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Daft Doctor

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Everything posted by Daft Doctor

  1. I wonder if anyone else has had the problems I'm having cancelling a 'sans engagement' mobile contract with SOSH? I got the cut price contract for my son almost 2 years ago, but as he is studying in the UK at the moment, we changed him to a UK number. I followed the procedure to cancel the contract through my espace client with SOSH back on 8th March, and received a confirmatory email saying that the cancellation would take effect 10 days later. I was told to expect a final cancellation bill after a further 15 days. In short, nothing happened, and in early April I got my usual bill with advance monthly charges on it until early May. I contacted SOSH through webchat, and the advisor admitted the cancellation hadn't (for some unspecified reason) gone through. She set up another cancellation on 9th April, and I received the same confirmation email as I had done a month earlier. She also credited my account with 13 euros for the inconvenience. Since then, I have continued being charged and the contract still hasn't been cancelled. Through a webchat in early May, a further apology was given and a further cancellation request was meant to have been made, but this time no confirmatory email was forthcoming, and a month later, we're still in the same position. Today I had another webchat, this time to be told that there was no record of the previous cancellation requests, and the rather off-hand advisor was unapologetic, simply promising to set up yet another cancellation request. This time, as per the last experience in early May, I've yet to receive the confirmation of this latest request, though the details of this were clearly visible on the webchat. My request to have an address to which I could write a letter of complaint and try to reclaim the money I am continuing to overpay was ignored. I have copies of all the emails mentioned above and a transcript of the webchats from 9th April and today, but I'm at a loss to know how to get out of this. If anyone has had similar experiences with SOSH and have ideas as to a solution to my 'imprisonment' in their forfait, I would be exceedingly grateful! I'm bl**dy frustrated as you can imagine.......
  2. My wife and I both had a CdS permanent pre-Brexit and applied for a WA card online in October. Mrs DD simply got an email at the end of Feb advising her that her new card was on the way and 2 weeks later it duly arrived, the prefecture re-used the photo on file. I however got an email a couple of weeks after Mrs DD asking me to send in new photos and new signature. I've now also had the email saying the new card is on its way, but no idea why my photo and signature needed to be renewed, as it only dates from 2019.... As an aside, way back in 2016, just before the Brexit vote, I was advised by my American friend to get a CdS even if it wasn't needed, as the system would get clogged if the UK voted to leave. I was lambasted by someone on the forum by such scaremongering, as Brexit wasn't going to happen and getting a CdS was a waste of time. Well here we are 5 years down the line, and I am very pleased to have followed my friend's advice. Our CdS will have been exchanged with a minimum of fuss, which by the sound of things isn't the general experience for many......
  3. Hi, any space which would otherwise be classed as habitable but is under 1.80 metres high is also excluded from the calculations.
  4. I'm starting to put together a dossier to apply for French citizenship through naturalisation. Regarding command of the French language, the list of required documents includes either a TEF or TCF certificate at B1 level. researching online, these are standard French proficiency tests, with a certficate being valid for 2 years. What I'm unclear about is whether a valid certificate must be included with the dossier at the outset, or whether the certfifcate can be added to the dossier once it is in the system? Does this requirement also now mean that there is no longer the opportunity to show French proficiency at the interview which occurs much further down the line? I'm actually quite keen to have my French formally tested, at it will focus my mind in advance of the test, and give me some certification to refer to if ever needed, not just in respect of citizenship. If however, this approach will delay the compilation of the citizenship dossier unduly, and there remains a less formal way of providing proof down the line, I might think again. Any (current) insight would be most appreciated. Just to note, since April 2020 there are no age exemptions on proving French proficiency for citizenship...
  5. So, aside from any issues of residency, when I looked at the regulations in more detail about entering Schengen from the UK post-Brexit, I realised that because my passport issued on 1st July 2011, then although the expiry date wasn't until 1st Sept 2021, as of 1st January 2021 it was invalid for re-entry to Schengen, as the passport must be no more than 9 and a half years old on the date of travel (N.B. the Gov.uk website says 10 years old at travel, but from many other sources I've read, I believe that this is inaccurate) . Anyway, I decided just to renew, and it was extremely rapid. The biggest delay was getting my old passport back to the passport office, which took a week from France, no doubt longer than usual because of the New Year weekend, Brexit delays, etc. Nonetheless, within 2 weeks of doing my application online (including a photo just taken against a light wall in the house), I had my new passport. It isn't a criticism, but with everything being digital these days, I can't understand why the passport office needs to physically receive your old passport before it can do anything. The details of the old passport, including photo, etc, will be in their database, so they could easily crosscheck with the new application, and cancel the old one when they issue the new. At the end of it, they send the old one back (via expensive courier), minus one corner, and again, unless you actually want to keep these old passports for posterity, why bother?
  6. Hi, I'm just a little confused and wondered if anyone can supply the answer that I can't seem to find elsewhere online? My UK passport expires on Sept 1st 2021 and I hold a carte de sejour permanent as a French resident (exchange for post-Brexit version applied for). I have a trip to the UK planned for late March, and so my planned return to the EU after the trip would be less than 6 months before the expiry date on my passport. I know that post Jan 1st 2021 a minimum of 6 months should be on a UK passport to enter the Schengen area, but does this rule apply to a permanent EU resident such as myself? If so, I will need to renew my UK passport sooner rather than later, but if not I won't bother until it actually comes up to expiry. Thanks for any advice, reference links, etc.....
  7. I think while much negative comment about the UK, the British and Brexit is fully justified, this particular EU regulation permitting EU residents to adopt the succession laws of the country of their birth rather than those of their country of residence has nothing to do with the UK, or Brexit, or colonialisation, or whatever, as pomme has already said. The option would be there for any resident of France, irrespective of their country of birth (it could be Brazil, Thailand, Australia, or wherever...). Not everyone believes in forced inheritance, nor wants the State to dictate who should inherit their wordly goods, so if your birth country does things differently and the law in France permits you to adopt those birth country succession laws, it gives you a choice. In my opinion, that can only be a good thing.
  8. Hereford's answer is correct. In theory the tenants should deduct tax and pay it to HMRC, but in practice it need not happen. You can ask for dispensation to be paid your rent gross by the tenant as a non-resident landlord, and unless you have a black mark on your HMRC records, it will be a formality. UK rental income is only taxed in the UK and must therefore be declared on your UK tax return, but the UK Land and Property pages aren't complicated or difficult to complete. You still have to declare the rental profit in France, using annexe 2044 alongside your forms 2047 and 2042, since it is taken into account to calculate your relevant tax bands in France. A proportional rebate in respect of this rental income is credited against any French tax due, to avoid paying double tax under the dual tax treaty. As a simple example, if you had say 20k euros of UK rental profit and 20k euros of other income taxable in France, the tax authorities would first calculate your French tax due on the entire 40k euros, then apply a rebate of 20k/40k i.e. 50% to the total. If you are unsure on how to complete the relevant forms, HMRC and Les Impots will help you if asked.
  9. Hi, I'm helping a non-French speaking friend to fill in his form 2074 for the first time. Simple question, he has sold more than 3 lots of shares in the year (all in the UK). There is only room for 3 transactions on the 2074, so does he A. amalgamate the sales to an extent, with a more detailed breakdown on separate sheet, or B. fill in a second 2074, or C. do something else? Any advice taken at face value but much appreciated.
  10. I had an AVC pot in the UK which I took entirely as cash a couple of years ago. As others have said, I was taxed in the UK at source at an emergency rate on 75% of the drawdown. As I was taking the whole sum, as far as my French tax was concerned, I opted to pay a one-off 7.5% tax charge on the gross sum, which was effectively 6.75% after deducting the 10% rebate allowed. Social charges were payable in addition (no rebate on that).at around 7.4%, so the tax treatment here in France was quite generous. The timing was quite important. I deliberately took the AVC drawdown in February 2017, so it fell at the end of the UK tax year, but at the beginning of the French tax year. I was then able to submit my UK tax return for 2016-17 in April 2017, receiving a rebate of all the UK tax paid on the drawdown within a matter of days. I didn't however need to declare it in France until May 2018, and didn't pay the French tax and social charges until September 2018. That was an ideal scenario as far as cash flow efficiency was concerned, so if the OP can act quickly, it would be worth trying to take the drawdown he is planning before 5th April....
  11. Apologies! I found the paragraph referenced above through following the links in the email. Bit of a cheek though, saying it will be deactivated, but if you don't send it back (suivi or recommandée - of course!), we'll sting you for 35 euros. Mind you, last time the battery went flat in my badge, Easytrip wouldn't send out a replacement until I had sent the other one back and they had checked whether I was telling the truth. Not exactly fantastic customer service, even for France........
  12. You seem to have a different email to me, mine says this: 'Si vous ne souhaitez pas souscrire une offre télépéage AREA, nous vous remercions, dans un délai de 30 jours à compter de la réception de ce courriel, de bien vouloir adresser votre badge par lettre suivie ou par lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception à l’adresse suivante : Regroup’Eure / ET CS 20715 27007 ÉVREUX CEDEX' No mention anywhere of a penalty. Could it be because I've been with them for around 12 years?
  13. I got the email from Easytrip too, but coincidentally, I'd just moved providers anyway, as my local outfit ATMB had an offer on. I've re-read the Easytrip email, and though I can see the reference to returning the badge within 30 days from receipt of the email, I can't see any reference to a 35 euro fine if you don't. Have I missed it?
  14. Hi, following my previous thread, Mrs DD has now received her certificate of entitlement form D737 from the DVLA. She can't apply for her new French licence however until the new online system opens for business on 3rd March. My question is simple, does her D737 still need to be translated? If the answer is yes, does it need to be a fully certified, apostillised translation, or will something less legally tight suffice? I ask as I thought they were moving away from having French translation for every document, but maybe I am wrong. If anyone has recent experience of this issue, please let me know.
  15. Thank you pomme, Mrs DD got on the blower yesterday and has ordered one, it might take 3 weeks to arrive...
  16. Hi, Mrs DD and I both renewed our UK photocard driving licences in 2011 in preparation for moving to France. As mine doesn't expire until June 2021, we assumed Mrs DD's was the same, therefore we were waiting until next year (as we've been told to do) before applying for exchanges for French licences for us both. Recently noticed completely by accident however that Mrs DD's UK licence actually expired on 19th October 2019, so as things stand, as I see it she can't legally drive! I wanted to ask if anyone knows whether the procedure for obtaining a French licence by exchange is different because the licence has actually expired rather than being exchanged because it was approaching expiry? The online applications process for licence exchange is due to open on 3rd March, and they won't accept any paper applications after 6th February, so we can't do anything immediately. As it is just the photocard which has expired (her age isn't an issue), I'm hoping an exchange will still be possible, as I wouldn't think she'd be too happy if she has to retake her driving test.....Thanks for any insight.
  17. I wouldn't believe everything the UK Government puts out about Brexit. I saw a Facebook post from Gov.uk, aimed at French expats, urging everyone to obtain their residency permits (CdS) as soon as possible... It seemed to have escaped their notice (either that or through simple ignorance) that the French web portal for doing just that won't be live until July this year, and that no applications can be made until then. Not that UK Gov cares about giving misinformation of course, but it was clear from some of the comments to the post that some were completely taken in by it and were panicking.....
  18. Yes, it's terrible that you have to pay to get a fast transfer, it doesn't cost them any more, that's for sure. On the other hand idun, free banking is available in France. Mrs DD and I bank with Axa Banque, no charges whatsoever, and a free gold Visa card as long as we spend over 900 euros per quarter (which in Haute Savoie isn't difficult). we moved from Banque Populaire des Alpes a few years ago, and it saved us the over 250 euros per year we were paying in charges..........
  19. Hi nomoss, I found the page no problem going directly via the link. Very useful information.
  20. Try Googling Fabien Cordiez. French property advocat, fluent in English. I found him extremely helpful when I had an issue a couple of years ago......
  21. Hi, yes, he had his licence confiscated and was told he was banned for 3 months. It was never sent back. On the subject of the fine, apart from the quittance given by the gendarmes for his 750 euro cash payment in March 2018, there is no mention of it anywhere, certainly not in the court judgement or fine notification documents, which I think is odd, and doesn't support the notion that the court knew he had paid this amount already. The only figure mentioned is 750 euros as the fine, not '1500 - 750 already paid', so I have my doubts as to whether he owes anything other than the 31 euros court admin fee. I am putting another letter together for him, re-stating the facts, re-submitting the evidence of the cash payment, his recent letter to the Tribunal, and asking for clarification regarding the fine before further money is spent. It turns out the pair of them aren't going over to Spain until next month, so there is a little time to try to clarify what he needs to pay. I will be suggesting in the letter that his payment in March 2018 might not have been linked to his dossier, so someone might at least check. We'll see...... To be honest, as the fine for such speed excess is set at a later date by the court, I'm not sure that the gendarmes should necessarily have taken a 'downpayment' there and then. The fact it wasn't a French registered car might have had something to do with that, worry over recovering the fine later maybe? My uncle has also been at pains to tell me that he doesn't usually fly round the roads doing such speeds, but it was a case of maxing out an overtaking lane before it disappeared. Apparently he overtook both a lorry and a car, and the gendarmes told him they would have left him alone if he's settled at just overtaking the lorry..... Not an excuse, I know, but not habitually driving so fast at least.
  22. Hi and thank you. I spoke to my uncle today and he told me that immediately after the offence he looked online and the maximum fine for his offence at that time (March 2018) was 750€ (it may have been increased to 1500€ afterwards). He has paid this and my belief is that the cash payment has not been linked to his dossier and that his letter of June this year pointing this out is waiting on a pile to be processed. He is not contemplating paying his fine twice and I don't blame him....
  23. Idun, in answer to your question, no, points are not transferred to the UK licence for offences in France. Interesting enough though, when my uncle's licence was confiscated by the gendarmes, they told him it would be returned to the DVLA in the UK and they would send it out to him. It never arrived, and when he contacted the DVLA about it, they were unaware that it had been confiscated and told him that they have never had any UK licences sent to them from France! He had to buy a replacement. It might mean that not every gendarme is aware of procedure.....
  24. Hi, yes it is a heck of a speed, and what possessed him to think that was ok is anyone's guess. In one of the links idun posted it states that the fine for more than 50kph over the limit is set by a judge at tribunal, which fits in with the absence of a fixed fine on his quittance from the gendarmes, and would explain the 13 months delay between the offence and receiving the fine notification from the tribunal. The paperwork suggests that the fine was set at 750 euros by the judge at the Tribunal de Police in April, not 1500, and my uncle has already paid that 750 in cash. I am more inclined to think that, somewhere along the line, this cash payment has not been properly linked to my uncle's dossier, probably as there was no crime number allocated to his case at the time of the payment, merely a receipt number on the quittance. What I can't then explain is why despite writing in full to the authorities back in May, including evidence of having made the payment, there has been no reply from the Tribunal de Police de Tours and this recent 'notice before action' has been issued. I can't in all honesty advise him to pay a further 781 euros when there is no evidence that he has been fined 1500 euros in total. The fact he was on a dual carriageway may make it a less serious offence in the eyes of the tribunal compared to say doing 105 kph in a 50 kph urban road. For that reason, the judge may have set the fine at less than the maximum. Anyway, if anyone has any further thoughts, knowledge or experience which might help me, I'd be most grateful, so please fire away....
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