Smiley
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Posts
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Posts posted by Smiley
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"Service is terrible, and the call centre staff are most unhelpful when trying to make an amendment. I will never use them again, however thay have brought a common sense pricing approach from the big boys."
I must be the lucky one here, I swear by Speedferries- 3 times last year, no surcharge, not bad service.
I have never had problems with their call centre.
Yep a little late loading and on one occassion 30 mins late, but had the same with Sea France. At £50.00 return + a free crossing, I can put up with that.
They are the Easyjet of the seas!!
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Hello Thumper, didn't expect to see you on here, how are you?!!
With regards to the brochure I have made my own on my PC. It's a piece of cake. If some one asks for details I firstly direct them to the web-site and then simply print one off. If I know it's going to be put up in an office etc. I just run it through the laminator. No upfront printing/artwork and you don't really notice the cost 'cause it's just pennies.
But like your web-site' make it look good or it will put people off.
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Well gang we are all priveliged, we all think that we have the best locations, so we should all be happy!!!
I look forward to exploring more of France and experiencing the diversity of different regions.
We should all enjoy France - it will still be there in centuries to come - we won't !!!
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It's like listening to football fans at times.
We all share the common interest and love of France so why bring the attitudes and arguments with us??
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Whoa guys, chill out.
All I will say is 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'
We all choose our locations by what appeals to us.
Thought this was to be RELAXED and informative, not a competition!!![:D][:D]
Jees if we want to be stressed why bother moving ????
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I know Teamedup, I struck gold with him. Like I said, I've met more good than bad. I agree that you don't see many wealthy Artisans and in my area there is severe unemployment due to the textile mills shutting down etc.
I can understand them trying to get as much as possible to spread accross their bad days, but like everyone else I don't want to be one of the ones paying heavily for it !!!![:O]
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Think the point is being missed I said I thought it was expensive at 35 euros an hr Every body seems to agree that the going rate is 25-30 euros an hr therefore 35p/h is expensive.
As I said he was a local villager, as I do not know him and as I did not pick him and have yet to receive a proper receipt, I don't even know if he's registered.
On the plus side my mum stayed at my house at about the same time and could not get the gas boiler ignited. The same estate agent called a gas engineer and he attended the same day, found that she had turned the gas valve to off instead of on and re-lit it. I think he felt sorry for her and would accept no other payment than a good bottle of wine. So please don't think I am trying to slate French Artisans, some are good some are not so good, no different to anywhere else.
The estate agent has been fantastically patient the whole time and I guess, thinking about it, maybe some of the gardeners charge may have been a bit of commission for the agent, if this is the case, again I wouldn't mind, he has put a few unpaid hrs in for me. Try getting a UK estate agent to that!!
I have to say on the whole I have met considerably far more good people than bad.
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[quote user="Polycarpe"]Beautiful spot, Smiley. And much fewer Brits than here in Aude (11). Well chilly though, generally a few degrees colder than here and at the moment we've cranked the heating up full.[/quote]
Too true Polycarpe, can be very cold when it turns on you, great for skiing though so it has it's compensations. Also gets stinking hot in the summer though, There are a few Brits here now, 3 or 4 I think plus us, so yeah, not too overcrowded. Mind you go to Mirepoix in the summer and it really is getting like Little Britain !!!!
www.midipyrenees.co.uk
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Many Thanks Jonzjob, I'll try and locate it next time I'm down.[:D]
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[quote user="Teamedup"]So he will have actually got around £10-£12 an hour for himself, is that a lot?[/quote]
So allowing for at most a gallon of 2/4 stroke at let's say 10.00 euros to be on the over-conservative price, Lets say 50 euro's for hire/wear and cord on his strimmer, again over estimated. that leaves 220.00 Euros for 8 Hrs labour only
220 for 8 hrs = more than 27 Euro's an hour for labour only, no travel ( he only lived about 100yards from the house) nearer £18.00 - £19.00 an hour. for basic gardening services. Yes I would say this is expensive.
The last time it happened I strimmed it myself and it took me about a litre of 2 stroke and 4 hrs, including raking, piling it up and burning it.
If you can explain a different breakdown scenario to me I'd appreciate it. I'm fairly new to France and the French ways!!!
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Blimey I only mentioned I like a fry up when I'm on hol's !!!
So no one knows if there is indeed a Brit butchers in Carcassonne then?
You guys seem fairly fortunate with your local suppliers, where my place is there is nothing around except the odd Champion and Super U. We do have a local butchers but he doesn't sell back or middle bacon as we know it. I find streaky a bit too fatty. As for sausages the ones we've tried are OK for the odd barbecue but not brilliant and very fatty.
Still I can always have my warm croissants and local preserves, not bettered anywhere in UK!!
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I have a house about 50 mins south of Carcassonne on the edge of Ariege/languedoc. I was talking to a fellow brit who tells me there is a British butchers there selling bacon, sausages etc. Is this true and has anyone tried him out. I did see a shop at the top of the road leading to the railway station and Canal, with Union Jacks on it but the shutters were down
I love the French cuisine but I do miss my cooked breakfasts when I'm there. I don't know why 'cause I hardly have them back home- It's a holiday thing I guess!!
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My garden got badly overgrown last year and I asked the local estate agent to recommend a local gardener. He strimmed it for me and burnt the grass in the corner of the garden- no problem there. He charged me 280 euro's for a day - I nearly died. even allowing for the cost of his strimmer it seemed steep. 35 Euro's an hour. Unfortunately I was back in England when he did it and I foolishly didn't ask for a quote.
I won't be using him again !!!
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Hi there as I'm fairly new to the forum and still live in the UK I don't know whether this subject has been covered before, my appologies if it has.
I was recently in one of my suppliers and found the details of a new electric boiler.
I know there has been some discussion on problems with installing oil/gas tanks so thought it might be of use, especially to those with small properties or Gites.
The product is called Amptec Flow Boiler and is manufactured by Heatrae Sadia. It is designed to run either underfloor heating or central heating/hotwater like a Y or S plan system would.
It is available in 5 different sizes from 13,600 BTU @ 4Kw to 41,000 BTU @12 KW.
I checked with my supplier and the prices for the larger versions come out at around £550.00-£650.00 +VAT
On top of this you would require the relevant extras eg pump, expansion vessel etc. But for those in locations where there is no mains gas it may be a cheaper alternative to tanks.
Their web-site is www.heatraesadia.com
They have a design helpline on 0044 (0)1603420176
Hope this may be of use to some of you.[:D][:D]
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It sounds like a good idea. It would be something I may be interested in.[:D]
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We are still in the uk but have got a place in 09 Ariege, midipyrenees. Close to Lavelanet.
Hope to move down there for our retirement.[:D][:D]
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Hi Dotty, I received the E-mail on 02/12, I can send you a copy if you want to pm me your e-mail address
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Just had an e-mail from Speed ferries, thought it very interesting, I Know you guys in the N/W of fFrance don't use Calais much but for therest of us it's great:
Frequent Traveller 10-Trip SuperVoucher™, £190 (introduction price)
Features:
10 single or 5 return trips for a Standard car+5. (Lead passenger OR car must be used for all trips unless otherwise agreed with the SpeedFerries call centre).
Never any surcharges.
Valid for two years after purchase.
No fee when you (via our call centre) activate a ticket for a specific departure.
£10 amendment fee if you later change a fixed reservation but NO change in the ticket price, even if you change to the most expensive peak summer sailings.
No restrictions on the duration of stay or sailing (subject to space availability).
That's £19 each way for car + 5 !!!!!!!!!!
I know that when I've supported SpeedFerries in the past some have said they have had to pay fuel surcharges at the Docks. I sent them an E-mail telling them that they had upset a lot of passengers, as I am sure did many others, it must have worked because this was also attached:
An apology from the CEO.
Nevertheless I must offer an apology. SpeedFerries has been fighting to simplify the grotesque ticket pricing systems used within the industry, in order to make things easier for everyone and also to introduce fairness into the way ferry companies treat their customers. I believe it is fair to say that we have been rather successful with this project. However, the fuel-surcharge which SpeedFerries collected at check-in for a short period of time was not at all in line with our way of thinking. The fuel prices were indeed extreme but it is important for our customers to know and trust, that you only have to pay the advertised price. So never again will additional fuel surcharges be payable, you have my word!
Well done Speedferries I for one will be holding you to this. -
Hello all,
I purchased a house in france in October 2004 and have received and paid my tax Foncieres. I have now just received my Tax Habitation.
My situation is this. I only use the house for about 6 weeks a year at present, although I have got it advertised for letting as from next year.
What I would like to know is what exactly are the taxes? Eg are they like rates-so much to local authority and so much to Government etc?
What do they pay for eg fire, police, refuse.
And also is there ant rebate available as I only live there for about 6 weeks a year? I know I'll have to pay full when I let the property.
I am afraid that I am still only at novice stage in learning French so I'm really struggling with this.Many thanks in advance.
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I found myself a freelance consultant. He was incredibly proffessional and didn't cost the earth. He charged me £295.00 for the set up and domain creation ( he even gave me a choice of domain names based on my description) and he charges £95.00 per annum for maintenance and optimization. I simply E-mailed all the info to him, he sent some ideas back and then set up a trial site which I e-mailed any modifications to him. It has been incredibly easy. You can of course make your own but I found that once you take into account software costs, hassle and time it was just as cheap to get someone else to do it for me. I am pleased with the end result. I'm getting great hit results after just 3 months and have now had my first enquiries.
Trouble with home made sites is the amount of detail and photographs is very limited.They can sometimes look really shabby if you are not careful. This can do more harm than good.
He can be contacted at www.ngconsultingservices.co.uk or E-mail him at [email protected]
If you want to see his handywork feel free to look at my site: www.midipyrenees.co.uk
Regards,
Tony
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I agree with Martin. When I first got my house I purchased a new TV in the UK and took it with me to France. It didn't work of course!!! All I did was as Martin said, purchased a French DVD / Video and routed all the other aerials and Satelite through this. I simply connected the Scart from Video out to TV and Hey presto one converted TV. The savings I made on buying the tele in the UK more than covered the cost of the Video, so I was still happy.
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The really sad thing about the last posting is that The Green Forest Orphanage does exist - But's in the Ukraine.
I wonder if that's where these people have heard the imaginative name??
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Hi there, I have recently finished refurbishing our house in Ariege and would like to rent it out for a few months of the year to assist with the running costs. I have set up my own web-site but need to know the best places to advertise. I am fortunate that some friends I have made while being down there are prepared to act as changeover agents for me and keep an eye on the place. I know there are lots of 'free' sites charging commission only but which sites actually pull in the bookings?
Any help gratefully received. Thanks in advance
you can e-mail me at [email protected]
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Hi there, I have recently finished refurbishing our house in Ariege and would like to rent it out for a few months of the year to assist with the running costs. I have set up my own web-site but need to know the best places to advertise. I am fortunate that some friends I have made while being down there are prepared to act as changeover agents for me and keep an eye on the place. I know there are lots of 'free' sites charging commission only but which sites actually pull in the bookings?
Any help gratefully received. Thanks in advance
you can e-mail me at [email protected]
Ferries
in Useful Links About France/French Living
Posted
I too have been trying to book for March and I agree with Alexis, BF around £300+, St Malo, £259.00 Caen and LD lines over £300.00 too. Tried every route and they all work out between £270-£350.00
Found Transmanche cheaper ( at the end of March) (£180 ish) but have opted for Speedferries now instead.
It is certainly no cheaper from the UK site!