Paying Electricity / Water / Taxes etc by CARTE BLEUE??

[rhys]

Is it possible - when acquiring a house as Re's Sec for first time, whilst based in UK, to sign up for and pay utilities bills via credit or debit card based in
the UK ?

Ie to not have to open a French bank account at all ?

When I had a Fr Tel / Orange subscription in the past this seemed unproblematic - I received a bill each month and paid over the internet with a UK debit card.

But from what I read online Water / Electricity require you to have a bank
account from which they can take direct debits.

But is this correct / the only option ?

If so what is the absolutely simplest bank account [ or would a post
office account - if such exist - suffice for these purposes ? ]

Or for that matter can they take direct debits from a UK account ?

[monsans]

I find elect. + gas bills can be paid over the internet with credit card. This is even better as they only check the meters twice a year so by paying every 2 months one does not get an enormous bill twice a year. Water bills are not available over the internet yet. But then they are not horendous anyway.

[LiveLanguedoc]

Hi Rhys,

Some of the utilities can be paid over the web but in reality, at some point or another you're really going to need a French account.

The Post Office is a really sensible solution - branches everywhere, low running costs, excellent online banking facilities and you'll get all the features of a standard bank.

Plus points for an account are that you can easily set-up standing orders and budget plans with all utilities, have payments made directly into the account (particularly good if your doing seasonal lettings and renting to a French market) and obviously you avoid expensive currency exchange fees and commission charges that your home bank may apply when using your current card to make payments here in France.

If you need any help in setting up the account or general house issues let us know, we'd be very happy to assist.

Best regards,

James

[montgolfiere]

we have a CCP with La Poste and have had good service over the years....