David

Due to the Speedferries problems I have been trying to book a Seafrance Calais/Dover/Calais trip at the end of November. I am getting on fine with the ferry times, but I want to pay in pounds with my UK debit card.  However, just because I am coming from France, the site seems to insist that I pay in Euros. Is it possible to book a return ticket from Calais, but pay in pounds? If not, this seems to be rather stupid - I am longing for the return of the simple Speedferries site where this was possible. Thanks, David

Angela and Serrif, Thank you both for your very helpful replies, and thank you Angela also for giving me an insight of what to expect when we get there. Very kind of you both - thank you again. I will now plan our route from Bressuire. David

We were thinking of going to Les Sables D'Olonne tomorrow to see the boats before they depart.  However, our neighbours tell us that the town is closed to cars. Does anyone know if a disabled blue parking badge holder (French issue) needing a wheelchair can park anywhere within easy wheelchair pushing distance of the boats? Thanks in advance, David

That is fine Will if you live in UK.  The site does not have a sales counter or shop, and nor will they ship sky parts to France. Does anybody know where you can buy a genuine sky, not sky plus, controller or handset.  We leave for the UK tomorrow, and would like to buy one while we are there. Thanks, David

Recently I had to go into hospital in Nantes, which is nearly two hours drive from our home near Bressuire, for an operation.  My daughter came over from UK to drive me there, and the hospital arranged an ambulance taxi car to drive me home.  I had previously gone for pre op appointments when we stayed at an hotel overnight, left the car in the hotel car park, and then got a taxi to the hospital. Once home the taxi driver got me to sign a preprinted form and said, that as I am on a 100% CPAM Niort coverage for all medical matters, I would have nothing to pay.  Very good indeed, as I would have had great difficulty in getting home otherwise. However, I now have to go back for a follow up consultation at the end of June, which will not involve hospitalisation (I hope).  The taxi driver said that I should phone his company (a local ambulance taxi firm based in Argenton Les Valles) and they would take me to Nantes and bring me back, and that it would cost me nothing.  He said that they would arrange all the paper work. For several reasons I am very tempted by this, rather than try to drive myself, and I do not think that I am really fit enough to struggle with a a wheelchair in the hotel.  However, I am concerned that I do not understand the system, and I am very concerned that I might be left responsible for paying for a rather large taxi fare to and from Nantes, plus about one or two hours waiting time. I have tried reading the French web sites, but it was far too much for my very limited French. I would be very grateful if anybody could explain the French ambulance taxi system, what are the entitlements, and how should it be used. Many thanks in advance. David

Sorry about the delay in replying, but we had visitors. I seem to have no problems now, and I was able to send my pm. It seems that it may have been gremlins on the site which have now cleared. Thanks indeed for your very prompt replies. David

Hello Clair, I am on the forum, and not replying to an email. Thanks David

I am rather baffled.  Today I tried to reply to a post by PM, and also tried to make a post.  I have done this many times in the past, but today I get the message below which is total gobble de gook to me.  However, when I opened this post there were no problems.  Is this a problem with the site, or is it a problem with my computer? If it is my computer can you advise in laymans language what to do.  I run windows XP service pack 3, and use windows explorer and outlook express.  This is the first problem that I have had. Thanks in advance. David. QUOTE FreeTextBox has not been correctly installed. To install FreeTextBox either: (1) add a reference to FtbWebResource.axd in web.config: <system.web> <httpHandlers> <add verb="GET" path="FtbWebResource.axd" type="FreeTextBoxControls.AssemblyResourceHandler, FreeTextBox" /> </httpHandlers> </system.web> (2) Save the FreeTextBox image and javascript files to a location on your website and set up FreeTextBox as follows <FTB:FreeTextBox id="FreeTextBox1" SupportFolder="ftbfileslocation" JavaScriptLocation="ExternalFile" ButtonImagesLocation="ExternalFile" ToolbarImagesLocation="ExternalFile" ButtonImagesLocation="ExternalFile" runat="server" /> UNQUOTE

BobD, Will Nationwide accept new overseas customers? David

SPG and Coops, Many thanks for your very clear answers to my question.  I had wrongly assumed that you used the FD5 each year, so it seems that I was using the wrong form and the wrong method. Many thanks again. David Edit.  p.s.  Should I claim back the UK tax for the UK tax year or the French tax year?  In my French tax return I will be declaring the interest earned for the French tax year. 

Thanks BobD, Tried that but the UK bank (not the tax people) refused, and insisted that they deduct the UK tax.  They invited me to transfer to one of their offshore accounts if I wanted interest paid gross, but that did not have a credit card or cheque facility. As we now do not have a UK address we cannot open a new account with another bank. Thanks, David

I am a little confused about the FD5 and it's use, so I would be grateful for some advice. We are full time residents in France, but we still have one UK bank account which insists on deducting UK tax on interest at the basic rate.  We keep this account for sterling receipts and payments, and do not wish to close it, so we have to reclaim the UK tax each year as we pay French tax on the interest. In our first French tax year (2005 income) we completed the FD5 and handed it in with our annual French tax forms.  The local Bressuire office stamped it and asked us to send it to Paris, which we did.  Several months later we received the UK tax repayment by cheque. In our second French tax year we handed it in with the annual French tax forms, but this time the Bressuire office kept the FD5 and said they would forward it to Paris.  This was a copy of the same form we sent the year previously (but different tax amounts) and was marked FD5.  We have not received any UK tax repayment for that year. We are about to complete our third annual French tax return, so what should we do about reclaiming the UK tax paid on bank interest? We were not too bothered last year as the amounts were quite small, but this year is more important due to financial constraints. Many thanks in advance. David

Many thanks for your helpful replies. I take your point Tony about seeing a qualified accountant.  I certainly will if I am anywhere near that bracket, but I was hoping to get some idea of whether I might be affected before laying out a four figure sum for advice.  I have been down that road before with one of the large London accountants; they charged a fortune, I didn't really understand the advice, and I came away with the distinct impression that they wanted to change all my investments and pocket the commission.  I may of course be wrong. Thank you leslieneils, I found the link useful, and thank you also Freddie for taking the time to write your post, I found it very helpful indeed. I am now in a position to do some rough calculations and see where I come, the 30% discount on the primary residence was particularly important. Thanks again, David

Many thanks for the link Clair, but having looked at it I am afraid that my French is not up to the task of understanding it. I would be grateful for some advice in English.  Very poor show, not understanding formal French I know, but I am trying, and studying, but not ready yet. Thanks, David

Having received a small inheritance, I am checking my assets to ensure that I do not qualify for wealth tax. In this respect I wonder if the value of UK private pension schemes should be taken into account.  That is, when I was self employed I paid into my own pension funds out of tax paid money, and I received UK tax relief on the payments. These funds are not yet mature, and sit waiting for my 65th birthday, when I am told that I will have to buy an annuity, at which time I will discover exactly what they are worth.  Probably less than I paid in when I bought them, considering the present stock market rates!! I also wonder if dormant tessas, peps and isas have to be included.  I am not financially literate, so I am not sure what the difference is between tessas, peps, isas and pension funds.  To me they are all the same - funds for my retirement. Many thanks, David p.s.  I wonder how you would value a maison secondaire for wealth tax purposes?

In my opinion, yes, it is a scam.  Not illegal, but expensive.  As a self employed trader we got these things all the time in UK.  They set up a directory, charge you a fortune to be included in it, charge you to buy it, and this covers the cost of publishing. However, very few people actually buy the publication, it (in our case) would not have helped with marketing, and the publishers walk away with a healthy management fee. I suggest that you chuck it in the bin. David

As Sweet17 says, this is seriously interesting.  Does this mean that it might be possible to transfer the entire pension pot out of UK, and not have to buy an annuity at the present disgracefully low rates? If so I wonder how long this will last when the present UK government realise the implications.  Perhaps people might actually be able to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of saving! David

Copy IB E121 sent to Coops. David

Hi Coops, I have just received email notification of your last two posts, about 32 hours late! I will be sending you a copy of my E121, but it might take a couple of days. David

Coops, I have e-mailed you. David p.s.  I did not receive notification of your post by e-mail.  Is this a problem with the site?

Hi Coops, I have a copy of my E121, but not my wife's.  The only difference is which box is crossed. If you want I could send you a copy of mine, an IB form, but I am not prepared to publish it on an open public forum.  How do you suggest I send it to you? David Edit.  Originally my wife was not included on my E121.  After representations to Newcastle she was included, but when she reached 60 years, she was given her own E121.  

But not for the 100%, only for the normal 70% allowance. David

We think, with great excitement, that we may have found a way of deterring rabbits, mice and other hole burrowing animals from living too near the house, and digging up flower beds and lawns. We have been spreading ash and cinders from our wood burning insert fire into the holes made by rabbits in our flower beds, and the small holes in the lawns made by field mice we think, and lo and behold the said creatures have left! Good for the ground too, or so I am told, and free as well!  [:D] Now for the moles!!!!  [6] David

thanks trees, I think you are correct.  Yesterday we had a French neighbour in, who advised that the string should be set up around the plot, and that the "en 2 ou 3 rangs" meant that the string should be wound round each "petite piquet" 2 or three times. David

I have bought a bottle of Decamp Repulsif longue duree liquid for repelling rabbits and hares, but I do not understand the instructions. We have a small flower plot in front of the house, about 4 metres by 2 metres, which we want to protect, and we bought this stuff just to move the hares on to another place less intrusive. The instructions say "Impregner une ficelle de chanvre avec le repulsif et la fixer en 2 ou 3 rangs distants de 10 cm sur des petits piquets repartis tout autour de la surface de la parcelle a proteger".  This is accompanied by a photo of a single strand of string running around the perimeter of a plot, and supported about 5 cm above the ground on little sticks about 10 cm apart. Now, I understand about the string and impregnating it, but how do you lay out the string?  My wife says it should be 2 or 3 strands of string tied vertically 10 cms apart on each stick (like a wire fence), around the perimeter of the plot, but I say it should be one strand high, but woven across the plot at a distance of 10 cm between each run of string.  Whichever, neither method is shown in the photo. Has anyone used this stuff, and what did they find the best method? Many thanks, David