Will Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Norman, Simpkins of the France wasn't based on you by any chance?(It's a character on the Armstrong & Miller show on the BBC as you have probably have no dealings with the English media). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="powerdesal"]Norman must be one of the few(?) immigrants to France who were totally and absolutely fluent in both written and spoken French before immigrating. Is that true Norman, were you ??????[/quote]Cant speak for Norman but I certainly was and the years since 1996 have assisted the absoluteness but then unlike you I dont consider myself an immigrant but a Citizen of the European Community that has halted his caravan for a while. The expatriate immigrants with no french and little chance of learning it can be rather amusing as they poke the gallic compost heap with a very long stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="powerdesal"]Norman must be one of the few(?) immigrants to France who were totally and absolutely fluent in both written and spoken French before immigrating. Is that true Norman, were you ??????[/quote]Cant speak for Norman but I certainly was and the years since 1996 have assisted the absoluteness but then unlike you I dont consider myself an immigrant but a Citizen of the European Community that has halted his caravan for a while. The expatriate immigrants with no french and little chance of learning it can be rather amusing as they poke the gallic compost heap with a very long stick. [/quote]Sorry, totally agree with Pachapapa and Norman (are they twins).Should never go anywhere if you do not speak the language. So wrong of the Vikings to cross the North Sea not speaking the lingo, and as for the likes of Columbus and Cook well, totally out of order. And going back even further, we should still be living in the cave that our ancestors occupied because we cannot understand the grunts of the people in the next cave.Wonderful how a serious thread has to be sunk by a few Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Surely Norman is as entitled to his opinion as anybody else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yes, unrealistic as it may be and even though a british bank thought they could make a viable business out of providing a service for people who have less than perfect French....of course Norman is free to think they are all wrong.[8-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="PaulT"][quote user="pachapapa"] [quote user="powerdesal"]Norman must be one of the few(?) immigrants to France who were totally and absolutely fluent in both written and spoken French before immigrating. Is that true Norman, were you ??????[/quote]Cant speak for Norman but I certainly was and the years since 1996 have assisted the absoluteness but then unlike you I dont consider myself an immigrant but a Citizen of the European Community that has halted his caravan for a while. The expatriate immigrants with no french and little chance of learning it can be rather amusing as they poke the gallic compost heap with a very long stick. [/quote]Sorry, totally agree with Pachapapa and Norman (are they twins).Should never go anywhere if you do not speak the language. So wrong of the Vikings to cross the North Sea not speaking the lingo, and as for the likes of Columbus and Cook well, totally out of order. And going back even further, we should still be living in the cave that our ancestors occupied because we cannot understand the grunts of the people in the next cave.Wonderful how a serious thread has to be sunk by a few [/quote]I have just googled and realise that BritLine is not a cross-channel packet company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon-the-censored Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Will said : Surely Norman is as entitled to his opinion as anybody else?No Will - he isn't, and neither is pachapapa if he's just passing through in his caravan! You get to have your say when you pay your way - simples :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Of course everybody is entitled to their opinions -whether I agree with them or not[Www]. However, is it really necessary to be so unremittingly offensive all the time? The only person affected by living here and not speaking the lingo is the individual him/herself, and if they chose to solve it by using an English speaking bank then that is their affair, nobody else's. Personally, I think I'd find life here a real pain if I couldn't communicate with the locals (although I say this from the smug, self-satisfied viewpoint of one who learnt French very young by spending my holidays with a French family) but others manage just fine without, so all power to them. I wouldn't do it but then it's none of my business what they do is it? The only thing that matters, as Simon says, is that they pay their way as they should and obey the laws of the land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Amusement is in the eye of the beholder.[:-))]Let me give an example. Each spring the northern Deux-Sèvres walking group from GetTogether organise a walk which passes through the local hamlets, many with english residents; they are deemed to be amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="powerdesal"]Norman must be one of the few(?) immigrants to France who were totally and absolutely fluent in both written and spoken French before immigrating.Is that true Norman, were you ??????[/quote]Yes.My French friends believe I was a lecturer in French, which is absurd.I presume that you all think that Barclays etc should have Polish/Urdu/Swahili etc speaking helplines?Can't ANYBODY feel the racist/xenophobic undertones, that is to say "British people in France are Expats not Immigrants and deserve a special treatment which we wouldn't counternance beck home for other peoples.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="pachapapa"] I dont consider myself an immigrant but a Citizen of the European Community [/quote]Perhaps here lies the rub - if we are EU citizens and thus with free movement can we really be described as "expat" or "immigrant". We may have been born in another country from the one we now live in, but since the countries of europe are now "united", can one have an "immigrant" or "expat" from one state of Europe to another????Discuss...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Getting back to all of the good recommendations for Britline may be perfect timing for us. I would have recommended CCSO but have had a few problems with them and one I have just found out about today.I know this last one is an error on my part but very disappointed with how it was handled. I realised the other day that the checking account was low and called the branch and had them transfer money from savings into the current account. I have just received a letter from Tax d'Habitation saying the bank refused the prevelement to them so they are charging a 10% penalty. This will amount to €130.I won't go into how much is in savings but there is more than enough to cover this and am very disappointed they did this and they didn't even tell me when I phoned to enquire and transferred funds from one account of theirs to another account of theirs.I would be interested in knowing how those of you with Britline think they would have handled this situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 An immigrant isn't born in the country, but moves there permanently by own choiceAn expat is sent temporarily by an external agency Your question seems to be about whether national boundaries are still valid.Of all countries in the EU Britain is the one who is most cut off (not in the Schengen area for example) so I would say that given the Eurosceptic attitude in the UK the one European state from which emigrants to another state can really be describe as 'immigrants' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 The Oxford English Dictionary says:Immigrant: A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign countryExpatriate : A person who lives outside their native countrySorry, Norman, but I'm inclined to believe it in preference to you who appear to have made up the definitions to suit your argument (such as it is.) The only diference is the "permanence" bit which is not necessarily applied to the expat but which is not, ipso facto, excluded either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Hopefully my post won't get overlooked by those of you that recommended Credit Agricole. Perhaps I should start a new tread? [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="WJT"] Hopefully my post won't get overlooked by those of you that recommended Credit Agricole. Perhaps I should start a new tread? [:)][/quote]Just to clarify using a convenient quote...even though a british bank thought they could make a viable business out of providing a service for people who have less than perfect French....and with green overtones....Oh! and Of Course! as I have learnt on the thread BritLine is not an ersatz Spirit of Britain.Bank with[IMG]http://www.britline.com/img/102x96_logo.gif[/IMG]ZEE BREEETIISH BANK WIZ ZEEE FRENCH TOUCH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 [quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="WJT"] Hopefully my post won't get overlooked by those of you that recommended Credit Agricole. Perhaps I should start a new tread? [:)][/quote]Just to clarify using a convenient quote...even though a british bank thought they could make a viable business out of providing a service for people who have less than perfect French....and with green overtones....Oh! and Of Course! as I have learnt on the thread BritLine is not an ersatz Spirit of Britain.Bank with[IMG]http://www.britline.com/img/102x96_logo.gif[/IMG]ZEE BREEETIISH BANK WIZ ZEEE FRENCH TOUCH.[/quote]Well after all these years using CCSO here in France it is starting to sound good.I am still very interested to know how they would have treated me in the same situation but it appears all those posters in the beginning of the thread seem to have gone so I will just have to call them myself tomorrow. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Sorry WJT, they were getting into an immigrant/ex-pat debate by the looks of it, and I got bored. I beleive I'm an ex-pat immigrant who has a fair grasp of French but who still likes to be able to discuss important details in English if necessary. It's nice to have the choice. The staff at Britline speak French as well if you really want to try and impress.The simple answer to your query as far as I'm concerned is "don't know"; I've never been in that position, but as you have already concluded it would be easiest if you speak to them yourself and pose the question. And of course the beauty is that you can ask in English without any worry about a nuance or misunderstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 WJT ..............We've been with Britline for 6 yrs and are pretty happy with them. A couple of minor problems, easily sorted, principally because it was easier to debate a banking problem in English: thus the point of the thread.As to whether they would have done the same thing in your situation, I suspect that it would be down to who happened to be 'on the case' that day. If they were dopey enough not to notice your funds in an adjoining a/c, then it could easily happen. Same in the UK, same in another bank in France, or anywhere else in the world.I think that you have a case for making a fuss: moan loudly (but politely) and they may well roll over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Worth trying but the prélèvement is a facility initiated by a bank on your authority to allow someone to debit your account. The assumption will be that having given that authority you have a duty to that someone to keep a sufficient balance to meet the debit/debits to the account; their woud be no duty of care on the part of the bank to inform you of an unsuccessful attempt to debit. The majoration penalty increasing the sum by 10 % is normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I just spoke to them and they said that they would "try" to contact me if this happened but I guess there are no guarantees that the same thing wouldn't happen with them. When I spoke to CCSO he couldn't even see that it was declined but I guess it is handled in an automatic fashion. Not a great fan of banks and bankers at the moment anyway. [:@]For those of you with Credit Agricole I didn't realise everything was done on the internet. What do you do if you want to get cash for example? That is the only thing I can think of off hand that you would need to go to your local branch for really but I am not sure if I would feel comfortable not having access to a live person locally. [8-)]Having said that what good have they done for me in this situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 [quote user="NormanH"][quote user="powerdesal"]Norman must be one of the few(?) immigrants to France who were totally and absolutely fluent in both written and spoken French before immigrating. Is that true Norman, were you ??????[/quote]Yes.I presume that you all think that Barclays etc should have Polish/Urdu/Swahili etc speaking helplines?[/quote]Firstly, Britline is not a charity, they have seen a niche in the market and set up the service and are making a profit, just as in the UK there are language services that the likes of the NHS and police use when they have 'clients' who speak no or little English.And Barclays might not have helplines in various languages but my local authority produce pamphlets in a whole host of languages. In addition, I bet bank branches in areas where there is a high number of the population who do not speak English employ people who do speak those languages.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon-the-censored Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Wow WJT - you never heard of cash dispensers ?I've banked with HSBC for 30 years - never been to a branch anywhere in the world. I've Banked with CA Britline for 12 - never been to Caen.Can't imagine why I'd want to go to a bank branch....Simon :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 [quote user="Simon-come-lately"]Wow WJT - you never heard of cash dispensers ? I've banked with HSBC for 30 years - never been to a branch anywhere in the world. I've Banked with CA Britline for 12 - never been to Caen. Can't imagine why I'd want to go to a bank branch.... Simon :-)[/quote]Simons-come-lately, cash dispensers are good if you only need up to €300 or so at a time but if you need more than this you must go inside a branch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 WJT, if you live in or near Normandy, then you can use any branch as your local. We are 6ks from the Normandy border and use a branch just 20 mins away. You might be able to pre-arrange to get large sums of cash from a sister CA company too, but I don't know as I have never had to, being close enough myself.Sorry, Sid, you are quite right - it is a silly and pointless semantic argument which I should not have joined in but the sun had gone over the yard-arm.....[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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