BJSLIV

The rule about using colissimo for small stuff was illegal If their conditions were illegal, why did the regulator feel obliged to go via this route, making them introduce a special tariff under threat of withholding price increases for Colissimo, rather than just telling them to obey the law?  

I see La Poste have introduced a special cheaper tariff for things such a DVDs and CDs supposed to benefit  Ebayers etc. This is to overcome the problems caused when they introduced the rule forcing" things" rather than letters to go by Colissimo. Mind you 1.50 euros for 1 DVD is hardly a bargain! You must attach a special label MiniMax http://www.arcep.fr/fileadmin/reprise/secteurpostal/articles-lettre/lettre65-consopostal-minimax.pdf

A more equitable system than arresting foreign drivers who have no UK address to receive a summons, keeping them in the cells overnight, then bringing them before the magistrates court to be dealt with.....  From what we all recently heard it seemed as though they were already doing this........(Just in case anyoine misses SD's point) As far as this proposal is concerned it would seem to pas a "fairness to foreigners test" as it is stated that it would apply to anyone unable to prove their residence in the UK.

Does a cheap Rolex copy purchased from an email Internet supplier count?????? That way everyone could be a success

Many years ago I used to send money from Midland to Soc Gen. I used to be charged by Soc Gen about 100 Francs for every dollop of Francs that arrived. So I was paying at both ends. I got round that by sending money by Tipanet from the Coop Bank  to Soc Gen. They used Banque Populaire as an intermediary, which meant that when it arrived at Soc Gen it was an internal French transaction so no charge at that end. In your case I think logic  suggests that the HSBC  version of the story is more plausible CA. I don't really think that the HSBC computer would have levied a charge without something provoking it. We have all know that the French response to an unusual  query is "Pas possible".  Its quite likely that though the local CA hasn't levied a charge, one of the CA central processing computers has. I imagine that HSBC have decided its easier to waive the charge rather than waste more time trying to sort it out. It will be interesting to see what happens next time if you don't accept the charges on the HSBC form. Will they be redirected to your French account?    

In fire-prone parts of the south of France property owners are obliged to remove certain trees which could be a fire hazard. There are penalties if this work is not undertaken. http://www.maisonapart.com/edito/travaux-le-debroussaillage-obligatoire-426.php  

To quote from LD Lines T&Cs   The 10 tickets are to be used before 15th December, 2009.

They are now sold in blocks of 10. Anything less would presumably not be worthwhile for the company.

The details aren't on their website. You have to request the details and they will email them to you. The broad outline is that you pay £600 for a block of 10 single tickets which must be used by Mid December 2009.

There has certainly been an increase in the number of topics which do not match the remit of the Forum ie "France and French lifestyle" as the stated aim in the Terms and Conditions. Simply because someone adds"What do people living in the Dordogne think?" to a debate on  road gritting policies in Herefordshire,  doesn't make the thing appropriate. The forum is supposed to complement the Archant magazines.  So as I see it, if the subject couldn't in some tiny way support an item in the magazines it probably doesn't belong here. If people want to debate general UK politics then they can do it on the Daily Mail, the Sun, or the Telegraph sites.  On the other hand if, for example,  a UK Government were to propose to withdraw E106s then that would be highly appropriate for discussion. As far as discussing French politics is concerned the Forum seems an ideal place to discuss such matters at a "Janet and John"  level so that people may begin to understand some of the things that surround them. A couple of years ago  deviations from  "France and French lifestyle" were ruthlessly suppressed, perhaps too heavy handedly , now I think things have gone too far the other way.    

This has confused the issuer as nearly all the villagers pointed this out and demanded that they re-work the bills! Not that it will achieve anything, other than redistributing the original cost plus any cost of reissuing the bills.  

I just meant UK as opposed to French satellite TV. So anything Freesat, Sky or just a digital box and dish pointed at the Astra satellites.

SCOTLAND v WALES (RUGBY UNION: SIX NATIONS)Sunday 8th February 2009, 15:00 BROADCAST DETAILS BBC1 (14:30-17:00) So virtually anyone/anywhere  with UK satellite TV.  won't even need Sky sports  

you can exchange them for Eurostar tokens Unfortunately you can't. Eurostar accept the other lot, Nectar points. Tesco points can  be used for Eurotunnel.

Bought out a while ago it's new ownership structure is probably debt laden . Despite low bank rates such buy-outs face greatly  increased borrowing costs. Their revenue may be less secure than you might think. Industrial demand, such as it is, is probably falling off and domestic consumers are probably turning to meters andalso  showing greater reluctance to pay pushing up bad debts.  

:Le Figaro carries lots of adverts for country properties.

:Le Figaro carries lot of adverts for country properties.

I think the original proposal was for a basic visual examination at a cost of 30 Euros. This was much criticised as being little more than a way of stamping out non-authorised personalisation. The report on the proposals http://www.utac-otc.com/fr/otc/actu_detail.asp?id_actu=89 mentions a more detailed voluntary check instituted by Autosur , one of the major CT chains which they priced at 70 Euros. Adding the two together one arrives at 100 Euros. This might well be the source of the rumoured 100 Euro charge.

So instead of a full control they are allowing the Forces of Order to prohibit the use of any vehicle including motorbikes based on a visual inspection. At least they have given plenty of notice. it doesn't come into force until April 2009. http://www.motomag.com/Procedure-VE-le-controle-technique-5312.html It an extension of the powers which already exist to examine vehicles that have been involved in an accident or an insurance claim http://www.leparisien.fr/economie/les-vehicules-accidentes-seront-mieux-controles-07-01-2009-364185.php avec la menace qu'une moto ne soit déclarée "non dangereuse" qu'une fois équipée de l'intégralité de ses accessoires d'origine.    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnJk_v2UPYQ&NR=1

Partly not keeping up with requirement, partly re balancing of costs. Anyway its reported that the proposals have been dropped, which I think touches on  a more serious criticism of the Government. They establish working parties, expert review, Royal Commissions, and then do something entirely different as soon as their is a whiff of tabloid press "Concern".    

More partial reporting. Civil courts have always been required to recover their operating costs from users. There is currently a public consultation as to how these charges should evolve in the coming years. http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/civil-court-fees-2008-consultation-paper-cp31-08.pdf     If you really want to get involved. The message is the user pays. An consequence of the Post-Thacher drive to "efficiency" in  the delivery of public services, has been the increased use of cost accounting / allocation. W-hat were previously just seem as unavoidable costs are now more accurately allocated to cost centre. As well as identifying opportunities for cost saving, this also high-lights areas where charges should be increased (Passports, court fees,  charity water bills) or even where services should be withdrawn (Magistrates courts, Post Offices).  

Would things be all that different if Dave were in charge?

This sounds like part of the E Borders programme. Its a database to record every person's travel history. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/technology/eborders/timetable/ I suspect that they are rolling it out to individual airline/carriers one at a time. Jet2 are probably a smaller bite of the elephant than Ryanair. I suppose Mr O'L will add another handling charge for gathering the data when it's Ryanair's turn

French chat rooms concerned with Nantes are saying that it is a real blow Ryanair withdrawing the Stansted flight from the local airport. a double blow as it has come soon after Easyjet's withdrawl of the Gatwick flight.... Edited for Clarity