telephone connect

mand · Post by **mand** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 10:20

Hi we have recently purchased a property in france and need advise on getting a telephone connection.

we currently still live in the UK but will move to france once we retire.
but for now would like telephone/internet access at our french property.

we were told that free provided a good service? but when we contacted them with the number that the previous owner had at the property we were told we need to go back to the previous owners provider for connection

why is this?
if we go to France telecom for reconnection are we then stuck with them?
if we are allowed to change to another provider does that mean we will also have to pay line rental to France telecom as well as to free?

free are advertising phone/broadband package for 30euros inc line rental so i was expecting to only have to pay that and not have to pay france telecom on top.
also would we be able to cancel our line rental when we are not there without incurring charges?
i am so confused.

i hope someone can advise.

thanks

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 10:34

Mand
Check for your area whether you're in the "Degroupage" or "Non-Groupage". You will need to find out this question, since it determines whether you buy a line from FT or not.

Blackduff

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 10:37

I'm not 100% sure about this but you may need to get FT to reinstate your connection. Then you can get Free to transfer the line rental to them along with the service you choose.

I doubt that connecting and reconnecting every time you are here will be a good idea. Better to opt for a cheap monthly deal. If you search the forum there have been plenty of discussions about the various telecoms packages available.

mand · Post by **mand** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 10:40

thanks for the replies.

i have no idea what degroupage etc is. the house is in Argeles Sur Mer.

how do i find out what group it is in?

thanks

john · Post by **john** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 10:53

Ask your neighbours. they will know.

In most cases,Santiago is right. As in the UK,you'll need to get the national supplier (in this case France Telecom) to reconnect your house. Only then can you get Neuf etc in

mand · Post by **mand** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 11:13

i am in the uk at the moment and therefore can't ask my neighbours and i wanted to try and sort out connection from here to be installed while i am there from the end of this month.

i know my neighbour uses free. if thats of any use. so do i still need to be conncted by France telecom?
would i be tied to them for a minimum of 12 months or could i have it installed then switch within days..

sorry to be a pain but i really need to get things set up.

thank you so much for all your replies

john · Post by **john** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 11:21

Not really an option,mand. In pretty much every case in France you'll need to do that in person and provide "pieces d'identité" to get anything like this set up,esp as a new customer. Plus,as BD says,you'll have to ask the neighbour about "groupage". So I'd say it'll have to wait till you come.

Unless anyone knows different!??

mand · Post by **mand** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 12:38

Hi

what is the differnce between Degroupage" or "Non-Groupage?

john · Post by **john** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 12:44

Im not exactly sure if there is any difference. Isn't groupage what used in the UK to be called a "party line"?

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 12:58

If it's any help/appropriate, FT have an English-speaking help line 0800364775

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 14:00

Argeles is probabily degroupage. This means that the telephone line can be provided by Free, SFR or others. FT can be included but not necessary.

Non-groupage will require that you use a FT telephone. In my case at Sorede, it's close to Argeles but I have non-groupage and must have a FT telephone.

Check this web site.
http://www.degrouptest.com/index.php?erreur=2
It might give you a bit more information.

Again, do not insist the previous owners choices. This is something very special for your needs. If Argeles is degroupage, check the specials at each supplier. Free, SFR and Bouygues. Prices vary and services change too.

In my case, I use Orange and it's fine for me. They do have some special agreements for shutdown your ADSL line for vacation periods, etc.. Orange is getting competitive now so don't use others choices. Do your own homework.

Blackduff

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 16:43

To do the above degroupage test you need a phone number - Catch 22!

However you can go to the page where you can test your nearest neighbour's phone number - provided you know it.

mand · Post by **mand** » Fri 07 Aug 2009 18:01

Hi

i have the previous owners number tested it and it came up with a few companies that can provide service but when we sent an email to free the reply came back that since the line was disconnected we need to go to the previous owners supplier ( i take it for to be reconnected) but we don't want to be tied to FR, or be paying one company for the line rental and paying free 30 euros on top

it's all so confusing.

Steve&Julie · Post by **Steve&Julie** » Sun 09 Aug 2009 21:27

Mand if its any help, we had no idea what to do either so we just went to the FT shop on that big boulevard on the way to Perpignan (you can see it from the road). We can't speak French much but she got the idea after a bit of pointing and acting in the shop (much to everyone's entertainment). like you we had a line to the house but it was disconnected. Our problem is that we have no address, just our name, Le Village Coustouges and the postcode so we took the phone book and showed her that other people just had that listed. The engineer did have to come so we asked our neighbour to let them in and left a sign on the door telling them where to knock and ask, as we had gone home by then. When I had a query I emailed them in English and someone got back to me straight away. I think we had to take a Tax Fonciere bill and a bank statement. If you can find someone where you live that can speak English and French it can be helpful to ask them to ring for you while you are there as I found getting past the electronic choices impossible when I tried.

We got Orange dial up as we are not there that often to make it worth using broadband, its a bit slow but we only use it for odd emails and the yellow pages.

I have found all things like that very hard and dread anything going wrong unless we have our French student daughter with us. Had to pay our water bill and that was a nightmare, they were asking us something we couldn't understand. I just put the money on the counter in the end and she took it so I think its paid.

Owens88 · Post by **Owens88** » Wed 12 Aug 2009 02:44

mand wrote:Hi

i have the previous owners number tested it and it came up with a few companies that can provide service but when we sent an email to free the reply came back that since the line was disconnected we need to go to the previous owners supplier ( i take it for to be reconnected) but we don't want to be tied to FR, or be paying one company for the line rental and paying free 30 euros on top

it's all so confusing.

I would be inclined to start with a FT/orange bundled offering (including stop/start) and see how you feel after a year.

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