Daft Doctor

Thanks for all that.  Seems a délesteur may be the answer, makes a lot of sense.  they are approx 200 euros in Leroy Merlin for a good-un.  Aside from that, I was scouring EDF's website regarding increasing the puissance of the raccordement.  It seemed to suggest that if you had 12kvA monophase already then you could have it increased to 18kvA monophase.  Not sure if that's true for very recent installations. 

Hi, have tried to get the answer to this from various sources, so thought the sparkys out there might just know.  We are having a house built.  The land was provided with a supply to the boundary via ERDF, a (monophasic) 12kVA supply was requested when it was done.  The builder has passed on the conclusions of a 'thermic study' of the house and a 15kVA supply has been recommended as part of these conclusions.  The builder has admitted that this thermic study doesn't take account of any heat which might be provided by a poele à bois, and admits that if we stuck with 12kVA it would only likely be a problem if everything was run to capacity, i.e in the depth of a very cold winter snap. They have rightly said that if a 15kVA supply is provided, it would need to be triphasic, and have quoted around 1,000 euros for an upgraded board, additional wiring, etc.  What I am unsure of however is whether the supply currently provided to our boundary would also need to be structurally upgraded, i.e. incurring additional costs with ERDF? If the answer is no, then 1,000 euros might be worth the absolute certainty of no trip-outs, but if there would be additional costs on top, I'd rather just manage with the 12 kVA originally planned and burn more logs on the woodburner.  Can anyone help or advise?  [:D]     

Thanks everyone, very good advice and insight as always.  We can lower the beam down and yes, we won't really be driving in the dark.  We are spending most of our time in the Northeast and it doesn't get to lighting up time until about 10pm! [:D]

Hi, we are heading over to the UK on holiday in our LHD Passat next week.  I casually called into our local Roady asking for some headlight lens stickers to avoid dazzling other drivers (and being stopped by the cops for so doing).  I got a virtual gallic shrug and was told I'd have to get them from VW.  Is that really the case, or do other auto parts places like Feu Vert do them?  If not, do they sell them near to Calais, perhaps at the tunnel terminal?  Any advice very much appreciated.  [:D]

Hi Angela, thank you for helping out.  Our dog has his 'crate', a large cage which he will sleep in at night, the open spaces, etc were more just for taking him out off the lead to get a bit of exercise.  Will explore your suggestions a bit further, and if any other thoughts pop in your head please let me know.  Your help is much appreciated. 

Hi We are travelling up through France to the channel tunnel from Haute Savoie and will stop off for 2 nights, the the first somewhere East or Northeast of Paris, and the last hopefully within an hours drive of the tunnel.  Has anyone got any suggestions for pretty towns which might be nice places in which to stay and which fit in with our itinerary.  We will have our border collie with us, so somewhere with plenty of open spaces would be good.  Any advice most gratefully received.  If anybody also knows good dog-friendly hotels along the way then all the better.  [:D]  

This level of detail of electric and plumbing installations in a kitchen plan is unique to France, as is the actual electrical specification used (see the FAQ - FRENCH ELECTRICS GLOSSARY thread), so a UK Kitchen plan wouldn't do it..  

Hi We are having a house built in France but as is typical with Maison Individuelle contracts, the kitchen isn't included.  Given the huge price difference involved, we are sourcing our kitchen through a trade contact in the UK, and when the time comes the fitter is bringing it over and fitting it for us. As part of drawing up the final electric and plumbing specifications for the house however, the construction company have asked us to forward a 'plan technique cuisine' to establish (as I understand it) the exact locations of all the electrical and lighting installations, plumbing installations, etc.  Fact is such detail isn't usually asked of the client in the UK, as the contruction company would often fit the kitchen as well as do the house build, so simply ask where you wanted various things put. I've been able to search on google images to find some examples of such plans, but I wondered if anyone with greater knowledge or experience out there would be able to guide me, particularly with nomenclature, etc.  Unless you are buying a kitchen from a French installer it seems they won't do such a plan for you, so I am going to have to produce one myself (A3 graph paper is at the ready!)  It would be really helpful to know for instance if it is the 32A socket which serves the oven, if 20A is needed for an extractor hood, etc, as well as how all the individual elements (e.g. dishwasher water supply, waste, electric sockets, etc) should be represented on such a plan. Other questions would include how under-wall unit lighting should be shown, and whether these plans technique cuisine would normally include ceiling light arrangements?  I suppose I might also be hoping that someone tells me not to bother with such detail, but that would be wishful thinking I'm sure!   Thanks again in advance.  [:D]  

Just to be clear in case I have offended anyone (because I care about that sort of thing), my comments re the daily time restrictions imposed by the French sickness absence system as compared to the UK system were meant to be lighthearted and tongue in cheek, rather than deadly serious.  What I actually said in my post was, 'not all benefit seekers are malingerers of course but I saw a fair few in my time on the 'front line' that's for sure'.  I was an occupational physician for 20 years as well as a GP for 27 and there is no doubt from my knowledge and experience (over 120,000 individual consultations) that a measurable few of those on long term sickness absence were very happy to be just that and had no intention of attempting to return to work, irrespective of the nature or severity of their condition.  That however isn't meant as a swipe to the large majority of those off sick who are desperate to return to work as soon as possible. The point made earlier about depression of course is very true, to confine someone to the house for 4 hours a day is likely to be very counterproductive, but I would equally argue that anyone with a long term condition needs the freedom to leave the 4 walls they call home to try to get some enjoyment into their lives to help them cope with their symptoms.  There is a world of difference between being fit for work and fit to do most other things in daily life, so like a number of things related to health and social care in France, the thinking is a bit rigid and arguably behind the times.  It might disuade someone from working on the black while they are ill, but it doesn't seem to me to suit any other purpose.  

You can call me Betty, the reason I asked the question originally was out of curiosity as much as anything else, and also in the knowledge that French custom and practice is often quite different to that in the UK. Fact is, for the next few weeks my OH, having had a cruciate ligament reconstruction, is in a brace, walking with great difficulty and only with crutches, and is confined to the house. Most people would consider her as unfit for work in those circs, but because she works from home and her business does not involve a lot of fetching and carrying, we as a couple can manage, i.e. I can do most of the work for her. Were she to be entitled to some form of sickness benefit, would she in those circumstances be a 'benefit scrounger' for claiming it, I don't think so! As it is, her business is not our sole source of income, it gives us pocket money only. I wasn't sure however whether a fixed amount of benefit was paid out regardless, as in the UK, or whether it is linked to previous earnings (which apparently it is). I use these sort of situations as a learning experience about living in France, even if it is for later use, perhaps because I am both practically minded and have a hunger for such knowledge. As for your opinion and the insult it carries, you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine. As a GP I too was self-employed in the UK, as was my wife as a jewellery-maker, and I paid a fortune in private sickness and locum insurance on which I never made a claim. Not only did I only have a total of 17 days off sick in 27 years of practice, but it was a major upheaval and inconvenience to patients when I did, as they usually just chose to come back when I was back to work rather than see someone else. Neither my wife nor I ever claimed a benefit (other than child benefit) in our working lives, nor would we want to now unless it was justified and I or my OH were properly entitled to it under the rules. Have I made my point? [:@]

Thanks for that info Norman, I think its not worth the bother, her turnover is very small but also especially since according to the RSI website she wouldn't be allowed out of the house between 09H00 and 11H00 then 14H00 to 16H00!! I can just imaging trying to impose that type of regime on the multitude of sick note seeking lead swingers in the UK, hilarious! (not all benefit seekers are malingerers of course but I saw a fair few in my time on the 'front line' that's for sure)

Norman, your experience in the UK is very unusual for a property transaction. When I sold my last house (for £425,000), my legal fees were £600 and the agent fees were just £3,600. Compare that with the piece of land I've just bought in France for 225,000 euros, the notaires bit of what I paid them was about 1000 euros and the agent got 14,400!! Hardly great value (especially the agent) and not great for the French property market, which seems to rely a fair bit on inward investment.

Hi, my wife is an AE with an online ebay business. She has just been discharged from hospital after a cruciate ligament repair on her knee and has been given an arrêt de travail by her surgeon for 2 months. She has her healthcare through RSI and of course pays cotisations for her business through them. She could probably carry on her business with a little help from me, but does this arrêt de travail entitle us to claim anything and if so, how do we go about it? Any experiences or advice most gratefully received.

Hi, I went down to the Impots today and it was very straightforward, a couple of quick questions and my forms France Individual were signed and stamped and the English version was given back to me to send to Cardiff.  I must say the helpful lady was only really interested in the first two pages, so I can see how a form not actually claiming tax exemption or repayment would be signed just the same.  Will call Cardiff tomorrow and ask them what to do about Mrs DD, then wait for my tax repayment on my pension to come through!

Hi Hereford. I've always done my own SA return, and use TaxCalc to do the forms and submit them to HMRC. The software allows you to attach any number of documents, to your return, so explanation is a little easier to achieve. I think you only have to do a paper return as a non-resident if you have to also send some sort of original signed certificate or other document otherwise I think it is still OK to do it online. I certainly did that in January this year, complete with my French address, I was just asked not to put my French postcode in the postcode box but just include it in the main address lines instead. What I'm still not sure of is whether I can have a France Individual form signed for Mrs DD without her being in a position to claim relief from or reclaim tax paid on income taxable in France. The form would be blank apart from her personal details. I will ask HMRC tomorrow.

Hi Hereford, my confusion is that it seems that HMRC don't want you to put UK bank interest on the Form France Individual, even to reclaim via section D.  In their guidance notes they say they can't stop tax being taken off at source.  As such, there is nothing to reclaim for Mrs DD on a France Individual form, unless of course it can be signed simply as a certificate that you are now paying tax in France as a resident?  The rest of her income is either earned and taxed in France or, as in the case of UK property income, taxed in the UK.  I think I'll have to seek advice on her specific circumstances from HMRC and then ask them what documentation is needed.  They may say to simply put the tax paid on UK bank interest on form FI for the first year then claim it back via self-assessment thereafter.  Can't ring HMRC today, makes a change the UK being on a public holiday and France not!  

No, my NHS practitioner pension, like most NHS pensions, is paid by Xafinity Paymaster and although it is a public sector pension is definitely non-government for dual taxation purposes.  It is wholly taxable in France, unlike for instance teaching or civil service pensions.  

I think the problem might be with sorting Mrs DD out.  Her only income taxable in France is UK bank interest, but HMRC seem to be saying not reclaim this on a France Individual form.  If it has to be reclaimed through her UK tax return (which she fills in because of UK property income), she will still need to provide some form of certificate to HMRC to say she's liable for tax on this in France.  Any ideas?  I will of course ring HMRC when I can, but as I was going into the impots tomorrow with our French tax forms I was hoping to kill the 2 birds stone dead in one go.

Thanks Hereford.  That does make sense, and I am in a similar position to you, I have UK property income but everything else is taxed in France.  I should be able to get the UK tax paid on my NHS pension refunded once I get my form France Individual signed off (hopefully tomorrow), but the tax on bank interest puzzled me a bit.  I will be over the personal allowance threshold sadly, so there will be something to pay. I can ask for this tax on bank intertest to be credited using the residence & remittance pages, which govern overseas residency, but they seem to ask for a certificate of overseas residency/tax liability.  Having said that a note to say that form FI has been submitted and already accepted may do for this (if they even look at the form that is).   

Sorry to bore everyone again, but it seems HMRC can't instruct UK banks not to deduct tax at source, so they say not to put such interest bearing accounts on Part C of the France Individual form. Am I right in thinking that you can however reclaim what tax has already been paid on UK bank interest via Part D of the form? If not, then how on earth (other than deducting it as a credit against any other UK tax payable through self-assessment) can you claim it back? Advice/insight much valued.

Hi, I'm busy pulling together forms France Individual for Mrs DD and I to take down to the impots tomorrow with my forms 2047 & 2042. I have looked at Part B question 4 and I'm not sure how best to answer, so wondered if I could call on those with experience of filling in these forms for their views. This question asks about whether we have continued to own or rent a property in the UK, and whether we let it out to anyone or whether it is no longer available for our use. Thing is we have and interest in several properties in the UK, including some residential and one commercial property, but they are part of a buy to let portfolio and have never been for our personal use. We are both on the non-resident landlords scheme and fill in a self assessment return for HMRC each year. The wording of this question (referring to a property and whether it is still available for our use) seems to me to suggest that they are asking about a current or former home rather than a buy-to-let portfolio, probably to gauge how we stack up from the residency point of view. As such I'm tempted to say no, since we have never nor would ever live in any of those properties in which we own a share (student properties - you know what I mean!). I just wondered if anyone out there has any advice to give, since there is no specific guidance from HMRC as to how this section should be completed. Many thanks in anticipation, I promise nothing will be taken as gospel, but views are always useful if its a grey area.

Hi Just want confirmation really, but am I right in assuming that UK property income (being wholly taxable in the UK) should be presented on forms 2047 & 2042 in exactly the same way as Government Pensions?

Hi, we are about to complete on the purchase of some land, and have over 200k euros balance to pay.  Since March 1st, notaires will not accept cheques, even well in advance of the signing day, so the payment will need to be made by virement from our french account.  I've looked hard on Axabanque's website for info, but I can't find a reference to the maximum single virement or daily limit for virements between french bank accounts. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience in this area?  As always, any help much appreciated.  [:)] 

So why don't you just take out a new redirection contract to start the day after the old one expires? I know from experience that with a little notice you can choose the exact date for the redirection to start.  Likely it would have been cheaper to have opted for 12 months in the first place, but it might be simpler just to do the above rather than overcomplicate things administratively. 

Having just completed a full year living in Haute Savoie in the Alps I can highly recommend it for a great all-year outdoor life, as long as you pick a 'proper' town, rather than a purpose built ski resort.   As for employment, well that may be a different matter, though having said that we've been offered work several times looking after second homes.  No doubt that type of roll the sleeves up work would be available in the Pyrenees too.  The only downside to the Alps is that everything is expensive, so that may need to come into your equation.  If you'd like any more info or have any questions, feel free to PM me.   [:)]