AnOther
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Everything posted by AnOther
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UK TV
AnOther replied to Ray Barrington's topic in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
My experience with my 2x Freesat receivers is that it's all in the post code. I'm set to my old address in Essex which gives me BBC East HD as 101 in the EPG Others I know using other areas are not so blessed! Here's a code you can try, CO11DU, it's Lloyds Bank in Colchester so should produce BBC East. TBH I'm on the verge of cutting the satellite cord altogether and going with a combination of IPTV and a Firestick, 600mb FTH internet helps in that regard! -
Not arguing the longevity of diesel, my previous MKI Skoda Octavia (1.9tdi) is still going strong at some 340,000 km without having had a single major component replaced, including the clutch. Prior to that I had a MKIV Golf with the same engine and that went to a gnats shy of 400,000 miles before it was retired due to money needing spending on the suspension. Neither burnt a drop of oil. Not without some regret I sold the Octavia before leaving France and as a temporary measure bought a cheap on owner 2001 Ford Focus 1.8tddi from a friend here intending to only keep it for a short time but with no pressing imperative to change that extended to nearly 4 years, it's only really because I've had to take measures to scrape it through the emissions checks at ITV (CT) time two years running I decided it's time had come so I sold it as soon as I'd got it through it's latest test and bought the Skoda Yeti.
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Regular heavy towing excepted diesel has only ever made sense if you did the mileage to warrant the additional costs associated with buying and servicing. The advantage of cheaper fuel is rapidly being eroded too. I'd been a staunch diesel user for some 30 odd years but a few months ago replaced an ageing hack with a modern (for me!) 10 year old but under 100k km petrol Skoda Yeti which, whilst only having the 1.2lt TSi engine, it still packs 105hp (77kW) and 129ft-lb of torque which is more than sufficient for the social and domestic purposes which now dominate my driving habits. Fuel consumption is averaging 41mpg and DIY servicing consists of no more than the scheduled 15,000km oil and filter changes and bi annual brake fluid replacement although I plan to do the oil changes at 10,000 which is what all I now typically cover in a year. On an annualised basis then servicing is probably going to cost me around €60-70 or say €150 at a garage but that ain't going to happen whilst I'm still capable of swinging a spanner! On this particular engine the timing chain, aux belt, and fuel filter are 'for life'. No more DPF's and EGR cleaning and 'Italian tune ups' for MOT/ITV's for me!
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UK Private pension discriminating against those living abroad.
AnOther replied to Woodrup's topic in French Finance
That mindset is what's causing you the problem. Depending on the amount it sounds like an ideal case for a QROPS with flexible drawdown - just in case you did need to draw from it at sometime in the future. Nothing 'complicated' about them, most are essentially a SIPP just the same as in UK except established elsewhere, commonly in Malta but there are other options. That's where my private pension is and take what I want from it when I want, anything I do draw goes down as income on my tax return so timing can be worked to advantage. I have two annuities with L&G, they won't send the payments abroad so are paid into my UK account. Tax is deducted at source however as a non UK taxpayer they refund it every year when they also send me a P60 -
Memories: Fag end of summer
AnOther replied to anotherbanana's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
Very melancholic, are you on something lol -
moving to be with family in france from italy
AnOther replied to skipper's topic in French Legal Issues
If you have health care in Italy courtesy of an S1 then the act of applying for that should have immediately triggered France to demand the surrender of your Carte Vitale. I know this from 1st. hand experience of moving from France to Spain in 2018. I was quite surprised how swiftly that demand came after applying for new S1's for Spain. It came by post to my (then) temporary address in Spain and the only way they could have possibly have learnt that was from DWP to whom I gave it in order for them to send me new one. -
Terrified - wrongly accused of downloading XXX
AnOther replied to chessie's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
"Eye opening thread" To be brutally honest it shouldn't be! -
Terrified - wrongly accused of downloading XXX
AnOther replied to chessie's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
The thing to remember is that in such circumstances the relevant authorities will absolutely not operate by email, they will turn up unannounced and mob handed on your doorstep at 4am in the morning! BTW I found the link in under 30 seconds by copy/pasting the entire address at the bottom into Google. -
Terrified - wrongly accused of downloading XXX
AnOther replied to chessie's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/tous-nos-contenus/actualites/campagnes-messages-escroquerie-usurpant-identite-police-nationale -
"I don't do social media because, rightly or wrongly, I do not trust them. My choice." This site, and others similar, are 'social media'
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"Brexit has of course given us all of these advantages"..... . It's 'yer Brexit 'dividends' init, unfortunately few if any are to the advantage of UK or Brits abroad.
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Astra Satelite - any issues?
AnOther replied to bonvivant's topic in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
Best part of 1000km further South where a 1.8m dish is required for reliable reception and nothing at all changed here for me and no chatter about anything on local forums either so I think you can safely dismiss speculation about footprint tweaking. -
Nonsense, just properly maintain what you have. Whatever that costs it will always be less than buying a new or nearly new car. I bought a 4 year old car in 2007 and when I left France for Spain in 2018 I'd put 250,000km on it (307,000km on the clock) in which time outside of regular servicing it had probably needed 'spannering' no more than three or four times.
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UK have yet to implement border controls for imports. https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/brexit/uk-delays-full-import-checks-on-food-until-january-2022/654093.article#:~:text=Import%20declarations%20will%20be%20pushed,risk%20plants%20and%20plant%20products Most of the foreign lorries are returning empty which is why the projected queues at the ports have not materialised and in turn providing BoJo with false stats with which to claim that everything is working normally which everyone knows they are not.
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Perennial question regarding exchange rate for impots
AnOther replied to Robson's topic in French Finance
Work it out on an 'as received' basis then compare the result to the average, use whichever works in your favour. -
One day the truth will come out - maybe
AnOther replied to Lori's topic in The Complete France Post Bag
"Peoples views are influenced in all sorts of ways, brainwashed if you like! The fact is we arrive at a view that is coloured by our beliefs, prejudices etc and then reinforced by a media that you agree with. The truth is what you believe it to be and not necessarily what it actually is!!!" Exactly. We all emerge from the womb as blank sheets of paper! -
Not until you've been burgled can you understand that NOTHING compensates for the trauma or the feeling of never being completely safe in your home again. I speak fom experience.
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"and others perhaps to Spain". . . I wonder what makes you think that, I've neither seen nor heard of any such migration and post Brexshite it's no easier to live under the radar here than it is in France.
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Are Brits really 'scuttling home' from France in noticeable or significant numbers? The same is alleged here in Spain but I see very little actual evidence of it.
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Friends of ours only yesterday managed to get back to Spain after (misguidedly) going to UK for Christmas. Time after time their flight bookings were cancelled but being French resident, and in UK by car, not getting home by now suggests that either you didn't want to or weren't really trying. Going the other way it's strange how hoards of non residents who have been hanging about in Spain using Covid as an excuse for not going home have suddenly managed to find a way get back when faced with being recorded as overstayers and potentially fined and barred from future re-entry! I dare say a few have done the same from France.
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The Letter of Entitlement make no mention of points because they are irrelevant and in no way impact or influence an exchange.
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[quote user="chessie"]I can't remember clearly the 'why' right now - but I do know I obtained from the DVLA a statement from them confirming that I was entitled to drive - ie had passed my driving test and had a current, full driving licence.[/quote] That might have been as far back as Jan. 2013 which is when France finally got around to introducing the photocard licence, they'd known they had to since 1998 it but were STILL late! The controlling EU directive for that required that issuing authorities satisfy themselves that applicants for licence exchanges were entitled to be holding the national licence they were surrendering, for UK citizens that was evidenced by the Letter of Entitlement. If you passed your test in UK then you would normally be entitled to that letter on demand. As per its name the letter only states the recipient "has/had the following Full entitlement" (actual wording) and lists the groups they are entitled to drive, nowhere does it say that that the person actually holds a licence. I would presume that if an applicant were disqualified then either the letter would be refused of if were issued would say that they were subject to a disqualification and it's end date. Don't know how it works the other way (test passed in France or elsewhere) but if you did pass your test in UK and returned to live there then you are entitled to directly reapply for a UK licence, it's not a case of exchanging back.
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Internet via 3G or 4G
AnOther replied to Martin963's topic in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
One thing I promised myself when planning my move from France to Spain was to never get myself into the same situation I had in France which was being forever tied to tied to a crappy 2mb Internet from Orange. Perversely, despite actually having a rock solid 2mb, and a line who's ACTUAL attenuation meant it should have been good for 5-6mb, their joke of a database had it down as only good enough for 512kb which meant no other provider could or would offer me more so stuck with them I was. For those who understand these things when they built a new exchange in my town, which was only 100m away from the old one, according to their updated database that move added 10dB of loss to my line! In addition that 3g was next to non existent (not a lot of help when trying to contact Orange when their crap 'service' went down) and it was only in the final months before moving that a whiff of 4g blew my way which I took advantage of with a 4g router connected to a pair of cross polarised yagi antennas which pulled in 20mb+. In total contrast here in Spain the small enclosed semi rural development I live on (45 dwellings) is served by fibre to the site then CAT5 to each property, that gets me a symmetrical 75mB+ with a ping of 1ms. My actual ISP is a mere km away in the nearby town so on the exceptionally rare occasion I do have a problem I can either pop down to their office, or call or message them on their customer help line (Spanish and English), and usually somebody is out if not immediately then certainly within half an hour or so. With their service I get a land line phone with free calls to most of the world plus something like 100 HD TV channels including BBC,ITV.CH4,CH5, and numerous others English channels. For all of this I pay just €33/mth. I also have excellent 4g coverage and pay €12/mth for a PAYG package with free calls to UK land lines and mobiles and to much of the world, plus 6gB of date each month. -
GO is French for Gigabyte so 30go is HUGE! There are a number of possible solutions though. 1. delete the mails then either ask your 'friend' to refrain from sending them. 2. bin them on receipt. 3. set up a filter to bin them automatically. 4. use the nuclear option and block their email address altogether.