Telephone, internet and banking questions

[coloma gold]

I have three questions:

[1) What internet service seems to be the best/cheapest (in your opinion) in
southern France?

2) What mobile phone service seems to be the best/cheapest in consideration of calls in Europe and to/from USA?

3) Do French banks accept written checks (for deposit) from US banks? If so, how long do they take to process and how much do they normally charge for processing (assuming there is a charge)?

Thanks, Coloma

[French Connection]

Originally Posted by coloma gold

I have three questions:

[1) What internet service seems to be the best/cheapest (in your opinion) in
southern France?

2) What mobile phone service seems to be the best/cheapest in consideration of calls in Europe and to/from USA?

Thanks, Coloma

1/ Freebox. Cost = 29.99euros per month and it includes Internet, TV & Telephone (incl free national & international calls to heaps of countries). There's more info here: Freebox, la meilleure offre ADSL: Internet, Téléphone, Télévision.

2/ If you had Freebox, this wouldn't be an issue!

Sorry I can't help with question 3 but I'm sure other people will be along to help you out on that one.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by coloma gold

[1) What internet service seems to be the best/cheapest (in your opinion) in
southern France?

It depends on precisely where you are. Some areas have "dégroupé" service, some don't. "Dégroupé" gives you options that non-dégroupé doesn't (like getting telephone service as part of your "internet" service without having to have a France Telecom line).

One caveat, though - if your dégroupé line goes out for any reason, you have no Internet, no telephone and no television service. One argument for having at least one back-up service (television by satellite or a regular phone line, for example).

2) What mobile phone service seems to be the best/cheapest in consideration of calls in Europe and to/from USA?

Most mobile phone services now offer some form of "forfait" service that covers unlimited calls within Europe or with the US. It depends, too, on coverage - there are still pockets with no or limited (i.e. not all providers) mobile service. Depends on where you are living and where you are likely to be when making your calls.

3) Do French banks accept written checks (for deposit) from US banks? If so, how long do they take to process and how much do they normally charge for processing (assuming there is a charge)?

Yes, but clearing a US check is expensive. Last I knew it ran 20 - 25€ per check at a minimum. Much more efficient to accumulate your funds in a US account and transfer over a large sum via wire transfer when necessary.
Cheers,
Bev

[Coton90]

Originally Posted by coloma gold

I have three questions:

[1) What internet service seems to be the best/cheapest (in your opinion) in
southern France?

2) What mobile phone service seems to be the best/cheapest in consideration of calls in Europe and to/from USA?

3) Do French banks accept written checks (for deposit) from US banks? If so, how long do they take to process and how much do they normally charge for processing (assuming there is a charge)?

Thanks, Coloma

I don't recommend Orange;poor customer service, extremely difficult to contact, unreliable information provided, unacceptable waiting times, and false advertising. Their advertised "high speed" internet service isn't high speed if you live too far from the source. Avoid them if you can.

[French Connection]

Originally Posted by Coton90

I don't recommend Orange;poor customer service, extremely difficult to contact, unreliable information provided, unacceptable waiting times, and false advertising. Their advertised "high speed" internet service isn't high speed if you live too far from the source. Avoid them if you can.

I'd second that!

[contentedscot]

Apparently in the most recent customer satisfaction survey Bouygues and Darty come out top of the list.

ITRmobiles : L'actualité de la mobilité

[coloma gold]

Thanks Bev, especially on question #3. However, it appears I am hitting a snag regarding wire transfers. It appears the banks will not do monthly transfers regularly (as a routine). They will do wire transfers however, you must request them "in person"...Makes it difficult from France. The alternative is to take out cash withdrawals (will cost about $20 per $2000) but I have to check to see how much the French banks will charge on the receiving end... I am trying to check on some other alternatives. I would like to get only one transfer per month in order to avoid costs... Coloma

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

It depends on precisely where you are. Some areas have "dégroupé" service, some don't. "Dégroupé" gives you options that non-dégroupé doesn't (like getting telephone service as part of your "internet" service without having to have a France Telecom line).

One caveat, though - if your dégroupé line goes out for any reason, you have no Internet, no telephone and no television service. One argument for having at least one back-up service (television by satellite or a regular phone line, for example).



Most mobile phone services now offer some form of "forfait" service that covers unlimited calls within Europe or with the US. It depends, too, on coverage - there are still pockets with no or limited (i.e. not all providers) mobile service. Depends on where you are living and where you are likely to be when making your calls.



Yes, but clearing a US check is expensive. Last I knew it ran 20 - 25€ per check at a minimum. Much more efficient to accumulate your funds in a US account and transfer over a large sum via wire transfer when necessary.
Cheers,
Bev

[Coton90]

Originally Posted by coloma gold

Thanks Bev, especially on question #3. However, it appears I am hitting a snag regarding wire transfers. It appears the banks will not do monthly transfers regularly (as a routine). They will do wire transfers however, you must request them "in person"...Makes it difficult from France. The alternative is to take out cash withdrawals (will cost about $20 per $2000) but I have to check to see how much the French banks will charge on the receiving end... I am trying to check on some other alternatives. I would like to get only one transfer per month in order to avoid costs... Coloma

I was in a similar situation with the "in person" question. I went to my credit union and asked them since it wasn't practical for me to do an in person transfer, how could I transfer funds?

We agreed on a system whereby I use their secure message board and use a password to transfer funds. Haven't had any problems with this procedure. I periodically ask them to transfer funds to another state side credit union. This way I have greater flexibility in withdrawing funds from ATMs due to the caps on daily withdrawals.

If your bank doesn't want to use this procedure I recommend you find another one that will.

I find the least expensive way to get your money is using the ATM. If you do a wire transfer, you can expect to pay a hefty fee to the French bank. There will be those occasional instances for major purchases where a wire transfer may be unavoidable.

As far as health insurance, I retained my private plan when I retired from the Government as they have affordable rates and I want my family to be covered in the event of a catastrophic illness. They're pretty good about processing claims in a timely manner.

Cheers

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by coloma gold

Thanks Bev, especially on question #3. However, it appears I am hitting a snag regarding wire transfers. It appears the banks will not do monthly transfers regularly (as a routine). They will do wire transfers however, you must request them "in person"...Makes it difficult from France. The alternative is to take out cash withdrawals (will cost about $20 per $2000) but I have to check to see how much the French banks will charge on the receiving end... I am trying to check on some other alternatives. I would like to get only one transfer per month in order to avoid costs... Coloma

Check out Everbank - they will give you a checking account in US$ on which they pay interest, they offer a currency account (Euros if you wish) and transfers between the two are free. Outgoing Euro transfers are also free an dtheir exchange rates are good. Pick a bank in France that charges the lowest for incoming transfers - zero being the lowest acceptable (to me). As an ex-banker I have a huge problem with banks charging me fees for looking after and making a profit on my money. All US banks I deal with pay interest on all accounts.

Cheers

David

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by rynd2it

Pick a bank in France that charges the lowest for incoming transfers - zero being the lowest acceptable (to me). As an ex-banker I have a huge problem with banks charging me fees for looking after and making a profit on my money. All US banks I deal with pay interest on all accounts.

If and when you find a French bank that doesn't charge for receiving a wire transfer, please let the rest of us know about it. The French banking system is considerably different from the US one and it takes a while to get used to all the charges. (Including a monthly charge for having Internet access to your own account information.)

I've found Banque Populaire to be pretty reasonable about most things. It's actually a sort of mutual bank in the old fashioned sense of that term - when you open an account you actually buy a share in the bank and get invited to the annual meetings and all. But as with all banking in France, you have to see how your local branch is - to a large extent, each branch makes its own rules for some things.
Cheers,
Bev