John Brown

Thanks for the help. I didn't have the letter with me at the time but I knew I needed stamps anyway so I got 10 The main reason I went was to post off a recorded delivery letter The Staff, so far, like the machine but time will tell John  

Thanks Hereford Yes thats the machine! I've got 10 sticky labels each with a value of 0.83 euro but can I use multiple labels on the same envelope to cover the cost of the extra weight?

Our local Post Office now has a machine to issue stamps etc. rather than at the counter. I asked at the counter for 10 stamps for the UK and was directed back to the machine. I've post that needs stamps up to 100g so can I use several of the vouchers /stamps that the machine issued or do I need to take the letter into the PO to weight it and have a single stamp issued. I'm not bothered about the extra cost of using several stamps because I've just spent ages getting a recorded delivery letter sent and don't want to go back into town if I can help it JB

Don't think you are being cynical at all! The question of the P85 and the France-Individual Forms have been mentioned in this thread so I phoned HMRC to ask what my status was. Even though one of the many security questions is your address and I gave the address I've lived at in France for nearly 7 years the Tax Office Person said they have no record of a P85 being submitted ( I've now sent 3 in 7 years ) although there is a note of a France-Individual Form being received I've been advised to submit a new P85 and F-I to include the State Pension with a covering letter asking for acknowledgement of the forms and comfirmation in writing that my tax code is changed to NT JB    

If it's taking 4 to 6 weeks and they are sending the packs out 13 weeks to the day before the 65th birthday, how many of the phone calls that they get every day are about people not receiving their application forms. It was confirmed on the phone that the downloaded version is the same so I'm posting it today (recorded delivery & signature , hopefully) with the original birth & marriage certificates just in case there's a problem and I have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for a reply[:D] Thanks JB

I've just spoken to a nice lady at the International Pensions Office. Give as much of the detail as possible was the advice, if not dates give year etc She said they don't use Royal Mail but instead use a courier service and it will take between 4 to 6 weeks to arrive I tried but I just could not resist saying "you could do with changing your courier service then"[:D]

Thanks for all the help. The WFA people lost my wife's birth certificate but did do the application for a new one and replaced it free of change in about 6 weeks So I'm reluctant to send off mine. Might try a good scanned copy Thanks again John

Thanks Wooly & Idun I will give them a ring tomorrow and see if they can help, For most of us in the 60's ,70's and 80's it was easier to change jobs and I did quite often Admittedly it was between Local Council's because of CCT but it worked for me John  

Thanks for all the comments Like you, Lehaut,  I "retired early" at 52 and have lived mostly on my private pensions until now so getting the State Pension will be the icing on the cake for me. I got a letter saying I qualified for a full pension but if I wanted I could continue to pay voluntary contributions? I asked the question because the downloaded form seems to be aimed at people who may not be Expats but have lived and worked in the UK at some point, because it asks for a complete UK work record and I can't remember what I did last week never mind 40+ years ago I'll give the link you gave a try, Tinabee Thanks JB ps, Would you believe it that link stops today

Anyone know if the claim form that you are sent 3 or 4 months before your 65th birthday is the same as the one you can download off the internet I've been waiting 6 weeks for the Claim Pack and its still not arrived dispite being told "it's in the post" I've had a look at the on-line form but its 24 pages long and they would still have to write back to me and confirm the details/amount John

The thermocouple is the fail-safe sensor that sits in the path of the flame and shuts the boiler off if the flame goes out. The start up procedure over-rules that signal back to the boiler to allow the flame to light but is time limited so fuel cannot continue to flow Thats my understanding of it I'm sure Theiere will correct me if I'm wrong[:)]  JB

I imagined all the other divers with their posh lamps and you with a metre of soil pipe with a candle burning at one end[:D]

Chancer, a "handle" has never been so apt You make me laugh out loud and brighten up my day. Thank you Please check what they are putting in your oxygen tanks in future[:D] JB

Got 1.19 from Worldfirst.com on-line today. No fee's, so its about doing the maths to see if you end up with more Once you do the money laundering reg's bit, as Theiere said must be done, you can transfer any amount on-line 24/7 JB

Cheapest I've seen in France is E Leclerc @ 4.80 each I've put 5 up in the bathroom ceiling about 6 months ago and they have been fine The one's with the deep plastic lens over each led patch seem to give a better light and look more expensive The LED.s that came with the fittings, like 2 mini J shaped tubes back to back, from Brico lasted weeks Look out for the start up times, I could go in and out of the bathroom and use the toilet before the light came fully on  with the Brico ones JB

Hope you find it helpful  JB

I've saved it as French Tax 2014M.csv an Apple Mac file See if that works JB

Happy New Year to you too, Until someone comes along with a better solution the only thing I can suggest is, Let me know what files your programme can open and read and I'll post another version in that format if Excel lets me JB

I've fixed a bug in the spreadsheet so if you don't put in a Day of Birth it assumes your age does not qualify for the Age related / Low Income Allowance plus giving a single person the single allowance if applicable Thanks Norman John

Here's the link for this years Tax Return with the fields updated Its in Microsoft Office Excel https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B02Cx1IXK4EqMkFQZ2J0aUNTN2c/edit?usp=sharing Gives you time to "fine tune" the figures Thanks to NormanH and Tinabee for their help

Thanks for all the advise and comments I'll have to go to the Service Desk next visit, cos I don't remember getting or setting up a pin code ( might be my mind playing tricks ! ) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all ps If you are going "home" have a safe journey JB

We've got the Carrefour loyalty card and get a credit note every few months but we have had nothing from E.Leclerc for using their loyality card for nearly a year How is it supposed to work? JB

In the "real world of hourly paid retail employment" in the UK now, you are told you will be working so many Sundays and Bank Holidays each year. There is no choice. I remember looking out of a BQ store on a Boxing Day morning at 9.30am at 50 plus cars with people waiting for the store to open at 10.00 One guy in particular came in at 10.00am just to return rolls of wallpaper? We even had people asking could they stay in the store after the tills close at 4.00pm on Sunday just to look around but not buy I for one, would rather go hungry on Sunday than encourage Sunday trading here John

This seems to be a bit of lazy software writting on the part of the fuel pump dispenser people Imagine M&S taking £300 off your card as you walk in their store because they think you might go on to spend that amount in the store and give it back to you a week later. If thats what happened as Chancer & Claire think ( and me now ) on my thread on Debit Card Fraud, here, it was 399.99 euro and Santander treated it as fraud. There's no warning on the pumps that money will be held back "just in case"

As another side issue, I know a guy that built bodies for new vehicles I ordered and his "party trick" was to throw a rubber brick, as hard as he could, at the side of  a new vehicle in his workshop to show how strong the material was and on the last occasion he tried it with me watching he missed the vehicle all together and hit one of his workers on the head. John