Hi Tim… you should not have any problems if (heaven forbid) you have an accident. If your Insurers are happy… although this is something I would question myself… but I do not know your personal situation.
True, the first conclusion will be… “ah well, British, obviously driving on the wrong side” or something like that… but the true facts of the matter are what will count.
Personally, with the wheel on the RHS I am convinced it is easier for the driver to stay on the correct side (beside the ditch) When I am fit enough to drive… that is how I do it… and quite prepared to go IN the ditch should the need arise… (the car is, of course, registered here in France)
John, I have been sweeping my own chimneys since we got married back in 1973 and have never used a professional sweep and not once have we had a chimney fire, We used to own a large Victorian mansion with 26 working fireplaces and at times we would have at least 10 in use at a time depending on how many guests that we had in at the time.
When we lived in a mining village in north Warwickshire back in the seventies a lot of people use to burn the soot out of their chimneys by shoving newspaper up the chimney and setting fire to it, you had to do this every two weeks I was told by the people that did it, I never had the nerve to try it.
Now Gas or oil fired heating system’s cleaning is another thing and we always have these serviced by experts every year.
To me it’s a grey area Stella, I have read numerous articles that state it’s French law that as a permanent resident here the vehicle has to be French registered so I’d rather not test the theory that UK reg’d vehicles are perfectly legal, again personal choice.
Tim… why not get the vehicle registered here then ? If you are resident and the car is “resident” too… then as far as I know it should be registered in France… what does your Insurer give as the reason for the acceptance of the situation?? what “looophole” are they using ??
Sorry to turn the topic to Car Insurance… but…this is the gist…
If a car is involved in an accident…injuring someone… and the car is NOT insured (or deemed not to be, for whatever reason)… the guilty driver will be pursued by the Insurers to recover the amounts paid out to third parties… and the debt goes on down through the generations. Sobering thought…
Companies like Saga (for over 50’s) have an unlimited time abroad clause in their policies. It does work and pay out if needed. Still need to have a valid uk MoT though. And address! And not legal for French residents!
Sorry, off topic and opened that old can of worms again!
Surely the point is, that in the event of a fire the insurance company will try to establish the cause. If the investigators believe the fire to have been caused by a poorly maintained chimney they could well refuse to pay out. Without a sweep’s certificate that would leave you with nowhere else to turn. With a sweep’s certificate, you can then try to claim off his insurance.
If you don’t mind sweeping your own chimney and you’re confident that not only is it well swept but you would also spot any problems with the installation, then the above situation won’t arise so what’s to worry about. Personally I have no knowledge of chimneys, I could probably get the muck down (as my dad used to say) but I wouldn’t spot a serious fault if it was staring me in the face. So I prefer to shove the responsibility onto the sweep, to me it’s worth 120€ a year for peace of mind.
Re Tim’s van, yes there are a couple of insurance companies in Dordogneshire and maybe elsewhere that famously provide year round cover to Brit vehicles. But just because it’s possible to do something, doesn’t make it legal. insurance companies don’t make the law, they sell insurance. French law says very clearly that French resident must register their vehicles in France; British law says that if the vehicle is taken permanently outside the UK it must be exported. So his van will still be illegal as per French and UK law, but the insurance company don’t care because he’s the one breaking the law not them, all they’re doing is pocketing the premium.
I think you may have misunderstood as I have re-registered the van because IMO it’s the right thing to do and I believe I’m complying with the law, however my insurance company (whom I’ve been with for 12 years) didn’t see a problem with issuing me a certificate for the whole year despite knowing it’s UK registered.
Yes Tim but what has the insurance agent’s policy got to do with the price of eggs? The reason that one needs to re register one’s vehicles is that French legislation says you do. It has absolutely nothing to do with your insurance agent.
It’s exactly the same as saying, my insurance agent says he will still insure my 10-year old car even if I don’t get a CT/MOT. Fine, so you have insurance. But without a CT/MOT you’re still not legal.
I’m chilled, what else can you be when there’s a foot of snow outside
I was just picking up on
you seemed to be in some doubt and thinking it was just your opinion, so was just backing you up and adding that in my opinion it is not a matter of opinion!
It’s difficult not to be in some doubt when you see UK reg’d vehicles everyday with French insurance stickers on the windscreen but often no CT sticker.
I can see exactly where Anna is coming from. In an earlier post you implied that it may be legal for a French resident to run a U.K. registered vehicle in France. A 10 second investment of your time and a Google search will get you to the gouv.fr site that states clearly that you have one month.
Re chimney sweeping, yes I do. Every summer the local firm that I use phones me to arrange an appointment. I do it for the same reason I’m having new brake pads fitted to my car before its next CT. In neither case am I doing what I’m doing just to get a certificate, my primary reason is safety. I want my poele to run efficiently and safely and I want my car to stop properly when required. Safely first as they say. I know there are plenty of people who are happy to put economy before safety but I’m not one of them.
Whilst it may be the law there are many insurance companies who are happy to encourage their loyal customers to flout it and there seems to be a total lack of interest from the authorities to uphold it. The CT rule that using beam deflectors is allowed would lead many Brits to believe they’re doing nothing wrong.
Actually Tim… I discussed this very theme with the local Gendarme big-wig at the New Year bash…
Seems there are too few Gendarmes to check every UK car…and see why it is still on UK plates (at the moment)… but they are gradually catching up with offenders through spot-checks etc.
I confess once a year would be rather much for us - we’ve only lit the fire a dozen times in the three years we’ve had the property so getting it done every year seems excessive.
I believe if you never use the fireplace then you don’t need to have the chimney swept - but there really ought to be a “light users” scheme as well
Hi Phil… even if the chimney is rarely used (in fact, especially if the chimney is rarely used)… birds/bees etc etc… all sorts can end up in the chimney…with who knows what results…
It might be inadvisable to light a fire (however rarely) in any chimney which had not been thoroughly checked within the time-scale noted at the Mairie.
If the chimney is officially/thoroughly sealed-up, of course there is no need to sweep.
When I am fit enough to drive… that is how I do it… and quite prepared to go IN the ditch should the need arise… 
(the car is, of course, registered here in France)
) moved onto Insurance of cars… and the ins and outs…
