Hi, I have a question about last wills and testaments. I am a dual French/British citizen married to a British citizen and we have lived in the UK for almost 20 years. We own a house in the UK (as joint tenants). We want to write a will that will say to whom we want our respective share of the house to go to once we are both dead. We have no children and won't be having any. In my case, I want my share to go to my husband but I want to make sure that when he dies, if I'm already dead, my share goes to my siblings in France, who are French citizens, and not to my husband's family or new partner for example. Could someone please help me and let me know how I can make sure that his happens? Are there specific types of wills for UK people who want to leave their assets to someone in Europe? I have received very conflicting advice from some solicitors. Thank you very much in advance! Sonia G

Hi all, Back in May, I ordered some fabric from an online store (Tissens) in France which never arrived - the tracking info said there was an issue with the address being incomplete. I contacted Tissens' customer support at the beginning of June and they responded saying they would investigate and asked me to confirm my delivery address. I did this and heard nothing back for a further 6 weeks. When I chased it up, they eventually responded to say the shipment had been returned to them, and that if I wanted it shipped out again I would need to pay 14.5EUR. I asked for them to confirm the delivery address on the shipment, as I had ordered from them before with no issues and my details were all saved on an account with them. A further week went by with no response, so I checked the invoice and found it had the correct address, meaning the problem was at their end. I finally lost my patience and wrote: He responded that day saying he would speak to his manager and get back to me. A week went by, so I chased up for a response. A further week went by, so I asked for a response again. A further week went by, so I have (today) chased up again to say I need a response by COB tomorrow or I will take things further. I just want them to post me the fabric I ordered, as they are the only company worldwide who supply it. I'm not sure whether I can still reverse the transaction, but if I do I'm nervous that I will be black-listed and never be able to place another order. What can I do?

hi all... my partner lived in France for years and recently moved back to the Uk. .. since returning French authorities are demanding 6000 Euros for some supposed over-payment of low income supplement that she received while in France. She emailed them explaining that as well as not understanding why this is owed, that she is on low earnings here and could only afford to repay 20 Euros per month. They have said this is not acceptable and want more than 200 Euros per month. The other day we have received a letter demanding the full amount from "Titre Executoire" ... Are we likely to have bailifs on the doorstep next? What should we do?? Thanks in advance. we haven't received anything from any debt collection agency yet as far as i can see this letter looks from official local government from where she lived...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/3143151/france-emissions-sticker-117-fine/ Hopefully the UK are going to reciprocate this in the UK for French vehicles ?

Hi, I was living in France and had a French Mortgage for 200,000 Euros in 2009. Unfortunately I lost my job and I had to return to the UK, I paid what I could to the Bank over the next few years, but one day in 2012 the Bank informed me that the outstanding Mortgage was paid off by an insurance policy. I rented the house out to tenants after making enquiries and paying a Notaire to see if the house was actually mine, I was assured it was and assumed that I had taken a policy out at the time of purchase. Last year I agreed to sell the house to my tenant, it was then discovered that the insurance company Credit Logement had put a charge on the house in 2012 for the outstanding amount of the mortgage they paid off plus interest. I have been living in the UAE since 2010, and my tenant in my house in France since 2011. Neither of us had received any notification of any actions or judgements against me. I was totally unaware of any legal proceedings whatsoever as the papers were served to an address in the UK, I hadn't lived in since 2010. We are in a stalemate situation at the moment with the Insurance Company threatening to re-possess the house since May 2016 but have they have not made any moves to do so. The Paris High Court served a Judgement against me in March 2012 with the insurance Company putting a charge on the Property's Title in August 2012. Does anyone know if these outstanding debts have a Statute of Limitations? Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Badhorsey

READ MORE HERE: http://news.sky.com/story/attack-in-nice-73-dead-as-truck-hits-crowd-10502068 My heart and Condolences go out to the families of all those innocent lives lost.

Hello, It is the first time I use this forum, and I really need your advice. I am going to try to make it short, but it is not going to be easy... My husband and I are French and lived in England for six years (July 1996 to August 2002). We left UK at the beginning of August 2002 to move back to France because of unplanned family reasons, but with outstanding unsecured debts in the UK. Before moving, we wrote to our creditors in the UK to let them know we were moving to France, our moving date and our temporary address in France where they could contact us. Unfortunately, in 2006, we had to file for bankruptcy in France (because of financial difficulties in France) and we included our UK debts (all unsecured). Our file went back and forth between the french Administrative Board and/or the Court for several reasons: - our family situation changed several times (we broke up, then we went back together), - then we challenged the measures decided by the french Administrative Board regarding our ressources, our expenses, the amount they wanted us to pay every month. The UK creditors were all contacted by the French Administrative Board to declare their claims during the whole bankruptcy filing procedure, but none of them replied. However, we received the usual threatening letters from FRANCE CREANCES (from January 2004, a DCA in France) who acted in the name of LINK FINANCIAL LTD (a DCA in the UK) who bought an old BARCLAYCARD debt back in 2002. As we acted in good faith, we contacted them in 2006 to inform them of our financial situation, and that we had filed for bankruptcy in France. Eventually, we started paying our debts from January 2012 up to February 2013 (including FRANCE CREANCES'), but had to file for bankruptcy again in March 2013 as we had contracted more french debts (one is around 20000 Euros. My sweet husband, always willing to help others, had the good idea to sign a deed of personal surety for somebody who was looking for a flat to rent. This deed is requested by a vast majority of landlords in France to secure the renting of their property. The person didn't pay her rent for months. As a result, because of the signed deed, we will have to pay the outstanding rent arrears in place of the person who didn't pay the rent. In France, this kind of deed allows the creditor to contact directly the deed signer without even contacting the person who is faulty... It goes without saying that this additional debt has increased our financial difficulties...) Our file has been back and forth again between the french Administrative Board and/or Court for 3 years because we have been challenging the measures decided by the french Administrative Board and/or the Court decisions, so as to make the payment plan viable for us. What is thepoint in signing a plan which we know we won't be able to respect. We want to be able to pay our debts and live (or should I say survive...). In June 2014, we challenged the detailed statement of our debts, including the UK ones. We went to Court on July 1st, 2014. Regarding FRANCE CREANCES/LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED, we asked the Court to contact them to provide us with the proof that they bought our debt from LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED, and that LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED bought the debt from BARCLAYCARD. We cited as well sections 77 and 78 from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 so as we could be provided with a copy of the executed agreements signed by my husband and I (as we both had a Barclaycard), and of any other documents referred to in it. So far, the requested documents still haven't be provided. As far as the other creditors were concerned, we cited section 9 of Limitation Act 1980 regarding the 6 years' limitation to recover their debts that had been clearly missed. As a result, from the evidence we provided ourselves, the french Court, on the 1st of August 2014, ruled out our UK debts of the payment plan since, during the whole procedure (and after the Court hearing of July 1st, 2014), all of our UK creditors had been contacted by the french Administrative Board and/or the Court to declare their claims, but none had replied. In November 2014, we challenged AGAIN the measures decided by the french Administrative Board regarding our ressources, our expenses, the amount they wanted us to pay every month. They contacted again all our creditors, including the ones in the UK, for declaration of the claims. None of them replied apart from FRANCE CREANCES mentioned above, who tranmitted the french Administrative Board and/or the Court the amount of the outstanding debt (for which we started paying in January 2012, but stopped paying in February 2013). We have an Appeal court hearing in June 2016 for which we hired a solicitor. According to her, UK law prevails over France law in our case. As far as I am concerned, I have some questions regarding FRANCE CREANCE/LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED and the other creditors: - according to you, due to the fact that we took on debts in the UK while we were UK residents, that we are French citizens and now live in France, which law should be taken into account for the Appeal procedure: English our French law? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: prior to moving back to France, we contacted our creditors in good faith (see above). Is it considered as a relevant ackowledgement of debt according to the UK law and section 9 of Limitation Act 1980? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: in 2006, when we filed for bancruptcy in France (including our UK debts), is it considered as a relevant acknowledgement of debt according to the UK law and section 9 of Limitation Act 1980? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: does the UK Law take into account the filing of bankruptcy abroad and the inclusion of UK debts? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: is the fact that no UK creditors replied/declared claims when contacted by the french Administrative Board and/or Court during the whole bankruptcy filing procedure (starting from 2006 up until now, apart from FRANCE CREANCES/LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED) relevant to sections 77 and 78 from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for the transmission of a copy of the executed agreements signed by my husband and I, and of any other documents referred to in it, and to section 9 of Limitation Act 1980 regarding the 6 years' limitation to recover their debts, as no relevant claim has ever been declared? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: as far as FRANCE CREANCES/LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED, does the fact that we started paying them in 2012 (10 years after leaving the UK, 6 years after including them in our Bankruptcy file in France) play against us regarding section 9 of Limitation Act 1980 and the 6 years' limitation to recover their debts? By the way, I have asked them to provide me with a copy of their declaration of claim to the french Administrative Board. From their email I have just received, they can't find the declaration, or don't want to provide me with it. I have asked the french Administrative Board as well. In case of the prevailing of UK law, if no declaration of claim from FRANCE CREANCES/LINK FINANCIAL LIMITED can be provided to either the french Administrative Board and/or the Court, can either sections 77 and 78 from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 or section 9 of Limitation Act 1980 regarding the 6 years' limitation to recover debts be cited in the forthcoming Appeal procedure? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: does it matter if the french Administrative Board and/or Court contacted in our names the creditors for a declaration of claims or a copy of the executed agreements signed by my husband and I and of any other documents referred to in it? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: is Section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980 the only section dealing with time limit regarding the recovery of sums by statute? - in case of the prevailing of UK law: are there other acts dealing with time limit regarding the recovery of sums? I know there are many questions, it is a long read, and I am sorry. I hope I am clear enough. If you need more info, I will be pleased to try to answer your questions. I really need some answers because all this stresses me too much. The end of the Bankruptcy procedure is near, and I really need to have some answers, some advice before starting to pay again, because the procedure won't go any further... Thank you ever so much in anticipation for your help !!!

READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-france-launch-rapid-deployment-exercise

If you are planning on driving in France, beware - one could be heading straight for you at the next roundabout. Carolyn Brown, who lives part of the year in Brittany, has a cautionary tale about a very small car. Losing one's driving licence in the UK is a serious matter - expensive and, to say the least, very inconvenient. But in France, no licence? No problem. You can simply go shopping for a VSP a voiture sans permis - a small two-seater car that anyone aged 14 or over can take out on the road with as little as four hours' experience behind the wheel, sometimes not even that. It's impossible to say how many there are as no official figures exist. It is what the French call a chiffre noir - an unknown quantity. You'll probably hear them coming first, a high-pitched whine like a sewing machine being run at full throttle. If you get stuck behind one on a windy rural lane, tant pis. Top speed is 45km per hour (28mph). It's probably a good idea to stop in the next lay-by and admire the view for a while rather than sit fuming in its wake. Link

Hello New to this site and I am looking to get help regarding a MBNA Credit Card Debt. I owe about £20,000 on a MBNA card in the UK and recently have run into financial difficulties here in France. The card is registered to me at my French address although was first applied for whilst in the UK. I have just paid the latest min payment but I fear this will be the last I can manage. I called them today to explain my difficulties. They took details of my current income and expenditure which highlighted why I could no longer pay. They said they would freeze the interest but if no payments were made after 6 or 7 months then they would sell the debt. My main concerns are what happens after that. Who will pick up the debt and what can they do? I rent in France and own no property anywhere. My income is lower than my current essential expenditure. Will eventually someone march into my rented property and take what things I have left? Can my van and tools that I use to make a self employed living be taken? I have no hidden assets or wealth. Through ill health my business suffered and the debt went up. I've written to the tax people here in France who have agreed I can pay my owed taxes over the next 2 years which is difficult enough along with the rent, rates, cost of raising children etc etc. My business is currently improving so I hope to at least be breaking even regarding my essential costs but I fear I will never be in the situation to service or pay back the UK debt. I have no other UK or French Debt and it is the first time I've found myself in this situation. All very worrying. Thanks

I was looking for advice for a friend who worked in france and rented, when coming back they cleared all outstanding rent ect, now are being chased for debt since returning. I dont think they did run this debt up and feel that they are being taken advantage of as a foreigner. Are they liable for these debts?

Is it true that translation is needed as with translation the stamp of certification by the french insurer is not included, which is required for authenticity. Does anyone know the method of transference procedure or had this experience?

Hello, I have been a member of this group for several years but change of pc's, email addresses and loss of passwords has forced me to re join. So a question on the very first post...I apologise ! I have lived in France for the past 10 years now need to return to England for personal reasons. I want to check my credit score but need to provide an English address to do so which I don't have. I know I have a Barclaycard account in arrears but have not received a statement from them since September 2007 but have continued to pay a small amount each month. Because I can't access my credit rating can others eg. letting agency ? Thank you in advance.

Dear All, my situation is that back in 2011 I went back to Singapore in a rush that I couldn't close my account at HSBC France I was using during my studies and a debt of about 800euros and more is due now I dont even know exactely how much. Now I will be studying in the UK I want to open an account at HSBC UK in London. When I will open a bank account at HSBC UK will they know I have an account at HSBC France and will they know that I have a debt ? If they know that I have a debt at HSBC France will they collect it from my HSBC UK bank account ? will it be automatic or can I fix a date chosen by me to pay it back ? If HSBC France will collect the money from HSBC UK do you recommend to open at other banks in the UK then ? Thanks a lot.

Hi, I am trying to find the legal name for Air France in the UK and their service address for a claim form. Anybody have any clue? Thanks!

The French have torpedoed a ‘war games’ which took a year to set up. The Royal Marines have been forced to cancel their biggest amphibious landing for more than a decade after their so called French allies pulled out. The Navy had spent £1 million in fuel getting to the Red Sea when the operation was called off-and it cost another £1 million to reach the Gulf of Oman, where a new exercise was hastily arranged for the Marines. More than 1,500 commandos had been in training to storm the shoreline of Djibouti-with 500 French ‘Troupes de Marine to back them up. Navy sources said the decision to cancel was taken by the French after a breakdown in relations over administration issues’. The Royal Marines are said to have responded furiously. ‘There was no point us conducting the exercise on their own after the French pulled out. The whole point of Djibouti Lion was to test how we can operate together, (And we are told that we can rely on our so called ‘European partners’ if a situation was to arise). 'So much entente cordiale!’

We all know a bathroom shower is slippery but this hotel, a new one in france has no grab handles anywhere near the shower, just a plastic or glass divider and a grey bathroom floor that is so smooth that with a small drop of water makes it worse than ice as you step down from the shower base. I have very server bruising on hip and day later left arm cannot be used What are my rights? I have photos of bathroom and injured hip I reported incident to reception and got the email address of manager. I have checked out as I can at least walk

Hi everyone sorry for this but i am new to this, I lived in Oz for a couple of years and now live inbetween France and UK,i seprated from my wife in Oz and returned to the Uk so did my ex and i have a dept of $30000 which Credit corp has sent me a email demanding payment, The 2 cards were in my name so the dept is mine,i ran out of work so had to return. I have recieved a couple of emails stating that if i dont sort it out they will pass the it to a overseas agent, what can i do? and most important what can they do. I have assets in Europe which i had before i left uk. i returned back last year so the last payment was a year ago. great site. Thanks

Hi All, We broke-down in France last week and have been flown home by the AA. We then got a call to say it was the clutch and it would cost 800 Euro's. I've checked and it seems this is a lot of money and in the UK for example it would only cost about £300. It does appear it would cost more in france but still not as much as the quote. Do I have any rights to dispute this amount? Thanks

I studied abroad in France in 2011 and had opened a bank account to attend school. I never closed it before I returned to Canada and right now I think it is around - 500 euros. The bank (LCL) has sent letters to my house in Canada notifying me of this debt. I have not received anything however in a year. Does this small debt have any chance of catching up to me here in canada?? Also if I ever returned to France I am going to assume that I will not be able to open another bank account, even with another bank company? I am very clueless on how this works in France and would appreciate any help!! Thanks!!

Hello again Caggers.. it's been a while. Recent developments over a NatWest debt, they seem to have employed a French debt collection agency, who have phoned us once, written to us once and now passed it to a Hussier de Justice. I have seen no other evidence that a European Payment order has been applied but I do not know how to proceed because I am ignorant of the law or collection procedures in this country. Are the debt collectors trying this on or do I really need to get worried?

Finally, we have come to this! Work for me in france.... both legal and otherwise is drying up fast. Now I have to make a decision whether to pay my french living expenses as priority (which is difficult enough now), or to continue to get paid where possible in UK to service my credit card accounts. Struggling to get my french bank back into credit before 30 days, (a legal requirement), following paying a large bill, I have had to divert all funds away from my UK credit cards for the first time ever. I failed to make the £200 minimum payment on 24th Oct (MBNA balance: £8000).... and now have received an e-mail asking for immediate payment of £415 (2 months) or for me to contact with my explanation for the non-payment. HSBC are also phoning, I am guessing about the late payment of that card (28th Oct £160 late payment on balance of £6500) I'm just a little scared and wondering what to do! I am 62 and have lived in france since 1999. HELP!

Hello, I'm really hoping one of the very helpful people on this forum can point me in the right direction as I really don't know what to do next. Sorry if I've made this story too long. I live in France but have UK credit card debt (MBNA approx. 18K and RBOS approx. 5K) that I was paying off until I became unable to manage it after a drop in income at the beginning of last year and then becoming unemployed in May. I spoke to the helpful NationalDebtline people in Scotland and followed their advice to write to MBNA and RBOS explaining my situation with a copy of a personal budget sheet that showed my monthly income was less than outgoing, and asked they accept an offer of nil payment and stop charges until I could turn the situation around/review the situation in 6 months. MBNA acknowledged the financial hardship but told me on the telephone that I would likely continue to receive standard letters. I'm sure RBOS wrote to me to say the same, but despite digging through all the paperwork I can't find that letter just now though I received letters on their behalf right away from Triton that I assumed had crossed in the post while I was corresponding with RBOS. Things went quiet except for the odd standard letter. I tried (and keep trying without success) to turn the situation around so I can get back on to paying off the debt. MBNA now seems to have passed the file onto Arrow and then AIC in Glasgow. RBOS seems to have given it to Triton and now AIC in Glasgow. I'm assuming AIC are the ones to deal with now. I received an email and then answered a call from an AIC guy on Thursday. I again explained the terrible situation I find myself in. During the call he wasn't abusive or anything, he just kind of wanted the facts. I asked if AIC had been passed the account because I was confused who to deal with and he said yes. In the end he said their client (MBNA) would settle for £9388. I told him that would be near impossible - I can't afford to eat (and that's the truth) and can't afford to pay the rent at end of this month so will need to try to get out of the lease and leave (with nowhere to go yet - and an overdue french tax bill). I asked about the situation with RBOS and he said it was a different team but would speak to them. Trying to end the call, I said I would try to ask family for help but I know they are not in a position to do that. He said he would hold any further proceedings for 48h until I had a chance to raise money. He then said he would send me an email, asking me to confirm an email address he found for me on the internet. (By the way, the unemployment office is now helping me with a back to work/create work programme for which I set up a website hoping for freelance work - he found that site after googling my name. The website records shows someone from AIC visited and bounced around a few pages before he emailed/called me. He questioned me about that business and I explained it's not a business, it's trying to create work. But it unnerved me knowing he'd been googling me. I'm now even more nervous posting my problems to this forum in case they're reading it) He then sent me an email to say they would accept final settle of £9388 for MBNA and £4078 for RBOS. I think I should have just said I didn't want to talk on telephone but I needed to start talking with someone and start working out my predicament. £14000 is impossible to raise just now. I don't have any assets of value to sell. I'm very worried they are going to send French debt collectors after me or court in France. I'm pretty confused and scared and never been in a situation like this. I've read about people asking for a CCA. Should I do this? Should I get back to the guy at AIC to say I can't raise the money? Should I respond to his email saying please only send me correspondence in the post as my emails can be read by others. I'm so confused just now I'm not even sure which questions I should be asking you. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks so much in advance (apologies is this is posted twice - the first time I got a message saying I wasn't logged in. Maybe I was timed out while writing)

I am having a nightmare with the DVLA. We have a Sprinter motor caravan whch we brought with us to France on UK plates and kept it taxed and insured in England until such time as it had passed its French safety checks etc, when we re-registered it here. The officious woman at the French Prefecture insisted on keeping all of the V5 and would not let me take the export slip to send off to the DVLA. I somewhat rashly assumed therefore that the French vehicle authorities would communicate the change of registration to the UK. Que je suis idiote! There was only just over a month's tax left to run so I did not bother to send it back to the UK for a refund, as I reckoned by the time it got there I would not have been eligible for anything back anyway. In due course the DVLA sent me a tax disc reminder by post (forwarded on from the UK) and I immediately used the DVLA's online messaging system to tell them that the vehicle had been exported. I have copies of my original text and their acknowledgment. However, today I received a letter saying I was to be fined, and threatening to prosecute me for non-declaration of SORN! We have been trying for most of the morning to phone the DVLA but they have put up an effective Chinese wall between them and the public and we cannot get hold of anyone who will deal with this. Some of the numbers you can find on the site (if you look really really hard) are just recorded messages and others don't work at all. Some are just fine collection clerks who say "you'll have to write in". I am going to send off photocopies to Swansea of the old V5 (which I made before I gave it to the Prefecture) and of the new Carte Grise. I have emailed the MP in my old constituency to ask if she can help. Is there anything else I can or should do? Hell, why should I have to do anything?