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!

_ _ _

Cyril

London Activities: Poker & Shopping

2: My different activities:

Poker

With a flatmate and 6 others persons, we played a poker game at a friend’s flatmate and is very different compared to Poker in France. When we played in France maximum, we'd risk at most 5 euros… Yesterday, the pot was 200£ or 250£. It’s really incredible. It’s possible to buy a new chip when you loose. So my objective is not to win more money but to share good moments. And I bought only for 5£ and I won 5£. Monday Night I will participate to a poker tournament in the Pub.

Shopping.

I’m liberal you know and I love England because there is more competition on the price. For example, in France if a product meets a deadline, the storekeeper must take out the product. In Uk, The price is decreased to 50% for example.. I think of doing my shopping everyday after my job to benefit from that system. And good news, the shop are open until 10 or 11 pm and on SUNDAY too… I love ENGLAND….

For Clothes, different shopping centres are very interesting like Tkmaxx, Debenhams…

_ _ _

Cyril

From Cyril in London

This text was written by Cyril Hénon and was meant to accompany the photographs that were posted here and there earlier.

My background before L’Oreal:

I have 2 skills: First I have a BTS Compta and a DECF (Diplome d’Etude Comptable et Financière) and I worked during 2 years in a build company, I managed stock, account and employee and I worked 2 years in a management centre to work with customers to optimize results and taxes… After this I have integrated ESLI and l’Oreal since 3 years.

Since January 2009, I work at the headquarter of L’Oreal UK on a logistic project… I arrived in London the 12^th of January thanks to 2 reasons: First for improve my English so my apology for different mistakes for this moment. And a second reason is to improve forecasting… I thank my boss for transfering me in the UK because L’Oreal France continues to pay me and thanks to my new boss to accept me in the UK.

Maybe, I hope for a job after my training placement…

So Now I can tell you my small story:

My arrival: The preparation, my arrival and my house

NEVER PAY WEST UNION TRANSFERT.

Before my arrival, I was stressed because I almost nearly had a fraud. Internet is very good but you don’t trust Internet. A beautiful woman proposed me a beautiful flat near Notthing hill next to Portobello with a beautiful price: Only 400£ per month zone 2…
And with a complement: every day, the woman could take me to work: no tube…
BUT, if I want this beautiful flat, I must pay a caution by WEST UNION TRANSFERT. My advice is: never pay by WEST UNION TRANSFERT because it’s not possible to turn against WEST union.
This is a fraud because the husband called me at 2 am and I found information in California.

For your search, the best site is Gumtree.

My arrival:
I didn’t know London but it’s very simple to use the tube. The different ways are in different colours. West for direction West and East for Direction East and a woman even spoke to me & helped me when I arrived: Thanks

I was very lucky because when I arrived in London, I called for a flatshare and I found a flat in Southfield in the SW on London 2 stations in Wimbledon.

Southfield is like a village, no buildings, many small shops and very quiet..and my house is 7 min to a station.

My house:
My bedroom is like Julien’s Bedroom * 2 in Brittany but the price is small (Only 370£ and a bill of approximately 40£ per month) zone 3. I have a living room (very important for the communication) , a kitchen and a garden for BBQ. (Internet, sky,TV, washing machine… )

I live with 3 persons, a French and 2 English (Man and Woman) who are very cool and very sympathetic and I also discovered the Pub “The Garage”… with only Pints for only 2,5£

De Londres

Mes collocs et moi

Cyril Hénon

Londres en Février

Photos de Cyril Hénon.

Cyril from London

Hi everybody,
I write this blog to share my experience in London…Sorry for my english but it’s why I arrive in London..
I hope you will like the different articles, if you have a question don’t hesitate to send me a message.
See you soon!
A quick presentation before narrating my experience in UK:
I’m Cyril HENON, I’m 26 years old and I work since 3 years in L’Oreal in a luxury Division. My job is logistic project manager
It’s me in a picture in a market of Covent Garden:

Welcome to ESLI ABROAD!

2009, année de l'international

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