minnie

As Matty seems to live in Canada it is possible that it is where his mother lives also.

When OH took his form into the local impots office last year they kept one copy, stamped the second and gave it back to us. We then sent it onto Cardiff and the repayment from HMRC was made within a couple of weeks. Very straightforward.

Having just read the Connexion Tax Guide today it actually states in that where a husband or wife dies during the year two forms do need to be completed. Also I have never used anything other than the average rate for the year. I think it's a case of swings and roundabouts anyway. Good Luck Ian. If the same happened to me I know other half would, like you, find things difficult. Don't forget to come back onto the forum if you do have difficulties with your tax returns - we can all get our heads together!

Well Quillan we've not all had a depressing weekend with the rugby, have we Sweet? Through and through welsh couldn't believe our luck, especially after the first half of the Irish match. I really thought that was it for this year....Happy now though

We have a young chicken who we think is egg bound. It has been suggested that liquid paraffin might help her. Does anyone know where we might be able to buy liquid paraffin and what it is called in France. Any other advice re egg bound chickens would be welcomed. Thanks

Thanks for that. My child benefit receipt days are more than 20 years ago.....

Pardon my ignorance on such matters but don't you still qualify for UK child benefit even if you are French resident?

Quillan has set out the website link in his posting of 16 October. There is a frequently asked questions section. Equitable contacted us initially but they did have our up to date address. PM me if you need any specific info. As to spending it - it's already spent on plane tickets to visit daughter in New Zealand next winter!!!

The outcome: OH did all that they asked, obtained official translations, had passport copy signed by consul etc. Whilst pension is not large we had a result today in the form of a cheque from Equitable Life administrators. As this ran into 4 figures (a percentage of the loss) it was well worth the hassle incurred. Very happy.

Hope things work out for you Poppy on all fronts. It is rather worrying over the travel insurance. Are you able to name them? I wonder if any other ex-pats have had similar experiences or do people take out French travel insurance.

Hi Sweets I think that in buying bits and pieces you are at little risk - unless you're buying diamonds or high value items where you risk burglars. The main problem comes when you sell something and the buyer is not happy or a scam is involved.

Does anyone know where, in France, I can buy Pathclear (not round-up)? I want something strong for the drive.

Thanks folks for your help

Does anyone know if this is available in any french supermarkets? I find it much easier to digest than the ordinary pasta.

They certainly do cover diabetes; as for the other that's up to you to handle! I believe that cover ranges from 50 to 80 years old.

Staysure now cover British citizens who are expats for travel insurance purposes. I have just taken out a single trip policy for our next visit to New Zealand. Their base price is quite high but they do seem to provide cover for 220 minor ailments without charging extra or having to notify. Whilst you have to notify high blood pressure or cholesterol there is no extra charge. For the info of anyone looking for an alternative providor

What they don't seem to stock in France are border or ladies forks. They have these great long forks. If this guy is getting older and enjoys gardening he might find one of these more useful than the traditional french ones. OH and I both swear by them. You'll pick one of these up either at Wyevale or B&Q or anywhere like that. Just a thought...

I have to say that the one both my husband and I had we hardly felt at all and neither of us had any reaction. I imagine much rests on who gives the jab.

When we went for our 5yearly health MOT we were told that tetanus jab should be renewed every 10 years, unlike in UK where when you've had so many you're covered for life. We went to the Docs, he gave us a prescription to take to the chemist and then return to him for the injection. We had to have 2, each one a month apart.

Does anyone know if pharmacies/paras sell this in France? If so under what name. I know I could order from UK but it'll take too long. I've got a long flight coming up soon to visit daughter in NZ. Inevitably on this long flight I tend to pick up a cold by the time I get there. Though I might try to avoid it this year. Any help would be much appreciated.

Though I'd give you the result on this one. Took the forms to the local impots who stamped one and gave it back to me to send to Cardiff. I'm well impressed with the result in that we've received the refund into our bank for 2011 from Revenue & Customs and had tax code adjusted to No Tax for this year. A real result....Thanks all.

Thanks for contributions to the post. I might go down the route of threatening financial ombudsman if they don't accept the evidence we've given them i.e. passport confirmed by mairie, original letter from Hotel des Impots and original letter with tax code from HMRC. Anyway I've written to them again. However for anyone interested in knowing more here is their website link http://equitablelifepaymentscheme.independent.gov.uk

OH has a small private pension with EL. We've now had a letter out of the blue from the EL compensation scheme people saying that he "might" be entitled to some compensation for mis-selling. However they need a copy of his passport veriified either by the British Consul or an English based lawyer. Also need a verified copy of an officially translated letter addressed to him from the local tax office here. We've tried other things with them but they stand firm - nothing else will do. Neither will they tell us how much money is involved until we gather this info. which might prove relatively costly. In fact it might cost more to do this than we'd receive. Anyone with similar experiences from this compensation scheme please who might be able to tell us their outcome?

Pleased to hear of people's differing experiences so that I know what to expect. Idun, I don't want the French to reimburse me but the form explains that you have to take it to the local impots for a signature to show that the tax has been paid in France. I trust that this explains everything. Thanks all for your contributions.

Having received State Pension for the first time in 2011 I've just completed the Double Taxation form for my OH. This basically is to reclaim the PAYE income tax he's paid in UK and now having to pay in France. Do we just take these forms to our local tax office and leave them there? I've visions of them getting lost in the ether and would welcome other people's experiences please