Blossom

Thanks for your replies. I guess things may be a little clearer when I visit the tax office next week. Looks like I better take along photocopies of the original FD5. I had been warned that this might happen!

I have phoned Nottingham and Paris, only to discover that my FD5 (which I submitted in May) appears still to be at our local tax office (a visit is planned for next week)! Does anyone know if local tax French offices send the FD5 to Paris soon after they have done their calculations; or do they wait to see if we have paid our French tax bill before forwarding the FD5? Thanks in advance.

We have recently switched our FT landline and Orange Internet over to SFR Neufbox.  We now have VoIP only for our telephone calls.  The internet works well but the VoIP calls are not as good as the ones we made through the Orange Livebox. When we call numbers in France or the UK it usually takes around 3 or 4 attempts before we get through. Before we make a connection, the numbers in France usually have an engaged tone, whereas the ones in the UK have silence.  Once connected, there are not problems. We don't use the phone that often and I suppose the 250 Euros a year saving may be the price we have to pay for this minor inconvenience!  However, I wonder if anyone has had similar problems and if so did they manage to find a solution? PS: we are in a non dégroupée area.

Can I hold both a Livret A and an Assurance Vie?

Stop Press: just phoned AIB and they are now waiting to hear (1 or 2 days) from the Irish Government to see if the 100% backing will be applied to off-shore accounts!!

[quote user="Polremy"] be interested to know if anyone has any better ideas for savings in france.[/quote] The Anglo Irish Bank is offering a 7.21% (AER) bond with 100% backing from the Irish Government! (As far as I am aware you can open multiple online NW bonds - it is still at 6.5%)

Thanks for the recipe, Clair. I made the cake yesterday: lovely and moist; it disappeared in minutes!

[quote user="BJSLIV"]The properties that are more likely to suffer are ones that are part of the UK property market, but just happen to be located in France. Particularly at risk  are the ones that have been over-improved relative to prevailing French  price levels and taste. [/quote] Let's not be too parochial: there are also enormous amounts of Dutch and, to a lesser extent, Belgian-owned homes in France that also fit the above criteria.

Is there a recognised procedure for registration? What form should we ask for at our local mairie?

Thank you for the helpful replies. Am I right in thinking that when we submit our first French tax form (in May 2009), we use only the FD5 and then for subsequent years we use only the R43?

Has anyone had any problems using a UK address for UK bank accounts and claiming back the tax on these accounts with the FD5 tax form using a French address?

Has anyone had any problems using a UK address for UK bank accounts and claiming back the tax on these accounts with the FD5 tax form using a French address?

Hi John I used to live in Dersingham and I know Hunstanton very well: when I was at school (40 years ago!) I used to work at the bingo on Huns'ton Pier (before the fire) during the holidays and I've also caught a few tope there in my time. My advice would be to take a few months out and rent (gites) in different locations. That way you will be able to test out your ideas before any permanent move. Good luck

Mmm...not sure about houses, but flour and rice might be worth a punt!

[quote user="Polremy"]So do Nationwide have your French address? (We didn't dare change ours over.) If so, have you encountered any problems using a Nationwide Credit card with a French billing address? Buying airline tickets for example.[/quote] No problems changing to a French address or using our NW debit card (not sure about credit cards - never had one).  If you are in the UK, just pop into a local NW branch and you can do it without any proof of a French address. If you change your address from France, you may have to send utility bills etc. (As a general rule,  most UK banks  will not allow you to open any new accounts once you have a French address - so make sure that you do so before changing your address!)

[quote user="cassis"] Yes - I should have left it under the mattress ... [;-)] [/quote] During a BBC Radio 4 programme on the current 'credit crisis', a leading UK fund manager (Nicola Horlick of Bramdean Asset Management), also suggested the above under-the-mattress investment strategy!

[quote user="tinabee"] Also, once you have a Nationwide Flexaccount you can take advantage of good savings rates there, e.g. they are currently offering a 1 or 2 year bond at 7%. Once you are in France and no longer have a UK address it is almost impossible to open new accounts. [/quote] Has anyone opened a Nationwide bond with a French address? Their rules appear to require UK residency: details here

[quote user="Benjamin"]Incidentially I notice on their website that they have just increased their rate for a one year bond from 6.6% to 7.0% which is pretty good in anyone's eyes.[/quote] Mmm…I've noticed a gradual increase in the NW’s one year bond rate despite three recent decreases in the BOE's base rate: hope they are not getting themselves into too much trouble in the land of LIBOR!

[quote user="Dick Smith"]I can't believe that people offer advice to others which is lying[/quote] Is this not the modus operandi of the legal profession?

As the originator of this thread, I would like to add an update by saying that, after careful thought (and further research), we have decided that, for us, top-up insurance represents bad value for money.  We have therefore decided (at least in the short-term) to insure ourselves by saving each year the amount that we would have spent on top-up insurance.

All of which makes me wonder how the actuaries arrive at their premiums. But, then, I suppose Kafka did work in insurance!

[quote user="Jay"]I have also paid house insurance for the last 40 years and never had a penny of that back but would hate to be without it if our house burnt down. Insurance is a risk business...[/quote] I do not think that it helps to conflate all insurance cover when considering risk. For example, at today’s rates, 40 years of ‘buildings’ insurance cover on a house worth £250,000 would be, say, £8000.  This, I would argue, represents good value for money should your house burn down. Whereas 40 years of top-up health insurance could be anywhere between £30,000 - £100,000! I therefore find it hard to disagree with Logan. 

I am very grateful for the additional information, NormanH (the excellent ALD list will be very useful). On your first point, as I said at the outset, we are happy to cover our dental and optical costs as we do not think that Mutuelles offer value for money here. Your second point is well made. However, we have to make our decision based on things as they exist now. If at some time in the future reforms are made to the CMU and 100% cover then we may have to revise our thinking. Your last example is interesting because it coincides with the starting point of our own discussion on health cover. As such, it would be useful to have a breakdown of the costs for the broken ankle and the 3 Xrays. In other words, the total amount charged by the hospital; how much was reimbursed by the state; how much was covered by your Mutuelle; and how much (if any) you paid yourself.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. (I have also read the thread that Clair kindly pointed out – apologies for not spotting it!).  What I found most frustrating while reading the discussion, was that no one gave any real figures on how much any particular hospital operation cost or a definitive list of what is classed as a life threatening condition. While it is certainly true that it is better to err on the side of caution, without the appropriate information it is difficult to assess any risk.  For example, if a major operation and all the ancillary charges came to 10,000 euros, 20%  would still only be just over two years of NormanH’s premium.   I realise that medical conditions are not always cut and dried, but does anyone know of a website that outlines French hospital costs?

My partner and I (early 50s) are looking at the different levels of top-up health insurance cover from various companies.  We are happy to pay for the occasional visit to our doctor and  to cover our own optical and dental costs.  We are also happy to use state hospitals should the need arise. We have noticed that the top-up premiums range from around 400 euros for 'hospitalisation' only cover to around 2000 euros for a more comprehensive policy. Our question is: as we have a Carte Vitale and are in reasonably good health, is complementary health cover really necessary?