Glenn

Miki - i fear your reply is encouraging a response from Lavie as you insult him/her again.("...really isnt too clever") But Nelson is definitely right - please, please, PLEASE let this be the end! And Lavie, please don't take the bait! (I've sent you PM.)

Tresco - if i could find smileys on this forum/control panel i'd send you one with my tongue sticking out!!!!!!! (i feel it's safer to lurk!)

When are you lot going to stop arguing? This is worse than a primary school playground!! On the last post - Just cos someone says they would rather donate directly hardly means they are rubishing an idea. There are so many scams out and about it surely pays to be a little cautious. I'm going back to lurking before you all start on me!

In the UK when posting a letter or parcel you can request, free of charge, a Certificate of Posting. Does anyone know if La Poste offer a similar service? If so, what is it called and how much is it? 

There's a Formule 1 at Lakeside, Essex and i believe more are planned throughout the UK. I heard that their UK prices are dearer than France! No surprises there then!

I''ve done this several times. You need a bluetooth mobile and a bluetooth facility in your laptop. If your laptop hasn't got this, you can buy plug in adaptors for around £25 off the net. (TDK make one that has good reviews) The main problem is maintaining a reliable mobile connection. The smallest bit of interferance on the phone results in data being dropped and you losing your connection. The result is huge phone bills when you dial up again....and again! So yes it works, but a reliable connection is hard to get and mobiles ringing ISP numbers aren't cheap! 

Thanks for the link! 

You don't still have the link to the web page you did your calculations on do you?

Guess i've just been lucky. Have used Speedferries 4 times so far and had no reason to complain on any occasion. Fast, efficient and cheap. Hope i still feel the same if/when i get caught up in any of their delays!! 

Any ideas which shops sell cat food in bulk? I mean the tins (ie Felix for example). Have no probs finding them individually (same price as UK) but have not found 6 packs or 12 packs (or larger) anywhere.

Thks. Now i know the name of the product i can go and search!

When i have Numeris installed (no ADSL unfortunately) do i have to buy the Numeris modem from France Telecom or are there cheaper options elsewhere? If so, where and approx how much?  

Thks Joanne. It sounds like you got a more definitive answer than me yesterday when i rang them!!  (refers to my post elsewhere in section)

"I think the big difference is that in the UK (self employed) we pay in arrears on what we have actually earned. It seems to me that in some cases in France, your income is estimated and you pay taxes etc on that whether or not you are earning any thing like that amount. It might take several years to get the 'correct' amount in which time you could have gone under ?" I've also heard about paying cotisations in advance in France - a major difference to the UK that can have a serious impace on a business. I'm also self employed and want to be 110% certain before i make the permanent move to France, which is why these posts are so helpful.

Apologies in advance if i upset anyone by this but... Is there such a huge difference between the French tax/cotisations and the UK system? In the UK we all pay very high council taxes, tax on diesel/petrol, national insurance etc etc. These in France are a lot lower but the cotisations are higher. (But isn't that what pays for the superior healthcare etc that attracts so many?) So surely the net effect is one of little difference? As some (french) friends told me, "yes, you pay high taxes in Britain but under a different name." Where the savings are made is on housing. A detached house anywhere in the South East of England is going to be easily £250,000 with the appropriate mortgage payments. Houses in France are a lot less (and bigger with more land) and mortgage payments are much lower. Someone now tell me i've got this all wrong?!!?

I've just been told by Defra (literally 2 mins ago) that my three cats have to be vaccinated against rabies even though i am exporting them to (Northern) France with no intention of returning to the UK. I was told i 'simply need a Pet Passport'. I explained that i was not going back and forth, simply a one way trip. Does this mean that exporting and going on holiday with pets is now subject to the same rules? Again, the standard reply 'You simply need a Pet Passport'!!  Has anyone else been told the same? 

I've just been told by Defra (literally 2 mins ago) that my three cats have to be vaccinated against rabies even though i am exporting them to (Northern) France with no intention of returning to the UK. I was told i 'simply need a Pet Passport'. I explained that i was not going back and forth, simply a one way trip. Does this mean that exporting and going on holiday with pets is now subject to the same rules? Again, the standard reply 'You simply need a Pet Passport'!!  Has anyone else been told the same? 

I've noticed that my French ISP (Tiscali) have a clear note on their site that if i use an RNIS line i cannot subscribe to the unlimited access package for 30 EUR a month but must instead subscribe to their RNIS package which is a lot more expensive. (70 eur a month if i remember right!!)  Its even a lot more expensive than Broadband.  I cannot get Broadband in my area, and need to have a reliable connection. Does anyone know if all ISP's charge a premium to use an RNIS connection? Also, can they find out what my connection is if i didn't tell them? (!)  I only need to be online during work hours but cant keep getting cut off/slow connections which is what i have with the standard dial up. Any suggestions welcome! 

Can anyone please explain the following which may be obvious, but....! Films labelled VO, Version Original, does that mean original actors voices but with French subtitles?   Films labelled VF, Version Francaise, does that mean French voices dubbed over and no subtitles?   Thanks in advance!

[quote]I was wondering, did Dell also inform you that MS won't give you phone support unless your PC is up to date? If you contact MS for help the first thing they do is ask for the build version and s/n the...[/quote] In the last 6 years and with three computers, i've never had to contact Microsoft for any help. As i heard they charge around £120 to solve a problem (via the phone), i've no intention of contacting them! As i only have a printer and occasional digital camera on my computer there's certainly no complex issues there to cause problems. I've only had to contact Dell as a result of installing the SP1! Dell i found very helpful though and spent a long time helping me re-install EVERYTHING after the problems SP1 caused me. Whilst my computers are working ok, the only thing i'll keep updating are the antivirus progs etc. Like anything in life....what works for some doesn't for others i guess.   

OK, I'm currently trying to get used to the weird and wonderful charges my account seems to be attracting. I'm with Britline and so far am being charged: 9.50 euros to set up each and every Direct Debit 1 euro each time a DD from another bank (ie not Credit Agricole) hits my account. I've heard the French banking system is 'different' to the UK but.....!! Does anyone know if all banks have charges like this?

After various problems with the SP1 on my Dell Laptop (and many frustrating hours!) i was advised by Dell NOT to install any updates, disable the auto update option and leave my computer as it was when i received it. At least it worked properly then! I've got Zone Alarm and Nortons Anti-Virus for protection and run some other progs weekly and i've now had 10 months of hastle free computing! So, no, i will not be using any service packs or microsoft updates! My computer is used daily for work and may be 'stuck' at its factory settings but at least it works ok! 

Afraid i can't answer your question, but assuming you're living in France permanently, would be interested in knowing how you can be French resident but pay UK taxes, as that would suit me fine!

Or is it cheaper/better to just set aside a corner of a room as opposed to the whole room?

I've read somewhere that yet another tax is charged when you work from home on the space you set aside for your 'office'. Whilst sounding completely unreasonable, i'm assuming its correct. Does anyone know how much it would be if i set a room(say 10m2) aside for this? Or is there a website where the charges could be calculated? Any more info would be appreciated.