tinabee

[quote user="cooperlola"]That's odd, Tina.  Certainly didn't happen to me for the regular tranfers (only one-off payments which - as you say - is easily stopped.[:)])[/quote] Could be just our branch - they tend to get quite exited about anything exotic, like foreign transfers, as we are pretty rural.[;-)]

One small problem we used to have with money being paid into the account (with Credit Agricole) is the bank insisted on sending a letter to inform us that money had been paid in from abroad, and charging for the letter (look on the tarifs list for "avis d'opération"). However, a polite letter to the bank has now put a stop to this.[:)]  

[quote user="woolybanana"]Right, carte vitale in the bag, doctor chosen and long-term illness forms completed. So, could I just check that I have got it right about the EHIC, svp, ie that the French will process both copies of the S1 and send one back to the UK who will then issue me with a form to fill in to get the EHIC which they issue, which process may take a little while?[/quote] Absolutely correct!  The "getting the form for the EHIC from the UK" bit, is still ongoing in our case from last September. Interim advice from the DWP is as follows: "If you have to travel to another EU Member State before you get your EHIC you will still be covered for necessary state healthcare. If you require treatment you can apply for the Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC). The PRC can be faxed to the facility providing you with treatment and is accepted in place of the EHIC. Of course this may not be practical under all circumstances. If you are charged for state healthcare you can apply for a refund. To apply for the PRC or a refund you must ring 0044 191 21 81999"  

[quote user="idun"] 2 The rate The rate is the percentage applied to the average annual salary to calculate your pension. The full rate is 50% of the average annual salary. You qualify for the full rate: B if you have accrued the qualifying period of insurance of between 160 and 166 quarters, depending on your year of birth by aggregating all your periods of insurance in French base pension schemes2 (see page 20);   Tinabee, but it says that and it isn't true. If it were we would be an awful lot better off than we are now and what we get is right. [/quote] Sorry Idun, can't help except to say that the brochure comes from this website - which I thought was an official French insurance website https://www.lassuranceretraite.fr/cs/Satellite/PUBPrincipale/Qui-Sommes-Nous?packedargs=null  

There is information here on how it should work http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/pensioner/state-pension-claims-and-calculation/eu-eu_en.htm However, it would appear that a lot depends on which department you deal with and what pensions you claim when. If it was me, I would get independent pension forecasts from both UK and France and then work out what seems to be the most beneficial way of claiming. Also, a brochure in English from the French perspective https://www.lassuranceretraite.fr/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=5288817047926&ssbinary=true

I am still very happy with http://www.glasses2you.co.uk/      

[quote user="cooperlola"] Another year under your belt, Norman!  Thanks to you for your inspiration and for getting on with life whatever it's throwing at you at the time. Have a great 2012 with hopefully not too many trips to hospital.[kiss] [/quote] and from me too [:D]

[quote user="Deby"]Beaureaucratic nightmare! I had so many problems importing a German registered car into France - went on for months! Dont forget to test drive France before you move from Germany - there will be many plus's and minus's. The thing that struck me the most - is that everyone follows the rules in Germany and there is always a little dedidicated person (amt) to apply them but importantly resolve the issue/problem. In France its totally different, lots of rules to be applied willy nilly and never resolved- just chaos! Oh and get used to parking by hitting your neighbours bumper!!! :-)[/quote] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OaqF-JT4mQ   [:)]

The 19% is for non-residents who have NOT owned the property for 30 years. So in your case no tax to pay.

As you will not be a permanent resident of the UK, AFAIK you would need to ask your Caisse in France for an S1 since you will be effectively "posted" abroad to work in the UK. There is some information about it here http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/postings-abroad/social-security/eu-eu_en.htm As a self-employed person I believe you are allowed to post yourself abroad and still benefit from cover provided by your home country. If you simply work abroad during short visits, you can use your CEAM. The definition of "short" is not provided. I don't believe you can register with the NHS since you would not be ordinarily resident, but there is some info here about being entitled to free NHS treatment as an overseas visitor if you are lawfully employed by a UK based employer http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/empl_portal/SSRinEU/Your%20social%20security%20rights%20in%20UK_en.pdf Good luck!!! If it was me I would try to keep my visits to a minimum and carry the CEAM at all times [;-)]    

[quote user="idun"] Well with ours, we could just pay them  when he was not at work, so that is a question to ask too.   Depending on where you work, they will likely have a contract with a mutualist company. Ours was transferred to a company years ago as previously the comite d'entreprise used to deal with it. [/quote] Thanks Idun, I'll ask the question. The contract is with AXA so hopefully they are used to dealing with this type of situation.

Thanks for the replies - I am going through all the documentation with a fine tooth translator at the moment and have already found a couple of problems which I need to raise. Why do organisations always send stuff like this out with such a short deadline to sort everything out [:@] Whatever I decide I have to get it done this week! The other complication is that I only work 8 or 9 months of the year and am trying to find out if my employer's cover is for the whole year or just the months I actually work.

My employer has just introduced a company mutuelle and all staff are being enrolled in it unless they specifically opt out. We have had our own mutuelle for over 5 years and I was wondering if there were any drawbacks to changing to an employer's scheme, or finding a new mutuelle after leaving an employer's scheme? Anyone with any experience of this?  

[quote user="Daft Doctor"]Theiere, I'm not sure of your point, I'm not competing for work (it comes to me in bucketloads as a matter of course) but builders might well be?  Sue56, I realise my comment was more wishful thinking than expectation, but hey ho!  Seriously, I just wonder if anyone has an idea of current build costs in France?  The last hard number I saw relating to build costs in the Alps was from 2007/08 and it was 2,250 euros HT per square metre.  Was intrigued to know if anyone knew if it had changed much. [/quote] Here in Basse Normandie you can get a house built for just over 1000 euros TTC per sq m

Hi Bill got your email but it was blank - I am guessing you would like to know how I solved the problem. The answer is I'm not sure as I tried several things including: click on the compatibility view button (looks like a torn piece of paper just next to the website address) close browser and restart shut down computer and restart bonne chance!

Looks like Bill is having the same problems as I was. A post with a quote just leaves the quote and not the typed text.  

[quote user="tinabee"]Whatever I type just disappears when I click post !!![/quote] Hooray - seems to be working.   Wooly - if you are reading this I did reply to your post about CPAM 5 times - but each time my text just disappeared [8-)]

Whatever I type just disappears when I click post !!!

[quote user="woolybanana"]?[/quote]   New photo carte vitale arrived 8 weeks after submission of S1  

[quote user="woolybanana"]I gave them my documentation about three months ago, including the S1 for over 65s (grrrrrrr) they then sent it all back some ten days later with another form which had to be filled in, and I returned the whole lot. Since then, not a word. Is this par for the course or do I have to start shaking the tree at CPAM? [/quote]

[quote user="datz"]Hi Is it possible to change the defaults in the spreadsheet it seems locked when I tried to put my own details in?[/quote] Hi you need to download a copy  - if you click on File then Download as - you can select the spreadsheet programme you use.  

You could start your own local business network - here is an example http://www.meetup.com/Normandy-Business-Group/    

[quote user="Chancer"] Could it be that in both instances Visa were not able to contact you perhaps due to a UK contact number or something?   [/quote] As far as I know, no attempt was made to contact me. I didn't notice for some time as it was only internet transactions that were blocked, so the card worked perfectly well in stores.

I had been having a few problems with the Nationwide visa for online purchases but put it down to using French websites and used a French card instead. However after trying to  buy something on Lands' End UK today the card was again rejected. I rang Visa and they informed me that the card had been blocked some weeks ago due to an attempted purchase on Skype, which was in my case legitimate. Apparently there have been a number of fraudulent transactions associated with Skype and other telecoms services, so Visa are blocking all internet transactions following any transaction of this type. To get your card unblocked you have to ring them up (be prepared for a long wait).    

Chikitoka [:)]