josid

Maybe it's a part of 'Princes' tribal fertility ritual!

That will no doubt attract some interesting comments!!!! :D

Did you keep the photo though, Quillan? ;-)

I'm sure that there are a lot of people who feel the same way and are worried about posting a comment for fear of being made a laughing stock. If members who constantly use these tactics can't use a bit more discretion, they should be banned from commenting.!

Thanks! There's too much of this bullying going on, especially towards some of the newcomers to France who ask a genuine but maybe naive question. Some people just need advice not a quick witted and sometimes downright rude response by some self-opinionated member who takes pleasure in making people feel stupid! It's maybe this reason why some of us only post a comment when we feel that it's constructive, not destructive.

Actually I DID NOT fall for this scam. It was pretty obvious from the the message and name of sender. I just wanted to see what ridiculous proposal I got so I could warn other people. Maybe with sarcastic replies like these then I won't bother next time. Unlike some forum members, I've got better things to do with my time than to belittle others!

I replied telling him that we run a B&B not gites and gave him a price. This is his answer: Its will be a great pleasure staying in your > property,About the payment my wife business associate will issued the payment > by Travelers Check for the rentals 600Euros and the Travelers Check will be > issued in Excess when you have the payment its will be O.K in your Bank in > few days and when its O.K you can make the Excess payment available to my > wife so that she can book our flight and other things.I will provide you our > flight details so you will be fully aware about our arrival...Its will be a > great pleasure staying in your property.If you have a contract for the > rentals you can either send it by email attachment we can have it filled > online by pdf and send them back to you. > > Mr Frank & Wife Adrienne Cologenal.47 Dundas Street EdinburghEdinburgh EH3 > 6RSScotland. > I will require for the details below.Name that will be on the Check > Full Address, Cell Phone Number, Home Phone Number, Office > Phone Number, Property Address > Kindly email me back soonest today with the > information and also don't forget to include the address of the property we > renting from you.My wife is from Scotland Am are presently here in Scotland. > if i don't pick the phone you can drop me a message and ill call you back.you > can call me on my mobile 07579744786..I dont really know if possible you can > send a copy of your replies to my Gmail email.([email protected]) > Thanks Alot.God Bless.Mr Frank Cologenal.. Needless to say, I used very impolite word to tell him to get lost!

I am too! Anyone had the latest scam from a supposed Canadian called Frank Cologenal? Here it is: Location Vacances France My Wife Finds your Holidays Home advert and we are interested renting for the date Below. Check In Date Oct 02 2011 . Check Out Date July 18 2011 . Could you tell me if you have availability and a full price including damage deposits let me have the price in Euros..Could you also tell me the nearest airport and time walking to shops etc.We are from Canada... Thanks Alot. God Bless.. Frank Cologenal. [email protected] Strange, I don't even advertise on the website mentioned!

Customer service doesn't exist in France, I'm sure you'll agree. In fact I don't think that there's even a translation! I took pride in my own customer service when working at the UK bank, but unfortunately that wasn't enough, unless I was selling or promoting insurance or some stock market based investment then I wasn't doing a good enough job and it didn't matter if the customer was upset or annoyed as long as he was persuaded to buy something! So at the end of the day I decided enough is enough and handed in my notice. Getting back to the French system though, I believe that, as in the Uk, it all depends which branch you have an account with. We all rant and rave when we've had a bad experience, but no one seems to say when they've had good service. Bad news always travels faster than good!

As a follow on to my last posting, In fact we have had far more problems with our UK bank (where I used to work) in the last 6 years since we have been in France, than with our French bank. I do agree though that the banks, and insurance brokers for that matter, rip us off when it comes to insurance. We were very happy with our car insurances with a Generali broker until we recently went online and were offered comparable policies at a third of the price and which are underwritten by a large well known Insurance company. And we also have an English speaking personal insurance advisor so we know that we have exactly what we asked for.

When we lived in the Uk, I worked for one of the big banks for almost 30 years. When we decided to move to France, I opened an account with Britline, the CA branch for UK expats. I was told that if you don't live in the Normandy area then there could be problems as it could be seen as 'suspicious', especially as we now live in the SW near the Spanish border. On the contrary I have never encountered any problems and I've never had a cheque refused. The only problem was that when we first arrived we exceeded our debit card weekly limit. It was rather annoying, however one phone call is all it took to explain that we were buying all the necessary items needed when you move home. The limit was immediately increased and from then on we have had no other problems. In fact we are contacted by phone if there is any query or if there are services that they consider useful to us. The only downside is that I have to send any cheques that i wish to pay in by post. The French banking system is comparable to the uk system 30 years ago, and as I thought that most UK expats came here because France is like the UK 30 years ago then I cannot see what the problem is. You can't have your cake and eat it!

Has anybody else received an enquiry from a Dr Susan Rice who is working for UNICEF in the UK, sponsored by the US. She asks for details of accommodation and the cost for a two week stay for her and her husband which is being paid for by her sponsors to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversery. All very plausable, especially as she asks to be contacted asap. on her cell phone (UK registered) to discuss arrangements, and also has a link to a US website with details of her career and education in US. Unfortunately, the REAL Dr Rice, who is Mr Obama's UN ambassador nominee, married in 1992 (20th anniversery???) and although I have a couple of rooms available, I'm not sure that I can accommodate the entourage of armed security guards, which surely must ensure her safety while on holiday! I smell another rat!!!