, in my experience, artisans either ask for 50% or nothing.

[quote user="spg"] [quote user="Onion van man"] I live in a built up area and I can find several unsecured wifi connections, Unless someone has a specific interest in you or your info I would think they would go for easier prey. [/quote] We live in a reasonably built-up area in that we are surrounded by residential properties, mostly houses, plein pieds so no flats or suchlike. When I check on wifi connections locally, apart from my secured wifi, there is the unsecured Wifi of my French neighbour who has a Neuf box - which is evidently sending out a far more powerful signal than my Livebox. I have demonstrated to this neighbour how I can receive his signal on my laptop in our garden, even very weakly in our house, but he is not bothered. I have politely suggested to him that he should secure his connection, he shrugged, I even offered to secure his wifi for him, but no, he is still not bothered. Head, banging, brick wall comes to mind. Our other close neighbour, immediately behind us, has a Livebox too and I cannot 'see' his connection at all. So, IMHO, the Livebox having such a poor area of wifi coverage is quite useful security-wise.  Sue [/quote] But do you know that he doesn't have it secured and configured not to broadcast?  Or is that not an option with Livebox?

[quote user="BP"] Hi Mark, Thanks for your reply and I do hope to that you find a job in the kitchen industry in France.  I have spent hours agonizing over the new kitchen layout and I want to have the stove, rather than the sink under the window.  We have a nice view from the window and I want to enjoy looking out while cooking.  Your point about cleaning, is well taken though.  I have been thinking about that and not sure what is a good solution - perhaps fixed glass at the bottom of the window so it is like a glass backsplash for the cooker, and the top part of the window opens to let the smoke out... Not sure why most houses have sinks below the window...is it just tradition, or is there a reason for it? [/quote] Just my opinion, but I prefer having the sink under the (only) window because: 1. I don't really spend that much time at the stove stirring or whatever (I mainly put things on, get them started and leave them to simmer); 2. even though I have a dishwasher, I spend a fair amount of time at the sink, and, also, when I'm at the sink washing dishes, rinsing veggies, etc., I'm usually doing things that don't require my full attention, thus I have time to look out the window; and 3.  I like having a windowsill over the sink on which I can perch things (such as pots of herbs) that would be less happy in close proximity to my cooker.

I'm not using OE any more (changed to Outlook the better to coordinate with my calendar and because of some quirks in my AV software), but I am also a client of Orange and I have been getting similar error messages for several weeks now.  We use Outlook for 6 email accounts (1 Wanadoo, 1 gmail, and 4 from our US ISP) and the errors occur only with SMTP and seem to be fairly random- never more than 2 at a time.  If anything, the Wanadoo address is the one most often affected. The first couple of times, I dutifully deleted the old account and entered a new one (it didn't help), and then I noticed that the problem would resolve w/o any changes made by me after a few minutes (or hours).  So now I just hit the "cancel" button & try again later.  It's annoying, but, fortunately hasn't caused us any serious problems.  Some days are worse than others.  I think that the problem lies with Orange and, therefore, could take a long time to sort out. 

[quote user="Sam"]Hi Tenniswitch, Thanks for your reply. We have been out and narrowed down the search to the Livradois-Forez which seems to tick all our boxes! Apart from some of the towns the whole Auvergne region is gorgeous though, spoilt for choice![/quote] Which towns/hamlets are you considering?

So, inquiring minds want to know.  Was your neighbor also trying to use "SMPT"?  And, if not, did you change the SMTP port to 587?  Did that fix things?

We usually take the train to Paris & spend 1 night before flying out of Charles de Gaulle. The strike scheduled for November 13+ may make that impossible.  We're now thinking of renting a car to drop off at CDG the morning of our departure, and need to find a moderately priced hotel in the area to spend one night. Any suggestions?