TIP ?

[ljmc]

Can any of you generous souls out there help me ????

I have just received my third electricity bill.Having paid the last two by cheque I now think I am on TIP , but what is it ?

With my last cheque I sent (on the advice of my bank in France) an RIB and also signed and dated the bottom of the last bill.When this bill has arrived it is showing all my bank details on the bottom.Does this mean they will take it out of my account automatically (I thought this was called a Prevelment) or do I have to sign it and send it back through the post,or do I just ignore it (as such) as it will be dealt with.

Was going to contact Electricty company direct but thought I'd try here first as I've had good feedback in the past.

Hope someone out there can put me out of my misery !!!  

[Tourangelle]

That's right, you sign it, date it and send it back. It is not automatic. It works as if you wrote a cheque but saves you actually writing it out. TIP is titre interbancaire de paiement. I pay all my bills this way.

I hope this helps.

[ljmc]

Merci beaucoup Touranqelle. That's a great help. I knew the forum would come good yet again !!!!!    

[Will]

Just in case anybody is confused, in rather simplified terms, prélèvement is like direct debit in Britain, where the money shown on the bill will automatically be taken out of your account unless you query it, i.e. if all looks in order you need do nothing, while with the TIP system, as Tourangelle says, you have to actually agree to the debit by signing and returning the counterfoil before the money is taken out.

Prélèvement is easier, but TIP is potentially safer.

[Punch]

It also may be worth mentioning that sometimes French companies send out TIP forms without your bank details filled in. In this case they require you to send in a RIB (Relève Identitié Bancaire) which has all your relevant bank details, and you should usually find at least one of these in your French cheque book; They can also be downloaded and printed out from most online banking services.

So before dating, signing and sending back a TIP, make sure the bank details are there in the first place and that they are correct, to avoid any delays or mistakes in you payment.

Paul