Red Pennant and Sanef autoroute in France
Comments
-
... why would we need a credit card?
in case you broke down on a French motorway
Life throws all sorts of things at us, I have access to £thousands if I wanted to
via a couple of credit cards in my wallet. you could leave your money in your intrest arcruing accounts all month & pay your card(s) off at the end of the month. Credit cards offer you the protection of the card issuer if some things go t**s up!0 -
I'm not really sure what you have a problem with. Plenty of insurances will expect you to pay for the goods/services & then be reimbursed later .... I' think in some cases I'd prefer that eg if you were replacing a hosehold item would you expect your insurance
to pay the supplier direct?And surely all insurance is paid for up front
Please read my email properly before commenting. The issue is not the payment, but the fact that we were never informed upfront about this abnormality with Sanef autoroute. Hazel is doing her best to resolve the issue, but I feel that members should be
made aware of this issue.I DID! And I think it's unreasonable to not have to pay up front for some services, especially when it's out of RP's hands.
0 -
... Thanks. Hopefuly we have sufficient savings to cover most eventualities without resorting to a credit card, but it means transferring the money into a current account for "just in case". ...
Set the credit card to be paid up in full in month then you don't need to transfer any money anywhere.
0 -
We had to use RP two years ago and their service was excellent ( apart from our having to pay the £100 excess when we got home as our car has run flat tyres - the no serviceable spare rule applies). Anyway we have taken out RP again despite this and happy
to do so and going with same car.......sometimes you just need to get on with it.Anyway quick question having read the above - I wonder, very approximately, how much cash might be charged if the recovery company demand payment (and assuming they won't take a card payment either) obviously it wil be dependant on how far they have travelled
etc etc etc...but just wondering if a ball park figure is possible to make sure we have it squirrelled away in the car.0 -
Prices range from 120 to 222 euros depending on time of day and size of vehicle. It's all listed on the Autoroutes.fr website.
0 -
Prices range from 120 to 222 euros depending on time of day and size of vehicle. It's all listed on the Autoroutes.fr website.
We seldom carry large amounts of cash with us. In the UK normally only ever have about £20 in my wallet. Maximum we would carry in Euros is about E$100. That way if we are robbed, not that much they can take!
0 -
I don't carry much cash around in the UK simple because I tend not to use it much. However in Europe especially away from France the opportunities for paying by card are much more limited. Even in France some small sites only accept cash. As a rule of thumb for France I would think it adviseable to carry between €300 and €500 in cash to cover all eventualities.
David
0 -
I don't carry much cash around in the UK simple because I tend not to use it much. However in Europe especially away from France the opportunities for paying by card are much more limited. Even in France some small sites only accept cash. As a rule of thumb
for France I would think it adviseable to carry between €300 and €500 in cash to cover all eventualities.David
Thanks David. Can we assume that ther is an abundance of cashpoints in France as we will be staying near Saint-Nazaire initlaly then in lower Normandy? What is the maximum amount you can draw out in Euros on any one day?
0 -
If the autoroutes are the concern with recovery why not just stay off them, you don't need to use them. I mostly avoid these toll roads as I prefer to see France!
0 -
If the autoroutes are the concern with recovery why not just stay off them, you don't need to use them. I mostly avoid these toll roads as I prefer to see France!
We don't really have a concern except it would have been nice if this was made clear before we took out the RP insurance then it would not have been necessary to raise thsi post.
I do not foresee any issues as our vehicle is quite reliable and was checked over by a garage earlier this week. So hopefully happy holidays!
0 -
Surfer
ATM's are everywhere in France. You will often find them in supermarkets and all but the smallest town or village will have a bank with an ATM. Not completely sure of limits but in the UK its often £250. I have recently withdrawn €300 euros from a bank machine
with no difficulties. I image that you have already informed your bank/credit card company that you will be using your ards abroad?David
0 -
Was in the ADAC office last week that deals with British membership. They confirmed to me that ADAC refund all charges made by French authorities if you apply. Thank goodness France is the only Country to have this rule we keep clear.
DianneT
0 -
How long does it take you to the Spanish border "cross country"?
An extra day? Because I would spend the £100 cost of tolls at lunch and dinner at good restaurants along the way.
0 -
How long does it take you to the Spanish border "cross country"?
An extra day? Because I would spend the £100 cost of tolls at lunch and dinner at good restaurants along the way.
If your meals cost you £100 then it is definitely cheaper to use the toll roads! After awhile one village looks just like the other plus you have additional fuel costs.
0 -
"One village looks just like the other" .....well, no.
0 -
We rarely use autoroutes - at least not when towing because it adds considerably to the cost - and we have more time than money. We also love cross-country routes because France is so varied - we like the flatter, more northern sections least, and the mountainous
centre and south much more - so always tend to head in that direction.It also saves us having to pay to be towed off the autoroute!
0 -
I've just returned to our home in France from the UK in our 12 year old SAAB. Unfortunately it broke down twice on the way. The first time was on an N road just north of Limoges and the second time on the A20 motorway just north of Brive. I am covered
by AA European breakdown and contacted them. In the case of the N road they did the contact with the garage to come out to me. In the case of the motorway I had to phone 112 and be put through to the fire services who organise approved recovery from motorways
throughout France. In my case the AA spoke to the driver and there was no requirement for me to pay 'up front'.I have to say that the AA have been excellent. They arranged accommodation for me at a local hotel and then as the part for the car is likely to take up to 10 days to arrive, they also arranged a hire car to get me back to our house. I cannot recommend
them highly enough.0 -
How long does it take you to the Spanish border "cross country"?
An extra day? Because I would spend the £100 cost of tolls at lunch and dinner at good restaurants along the way.
That sounds great, so how many days was it and could you let us know the route.
0 -
How long does it take you to the Spanish border "cross country"?
An extra day? Because I would spend the £100 cost of tolls at lunch and dinner at good restaurants along the way.
That sounds great, so how many days was it and could you let us know the route.
Although not the person who posted this, we usually manage with two overnight stops when towing. The first stop is somewhere near Calais/Abbeville because we have a long journey from Yorkshire. Next morning we're up and off early, and then generally stop
somewhere in mid-France. This can be anywhere from south of Orleans to south of Clermont Ferrand, depending on the weather and our mood. Our next stop may be somewhere around Millau or even on the Med, somewhere around Beziers. Then Spain is just half a
day away, and you can be comfortably on a campsite by just after lunch.The route we use is invariably Calais/Abbeville/Rouen/Evreux then Dreux/Chartres/Orleans/Vierzon/Clermont Ferrand and then down the A75. We keep off the toll sections as much as possible, using the N roads instead.
Not towing we can get an 8.30 am ferry (we stay overnight at our son's in London), have an overnight stop in Chateauroux or Limoges, and then cross-country to Rodez just south of Brive, then Millau and down the A75. We can be at home just an hour away from
the Spanish border by 5.30 pm and this is now a regular trip. So far we've done the same journey twice this year, and about four times the previous year, plus once towing from Chateauroux south.We shall be going back that way at the end of May.
0 -
Thank you for replying for me, Val. I didn't answer because I don't have any routes from A to B or B to C.
For me the journey is the holiday - I zig zag from a well- remembered campsite, to a garden I want to visit, to a friend's house, to somewhere I have heard of, and perhaps a museum, always thumbing through an old Routard restaurant guide and making detours to particular lunch stops in that book . I don't really have destinations either, but these days we always start from Roscoff and from there it's 200 miles to the nearest toll booth. But at the moment it's far too glorious to get up and leave Cornwall. Best regards to all travellers.
0
