M

The tax fonciere was apportioned by the notaire when the house was sold. This bill is for tax d'habitation. We paid the bill last year but I suppose forgot that it may be in arrears or about the rule of 1st Jan for this. The house was (just about) habitable until end of February. Think we'll be good citizens and pay.. Thank you for all your advice though.

We owned a house in France until March 2014. We have today received the bill for Tax D'habitation 360 euros due by end of December. Can anyone confirm that we don't owe for this tax bill? or it is produced in arrears in which case do we only owe for 3 months.? Not sure what to do about this. Thanks

Hi has anyone heard of any Zumba classes near Chantonnay or Fontenay ?? There is one is Lucon but a bit too far for me. Thanks Emma

Hi, yes have been in touch with them but you have to produce doctors certificate or letter etc. before they will even consider changing the date let alone a refund. But thanks anyway :)

Anyone want to buy Puy Du Fou Cine Scene tickets for this Saturday 16th night? Paid 50 euro's for the pair but would take offers?? Illness forces cancellation. PM me if you are interested. Thanks Emma

WOW 24 euro's ! What a bargain. I am happy to pay for my dog to be checked & our vet does do a thorough examination, I still think 48 euro a time is expensive. She already visits the vet in the UK regularly, so we're doubling up. In saying that, it is a price I will pay rather than leaving her at home 3 times a year. The next problem is that we're thinking of getting another dog, Kerching !!

Thanks for the reply WOOLY. I think thats the one we go to in La Tardiere, so no joy there.

You're right PANDA. Our original vet in France, who has now retired, used to let us do that. But the people who took over his practice are not so flexible

You may already be on your hols now but when we returned on Brittany Ferries 3 wks ago on the return journey they gave us a muzzle. They said that the dog has to wear it when you go into the terminal to get paperwork & chip checked. However, the people in the car next to us had a little jack russell & they didn't give them one or mention a muzzle. Our dog is a Dalmatian and soft as butter :( However the muzzle they gave us is really good quality and FREE!

Our Dalmatian has travelled to/from France 2 or 3 times a year over the past 6 years. The last time we visited the vet the charge for getting her passport signed etc was 48 euros. This seems extortionate to me. I am interested to know how much is everyone else paying. Also if you know a vet near Chataigneraie/Chantonnay (85) which is cheaper? Many Thanks Emma

Ideas Please :) We have a holiday home in the Vendee & would like to breakup up our stay in August with 2/3 nights somewhere else, within a 2-3 hr drive from Fontenay Le Compte. Perhaps further south on the coast or does anyone know a great inland lakes? We do not want to camp as not easy with our dog (but like holiday villages) and would need somewhere that is dog friendly. If you can recommend any websites or places to stay I would be very grateful. Thank you.

Hi Keith Haven't been on this forum for a very long time but have a house in Vendee and are fequent visitors.  Like Mme Poivre we are happy to share info, although most of what we knows invovles places to visit to entertain kids ! Emma :)

I have just found out there is a Festival du Jeu today in Chantonnay (31st May )   - has anyone been - worth a visit ?  Does anyone know what time it starts? Thanks

Hi Judith, Have pm'd you Emma  

We visit the Vendee regulary in school holidays & our children, aged 4 & 7, would love to make some new friends to play with.  If your kids are like ours & mad about Power Rangers or all things Disney & you'd like to meet up please get in touch. When we visit we're just east of Chantonnay.

I can never get any search results when I enter just a user name (to see all a users post). Can anyone tell me why? Cheers  

I agree with Macker the area around Bazoges en Pareds and Vouvant is wonderful for alsorts of relaxing hobbies; fishing, walking and wind surfing.  We enjoy long summer holidays and short breaks there very much, although I found it really cold in the winter. My husband does go fishing there but never comes back with much !    Is that because he's a bad fisherman or that there aren't many fish? I don't know ! There isn't alot going for the kids (we have 3 & 6 year olds)  it's case of making your own entertainment.  We've met up with a couple of families with children (contacted through this site) to break up the holidays. Going to the beach is an easy journey and is rarely very busy.  Our dog loves the freedom to roam and it's no trouble with the pet passport.  If you're not bothered for being in a really tourist area it's a great place to enjoy the scenery, relax and make new friends. Emma [:)]

Has anyone received a survey from the Maire regarding water usage and filteration, title Enquette Assainissement ?  There are some questions we have no idea about the answers.  For example, date of fosse installation, how it filters    sand drainage horizontal or vertical cubic metres of toilet water that goes into it I'm assuming that the french villagers won't know all the answers to this survey either, as we're not there at the minute I can't ask them.  I have no idea how to find out this information . Emma

Thanks for your replies - a really good link wth loads of info on it. Emma

Can anyone help me with french etiquette when ending correspondence.  For example, I want to write a letter to SAUR to change our billing address.  Where here I would put something like Thankyou in advance for your prompt response. Blah Blah  Yours Sincerely etc. '  what do you put on this type of letter in France? Equally if I was writing to the Marie about planning permission what would be a suitable ending? If anyone can point me to a good website for this type of thing I'd be very grateful. Emma [:)] P.S. I've tried to do a search but can't seem to get it to work.

Jan 1st 2005 we booked for all our crossings for the year (Feb, Apr, July, Oct) with the preconception that booking early means cheaper. In the case of our July crossing by pure chance I was checking the crossing times online and noticed our crossing (exactly the same) was now £100 CHEAPER !!   ARGGHH Fortunately it was 2 weeks before the balance was due. I rang and cancelled the original booking and rebooked.  We lost our £10 deposit but saved £90 overall. This wasn't true for all our crossings so I'm still not sure whats best.  I do now check the price of crossings a few days before the balance is due - just in case. Emma  

Has anyone travelled with this company and know how child friendly they are from Birmingham to La Rochelle?    I shall be travelling with 2 young children (2 + 6) and the 3 of us must sit together.  Do you just arrive extra early and cross your fingers? Or do they do the same as Ryanair and ask all people with kids board first ?   I've read you can reserve a seat for a charge of £16 per ticket – but this is almost as expensive as the flight cost (before tax of course).   I was going to ring their customer services but it’s £1 a minute !!   Any info on Flybe appreciated  Good or Bad   Thanks Emma  

Yes  - my apologies. This was a posting that wasn't meant to be.  Any Forum Administrators out there - please can you delete it? Thanks

Thank-you all for your comments.  Since reading your answers, I've been back to France Telecom with the previous owners details.  But still no joy. The cost for JUST a connection (or reconnection) is 55 euro's  but since there is no record of a phone at our house (even though cable is there) we must have an engineer out at an additional 55 euro's. Thanks again. Emma

.