[Deposit for Car]

Thanks Norman,

Yes the old type of number plate

Lets see what the Bank says tomorrow

[Deposit for Car]

Yes you are right, I should of photocopied the cheque. I will in future .

I think its only about the third cheque I've had in 5 years so it won't be a big deal.

When my printer finally pegs it I will get one of those combined printer / scanner / copiers

What was throwing me was "I have" rather than "I did have" I was beginning to think I had paid the cheque in incorrectly

What's life if you don't learn from it !

I'm very thankful for all the help on this

  

[Deposit for Car]

Obviously I hope your hypothesis is wrong, as probably as you do for me.

Your three questions

He took it for a five minute run, leaving me with his very tatty Ford Focus with a very large dog in the back seat on what was left of the rear seat

He stood over the running engine for a few minutes, listening.

The back of his estate car looked like a builders van. He spoke excellent French but said he was Polish. I greeted him with the only Polish word I know "Gin dob bree" which I believe is Hello and he said something back in Polish ( I think )

He got the price down by 100 euro saying the spare wheel was a bit worn

It was all his idea to offer me a deposit and wrote 500 euro's without me saying a word

You make a good point regarding giving the deposit back. I will issist on seeing some credible ID before parting with a cheque

[Deposit for Car]

I'm not sure what you mean Val by "I have a copy of his cheque with his details"

The cheque was paid into my bank ages ago. I've got no details other than his name, he said he lived in Paris, his plate on the car ended with 90 which I'm sure is for Paris and his mobile number. Was I supposed to photo copy his cheque because I didn't know that

I'm as keen as anyone to get to the bottom of this

[Deposit for Car]

I must admit I was pleased / relieved / surprised when the cheque cleared and I quickly moved the 500 euro into my savings account.

Basically because I'd not asked for a deposit and would have settled for his word

If it was a rubber cheque could he not have given me a cheque for the full amount and driven away in a nice Focus Estate leaving his old banger on my drive to gather dust.

I'll run the idea of speaking to the police past the bank if they can't / will not help

[Deposit for Car]

Its good to hear different viewpoints on this

I'm going to speak to my bank tomorrow and try to get his details and send a registered letter as Val suggested.

If I can't I'm going to put it up for sale again. In any event its going back on sale if I don't get a reply by post after a week

The text's I sent to him this morning were undelivered so I'm starting to think its just a problem like losing his phone

Thanks for all the contributions

John

 

[Deposit for Car]

Trust you to put your spin on it, Chancer.

Mobile Phones work in prison ( or so I'm told ) or do you know that for a fact !

They don't work from beyond the grave, however !

Lets hope there's a simple reason like the phones been lost, because everything about the car & me was on it.

Maybe he goes around giving money away to Cotton Heads like me

BTW "Cotton Heads" are what old people with white hair are called in Liverpool

[Deposit for Car]

Thanks for all your comments and advice.

Regarding writing the receipt, I took it that because he wrote French much better and quicker than I would he took the lead.

I signed it, kept the original and he took a photo of it

SD, He put " the balance will be paid after the 15th March" with no end date.

The cheque went in the bank months ago. Will my bank provide me with a copy or release his details after so long ?

It was a business cheque, I think ?

If he's genuine, I would like to give him his deposit back

I'll speak to my bank and if I hit a brick wall I'll do what Wilko suggests, in case its a double deposit refund he's after.

BTW His phone never rings and goes straight to answerphone which seems odd for a businessman

Thanks again

[Deposit for Car]

This is strange !

A French guy saw my old car for sale and agreed to buy it.

He gave me a cheque for 500 euro as a deposit ( didn't ask for it ) and said he would come back in 2 weeks with the balance of 1700 euro.

He gave me a handwritten receipt for the deposit and photographed the cheque, receipt and log book with his posh mobile phone

He lives over 600 miles away and was just passing through with work when he saw the car. He said he was a builder.

The cheque was paid into my account and cleared.

That was 10 weeks ago and he hasn't returned my phone calls or texts.

My question is, under French law do I have to wait for him to contact me or can I try to sell the car and give him his deposit back when or if he ever gets in touch. Am a bound by some form of contract because the reciept does say he would return after the 15th March.

I have only a name and a mobile phone number and that he lives in Paris ( and his 500 euros ) and the car !

[New floor]

Only from my own experiences !

If it gets damp/ wet now, consider running the moisture barrier, under the floor, up the walls to past the tiling and then trim back level.

Self levelling compound poured over the concrete gives a perfectly flat level surface when set, for the tiles

If its wet rather than damp, treat the cause and then use water proof adhesive and grout ( belts and braces )

If its insulation needed as well, Kingspan do a product called TF70 which gives a high level of insulation and a good base

Or as the Techi's might say,  High performance rigid thermoset polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulant

manufactured with a blowing agent that has zero Ozone Depletion

Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP).

Best of luck

[Makes me smile, anyway]

One of the magazines some members love to hate have come up with a booklet on how to complete your tax return

selling at a bargain price of 9.50 euro

Can you trust the content when it tells you to get your tax return forms at www.impots.gouv.uk

[vehicle lifts]

AnOther,

Enjoy your retirement,

May it be long and trouble free.

The old saying that you don't know how you found time for work really is true

There's no greater feeling than standing back and saying "I did that"

John & Jack Daniels

[vehicle lifts]

Didn't realise you had done your preparation with the reinforced concrete slab, which is better than pads.

We leased our lifts for 5 years and had them replaced a couple each year so there should be a supply of re-conditioned units available in the UK

This seemed common practice in the trade.

At the right price it might be worth hiring a van or shipping it over.

Best of luck

[vehicle lifts]

I agree with pachapapa on this one.

The garage floor will not normally have been laid strong enough to take bolting the 4 corner posts down.

At best you need to dig up the floor area about 3ft square at eacn spot the lift will stand on and make concrete pads in line with the Lift manufacturers recommendations.

A pit can be covered in with pit boards and you have your garage back.

Even if you need a sump pump to draw off any water that finds its way into the pit its still a cheaper affair

John

[Income tax declaration exchange rate to be used.]

Now thats what you call being lucky

Savings, what are they!

Yes, everyone's position is different so some people will need an exchange rate to hang their hat on

[Income tax declaration exchange rate to be used.]

I agree with NormanH that rates are a bit academic really when you can tot up your income coming over and use the actual amount that lands in your French account in the year

The other pearl of wisdom, I think from Chancer last year was " use any rate you want as long as you can justify it if asked"

[Income tax declaration exchange rate to be used.]

If this helps here's the actual rates that my Local Government Pension was paid out on the first of each month last year

Often the rates quoted are bank rates not actually used rates

This rate was achieved by 8 Metro Councils and 2 City Councils combining their Euro purchasing power so it would be IMO difficult to improve on

Month    Rate

January    1.16

February    1.16

March    1.17

April    1.12

May    1.10

June    1.12

July    1.09

August    1.12

September    1.12

October    1.15

November    1.15

December    1.15

Average Rate    1.13

[Credit d'impot developpement durable]

Thanks SD,

I had an idea the Facture needed to be in French but I couldn't find any reference to this on the net, but it makes sense obviously.

The plumber has been in business here in France for a few years so I thought he knew better. I'll get back on to him.

Concise answer as usual from you.

Thanks again

ps Plumber has just agreed to re-write the Facture in French.

[On-line Tax Returns]

Thank you Gardian,

I've got the 2047k so I'll wait for the 2042 to arrive and then I'll have a go at on-line

Good to know I've got plenty of time and I've have both forms to refer back to.

If thats a success I'll drop into the local Tax Office with my tax rebate details for the boiler

Thanks also for your email

[Credit d'impot developpement durable]

Hi,

I'm going to try to get a tax rebate for having a new condensing boiler fitted last year.

The Facture shows,

Vaillant Ecotec gas condensing boiler - 1,340 Euro

24 Hour Timeswitch / Controller - 68 Euro

Vaillant Flue Kit - 49 Euro

Pipe & Fittings ( completely new location of boiler) 285 Euro

Gas Certificate - Qualigaz 195 Euro

Labour - 640 Euro

TVA @ 5.5%

Total TTC 2720 Euro

Which elements might qualify for the rebate and do I need to identify them on the copy of the Facture I submit with my Tax Return.

Would it also be helpful if I put my Tax Ref on the Facture

BTW The Facture is in English because the Plumber is English. Does this matter ?

[On-line Tax Returns]

Thank you Coops, I'll try filling in the on-line form tomorrow.

I've had one to many glasses of merlot to try now

Cheers

[On-line Tax Returns]

I'm going to try completing my Tax Return on line, mainly because I've made a pigs ear of the paper version.

I followed last years form,with the updated figures, only to then realise the way of declaring my Local Government Pension has changed.

Can you bail out of filling the on-line form if you are not sure if its filled in correctly and go back to the paper version

[Opening a Cafe]

I know of a fellow in Quillan ( or there abouts ) that can produce a good meal if asked

Mind you, you might have to wait for the arrival of the other guests to turn up

Particularly the Dutch Politician who was always late for meals, as I remember

Sound Advice, Good luck

[Clutch]

If you are going down this route can I suggest that you,

Don't go for a re-conditioned clutch cover or even worse centre plate

Buy a Motor Factor branded assembly rather than "genuine" parts ( often same thing, different packaging and lots dearer )

Replace the release bearing / thrust bearing at the same time.

If its a diesel and you are keeping the car for a while, price up for replacing the ring gear at the same time.

[Guard Dogs]

Sorry thats me assuming!

It's not a homemade sign, from garden centre type place

ATTENTION AU CHIEN