Quillan

Go to the Orange website manually without using your bookmark, you should already be logged in to your client area and you should be able to see your name at the top left of the page and a link to your emails. Click on that to take you to your mailbox then create a new bookmark and delete the old one. There has been a 'bug' with Orange for years that means it does not log you out. This is dangerous if other people have access to your computer as they also have access to your emails and can read them. There is a way to 'fix' this 'bug' if you search in this section of the forum. With regards to your long password, you can change it to something you are more likely to remember. It has to contain letters and numbers. I use an old car registration number, the car no longer exists so it would be vey difficult for anyone to work it out. You probably have not noticed but your Wanadoo and Orange account (if you have created one) are linked and you should have changed over to Orange years ago. There was a 'button' to click on that did this automatically and if needed created a new orange email address for you. Of course that was years ago and I don't think the button exists anymore. They might bring it back as Wanadoo accounts are due to be turned off in the very near future. You might find talking to Orange tech support may be helpful with regards to this issue.

[quote user="Fittersmate"]This morning we received a letter from Direction Departementale du Morbihan at Vannes with regard to our claim. They have asked for copies of our E121/S1 for the years claimed despite the fact that we sent these with our initial claim. Will send them off today and see what happens next.[/quote] Not to sure if I understand this. When we received our S1's last year it said that we should make a minimum of ten copies for further use as and when required. As far as I understood they get issued only once in the case of state aged retirees. I guess you can ask the UK for a duplicate but don't know as I have never tried. Therefore how can you supply one for every year?

Welcome to the Forum I would suggest you do a bit of Googling and try this as a search criteria. tarif banque auto entrepreneur I did find that the Banque Postale does one from 16 Euros per month depending what other 'goodies' you want like a Visa card and Internet banking. https://www.labanquepostale.fr/professionnels/services/compte_pro.html You do have to have a business account, that's for sure. You also need Public Liability insurance or so say the ones I looked at.

Well am a little confused because first you say it was a website page and then an email, which one is it? That aside I went on the Orange website and logged into my Orange account without problem or message. I also checked my emails for such a message and there is none. Rather than muck around doing it the way you do it why not use "Mailwasher". I have been using it for years and it is very good. For one account it is free to use. http://www.mailwasher.net/download-mailwasher-free

Remember you don't have to enter the forum to read the posts so don't take it personally. I am following everything to do with this issue as it is close to my wallet.

[quote user="Chancer"] Why dont they make diesel hybrid vehicles? [/quote]   They do and there are lot of makes including VW, try Googling. You can even get a Range Rover diesel hybrid if you have a spare £150k in your back pocket.

[quote user="Théière"]Interesting reply Q, obviously the stories of heavy batteries is now confined to the past, one thing of Toyota, they don't rest on their laurels, Loved all of my previous Toyotas. [/quote]   Actually I wonder if the myths about the battery weight was spread by the automobile manufacturers in the US where the Prius has been very popular especially amongst celeb's who seem to think they are making a statement of some kind. If you do a bit of Googling it appears that the weight has only come down by about 10kg since the first V1 and V3, it's just the storage and power levels that have increased. The batteries are made by Panasonic (I discovered during my search) and are used in most of the electric/hybrid cars. The only issue is they use a lot of rare 'earth' minerals like Neodymium and Lanthanum as do wind turbines apparently but again scare stories about these may well be generated by the global climate change deniers and the ‘greens’.

Thank you GG for your very comprehensive reply.   I agree with the comment about getting similar ltr/km as a diesel car but that's not really the point because we are talking petrol v diesel. If you bought a petrol powered Scenic you would get on average 38.2mpg (7.4ltr/100km), I mention this as it was the make and model Théière gave as a diesel for comparison. Of course there is also the performance, the Prius is just over 2 second quicker getting from 0 to 60 mph, not bad for a family car. I found the weight of the battery by the way, it has gone down over the years and is now 53kg on the Prius 3 (average human weight is 70kg so my computer says) and will be less again in the 2016 model which will use lithium batteries.   I think diesel cars are going to come under a lot of stress with regards to emissions. This business with VW I feel is only the tip and I can't honestly imagine they are the only ones on 'the fiddle'. As said there is a lot of pressure to ban them from big cities, I believe I read somewhere that Paris is looking to ban them under certain conditions and once one French city does it others will follow and then large towns. Toulouse is my nearest big city which I visit once or twice a year (Christmas market being popular with the family) and being the 4th biggest in France I can't see it would be very long before they implement the same rules as Paris. There is also the issue of fuel costs which I mentioned at the beginning.   Out of GG's 'report' the interesting and more realistic figure is the consumption over 80,000km, something that is difficult to find for other cars and it sounds about what I would expect really. My 308SW does tell you average consumption over a period and whilst if I reset it before a long run it gives excellent average consumption it's not so good in normal life running around here. I don't know if it is an urban myth but many have said you need to drive a diesel for quite a few kilometers before it gets to the right temperature and economy.   As to Hydrogen cars, well let's be honest it will be a long time before they become common place and the price of an average family car being currently £66k will be a killer for them as will be the lack of refueling stations. I will probably be in my grave before they become common and the same can be said of self driving cars. Thats not say they are not a brilliant idea and should be dismissed out of hand.   Anyway GG you have put my worry to bed about hills and you explination of it being an automatic was something I was thinking but needed confirmation on. To be fair you could have said the same about my old Discovery which was automatic, it would change down on steep hills and there would be a change in engine noise and at certain speeds on steep hills would 'hunt' between 3rd and 4th meaning you had slow down or speed up to keep it in one gear.

[quote user="Ian"]I'm in a different league - only a few bits required, so if I need to buy new, it's not the end of the world. Cheers [/quote]   Here is a thought, take one of the breakers with you to BricoDepot because they sell all the bits, including the rails, seperatly so you could 'try before you buy'.

There was a thing on the BBC last week about this sort of thing. Seems they only need two out of a thousand to make it worth their while. They even phone up claiming to be the police and then tell you to phone them back to check that they are the police, they actually have a 'switch board' for when you call back. This is normally a banking scam and if you follow the English press four got 'done' for it last week as well. The problem is getting people to come forward when they have been scammed.

We take credit/debit cards but we don't 'advertise' the fact. We used a third party that whilst they may have offices in France do not do their transactions in France (actually it's through the UK).   Getting a card reader in France is not the problem; you can buy them on Ebay for reasonable prices. The problem is the French banking system. You must use their readers which you can rent monthly but can’t buy and you must have a SIRET number although the documentation for the BNP Paribas system which is supposed to be the French version of Payleven, Sum Up, PayPal etc does not say this till you try to get a machine and account. The issue for them is insurance; the insurance companies won't insure them against you committing fraud with their reader unless you have a SIRET number. I have no idea how the integrities of this works. Basically from my experience of trying to take CC and DD payments over the years is that the French banks have a monopoly and won't deal with anyone else opening such a system in France. PayPal came unstuck with them when they tried to launch their PayPal Here system in France. It would have suited us to use PayPal because we already have a business account with them but were forced to look elsewhere.   We currently use Payleven which charge between 2.75 and 1.5% per transaction depending on volume. (https://payleven.fr/costs/). You have to buy the terminal which costs £45 + VAT and it works through either a smart phone or tablet (both Apple and Android). Sum Up also offers a similar service but with a fixed rate of 1.75% regardless of volume which is actually a better deal (https://sumup.fr/pricing). The biggest issue for us CdH owners is that neither has the ability to accept "Customer Not Present" therefore you can't take deposits. The other issue with all of them is printing receipts which requires that you buy a special printer which is around £300. There is an alternative and it is what I have done which is that the card holder can enter their email address and it sends a receipt via email. Sum Up is, having read all the reviews, the best of the bunch and if you are starting from scratch then I would go for them. Why don't I have one? Well the truth is I have only used my Payleven unit three or four times over three years and for the limited times I have used it it seems a waste to throw it in the bin and buy another (they are ‘company’ dependant, I know I tries).   I should add that neither company charges you to actually use the reader nor for transfering the money to your bank account. All you pay is the transaction percentage fee.

A question for Gardengirl. Had an American couple stay last night who just happen to own a Prius. They said it was naff because it couldn't get up hills which would be a big problem for me. Apparently the power just drops off as does the speed and they say any advantage fuel wise gained on the flat is then lost on hills. Is this true?

[quote user="HoneySuckleDreams"] Thanks for coming along guys, I was hoping an Uber Geek would turn up The router is a Cisco EPC2434 There is a login page but with no login credentials so you just press return to get access   Firmware epc2434-ESIP-16-v202r1262-120605s.bin   Software revision epc2434-ESIP-16-v202r1262-120605s   Is it easy to flash the firmware ?   [/quote]   https://www.cisco.com/web/consumer/support/userguides2/4011350.pdf   Go to page 57. It seems that when it was installed if the person got to the screen as shown on that page and just kept hitting the Enter key then no password would be created because it does not come with a default password. Every time thereafter you logged in it probably would not even ask for one.   I have had the problem with adverts etc and the system running slow. I even had adverts poping up when not in a browser. In this instance it was due to some software downloaded as part of some other free software downloaded from the web (DVD Ripping software). Took ages to clear it out using a couple of different software packages. I am almost certain that your problems are on the PC and not in the router.   A word of warning. Updating firmware dangerous even when you know what you are doing. You could end up totally screwing the router with no ability to recover it. You have been warned.

It would also help to know who the ISP is as well because normally they give you the settings for DNS etc. If it is Orange then they would us IPv4 primary 81.253.149.10, Secondary (IPv4 again) 80.10.246.3. Both belong to France Telecom (Orange) and are in France which is normal in that the DNS servers belong to the ISP as standard but you can of course change them for a particular reason. For instance you could change them to a UK based DNS server to watch BBC Iplayer.  

I thought it a bit of a shame that the Ferrari LaFerrari wasn't on the list, I mean it is Hybrid after all.   Ok waking up from my dream there does seem to be a bit of confusion over what it (congestion charge) was supposed to do and what it has become which is basically a political thing plus the option to make money. Mind you in fairness at least TFL have invested the money in public transport (new buses and cross London link etc), not alway wisely (Olympics), but at least it helps. Personally I don't intend to visit London again in a car anyway. The nearest I would get is Docklands, Mile End and East Ham all of which are outside the zone. I looked at the map (to make sure they are outside the zone) and noticed Buck Palace is inside, I wonder if Lizzie's new Hybrid Range Rover gets a discount........... [;-)] I mean government cars are exempt (so Camerons OK) but the Queen is not part of the government last I heard nor are her family. Perhaps Boris has given her a 'get out of jail card'.

Unfortunately unless you have the 'plug in' ones when they lowered the C02 emission rate to 75 (1st Jan 2015) the Prius are no longer exempt or liable for a discount according to the TFL website. Interestingly with the exception of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV you have to send a copy of the conformity certificate.   List of exempt cars - http://www.nextgreencar.com/congestion-charge-exempt/   TFL Website (Charges) - https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/discounts-and-exemptions?intcmp=2133   For Gardengirl, the Yaris is exempt (assuming thats what you were looking at)

We have had more Brits house hunting this year, it has dwindled to almost zero over the last three to five years and properties appear to be moving again but very slowly. They seem to want a very big bang for their bucks to the point where houses I know and thought reasonably priced have been marked as very over priced by those looking. Strange that, as most house prices are around what they were five to ten years ago.These went up quite a bit in the first five years we came here, almost doubling in value, but there has been quite a decline. One house I know was sold for less than they paid six years ago and during the two years it was on the market had double glazing fitted, new kitchen and a total repaint both in and out. I guess it's OK if you DIY it otherwise you might just as well reduce the price by the amount these items cost and not bother doing them but people seem to want a higher standard these days. The Scousers who came five or six years ago to buy cheap properties to renovate and resell have all gone now probably because they didn't understand the French system and the taxes involved plus nobody bought them, most are still up for sale. Their prices are not far off the pre-renovation prices and some were real wrecks.

Well we use top and bottom sheets plus a Duvet cover. All our bedding is washed at 60 deg (kills dust mites) and the mattress protector is washed on changeovers. We also use the steamer on the mattresses then vacume and turn them about once a month. The steamer has a setting just for this and uses just enough steam to kill things with minimum vapour. If you use slatted beds the mattress surface will be dry in 24 hours when inverted and the steamer kills just about everything plus there are no chemicals involved.

Well if you stayed with us every day we would change all the towels, check the bog rolls, tea, coffee, cups and wash and replace as required and the bin emptied. Your bed would be made (in the afternoon so it has time to air) every day and on the forth day the bedding would be changed, the bathroom and bedroom stripped and cleaned.

[quote user="Théière"]Q, are you comparing the numbers (20,000) based on the miles/kilometers adjustment? I personally think you are right the French don't like them as much hence depressed 2nd user market. Partly due to the extra mileage you might be doing rurally, any difference around the major cities of france where usage maybe less? I don't agree they will hold their value more as the battery packs are aging you go towards the inevitable cost of battery replacement €€€€ [/quote] Did that (not absolutly exact but within 2,000km and also model for model as there are different levels of interior but they stay the same across Europe unlike some other makes.   If you have a battery check every year with an approved Toyota agent you can extend the battery life for up to 10 years and there are certainly cars around with 10 year or more even on the battery life. Also you could, if you think capable, replace cells in the batteries yourself (plentry of tips on YouTube) although I couldn't be ars*d to do that. You can however get refurbished batteries installed for around £600 in the UK according to what I have seen on the Internet, don't have a clue about in France, yet to be investigated. How good they are is a different matter of course and probably depends on who you use. I must admit the battery was a major concern to start with but the improvement has been significant betweem the mk1 and mk3 Prius has made me less worried. Gardengirl has clocked up a bit travelling back and forth to France so I don't think long trips are a worry. I have read that these cars are also popular with company reps which is why you can find some 2013 cars with very high mileage at lower than normal prices, ones to stay clear of I think.    

Doing my research on the Prius in France second hand ones are considerably cheaper than the UK when you take into account the exchange rate. They seem to have the same 'number' i.e 20,000 but with exchange rates as they currently bring the price down to the equivalent in sterling of under £15k. The same can be said actually of all the Hybrid cars. The quantity of second hand ones for sale is also much less in France.  Clearly the French don't like them very much and second hand ones are difficult to move which could be good news for me. I was thinking they might hold there value better over the next four years as diesel prices go up, if the French let their government go ahead with the tax increase that is. We will see, probably wishful thinking on my part.

The problem is France and that it does not like change and lives in the past.   Very few farmers these days do CdH in the way it was initially intended. CdH's have now become a proper business and therefore proper jobs for those running them which measn they should be paying tax in the same way as anyone who is an employer/employee. When we came to live here we were the only CdH for about 4km, now we have four within 1km2 and most of those started up by foreigners because when the laws changed about healthcare (you have to contribute to use it) owning and running a CdH was the easiest option especially with the reluctance of French companies to employ foreign workers (even if they did speak French quite well). Now for me it would be stupid to stop until the laws change, even if I only run a couple of rooms for half the year because of the tax benefits i.e. not paying any. In this day and age it really is a stupid system but whilst it remains as it is many, including myself, will carry on doing it and reaping the benefits.   Like you said in the bit you deleted about it being designed for the farmers wife to earn a little pocket money, why then can we divide the income in half and declare it as two seperate parts? I shouldn't even come into the equation, it should be all down on the wifes tax decleration and then we would be paying at least some tax (you lose on of the 'parts'). Anyway it is not for me to tell the French how to run their affairs, I tried once with the Tresor Public and basically was told to rugger off. To coin that well used expat saying "you wouldn't get away with that in England".

The range I bought about four years ago could work on both natural (town) gas and bottled. It came with instalation and user manual in all Eurpean languages. The ovens are electric but the top burners are gas. It came configured for natural gas and we have bottled. The knobs on the front each had an individual adjustable regulator behind them so I had to change the jets, fire up the burners individually, pull the knobs off, stick a screwdriver through a hole behind them and adjust the flame till the roaring stopped and there were no yellow bits in the flame. The make is SMEG if that helps.

[quote user="idun"]WOW!!! And I mean WOW, and I frankly do not understand how LBF can be so generous. When I see 'working' people struggle so, this has amazed me, taken me aback and I shall say no more about it, as it does not seem fair, just or right in any sense of those words.[:(] [/quote]   Have you ever tried telling the Tresor Public that you think they are wrong and that you expect to pay (or pay more) tax? All they do is get their 'megga book' out, spend 5 minutes shuffling through the pages and tell you they are right and you are wrong accompanied by the "how dare you question me" look. I fully expected to pay tax, it is an occupational hazarded of living and working, you live and work therefore you pay tax and that goes, as far as I can see, in every country in the world. If the French tax authorities refuse to take my money what should I do, stuff what I think is fair in an envelope and drop it in their letter box? I know people struggle in France, particularly the elderly which is why we threw the forms for 100% CPAM cover in the bin, twice. I remember when I asked the mayor where we could put the signs for our B&B he said "Well you pay tax in France so put them where you like" to which I replied "well no actually, I tried but they don't want my money", "well put them where you like anyway" he said. We have also been denounced about three times over the years to both the mayor and the Tresor Public but everything is correct.   It is not that I am trying, or have ever tried to avoid paying tax by keeping what I do secret. We pay all our fees to the tourist office and our bed tax through the Tresor Public. We have about 12 signs around on the different roads pointing people to us plus a big one outside our house and a list of all our prices showing we are open all year because we were told that’s what you have to do. We have even had functionaires do a control on us so everyone knows who we are and what we do.   But anyway you can't do it like that anymore ever since the Auto entrepreneur system started (as far as I know) and I doubt you can survive for very long especially if you have a mortgage under the old system. As I said those that were on the old system were told they had a choice to carry on or change over, we didn't. So if you have a problem take it up with the French government and ask them to close the loophole because it's not my fault, I just do what I am told.   I removed the last bit because it was in answer to Sue's post which she has now deleted.    

[quote user="Chancer"] Yes its a very good system and but for having had zero income until recently I wish I had joined it earlier, its rather bizzarre that now I have an income and am to me t least comfortably off I no longer pay taxe d'habitation, well 90% of it and by all accounts I should not be paying that.   Are you able to split the CDH income and declare it between both yourself and Mrs Q? [/quote]   Yes.   Mrs Q's UK government income has to be taxed in the UK, that’s UK law with her old job. We therefore asked the UK tax authorities and her accountant where we should put the income from our rentals in the UK to which they told us it would be silly not to put them in her name on the UK tax form along with her wages. We put that lot in the 'Foreign income' box on the French tax form and attach a P60 from the accountant every year. Because her government pension (now she has retired) also has to be taxed in the UK HMRC said to carry on as we were. So we won't be paying CSG on that lot either anymore if Mint is correct.