tinabee

I believe you can contact DVLA to obtain a "certificate of entitlement" which you can then use to obtain a French license, but I would definitely check at the prefecture to see if they will issue a French licence based on your counterpart and scanned license.

[quote user="CeeJay"]I have taken out both Livret A and LDD, does anyone know if the interest is annual or is it compounded? [/quote] The interest is paid annually, but it is calculated twice per month (par quinzaine) - if you want to know how is it calculated, there is an article here http://www.francetransactions.com/epargne/calcul-interet-livret-quinzaine.html For each addition or withdrawal of funds, the interest is recalculated at the subsequent 'quinzaine' (either the 1st or 15th of the month), so this is why some banks recommend you make withdrawals on the 2nd or 16th so that your interest will have been allocated before the withdrawal.

buying a home using an SCI may be useful for inheritance purposes, but it is not appropriate if you want to rent out a property as it is a non-commercial company - there is some useful info here http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/sci-societe-civile-immobiliere/

Sorry for the delay in posting - have been offline for a while due to a dead Wibox.  Here is the reply I had from the tax office: "Le Royaume-Uni et la France ont signé une nouvelle convention relative à l'imposition des revenus acquis au Royaume –Uni. A compter du 1er janvier 2010 la nouvelle convention du 19 juin 2008 est applicable. L’article 24 de la nouvelle convention stipule que la double imposition sera évitée par l'imputation d'un crédit d'impôt et non plus selon la règle du taux effectif. Le crédit d’impôt est égal au montant de l’impôt français correspondant à ces revenus à condition que le résident soit soumis à l’impôt du Royaume uni à raison de ces revenus. Vos impositions, avant imputation du crédit d’impôt mentionné ci dessus, étant supérieure à 878 € la décote ne s’applique plus."  

[quote user="parsnips"][quote user="tinabee"] [quote user="Gardian"]Thanks Norman - yes, that's the decote that I was talking about. Thanks too Parsnips - that's precisely what I was getting at and I'll use your text if I may on our local Tax Inspector who is quite a good bloke (well, he responds promptly to emails anyway). I'll let you know the outcome. In truth, its not a big deal for this year: if he agrees with your hypothesis it'll get me just a few Euros back, but I'd sooner get my spreadsheet right for future situations. BTW, the Impots seem to have their act together over the 'new' method of dealing with governmental income. It does make quite a big difference to us, but I've no complaints overall.[/quote] Hi Have been out of touch for a while and only just picked up on this issue - has anyone had a reply from their tax office?  [/quote] Hi,      I, and a friend on whose behalf I also wrote, had a "refus" (from the same tax office), based ,as usual, on totally spurious grounds.   As I had , in fact , paid no tax , I let it go , and my friend , standing to gain only 50€ or so, and fearing to attract the attention of the dreaded "fisc", also let it go.       Next year, if it affects my present tax-less status , I will pursue the matter through the appeals system.  [/quote] Thanks for that. I may have a go since it has affected us by a few hundred this year and last, and may be more next year. I'll let you all know how we get on.

[quote user="Gardian"]Thanks Norman - yes, that's the decote that I was talking about. Thanks too Parsnips - that's precisely what I was getting at and I'll use your text if I may on our local Tax Inspector who is quite a good bloke (well, he responds promptly to emails anyway). I'll let you know the outcome. In truth, its not a big deal for this year: if he agrees with your hypothesis it'll get me just a few Euros back, but I'd sooner get my spreadsheet right for future situations. BTW, the Impots seem to have their act together over the 'new' method of dealing with governmental income. It does make quite a big difference to us, but I've no complaints overall.[/quote] Hi Have been out of touch for a while and only just picked up on this issue - has anyone had a reply from their tax office? 

[quote user="Lachouette"]Have just rung DWP and asked about the S1 and was given the advice that if I'm working and OH is already in the French health care system because I pay cotisations, then that situation will continue once he reaches 65 provided I carry on working and paying those cotisations. Does this ring true with anyone? Jan [/quote] This does not ring true with me. I am still working in France but my OH claimed UK state pension (and obtained his own S1) last year.  As far as I can tell, the general rule in France is that you can only be dependent on another's healthcare contributions if you have no access to your own cover. As your OH is entitled to an S1 as part of his UK state pension, then he should have his own cover. We found the easiest way to claim UK state pension from France was to use the on-line service: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice/  

keep an eye out for Lidl offers - they sometimes do a kit specially for cleaning/sealing/painting garage floors

[quote user="Albert the InfoGipsy"] [quote user="EuroTrash"]But since all S1s run out in January, and you usually get a maximum of 2 years, seems to me the way to get max value out of them is to work it so you finish work near the end of the year and your S1 is issued as as soon after 1 Jan as possible.[/quote] I think you're mixing up calendar (& French financial) years that run from Jan - Dec with UK financial years that run from April - March. as I understand the rules you get Year 1: from date of moving to following April 5 (X months) Year 2: April 6 to following April 5 (12 Months) Year 3: April 5 - Dec 31. (or Jan 7?) (9 months) You must have paid sufficient UK NI in year 1 before moving, which for most employees means about 3 months' worth.  Assuming that you paye enough NI before departure the only flexibility lies in the exact date of moving which affects the X months in Year 1. 3 months to pay enough NI leaves 9 months in France -- total 2.5 years. I admit I can't swear to this from experience because I didn't come to france as an inactif. I started a business within 3 months of arrival and it took longer that that for my S1 (E106 then) to arrive. I do know that the above doesn't apply to the self-employed (sole traders or partnerships) but does apply to company directors, including those who completely own their businesses, just as long as they have a contract of employ and have paid NI as part of PAYE via their company. [/quote] The S1 (formerly E106) forms definitely run from January to January (around the 9th).

[quote user="Mac"]But the OP says-''The plan is to finish work end Nov and move if and when U.K. property is sold ....... i.e. .as soon as possible afterwards''-given that property in the UK can take time to sell all I am saying is if the OP finishes work in Nov. and then doesn't sell house and/or move for a year then the cover will not be as much as some of you are quoting-is that not correct?[/quote] That is correct.

[quote user="EuroTrash"]But since all S1s run out in January, and you usually get a maximum of 2 years, seems to me the way to get max value out of them is to work it so you finish work near the end of the year and your S1 is issued as as soon after 1 Jan as possible.[/quote] As DaftDoctor explained it is possible to get more than 2 years if your timing is right. I finished work at the end of May, moved to France at the beginning of September and got 2 years and 4 months cover. Had I worked an extra month and moved on 1st July I believe I would have got the full 2.5 years. The thing to remember is that entitlement is based on NI contributions in UK tax years (April to April) but the cover is based from January to January.

[quote user="AnOther"]If your card is married to the box, as I believe it will be with a full subscription, then when you replace it you will have to call Sky to have them transfer it. Clearly you must NOT do this from a French phone ! [/quote] You could try getting a replacement box and then call Sky using a VOIP phone

Some dechetteries will organise the recycling of equipment (e.g. the one at Villedieu) - you can check here http://www.eco-systemes.fr/ just type in what you want to recycle and then your location and it will give you a list of where you can take the item.

If anyone is affected or worried about this - there is a very comprehensive report on it here http://www.antco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/11-08_Offshore-Investment_n%C2%B0218.pdf and another that specifically mentions SIPPs http://www.sykesanderson.com/Document_Library/new_tax_rules_French_trusts.pdf

So true! But as we all know an "expert" can be described as follows: an ex is a has been and a spurt is a drip under pressure [:)] 

[quote user="BIG MAC"] Another vote here for the Lidl tap..my brother fitted one in his house in Scotland a few years ago no problems and handy for filling the kettle when there's stuff in the sink...similarly filling a stock pot with water when the bowl is occupied. [/quote] Ditto - we have one like this http://www.ebao.fr/E_BAO_COMMERCE_WEB/FR/produit.awp?librayon=Cuisine&librubrique=Robinetterie&libcategorie=Mitigeur-douchette&libproduit=Mitigeur-evier-ARES-chrome-avec-douchette-2-jets very useful and easily pulls out further than the front of the sink. Also, cheap enough to replace when it wears out (ours is still going strong after 6 years)

Try having a look round this site - I managed to find a back-plate for a Deville woodburner here http://www.toutelapiece.com/materiel-grand-public/chauffage/bois-et-charbon/foyers/  

It's the security questions that drive me mad - gone are the days of "mother's maiden name?" - too easy. I recently had the choice of: Father's middle name?  he didn't have one Mother's first name (must be 8 characters or more)? Ivy!!!!!!!!! Name of first pet? never had one Favourite restaurant? don't have one Favourite cartoon character?  oh for goodness sake [:'(]

This may be useful - explains how to at least keep your browsing history private when using google http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2105435/Google-privacy-policy-changes-How-web-history-private--simple-3-step-solution.html  

[quote user="Russethouse"] In addition the age of retirement in the UK is now going up, I have had to wait an extra 50 weeks before beginning to receive pension, I'm in one of the first tranches of people the changes will affect (ie those in their fifties now) will have to wait longer, men too. Just as an example my sister is six years and 10 months younger than me, but there will be 14 years difference in when we receive our pensions. [/quote] The age of earliest retirement is also going up to 62 in France, as well as having to have more trimestres for a full rate pension.

[quote user="NormanH"][quote user="cooperlola"]Here's another question, then.  If a person sets up an AE at the age of 59, can they retire at 60 and thus stop contributing to their caisse and save 5 years of additional payments that they would have been liable for if they'd carried on to 65  to get an S1 from the UK?  I'm just playing around, you understand, I'm sure there are serious flaws in this.[/quote] I think that the cover provided by the AE only continues while still in activity or possibly for a short time after. It starts immediately, and you don't have to pay any contributions in the first couple of quarters, but that state of affairs doesn't last. I am vague on the detail of AE though. In a normal job your cover continues for a couple of years after you stop paying côtisations, though his is masked by the fact that while you are on chômage or RSA those côtisations are paid for you. If you could imagine someone who had no job and no entitlement to RSA they would lose their cover eventually, hence the CMU brought in in 2000. [/quote] They would not be able to retire at 60 since they would not have accumulated enough pension contributions (trimestres) to do this, so effectively by starting AE at 59 and stopping at 60, all they would achieve is to become inactive again. Under AE there are minimum turnovers required to validate a trimestre - see here http://www.auto-entrepreneur.fr/retraite.php AFAIK, if you close an AE business your healthcare cover continues for 12 months, the same as if a work contract ended.

We had similar problems with taxes and water bills from people with similar names across the region but with different addresses in France, different addresses in the UK, different forenames etc. The attitude of the offices sending the bills is that you have to pay the bill and then later prove you are not the person on the bill and try and get a refund!!!  Fortunately we were able to visit the appropriate issuing tax offices (3 different ones) and had a French friend ring the water company to insist that they had sent the bill to the wrong address. This happened repeatedly for several years, even to the extent that one person we spoke to said "oh yes, you told us the same thing last year, there's a note on the file", so you really do need to be persistent!  We came to the conclusion that if a bill in France is not paid, the issuing authority look for someone with the same or a similar name and send the bill to them, and keep sending it until SOMEONE pays.

There is a lot of information here about private health insurance (and companies providing it) in France (towards the bottom of the page) http://streetwise-france.com/health-care-france.htm There is also a link to a website indicating that some French people now think that Private Healthcare is better value than paying into CMU

If you google "voie verte orne" you should find something useful - like this one http://www.randonnee-normandie.com/itineraire-randonnee.html Alternatively, try your nearest tourist office - they normally have pamphlets of walks.

[quote user="suein56"][quote user="NormanH"]I wonder what they would do if I told them I was on Linux? [/quote] People have tried saying that and either there is silence at the other end of the phone or else the caller simply hangs up. The call I received was in French ... were other poster's calls were in French too ? I only ask as a friend in this area of Brittany was contacted and spoken to in English. Sue Sue [/quote] Had the call in English too (in Normandy), just told them I didn't have Windows and they hung up.