You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
i want to know if i can get a bank account open and a tele peage chip so i can go in the reserved lane.oh and any other tips... im going to be working in provences for 2 months guiding on the roads around vaison la romaine for a company called velo ventoux,if anyone has any info that would be sweet.
Bruce
If you have ID, an adresse, an EDF bill in your name and a sensible amount of money you'll find a bank to look after your cash. La Poste aren't too fussy about whom they take.
DerekStarship lived there for a while. I'll show him this thread at work tomorrow.
i've been here since november and haven't bothered - they're expensive to have and a hassle to set up (in the experience of my friends here). dunno about the chip for the car. if its a work car, presumably they have it set up already?
my PAYG phone nearly got disconnected last week cos they didn't have a copy of my passport. can you imagine the faff with a bank account?!
money wise i use cash and a credit card - halifax clarity had VERY good T&Cs for abroad use.
if its only 2 months, i really wouldn't bother.
My UK bank opened me an account in France and I can transfer on line between the accounts. If you open an account locally, they'll charge you (I also have a 'local' account, it costs around £8/month) and it's illegal to overdraw. Can't remember the details but if you do the penalties are quite severe.
Telepeage you can do on line (en ligne) with a UK credit card.
If you want any more detail, PM me.
it's illegal to overdraw. Can't remember the details but if you do the penalties are quite severe.
It's really not that big a deal. Our bank manager phones us up and goes, "Eh, were you planning on putting any money in this account any time soon? Oh you are? That's OK then."
Never bothered to set up the telepeage thing as you have to pay a rent for the chip (not much though).
You can generally skip the queues at the peage by using the credit card line. Everyone just seems to go to the green lines.
stevomcd - Member<snip> Our bank manager phones us up and goes, "Eh, were you planning on putting any money in this account any time soon? Oh you are? That's OK then."
It's mandatory to read that in your best René accent 🙂
I don't know what the penalties are as I dint dare overdraw 🙂
Edukator - Member
If you have ID, an adresse, an EDF bill in your name and a sensible amount of money you'll find a bank to look after your cash. La Poste aren't too fussy about whom they take.
^^This^^
I used Credit Lyonnais, though
I also bank with Credit Lyonnais and Allianz. Credit Lyonnais is highly recommended if you run a business, trade or shop online. They have the e-carte bleu system of unique virtual cards for each transaction so you can shop at Wiggle and CRC stress free.
If you have ID, an adresse, an EDF bill in your name and a sensible amount of money you'll find a bank to look after your cash. La Poste aren't too fussy about whom they take.
You can open an account with La Poste by internet, no need even to set foot in France - very quick and efficient, like most things in France (contrary to the stereotypes widely reported)
My wife lived in France for a year back in 2003, she set up an account with no fuss at all, the problem we have now is closing it.
The account is empty and has been for 5 years but they simply won't close it. We still get statements sent to the address she lived in every month reminding us we have no money . . . .
very quick and efficient, like most things in France (contrary to the stereotypes widely reported)
Dunno what part of France you know, but my experience over the last sesven years is quite the contrary. Credit Agricole have proved to be pretty poor, and the inability to provide a decent internet banking service astonishes me. Payments using RIBs and TIPs seems hopelessy old-fashioned, and I'll not even start with France Telecom, or the hopelessly slow EDF.
I love France, but it seems stuck in the dark ages, at least up in the Alps.
Worked in the Picardie region for 18 months in the early 0'tys.
It was great. Bought my TCR in Rouen.
As above, I wouldn't bother with bank accounts for just 8 weeks.
And remember, Cash is King.
As for driving around, so long as you're not traveling too far, just use the N roads. I only used Peage when I was going home or returning.
Locals don't generally use them much, so ime, traffic was "light".
Which allowed one to make good [i]progress[/i], shall we say.
😉
Enjoy !.
Credit Agricole refused to open a business account for me despite the fact I'd had a current account in credit for some time. The guy in Credit Lyonnais asked half a dozen questions about the business and said "Ben, la réponse est oui, mais pas de découvert, d'accord?".
We had a brilliant catch-22 with Credit Lyonnais.
Us: We need a business account.
CL: No problem, what's your business registration number?
Us: We can't register the business until we deposit the capital in a business account.
CL: Well, you can't have a business account until you have a registered business.
Us: But...
CL: But...
[repeat ad nauseum]
I love France, but it seems stuck in the dark ages, at least up in the Alps.
Thats why I love that area so much ! 8)
The answer to your Catch 22 is to start an SNC that you then transform into an SARL after the first year of trading, Stevomcd. The bank will be quite happy to open an account for an SNC as you are personally liable and the chamber of commerce will accept that capital deposited in an account in the name(s) of the SNC associates is the social capital of the company (add the company name as the first line of the address given). They're understandably reticent for an SARL or EURL with limited liability and find a way of refusing without actually refusing.
The dark ages with the fifth highest GDP in the world, fibre optic Internet networks, the fastest trains in the world, excellent education and health systems, and a quality of life the rest of the world envies.
I lived there for over a year and never bothered with a French account. Draw money using a UK bank card, pay with a credit card, you also could ask to be paid in cash to avoid having any wage cheques to lodge.
worked in Paris for a few month, had a monthly room at an apartotel (cheaper to bulk book) and just took lots of cash (*you can use Visa at some?? holes in wall but don't as it's *** bad rate) and a credit and debit card as I came home once/twice a month (strikes permitting)
edukator - wasn't a big deal in the end. Eventually they blinked and said they could set up a temporary business account which would be made permanent once the business was registered. I have no idea why that makes any difference, but if it made them happy, I was happy!
We weren't asking for an overdraft or anything, so no problem setting up as a SARL.
I love France, but it seems stuck in the dark ages, at least up in the Alps.
No idea about the Alps but I lived in Paris and now have a flat there and everything has been very efficient. Cable guy came exactly when he said, having confirmed the appointment day before; Internet took about 2 days to be fixed up after picking up router at France Telecom shop; EDF all done by phone and Internet - even a dedicated English speaking customer service line; etc etc etc. It's been a while since I lived in UK but I don't remember this level of efficiency.
thanks for all the info guys...really helpful,im going with cash i think
Bruce
The dark ages with the fifth highest GDP in the world, fibre optic Internet networks, the fastest trains in the world, excellent education and health systems, and a quality of life the rest of the world envies.
Which is why I specified that I was referring to the Alps, not France as a whole.
Oh, and before you do too much chest-beating, lets's also remember that France has a high unemployment rate, and a youth unemployment rate of c.25%. Not quite so rosy, eh?
I got a poste account easily, no idea if that helps!
The Alpine departements are [url= http://www.salairemoyen.com/topfrance.php ]far from poor[/url]. Alpine lower valleys being industrial and the demands of skiers and other tourists bringing high tech to the high valleys.
[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/16/unemployment-rises-to-two-and-a-half-million ]Pot kettle black[/url]. Youth unemployment is high in the UK too. The last quater I could find comparable total unemployment figures for was T1 2011 with the UK at 8% and France at 9.2%.