Chasing the Completion Date and Opening a Bank Account (March 2018)

Chasing the Completion Date

Its the 16 March. The immobilier had told us to expect to be signing the final contract (and collecting the keys) anywhere between mid-March and the end of April. Well, mid-March is here and we still don't have a date.

Its not that we are especially in a hurry to complete (though it would be nice), but we need to know the date to allow us to book leave from work and to book flights. The only date we have is a 'deadline' of 30 April - even here I'm not clear on what that deadline represents 😕

I dropped the immobilier an email this morning, and to her credit she did respond quickly - but not with a date (or even a date by which we'd have a date, but to tell me that she expects it will be in the second-half of April.

Not a lot of use really 😟


Opening a Bank Account

I've also started the process to open a bank account. As predicted in an earlier post, we have chosen to go with Britline. We had a good experience with their telephone support - it was far easier getting straightforward answers than with HSBC (even when the latter involved a visit to the local branch) and the answers we did get to our questions were more satisfactory given our needs - though they were not always accurate; I was told we didn't need an opening balance but while going through the process of opening the account I found you do need €3,000. So, do be careful to read the small print. Which brings me to my first criticism of Britline...

This bank's whole raison d'etre (you see, my French is improving) is to service British expats and yet, one of the three 'terms and conditions' type documents they ask you to read on opening an account is only available in French. And for some reason Google Translate's document translator was unable to translate it. And that document contains the statement that French will be used pre-contract and during the contract! This had me going back to the 'About Us' on their website to see if this is contradictory and, to be fair, they include this caveat:

The English speaking service provided by CA Britline does extend to English documentation where possible. However contracts/letters/documents automatically generated from the Crédit Agricole banking system will be in French. If you ever need assistance in understanding the communication, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We had intended to open a joint account but each applicant needs to provide two proofs of identification (only a copy is needed) from the following list:

• Passport
• Photocard driving licence
• carte d’identité (for French nationals)

Or

• Original certified copy of passport

This was fine for me but my wife could only supply the passport and, for now, we don't want to follow the prescribed certification route. 

I used Britline's online enquiry to see if, for now, I could open an account in my name only and then, later, add Sally. The query was submitted on the Saturday and I received the reply, saying that would be fine, on the Thursday. That's 3.5 working days; not too shabby but I was expecting better.

The account application is a 6 step process which sees you entering personal and financial details, documentary proof and arranging for the initial deposit to be made. There are a variety of options for transferring the money for the opening balance with a range of charges associated with both the sending and receiving of the funds. These range from a total of nothing to a total of your bank's fees plus €44.

We opted for the free (sending and receiving) 'Britline International Payment Transfer' and so set up the associated account and then completed our main Britline application. 

So, the application has been made and was probably as straightforward as this sort of thing can be. Now to wait and see if we're accepted.