Paying bills directly, avoiding the French banks??

[supercat]

I live in the UK, and have a flat in France.

I make payments to only three recipients - Taxes D'ab.  & Fonc. and my residence company.    Since my French bank charges me so much for the privilege, I am thinking of closing down my account, and paying direct via my money movers (xetrade.com), who transfer my funds.

Has anyone else done this?    How do they (the tax office for example) link the payment to you as the person they sent the bill to?     Do they send a receipt?     Can you check online?

Thanx!!

 

 

 

[supercat]

I'll answer my own question, incase anyone is interested.....

Yes, you can avoid the French banks, if you don't need them for anything else.  

This is what xetrade.com had to say.....

"You can indeed send funds to anyone as you mention.  Unfortunately when we make the payment to the beneficiary it will show up as being from
Custom House Currency Exchange.  However, you can include a reference in the "payment reference" section of the wire transfer of around 30
characters, which could include your tax number etc.  This would show up
with the payment received.

I would imagine that this would actually be sufficient for your
beneficiary to match the payments but I would strongly recommend that
you check with them directly to be sure before initiating the payment.

I hope this helps but if you have any further questions, please let us know."

 

[Ron Avery]

I think most people looked at your question and thought life is difficult enough without making problems for yourself, why  not keep your French account?  I did.

Before you go down the route of trying to transfer funds at cost from the UK, find out if the Tresor Public takes international transfers ...  I doubt it somehow.  What about your phone and water bills?  Seems daft to me not to keep your French bank account if you have a property in France. 

You can pay these taxes on line from the UK provided that you have a French bank account. 

Go to www.impots.gouv.fr

 

[supercat]

I'll find out if the Tresor public accepts it or not.   I don't have any other bills  - that's the point!!  and if I can save on the bank charges I will.  Also it's not "at cost", there is still the exchange rate and transfer fee.  

[Will]

If you don't need a bank card, keep enoough money in an account to ensure it does not go into the red, and make your payments by direct transfer, prélèvement (direct debit) or cheque, you should not have to pay bank charges.

Unfortunately if you already have a French account which does impose charges for things you do not need, you will probably have to pay further charges to close the account - a minimum of about 62€ for one account we have - (or even pay a service charge for keeping an 'inactive' account).

I can see nothing but difficulties in trying to use non-standard methods of payments to French utility companies or trésoreries.

[supercat]

 I am charged 130 Euros pa for a very basic account with no card.    Only payments out are:

  - Taxes D'habitation,   Taxes Fonciere   and     the Syndic  

ie  3 online transfers per annum only with no other use of the account.       

It's no hardship or anything,   I am just exploring the options.

I will also trawl the forums to find a bank that charges less than CCF or HSBC as they have just been renamed.      Will also try and get the charges down!

I'll post again if the direct payment is acceptable to the trésoreries, it doesn't hurt to ask.

  

[Will]

We have accounts with Société Générale and Credit Agricole Normand, both of which charge only for a carte bleue. I understand others such as La Poste can also be operated without charges. Note that many banks, like CA, are regionalised so different charges may apply elsewhere.

Do beware of charges for closing or not using accounts though.

[Jc]

If you are not a French resident,then open a non-resident account like the one I have;no charges,pays direct debits,gives me a cheque book.

[supercat]

That sounds good.....which bank are you with JC?   Can you bank online? - though I wouldn't want to look a gifthorse in the mouth.

[Jc]

I don't know if it has an online facility as I run mine by post,phone or personal visit.Bank is Credit Lyonnaise.

[redmike]

I have read the above with interest (no pun intended). I have a French bank account and need to get money into it several times a year. Enough to pay taxe f, taxe d'hab, insurance and utilities. I normally manage to draw enough money out of the hole in the wall, walk in the bank and deposit it into my account at a cost of £3.50 per visit. I can live with that.

However there are times when I have needed to transfer money from England for larger bills (new roof etc). In the past I have used the HSBC Priority Payment - quick, reliable but not that cheap!

Does anyone have a better way of getting money across? I have a Nationwide Flexaccount now as they do not charge for taking money out of dispensers in France. Can you transfer money from N/W Flex a/c to BNP for example? Online?

Within the next 2 years I will be resident in France so wont be a problem but for now it bugs me! 

 

 

 

 

[la bezarderie]

I find my Livret account with the Post Office is fine.  There don't appear to be any charges, it pays some interest and setting up direct debits is a piece of cake.  I can transfer money into it from with the UK without difficulty.

[Llantony]

How do you manage to get a French account with no charges?  When I posted on this, no-one knew of one. 

We have a foreigners' account as we live in the UK but visit as often as possible.  We have no debit or credit card and still pay a monthly charge.  I need the account for paying tax and also electricity, water & house insurance (how do you avoid paying these?) so when I in France I use the Nationwide debit card (no transaction charge) to take out euros from the cashpoint in our village then walk into the bank & deposit enough to cover any bills that will arise before our next trip to France.  Then I send a cheque for the bills.

I decided against a French credit card as I only need it for those '24 hour petrol stations' when they aren't staffed - they don't accept UK credit cards.  Just need to plan on long journey.

Maz

 

[mascamps.com]

You can get an account from Banque Populaire with Visa Electron card for 20€ per year.

What about La Caixa. No charges for pretty much anything if you keep 1000€ (or is it 1500€?) in the account. They even pay some interest on it. Not that many branches but if you're banking from the UK, you probably don't need them.

HSBC do free transfers from HSBC UK to HSBC France (ie CCF) if you have a Premier account with them. Unfortunately, HSBC France has one of the highest levels of bank charges around so this might not work out cheaper overall.

 

Arnold