London Activities: Bills and Exchange Rates

Payment of bills:

I love the UK, I love London for many reasons especially when it comes to paying the bills and the rent… It’s very simple in the UK.

It’s not necessary to have an english credit card and to open an English account… It’s particularly good for me because L’Oreal France continues to pay me in Euro and in England they use the Pound… but you know this.

To pay for my shopping, bills, PUB, CLUB & rent, I have cash on me. For this I opened a bank account at HSBC in France for only 3.50 € per month and I can pick up money with 0% of transaction. If I use my golden card (lol, no visa card) I have 3% on transaction plus 1 or 2 Euros fix ed commission. It’s a shame the UK don’t use Euros yet, maybe some day…..

So, in order to pay bills in cash, it’s very simple: when you receive a bill (for example the TV bill), you go to a shop wearing the PP (PayPoint) acronym, you give your bill, they scan it with a gun and you give the money. You receive a receipt and it’s done!

Another simple example about paying the rent : I need to know the bank account of my landlord: Code and account number- That's about 15 digits to remember.

I pick up the sum of my rent, I go to my bank and there's no need to wait at the counter, HSBC has a bank machine where you introduce the money and your landlord’s bank account number. You just click and get a receipt : No fee is taken for that transaction and it only takes 5 minutes to complete the operation.

The main difference betwen France and the UK, is that everything is orientated towards customers in the UK…

For example, at Mc Donald’s, the price is very cheap: approximately 3.5£ for a meal. If a queue starts to form, very soon a new cash register will open… That's really GOOD. We have a lot to learn from the UK to increase our economy. By the way I’m liberal, so you understand why I love their system…

Concerning jobs, despite all that, I find it very easy to find a job: Shopping… In the UK, they have only 5% of unemployment.

The exchange rate

I told you that L’Oreal pays me in Euro and to make some savings, every morning I check the exchange rate on a website like www.Boursorama.com…. When it’s interesting I buy a pound, the fluctuation is approximately between 2- 5% per week.

Right now, the exchange rate is approximately 0.90 £ for 1 €… At the beginning of the year 2008 the parity was 0.75 £ for 1 €… I have been very lucky to arrive now.

But we can reflect on something strange: if the parity decreases, it’s good for me because I pay less for bills, rent & shopping BUT that means british economy is decreasing too and therefore less chances to find a job in UK… Do you understand my reflection? So, afterwards, if I’ll work in the Uk, My wage will be in pounds…

I’ll post a picture of the Wembley Stadium later!

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Cyril