dexter

Professional quality kit,(Makita, Dewalt etc) is eye wateringly expensive in France. You can on average, add at least 30% to the cost of UK prices. From my experience it’s generally only used by “professionals “ over here, I would think that they can make a claim on their tax return to cover the costs. As has been suggested previously, the likes of Axminster in the UK are an excellent source for quality tools and machines for all budgets, I’ve had some pretty substantial machines delivered by them as well as power tools. Of course, the elephant in the room at the moment is Brexit and the effect it may have on imported goods from the UK.

I don’t visit the forum much these days so apologies if you’ve sorted out your dilemma but for what it’s worth I’ll throw in my two penneth worth on the subject. Until March of this year my only option for Internet connection was via satellite since my arrival in France in 2011. During this time I used two different providers, Nordnet and Europasat. Nordnet became too expensive so I changed to Europasat and was paying €55 per month until January this year when the price increased to €59 per month. There’s no mobile signal here so 4G just isn’t an option. Whilst the broadband connection was adequate it was by no means fast, I’m not technically minded so have no idea of speeds and the like but come the school holidays and especially in August when it seems that everyone wants to connect to the satellite then it would slow down to less than a crawl. Opening a short YouTube video was a struggle at the best of times but almost impossible during holiday seasons. There’s also a limit on how much usage you can have per month, when you’ve reached it you can purchase extra time but it’s expensive. I would think that a TV connection would eat up your monthly allowance in a matter of hours. I use the Freesat system for my TV and am lucky enough to get an excellent signal. I’m now connected to ADSL through my Orange landline which has been a battle to obtain since I found out that my next door neighbor who lives about 30 meters away has been connected for the past 18 months! I’m now paying less for my internet and phone combined than I was for my satellite connection. The rural idyll that so many of us crave for can certainly have its downsides! Good luck.

I've not had access to the Internet this last week so this is the first opertunitiy I've had to respond to your posts. I think that as Sue suggested, this is a case of departmental difference, also the list of documents required that I was given appears to be a check list of someone who applied previously! I've been here long enough to accept that the road to getting what you want is often strewn with potholes followed by boulders and then landslides! Mr Mayor on holiday this week and August next week, still, at least the sun is shining. Dexter

Thanks for that I'do a bit more research, also, when I showed my dossier, (that's the only way I can describe it, given the amount of documents required) to my neighbor yesterday she pointed out that I hadn't got a letter from the Mayor confirming that I actually live here! Don't know how I missed that. At least it's only the Mayor and not the President! Dexter

Thanks for everyone's prompt reply's, confusion and me go hand in hand these days or so it seems! I hadn't even considered the allowance in my sums so that changes things slightly more in favour of CMU. I'll get my neighbor to give my forms the once over and then get them submitted. Dexter

I'm an early retiree in receipt of a UK government pension with no other source of income. I have lived here in France for 5 years and have always had health cover by way of private health insurance. I have all the paperwork in front of me to make an application to join the CMU, however, I am confused as to the amount of social charges I would be expected to pay. Is it 8% of my pension? If that is the case then a quick calculation on that figure and then including top up insurance would push the cost of belonging to the CMU higher than my private policy. Have I missed something here? If not and that is the case, then can anyone see any advantages to actually continuing with my application? Dexter

Good luck with the sale, my partner sold her house last August. A beautiful stone house set in it`s own grounds in a rural setting. Totally renovated, the only things that were not brand new were the outside walls and roof. As with Daft Doctor local agents were next to useless and she advertised it herself on line where the sale eventually came from. If you do decide to try it yourself do your research with the online agents, their fees can vary quite a bit, she spent a fortune with one company that promised the earth and delivered nothing more than any of the others. It`s a buyers market at the moment, not helped in my opinion by programes such as A place in the Sun which seem to suggest that a "cheeky" offer is the way to start negotiations. A couple of the offers that my partner received were more downright insulting than "cheeky" Not a bad time to put it on the market with the summer on the way so the outside of the place should look as near to that "ideal little place in France" as you can get it. If you want I`ll PM you the details of the online agents my partner used. Dexter

It happened to me this week. I recently transferred money from a UK account via Currencies Direct into my French account in order to purchase a car. My pension is also paid in each month by Currencies Direct, the bank are aware of this as I explained it to them when I set up the account. I think that the problem is that, because the money was transferred via a broker there is no information available as to where the money originated from. I received an E-mail querying where the money had come from and so I went into the bank with the sales invoice for the car and told them the money came from my UK account. I was thanked for taking the time out to explain it, there was no in depth interview, the whole process took less than Five minuets. I suspect that if a large sum of unaccountable money landed in a UK bank account these days the same questions would be asked. Dexter

You may also find that the glass is not held in with beading and the timber components have been assembled around the double glazed unit during the manufacture process. This makes replacing the unit virtually impossible as you would have to disassemble all the components which in turn would break all the glued joints. I had to replace my glazed Brico door last year after it was smashed with a stone thrown up from my strimmer. I initially thought that I could replace the glass myself  but these things aren't made for repair I ended up buying a whole new door and frame. Good luck Dexter     

Whatever you do you must make a copy of the paperwork before you send it off. It`s not uncommon for the paperwork to get `lost` whilst being processed. If you go to the prefecture with all the relevant forms at least they will issue you with a certificate (of Sorts) that you can present to the police if stopped. I say this because not all local prefectures will issue a CG there and then, my partner had no end of trouble getting her new CG after it was `lost` between the main office in Limoges and the local prefecture. Despite both offices having records of receiving it and forwarding it back and forth neither office accepted liability and she had to fork out a hefty sum to re register. It was like banging your head against a very thick brick wall! Good luck. Dexter   

Having moved into my property last June I had no need to pay the above taxes as they had been paid by the previous owner. This year of course it is now up to me to pay them. Do I need to apply to pay these taxes or will I automaticaly recieve a bill/bills in the post? If I do need to apply to whom do I make the application?  All of my searching on the internet to find the answer has so far drawn a blank. Thanks in anticipation, Dexter

You may struggle to find one thats open for the next few weeks though, the yard I use here in 23 closed last Friday for four weeks. Dexter

Got any good news?!

I came back Via the tunnel on Monday morning. The little burger/breakfast van at the departure area were selling the kits for £6.50!! Dexter 

Coops, a good idea from just john,  join the Porsche owners club in the UK and see if you can get the heads up on a decent LHD 911. In my experience LHD models in the UK are much cheaper than their RHD equivelant, it`s been a few years since I was a member but I think that you should be able to source an older model through them that would suit your budget. (in my younger days I`ve had two 911`s and two 944`s!) Good luck with whatever you go for. Dexter

Can anyone tell me the name for the  French version of knotting? I`ve got some skirting board and architrave that I need to seal prior to painting, I think it`s been mentioned on the forum before but the search facility is playing up. Thanks in anticipation, Dexter

The previous owner of my place put it on the walls of the bedroom and part of the landing, as otthers have said it was full of dust,flies and spiders and looked grubby even after a good going over with the hoover. I studded out the walls, insulated and plasterboarded them and got a local plasterer to skim them. I`d left the chimney breast un studded and expected that he would skim over it as well  but he said it would be quicker and cheaper to dot and dab plasterboard to it as the surface was so rough that it would need much more than a skim coat to get a smooth finnish. The end result is fantastic with nice rounded corners on the chimney breast. Dexter 

We are inundated with flies around here at the moment. I think it`s because the weather is so mild still. They congregate on windows and the south facing wall of the house getting the last vestages of warmth they can. A couple of sharp frosts should see off the last of the little blighters though. Dexter

The links for the insurance providers were a godsend for me when I moved over here in June. Thanks to all involved. Dexter

Thanks for the advice Anton. I did some more searching and eventualy came up with this site, www.spit.fr/ They have a link that shows your nearest stockist which in my case was 30 miles one way or 30 miles the other way! Still, I got what I needed but prices over here are practicaly double those of the UK, even the assistant in the shop I ended up at commented on it. A usefull site though and may be of help to someone in the future. Dexter

Can anyone help please, I`m trying to get hold of gas cannisters for my Paslode im350 first fix nail gun. I`ve tried the local Big Mat and Point P but to no avail. I know I`ve seen them over here but can`nt for the life of me remember where. Any help wouldi be very much apreciated. I`m about 10 mliles southeast of La Souteraine in 23. Thanks Dexter

I ordered a small double glazed unit,(310mm x 240mm) from a company in the nearest town to me. That was 5 weeks ago, the price was 30euros but because it was August they couldnt give me an exact date that the unit would be ready save for, `perhaps next week`. Well 5 weeks have come and gone and another `perhaps next week` later I`ve had enough. This afternoon I phoned a glass company in the UK near to where my brother lives, he`s coming over next weekend and is bringing a suitcase that will be going in the hold on the plane. The UK company will have the unit made by Tuesday next week at a cost of £16.14p including VAT. The unit can be eaasily fitted into my brothers suitcase and I will no longer have a piece of hardboard in my window. I sometimes think that in terms of customer sevice, the French just dont get it. Dexter

elamessa, I`ve PM`d you. Dexter

Very early days for me to be for or against, only time will tell. It was my only option as no ASDL available where I am and Wimax couldnt get a signal because of trees in the way. The cost of installation was a lot less than 200euros by a registered company so as far as I`m concerned it was a good price. Dexter

I`ve just got my internet via satellite set up,(last Saturday) 4gig of download available per month for 30euros from NordNet. They had plenty of options for diferent speeds etc. Not much use if youre going to be downloading loads of films but for everyday use and skype and the like it`s great compared to the laughable speed of dial up that I was on before. Instalation cost was good to. PM me if you want details of the company that fitted mine, I know they cover the 87 area. Dexter