minnie

Might it be possible to change notaires at this stage? Maybe the rules have been tightened but it was left to us to translate to English. Surely if it's in the official language it's a case of "buyer beware". There are dual French Notaire/Solicitors in UK if you google.

I'm still here though not as frequently. Very sad to hear about Sunday Driver, sympathies Caroline and thanks for posting. Another great loss was Cooperlola who was a great force in 2007 in promoting our healthcare entitlements. We none of us know what's around the corner and all we can do is make the most of every day. Take care and keep safe all.

The amazon website indicates that there are several different methods of returning goods dependent upon what they are, or the seller etc. Why not just contact them via the website and explain your difficulty. If there are numerous methods it is doubtful whether anyone on the forum will be able to be specific in your case. Good luck anyway

I so agree Mint. We normally walk 4 or 5 kms daily and have done for more than 10 years..I photocopied the form, including our signature, so all I had to do was date and time really. I felt a real sense of freedom when we didn't have to do that any more.....strange really. However we managed to do loads in the garden during lockdown without wondering if anyone was going to call!

Another inexcusable was to let Cheltenham races go ahead at a time that it was obvious that this virus was going to spread. When the decision to go ahead with Cheltenham was made we in France were about to start lockdown!

Chessie, Forget the cars. Now it's time to think of yourself and the whole picture. Seriously, in this situation you really need to discuss this with your GP. Is your other half not acknowledging that he has Alzheimers. In the long term you're going to have difficulties. has a formal diagnosis been made. Whilst the only experience I have of this was with a parent I can imagine that you're in a lonely situation. Have you got any family or relatives who can provide support. You can't afford to crack under the strain. Perhaps there is somebody on this site who has experienced what you are now and can suggest where help is best sought in France. Try to keep strong.

Thanks. By fullCT I meant a 2 year CT, perhaps I should have said new CT.

Thanks mint for your advice. I'm grateful. Just thought I might get some useful pointers from someone who has done this recently. I can follow the procedures readily. Comments like those of nomoss are unhelpful to say the least on a forum. I may have been here x number of years but have never previously bought a car here. I have over the years tried to give advice to people in need which is the aim of the forum. It makes one realise why people drop off forums. If one can't say anything helpful why say anything at all!

Hello there. I'd welcome a response from a person who has recently had the experience of buying another car person to person. We're buying a car from a friend (on French number plates). Price has been agreed and a full CT will be obtained. Basically could somebody set out, point by point, the procedure which follows. Thanks

Probably too far for you but there is an English speaking GP in Aiguillon (about 15 miles away) - Dr Compere.

We have paid no one for anything which would be reclaimable, nor declared payments made to charities. No idea why it has been refunded and am not inclined to lose any sleep over it as it is such a small amount.

Like you slowfox we generally don't need to pay tax in France as I, too, was a Government employee and it is taken at source in UK. Pleasantly surprised to find that our Avis for this year shows a refund of 265 Euros. We don't have home helps or any refund due for work carried out so I have no idea what the explanation is for this. Quite happy to accept it though.

We have bought 2 properties in France and sold 1. On each occasion all parties attended the notaire's office to sign the compromis and then finally the Acte.

Compromis comes a while before the Acte. Acte is the very final document when the property changes hands.

As the buyers have a 10 day cooling off period they can withdraw from the purchase any time within that period. You, on the other hand, have to go ahead provided that it's for the price shown on the compromis. In my mind, if they now offer less, you cannot be obliged to accept that. However if they see that you might pull out with the lower price and really want the house and pay the agreed price you would have to go ahead with the sale. Layman's view I'm afraid.

Thanks Mogs. That's useful. I know we can get signal at a few points in the garden.

That's what my husband wondered. We're fairly internet savy but have no experience of smartphones. Worst case scenario my little nokia (with orange mobicarte) will pick up a signal at various points in the garden so assume that smartphone would do likewise. On balance and having weighed up the advice here I think that the cheap orange package will do us well. Thanks everyone for your contributions.

Thanks so much Richard - I'll have a look at this. Strange really as we're both so well adept at using the internet but have, to date, avoided the smartphone because we never felt we needed to it. My trick with Nokia is to buy 2 months renewal but to keep the code and not to activate it unless we're travelling a distance. This means that I can spend just 75 euros a year for 6 months actual usage.

A little advice please. Up until now oh and I have managed very nicely using a retro Nokia phone as a mobile phone. Basically we only needed it in the car "just in case". It caan't be used in the house as the walls are too thick to receive a signal. The writing is now on the wall that banks etc are wanting extra checks for online banking and wish to send codes etc to access as required. This means it is probably time for a smartphone. My daughter will give us one of her old phones but I imagine we need some sort of basic contract in France. I also want to know whether our wifi means that the smartphone can be used indoors (unlike the old phone). Additionally advice on how one sets up some sort of basic contract with the aim of keeping costs low. By the way our main phone is with orange but we have a router and not a livebox (if this is relevant).

We received our French cards yesterday. We had also applied to UK as we were not sure we were on the French lists. If the UK postal vote arrives on time we would still prefer to vote in France with a view to keeping out the FN or similar parties. I know some people are on both French and UK lists but one then has to choose as it is illegal to vote twice.

Mogs - I think 2042 is the actual main form and 2047 is the pink form for UK folk.

Certainly am wooly.....

To finish the story.....UK Passport application posted on line 19 February and passport delivered this morning 5 March by DHL. Must admit that this is excellent service!

That's useful Judith as you don't need anyone to countersign if you are still recognisable from your previous photo. It was a simple procedure but we were having difficulty with acceptable photo as the background has to be light and oh is almost bald so it all blended in. Our good friend took a professional photo and all was well. Also we don't have smartphones as we have no reception indoors.

We certainly would not be happy unless we had current UK passports whilst living in France unless, obviously, we went for nationality.