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FRENCH BANKS


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What is the problem with French banks?  I went on to the English internet access for CA and asked for a meeting with our English speaking bank employee. They replied that he was on leave until 2011 but I could make an appointment with a young lady in the bank, however to do this I would have to go to the bank.  Dutifully we turned up at the bank this afternoon to find it totally deserted.  Two offices were engaged with people having interviews but the  "floor" of the bank was empty and remained so for at least 15 minutes by which time we had had enough and left.  What sort of a business are they running? So now we will try and make an appointment by telephone which is more difficult for us as I am sure they very well know.  Why are they seemingly so anti.  Ex-pats are bringing money into the country are we not. Sacre Bleu. Well its off my chest now URghhhhhhhhhh
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Our bank (BP) have been great but we have rarely had to visit the bank branch.  However, I agree re french customer service - generally non existent!  I had an argument with a member of staff from one french company whose excuse for not sorting the problem was that it was her colleagues responsibilty (colleague, of course, not available).  When I said that, as a representive of the company I felt it was her responsibility to sort the problem, her response was that she was not a representive of her company she was just an employee.  A little bit of UK customer service training would go a long way in France methinks.

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Caisse d'Epargne has been consistently excellent to me, starting when my beloved Mr F had the temerity and bad timing to die on me mid-house-purchase and with money in electronic transit between the UK and France. They went out of their way to help so that I would not be in breach of contract.

They have my eternal loyalty. They also pay interest on my current account at a better rate than my UK bank does!

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Phone Britline (Credit Agricole Normandie) English speaking bank and you don't have to live in Normandy [:D]

All my banking is done by internet or telephone. If I have any questions I ring and ask. If I need advice I ring and ask. If I wanted a loan I'd ring and ask...

All the staff there are fantastic.

I can't think of a single bank in the UK that I would say that about. Now if you want me to rant about banks, just mention Halifax or LloydsTsb Grrrr. (oops that's one bank now, not two [6] )

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Well you all seem to have had better results than we have. We started with Normandie but thought we should move a bit closer to where we are living and went for CA Languedoc. Its not as though they are a branch of the same bank, you would think so, but they all seem to be separate entities, anyway we changed our account to Languedoc.  Now if we want to discuss anything we go in, as today, make an appointment (if there is anybody there to make one with) and the appointment has been known to last 2/3 hours, just for a simple transaction it is totally unbelievable.
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[quote user="Nell"]

Phone Britline (Credit Agricole Normandie) English speaking bank and you don't have to live in Normandy [:D]

All my banking is done by internet or telephone. If I have any questions I ring and ask. If I need advice I ring and ask. If I wanted a loan I'd ring and ask...

All the staff there are fantastic.

I can't think of a single bank in the UK that I would say that about. Now if you want me to rant about banks, just mention Halifax or LloydsTsb Grrrr. (oops that's one bank now, not two [6] )

[/quote]

I'm with CA Nord Midi Pyrenee and have no trouble whatsoever with them.  We have small branch in the village open in the mornings with one till and you take pot luck, sometimes in and out, sometimes half an hour sat chaatting in the queue, after all I've got all day[Www]. There is also the main branch in town.  Some English is spoken if people have difficulties but after all this is France............

Belonging to CA Britline or ringing the English speaking helpline of CA Britline is totally pointless if you live in another area,  as the OP says its a totally different bank as you cannot even pay cheques into your account at your local CA if you don't live in Brittany or wherever it is.

Seems to me that if the OPs are going to get easily frustrated by French ways and a wait of just 15 minutes to be seen, they are going to have a very stressful time in France[geek].

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You can pay in cheques/cash into different area CA banks. You simply have to fill in the 'code guichet' number as well as the account number on the paying-in slip. I have done this several times in different areas without problems.

 I would point out though that often CA staff themselves do not know this.

 Once when I paid in a cheque the woman at the desk in the bank said ''ce n'es pas possible" but I insisted it was. She went and consulted the manager who showed her how to process it.

cheminot.

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Sorry,  to make it clear, yes of course you can pay cheques from another French bank into your account at any bank in your own region of CA, but you cannot pay cheques or money into your account at a CA in Provence if your account is with CA Calvados, you have to send these payments to your branch. There have been a number of threads on this.  Just to add to the praises of CA NMP, I managed to get a direct debit that had been in error yesterday re-credited with to my account after just a five minute meeting at the local bank.  Better than phoning Calcutta as I have to do with HSBC and getting somebody who cannot make a decision without "talking to their supervisor".[geek]
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[quote user="Ron Avery"]Sorry,  to make it clear, yes of course you can pay cheques from another French bank into your account at any bank in your own region of CA, but you cannot pay cheques or money into your account at a CA in Provence if your account is with CA Calvados, you have to send these payments to your branch. There have been a number of threads on this.  Just to add to the praises of CA NMP, I managed to get a direct debit that had been in error yesterday re-credited with to my account after just a five minute meeting at the local bank.  Better than phoning Calcutta as I have to do with HSBC and getting somebody who cannot make a decision without "talking to their supervisor".[geek][/quote]

Well all I can say to this is that I have had no trouble paying cheques/cash into my CA Normandie account from CA Charente. I have also done it from Brittany, Paris, Picardy and Nice. Only in Charente was it queried in the manner I described in my previous post.

cheminot

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Cheminot

From the previous threads on this topic, it was possible to pay in cheques but with additional charges and a time delay but quite often refused and told to post to the "home" branch.  If your cheques have been accepted and processed without delay you appear to have been lucky.[:D]

See here where other recount their experiences

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1299140/ShowPost.aspx

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Well tell me the reason for this problem then.  I went to an opthalmic specialist recently who charged me 26E for his expertise.  I paid by bank card.  The bank has deducted 50E from our account.  I have he receipt from the card showing a payment of 26E.  The bank says it is not their mistake but the mistake of the surgery.............come on.  They have told me it is not their problem and I have to take it up with the specialist.  However CPAm are also showing a payment of 26E. Who is correct ?That is one of my reasons for wanting to speak to the bank and hey would you believe it we have actually got an interview on Friday - more news at the end of the week. [8-)]
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Sorry if this seems like teaching you to suck eggs, but before you go to the bank or specialist double check that the debit of 50€ was paid to the specialist, often the name on the statement is not easily recognisable where you are paying a franchise or practice for example.  If you are sure its a mistake then this is what would have happened.

You paid by Carte Bancaire, the specialist put your card in the machine and entered the amount, he passed you the machine for your code. The amount he had keyed in was on the screen for you to check before you enter your code.  You entered your code and validated the transaction and he gave you a receipt with the amount charged.

If you have a carte vitale,  that is also entered into a machine and the amount paid is also entered and you get a receipt with the name of the specialist on it and the amount paid.  In your case the amount that you paid, 26 € should be the same on both receipts.

If the bank had debited 50€ for that transaction unless there is something really amiss it can only be the fault of the specialist in keying in the wrong amount for the CB transaction and maybe you didn't notice it.  If you have  bank and CPAM receipts both for 26€ and a debit on your statement to the specialist of 50€ then I would start with the specialist not the bank.

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Sorry to be thick, I am a bit new to this, I do not get a receipt from the CV. The only receipt I got was for 26e from the Carte Bancaire. I have never got a CV receipt only a print out from CPAM about once a month. Surely if I had agreed a payment of 26E and received a receipt for that amount that is what the bank should have deducted.  Sorry Ron I'm from the UK (well a Scot actually) je ne commprend pas
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Its hard to generalise but I pay my GP normally in cash.  He takes my CV puts it in the machine and gives me a receipt for the 22€.  If I pay by CB which is not often, it goes in another machine and I input my code, I get another receipt for the CB transaction of 22€.  So I think you should have two receipts both saying 26€.  Maybe other doctors do things differently, does anyone else pay their doctor by CB? 
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I know we digress, but this is "my thread" down this neck of the woods, you do not get a receipt when your CV is entered in the machine.  You only get a receipt when you pay a bill by CB.  As far as I understand it your CV is registered at the surgery or wherever and that way CPAM know what amount you have been charged, you are then reimbursed accordingly by them after you have paid the full amount by CB (or cash, or cheque) and received your receipt from that card/cash/cheque.  Perhaps this part of the thread should be moved to the Medical section?
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