John Brown

Hi, thanks for all the comments We were on our way home in a hurry because of a family illness and I had been driving for 7 hours so that did not help. I tried the self service pump but I'm sure I didn't get to putting in my pin number. It said, I think, not able to read card, try another card The amount taken from my card afterwards was 27.08 euro. ( never fill right up before the ferry )  I top up this account as and when from a savings account and keep the balance low just in case I have the card stolen and raided My account said something like balance 425,  minus 19 available ( something else had not yet gone through. think it was toll charges ) and it was stopped before it appeared on the account so your point Chancer could have applied The card reader was behind the counter but the pin pad and display was in front of me so it seemed natural to pass the guy my card My bank put me through to their Fraud Department and they blocked the account for 5 to 7 days. They Issued a new card & pin so I'm guessing they saw it as fraud. I suppose I will never find out if it was actually fraud Thanks for all your help btw everything is OK at home now John

On the way back to the UK a couple of weeks ago I called into the last services on the Toll Road south of  Calais to top up my tank before catching the ferry. I tried the self service pump but it did not work so used the manned pump and paid inside the building Next day my card declined in a shop and when I checked my balance, 399.99 euro had gone off my card for fuel My bank acted quickly and stopped the payment and later put the money back in but it meant a new card etc being issued. I parted with my card in the Petrol Station for all of 30 seconds. I didn't get a receipt but I will always ask in future ! Was it a random act or are you targeted because you are obviously passing through, maybe once John

It would be interesting to know how many have used the spreadsheet and if it worked out the same Apart from the Fisc rounding their figures down and the spreadsheet set to round up it worked correctly for me BTW The decote was applied after the DTT adjustment was made! I can live with a big fat zero this year This is the last year I'm thinking that will happen John

Thanks Norman Hopefully its a long time till one of us needs to go into hospital but I'll make a note of what you've all said and act on it Regards John

Thank you all for your comments and advice Thankfully this was the first time we have had to test this type of hospital insurance cover so it was all new to us. It was the different responses from Pacif....... each time I called that caused me to doubt they were telling the truth. Never mind, we would have booked a private room anyway ! We have Car, House, Content, Legal, Top Up's with them so we started worrying "what if" Thanks again John

My wife went into hospital a few weeks ago and we requested a single room. I phoned my health insurance company and I asked if they covered that extra cost. A firm "yes" was the reply but now they are saying "no" I've phoned 3 times, The first reason I was given was because I paid the bill for the private room as my wife was discharged and the insurance company will not pay me that amount back to me. The hospital handed me the bill and said the insurance company refused to pay it The second reason I was given is there is a limit of 35 euro per night paid and I was charged the excess. Another 37.50 per night 100% cover is apparently not 100% The latest reason I've been given is I should not have paid the hospital and its up to me to claim it back from them John

If you insert "Titulaire de formulaire S1, pas a la charge d'assurance maladie" at the bottom of page 2 of  Tax Form 2042 it reinforces the fact that you shouldn't be liable for these charges John

Hi CJG Email me and I'll unlock it and if that does not work I'll attach it to an email and you can open it and save it in Excel John

There is also a daily changing limit on the amount requiring a security code so somedays €20 will go through without a code and somedays it will not. If you don't have a French mobile to recieve a code it can be set so you get a code in a automatic email

I tried the "bring back the car with the tank empty" last time I hired with them. You initally get charged for a full tank, at well over-priced pump prices, and then have to judge how much you put in towards the end of the hire so it goes back nearly empty. Thats more difficult than it appears and I'm guessing they hope you return it with more than a bit in so topping up for the next mug works out cheaper for them.

Thanks Nectarine, I've just joined that forum and added a request for chicks Very good website so I've bookmarked it FFR Let you know how I get on Thanks again

Thanks Pat, I've just checked Leboncoin but no luck today I'll keep trying Do you know what a Silkie is called in France John

I'm hoping to buy a couple of Silkie chicks as pets Anyone know of a breeder in  Creuse or even Limousin area Thanks

It seems a standard reply from some tax offices to treat anything that does not fit a box as "normal income" Until you get someone along, on here, to give detailed advice my advice would is to drop "Voluntary" and maybe use "Severance" instead of  Redundancy if you enquire further Think more that your partner jumped ship rather than waiting to be pushed overboard

BBC News, "A Proton rocket was scheduled to carry the satellite Astra 2E into space on July 20. However, after Tuesday’s failure, that launch will not be carried out. Other Proton launches scheduled for this year, including one for the American radio satellite Sirius FM6 on August 14, have also been scrubbed in light of this week’s failure. Three other launches scheduled later this year have also been postponed until further notice." What a shame

Sorry Betty, I searched for Winter Fuel Allowance etc but not just WFA Feel better for my rant anyway. Don't need or want the money. After spending some of it on loose women and drink I would probably squander the rest anyway Still sounds a bit like confiscation rather than addressing a bad bit of legislation to me

If that's correct, and I've no reason to doubt you. How does "This change is expected broadly to offset......." work when there's going to be many more losers than the 300,000 ( 30million / 100 each) that gained from the European Ruling. "Fairness" is used again and again as a sub heading thoughout the Document but maybe Ex-pats don't matter

Taken from the offical document, "The Spending Round announces that from 2015-16 Winter Fuel Payments will no longer be payable to individuals who live in countries with an average winter temperature higher than the warmest region of the UK. Winter fuel payments exist to support pensioners with the cost of heating their homes in the winter. A recent European Court judgement means that more people living in Europe can now claim a Winter Fuel Payment. This has increased the cost of paying Winter Fuel Payments outside of the UK by around £30 million a year. The Government will legislate for this change in this Parliament. This change is expected broadly to offset the cost of the European Court judgement, and a full costing will be confirmed at the Autumn Statement"

I've found with this type of fixing is that the fixing is the strongest part of the job and any excessive pulling force pulls the brickwork apart. Sheer forces are OK

Suein56 "Depends what kind of ISAs you might have; if there is the remotest chance you might be returning to the UK one day then keep them as once sold the non-taxable benefit is lost for ever. Lost as regards the UK that is as any income is taxable here. But it really does depend what kind of ISA you might have." You're right Sue, I should have explained better I was thinking of any savings in the UK that the French Tax Man can take a big lump out of, if you cash them in after you arrive Including Lump Sums from Pensions!

Hi Yvonne, My top tips would be, Rent for a year to see if you really like it where you decide to settle Don't fall into the trap of buying something that's massive and will cost a fortune to keep warm Sort out your money in the UK. Cash in things like ISA's Don't buy something with loads of garden if you don't want to spend a day a week riding around on a Ride-on Mower Unless you like cement dust don't buy a building site If you drive, don't loss that ability by relying on hubby. I've seen so many who could but don't/can't drive here I'm sure more will add to the list John  

Thanks Tinabee, I'll make the changes to the spreadsheet regarding both person's ages to qualify for low income / age related allowances The deduction of "Reasonable Transfer Charges"  is from an earlier tax return ( I think 2008 ) where then it asked for gross and nett income from your Government / Local Authority Pension and with the nett figure I was told by the local Tax Office to use the amount that landed in my French bank account and that allowed for transfer charges & fees. I'll move the Decote to before the DDT reduction until the battle is won by Parsnips & others over that I'll put the respective social charges under different headings Then I'll have a cup of tea

Very good! You would spell it wrong if you had just had it done Still getting over the shock! Only went in for a repeat Script Please explain the Vulcans / Powerdesal. How do they go together ? BTW I have a couple of NATO Issue Sickbags from a Vulcan in my car ( un-used )

You and Paul may be pleased to know in a way you got your own back I went to the Doctors this morning for my 3 monthly and happened to meantion that I was often getting up in the night for a pee He gave me the Prostrate Examination, Now that brought a tear to my eyes I promise to behave myself in future

[quote user="PaulT"][quote user="ericd"]John, no direspect .....The OP needed reassurance and I just confirmed your own comments.[/quote] See Eric you should have known that John was an apprentice vehicle fitter - do not know how but you just should have. [/quote] You are right, as usual PaulT. I could have said the after my name I have, I.Eng MIRTE  but that would have been just plain showing off Mind you I won it in a raffle