minnie

When ours broke down 4 years ago (before joining ADAC) we were about 400 kms away. They authorised a tow to a smallish garage (owned by the tow man) though we wanted to go to the main Citroen dealer less than 20kms away. When we got to the small garage it was obvious that this guy wasn't going to be able to fix the car for weeks (major problems) and so we had to pay for him to take us to the main dealers. By the time he got us there it was after 5pm. The insurers had given us the choice of hire car or accommodation. We plumped for the hire car and paid our own accommodation so that we could get a devis from the garage in the morning. The job was destined to take a week (engine out). We then had to return to collect it by taking train and taxi. Hence my original enquiry. Locally the problem is minimal.

Thanks Jay. I do actually belong to ADAC though I've not yet needed to use them. It was just a thought that it might be cheaper as an add on to insurance, if it was available.

Does anyone know of any french insurance companies who have a breakdown system which enables the car to be relayed to your home area, as opposed to the nearest convenient garage?

Lehaut, I too am on a Government pension. You have no choice other than to pay tax in UK and according to UK rates. However, as you are French resident, and if the french tax authorities decree that had you been assessed under the French system you would have paid more, as I understand it, they can charge you the extra. If you have a partner with a pension (non-govt) then that of course is also added to the french tax.

There is, of course, another explanation. If the pound vs the euro is stronger than in previous years it could look as though you are paid more money (in euros) than in the previous years. This could give rise to a tax demand in France. Just a thought off the top of my head.

Thanks everybody. I'll be able to sort something out now.

Thanks. I'll just expand that I know that as I use it regularly. It's just trying to put over to my French friend how it works. She's an excellent cook so she'll get the hang of it but I thought a French recipe book may help explain.

In winter time I regularly use my UK purchased electric slow cooker. I see that they are quite cheap now and I'm proposing to buy one as a gift for a French friend. I've extolled the virtues for long enough. If I did buy one for her does anyone know of a French recipe book to buy to go with it?

Since I started this thread I'll put in my tenpenceworth. CA Britline is based in Caen and I am in the South West of France hence most of my contact is either by e-mail or phone. I have contacted them on any number of occasions and find their english speaking staff most helpful. Speaking personally I've never had any problem with them. We also have a CA account locally for day to day use and they too have satisfied our needs.

Will there be further complications with regard to the division of the estate when pomme dies i.e. that he has preferred one of his children? To counter this should he declare to the authorities what he has done?

Whilst I've had no such intervention your "calf muscles ache" might raise alarm bells. May I suggest that you speak to your Doctor asap so that you can be reassured the ache is not a result of a DVT - just to be on the safe side.....Good luck with the recovery.

Happy and Healthy 2014 to all. Is there such a thing as a small claims court in France? If so does anyone have details of a French website which details procedures? I've no need of it at present but would welcome details in case of future need.

WB: That was my take on it until I read RHs link

Thanks for the link - that seems reasonable. There was a bit of sensationalism on this morning's news when they said a general "non-British residents will be charged"

Only British residents will be allowed free healthcare (other than GP visit). Any thoughts on whether we ex-pats will be fully covered for emergency treatment via EHIC (already issued by UK authorities)?

After getting an email address for Pacifica from Credit Agricole we eventually persuaded the chauffagiste to send an email to them. Basically all it said was that the damage to the boiler was caused by a lightning strike. Bingo - the payment for 800 euros was in our bank within 24 hours. It took some effort but we got there in the end.

As an aside, you can find out how much you've accumulated by looking at the bottom of your bill after the next time you've shopped even before you approach the staff for a pin.

You find the "cumul" at the bottom of the till roll, assuming you use the card. When you pay your bill you need to say "Je voudrais le cumul svp". You'll be asked to tap in your 4 figure pin, not the one from your credit card but the one when you set up your leclerc card. If you can't remember that then you'll need to go to the Acceuil to see what happens. They used to put it back to nil at the end of the year if you failed to take it but I think it is now carried forward.

To cut a long story short I'm in dispute with Pacifica over a household insurance (lightning strike) claim. They will only give me phone numbers despite saying that we should have an email address for contact. Can anyone give me a contact email address for any branch of Pacifica household. I can then escalate my debate via that email address. Essentally Pacifica have asked for a letter from Chauffagiste to confirm that the lightning had caused the damage to the electronic board on the boiler. Chauffagiste says it is up to Insurance company to send them a form to fill in. Being completely new on insurance claims I don't know who is right...

I too have found it in the "English" section of our local Carrefour minimarket.

In our area, in a change from previous years, the flu vaccination is to be administered by the infirmieres this year and not Doctors as in previous years. I imagine that this is a cost cutting exercise as the charge was less than 7 euros.

So so sad....He was so full of hope and optimism. If Mrs JR reads this please accept my sincere condolences. He sounded such a nice man.

Last night we had a lightning strike which appears to have knocked out our Chaffotaux et Maury Niagara FF Chaudiere. OH has had a quick look and thinks the fault maybe on one of the boards or if not it could be caput. What happens is that it tries to start up but the gas flame will not light (gas is coming through to cooker). Whilst over 10 years old it still worked well. We'll have an engineer to look at it soonest but are now thinking of the worst case scenario...At that age does anyone think we'd have a chance trying to claim from the insurance? Just a thought. I believe that new gas boilers are very expensive so hope it is not needed. Any thoughts or ideas would be welcomed.

JR's operation today - hope all has gone well for him

I'm currently on blood thinners following internal surgery and the other day was admitted to A&E as I was bleeding - the word for thin is fluide. Fortunately it was just a bit of a scare and seemed to be a clot dispersing.