BJSLIV

As Quillan has said you can get bad service from any of the providers in France , and I would say that much the same applies in the UK. The problem with Teleconnect is that it is a small part of a small outfit, so that when things go wrong it can't cope.  As far as alternatives are concerned Neuf, Free, & Alice all offer packages at around 30/35 Euros that include Broadband and worldwide calls. If you prepared to take the chance of going 100% then that price can include your line rental as well! The disadvantage of Neuf is that unless you are in our of the main centres they don't provide ADSL2 so the maximum (Theoretical!!!) speed is 8Meg. Orange and their subsidiary Nordnet , as well as Free / Alice can offer theoretical speeds of up to 20Meg. If I were starting from scratch I would look at Nordnet who have a good reputation, use FT's technology but without the FT premium prices. Darty also have a good reputation for customer service. But returning to my original point I am sure that for each of these suppliers there will be someone who will maintain that they are not worthy of contact with the proverbial a barge pole.

Anyone who adds habitable space, whether by new build or conversion, is liable to this bundle of taxes. There is a national tariff for each square metre of space that you add. This determines the value of the space. The local commune then charges you a percentage of this value , typically 2 or 3%. This is a one off charge, though it is usually collected in two lumps. The first part is 12/18 months after the permission was granted, the second half a similar period later. Though everyone has to pay it's amazing how many people, including the French are surprised when the bill arrives! The theory is that its a contribution towards the local infrastructure necessitated by the additional residents moving into an area. IE Its just another tax!  

It may be different if you buy from Amazon marketplace. but on "main"  Amazon transactions as soon as it sees a French address it applies 19.6% to both the goods and the postage. Have you checked the actual VAT rate implicit in the bill.

You will also have to pay the French VAT at 19.6% and reclaim the UK tax (15%) if you import a nearly new vehicle into France.  

Seems to me that our friend has been signed up for the no FT line package at 39 .9 Euros per month, not the Decouverte package at all. That  would explain why the line can't be switched off!!!

  So you are paying 39 Euros per month for ADSL and TV, plus 16 Euros for line rental. What can you actually switch on and off? It strikes me that unless the TV package, is of vital importance, one would be better of with Free at 30 Euros per month all in deal; calls, ADSL and line rental included. If you aren't there all he time one could chance ones luck with the VOIP only phone service.

 You could send a letter to your branch manager suggesting a meeting Which is virtually what the original email suggested. will need to see you and meet you next time you come as already agreed with you I suppose the mention of an existing arrangment to meet might be some sort of clue one way or another

If your mother has owned the property for a long time the value will have increased. This may cause a Capital Gains Tax libility in either France or the UK. I assume that you will pick up this bill, or is your mother happy to pay this as well.

So Ron (as often) is right Except in this case!

This is typical of he words used on French sites...... http://droit-finances.commentcamarche.net/contents/impots-locaux/imp2050-taxe-d-habitation.php3 Pour être imposables, les locaux doivent être affectés à l'habitation et pourvus d'un mobilier, même sommaire, afin de permettre une habitation effective. Un logement vacant n'est donc pas soumis à la taxe d'habitation. Un logement est considéré comme meublé, et donc taxable, même si le mobilier est regroupé dans certaines pièces du local.

If I complete the works, but don't live in it then do I become liable for the full payments? Only when it's furnished again a further lump sum becomes payable. If its a newbuild or you have increased habitable space. If you have only refurbished existing space no lump sum charge.

or a good quality Panasonic bread machine (like ours) 84.11 £GB amazon uk price Not quite that cheap as you would have to pay carriage and VAT at 19.6% rather than the UK 15%, making a total of around £95. Still a lot cheaper than French prices though!

1 Ruins aren't cheap any more 2 Building work is expensive and the coordination of trades time consuming. 3 If you try to do the work yourself it can be hard to sell to a French buyer who will  expect all the guarantees that come with French building work. 4 The French don't place the kind of premium on refurbished property that the Sarah Beeny projects trade on. Hence the profit margin is tight. Its very easy to find that cost plus money spent is less than the market value. 5 The Brits who do appreciate that kind of thing may not be buying in the next few years. 6 If its not been your main residence the tax man will want a large chunk of the profit, say 35%. 7 If It has been your main residence he would only want 18.6% of the profit  

If you will require a new mortgage you will have to pay the registration taxes again. These high legal fees are why the French have never adopted the regular remortgaging habit practiced in the UK.

From the DVLA website. If you permanently import a vehicle into the UK, by law you must register and tax it at the nearest DVLA local office as soon as it arrives in this country. It is against the law for a British resident to drive a vehicle displaying foreign registration number plates in the UK. Regular readers will recall that our lorry driver friend found out recently, if you are stopped, and they consider that are a UK resident driving a foreign car, steps will be taken. There is no six month temporary importation period if you are a UK resident. Subtle excuses such as it's my wife's car won't wash. If the car belongs to a french resident that would be different. If you are in the situation where the wife lives in France but the husband is still working in the UK, then I would make sure that you have plenty of evidence on board!    

I am surprised that you are able to retax the car in the UK, as it will show up on the Swansea database as being uninsured.

and covers the clients for 10 years That would be the decennale insurance. The DO is an insurance which is the responsibility of the person having the work done, but usually/often  orgainised by the builder which covers the buyer against deficiencies in the Decennale cover of the builder. I sometimes wonder whether anyone, other than us, ever bothers to get DO. Sure its a legal requirement, but seems to be very hard to obtain and even harder to to make a succesful claim. A bit like the UK equivalents you mentioned.......      

DO is a one of purchase so I assume your reference to annually is for payment in 12 installments. The premium is based on the cost of the property under construction and will vary according to the track record of the builder. I seem to remember figures of 4 to 6% of the contract sum being typical the last time I looked  which was about 7 years ago.  

but we were told that they were not prepared to reduce Mrs B's premium I suppose that's to be expected. By law they aren't allowed to load premiums or refuse business because of pre-existing conditions, rates being based solely on age. No loading in the first place, so no reduction now.

That works out at £153 per claim. So unless people are so desperate that they are flooding the companies with very small claims, I assume that's just the admin costs involved in refuting the claims. As for the £40 per person, does that imply that there are only 1 million policies out there..... Statistics!

Strange that what he admires is a result of massive state intervention. Precisely the kind of intervention that many contributors on this site consistently despise. In  France, things were different: they invested in car production, the TGV train network, aeroplane manufacture and nuclear power.

I suppose the main downside is that 6 hours connection costs 25 Euros. http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http://mobile.orange.fr/0/accueil/Retour?SA=NPV2GEOFFRESBOUTIQUE

It might be quite a wait for your new meter. The programme for replacing old meters with the new intelligent one starts in Tours and Lyons next year. The roll-out for the rest of the country is supposed to be completed by 2020.  

Who is going to pick up the bill for the social contributions that will be required? If your employer values you highly he may be prepared to add bear the additional costs (possibly 20  or 30% of your salary) If you have to bear the cost you will find yourself with significantly lower take home pay at the  end of each month.  On the other hand you may consider this a price worth paying!

As long as the property can be proved to be unfurnished as at 1 January there should be no liability to the Tax D'hab. if the electricity is disconnected then that would be even more proof. If the property has been empty for five years, then the Tax D'hab can in certain circumstances be reimposed.