SPRINTER

When we moved we brought all our furniture, some antique and some modern, no problems.

On 27/04/2021 at 08:49, North to South said:

Hello, appreciate all the useful tips on this.  I've used the AC heating in the morning and that definitely takes the chill off things and the gas space heater for an hour in the evening in the living area and that seems quite effective.  Certainly, not the same as heating a house in the UK, but nicer than looking at pipes and radiators everywhere which means you can place furniture wherever you want

I've started looking at some new windows as the ones at my house must be original and are very pool for insulation.  If anyone can recommend a company/person in Adelaide for windows it would be great.  Thanks again 

Doubleglazed .com is the place to go for double glazing in Adelaide, just on the outskirts in Lonsdale, run by a Scot who knows the business inside out and his installers were mainly Brits when he put ours in. Noticed an immediate change in the temperature and drafts in the house. Got to agree the Aus. building standards are crap though.

We had similar problems with Halifax and ended up closing the account and moving to another bank, they seemed to have systems different to other banks, we were also told to go to the local branch to change our address, great as you say when we are 10,000 miles away.

Totally agree with Marisawright's comment having been through a similar situation, a knowledgeable accountant is well worth the cost especially one with knowledge of UK and Australian tax systems.

4 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Can you define reasonable?

Everyone will have different matters that need dealing with so costs will differ, suggest you contact Alan for a quick chat and I am sure he will give you an idea of price. As far as we are concerned the price was very similar to our UK accountant when we lived in the UK solely. It is worth having someone who is conversant with UK and Aus tax matters as things can be missed doing it yourself.

The tax side of Alans company is BDHTax, they have looked after our UK and Aus tax for a few years now, so far no problems and reasonable prices.

19 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Erm - do you think planes arrive without pilots, or ships without crews?  

The borders between states in Australia were closed, but trucks still crossed the border - there were exemptions to deal with that and there could have been exemptions to deal with it in the UK, too.   

As you say, all holiday travel (to AND from the UK) could have been stopped. Also, business and government travel, unless it's a critical need (most other stuff can be done on zoom anyway), and that would have made a significant difference.   

As Marisawright said there is not a problem with freight in and out of the UK, drivers are checked. What about the 10000 people a day reported by a newspaper coming through Heathrow (if you can believe the figures) from various parts of the world, all essential travel?? I have even seen figures of only 3 in 100 being checked to see if they are self isolating where they say they will be. Still we can have one claim to fame, we nearly have the worst record of deaths. How many poor souls could have been saved if borders were closed early on?

We made the big mistake of moving back early Feb 2020, the biggest mistake of our lives, the UK is in chaos, the lunatics are running the country. Think very, very hard about moving back, it will take years to pay of the debts the country is running up and the youngsters starting work will be paying for most of their lives, It seems impossible for the idiots running the country to accept that shutting the borders on an island as the UK is will stop a lot of the infections entering the country, you only have to look at other island nations such as NZ and Australia to see that it works and if there is an outbreak it can be quickly dealt with, even the Isle of Man which is within the UK area shut it's borders and is virtually Covid free.

Chess are actually packing us today to return to UK and so far all seems good.

10 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Ask them for the full cover details in writing 

Agree with what Marisawright said, get it in writing, Insurance companies of all sorts are good at taking money but don't like paying out to freely.

We had the top cover for hospital and extras which seemed comparable to what we paid in our previous country. When they increased the premiums and reduced the cover available I went to the local office and it was like a football crowd with customers wanting to know what was going on, a lot of people were affected . I believe they amended some of their covers after this. If you Google BUPA and fill in the quote it gives you some idea of what is and is not covered. One of the main things we did not like was the fact Hospital doctors could charge what they wanted and the insurance would only cover up to a fixed limit, so could end up with a large excess if many doctors were involved.

Make sure you read and understand all the small print, we have to have private insurance with our visa and originally went with BUPA who on renewal nearly doubled our premium and reduced what we were covered for and we had made no claims. There can be quite a difference between the bill and what they will pay.

I recently did some money transfers Australia to UK that needed certifying, and a JP signature was all that was needed just to identify me, all was fine UK end no problems.

We are in Adelaide, South Australia and use the local JP for authorising various documents for the UK including passport renewal, service is free and never had a problem at the UK end.

Might be a good idea to get some professional help, there are some forms that need to be lodged for a landlord living overseas. Alan Collett who is on here regular is pretty clued up on these matters. As with most dealings with HMRC once the system is set up correctly it is pretty straight forward.

Good luck with getting a decent tenant.

Mine had been worse since moving to Adelaide, especially the last summer with the higher than normal temperatures, as previously said it really depends what the triggers are.

Have a word with Alan Collett BDHtax who is pretty well up on these maters. He is on this forum quite regular.

We recently had to transfer a large amount from our UK bank to our Aussie bank and the only way to transfer it in one go was to go to the UK branch in person and arrange the transfer, (hardly convenient as we live in Aus) so we were stuck with multiple daily transfers until all had been transferred.

I think you will find GM Tax is one of Alan Colletts interests, they do our tax and have been easy and straightforward to deal with and no problems.

Actually seen some rain today, unfortunately it dried as it hit the ground, so the ground is still warm, good old Adelaide, a bit slow in getting most things, that's why we moved here.

1 hour ago, ramot said:

 

Reference the question asked about the amount charged on health insurance for temporary residents, we have to pay overseas visitors and for full top  covered pay $12,000 annually. It really covers just about all the costs. We have no gap to pay on this cover. Friends have had hip replacements fully covered for example, very expensive but we have no choice as we aren’t entitled to Medicare on our visa even though British.

We are also paying just over 12k a year for top cover but have noticed recently the benefits are slowly being eroded and certain old age problems are not being fully covered, a bit annoying when we both have a full contribution record in the UK but no reciprocal arrangement here on our visa.

46 minutes ago, Toots said:

 Still in contact with a few people I made friends with in the different countries I worked in except for Switzerland - unfriendly lot they are.

Totally agree with the comment about Switzerland, like Toots, we have lived and worked in many places, Switzerland before coming here, once the Swiss think they know all your business you are just the person living down the road, unfortunately for them I speak German and often they would talk about you in German thinking we are just dumb English, they turned a bit pale when they found out I could understand what they were saying.

Don't forget it is now frozen at the current rate, we have ours paid into a UK bank and draw it when we need it.

I would be interested to know what companies you find, when we arrived we had to have "overseas visitor" health insurance to comply with visa requirements, we found BUPA with good cover at a cost of roughly 12000 AUD for the 2 of us per year, after 1 year the price went up to 22000AUD a year, (no claims or anything during the 1st year) and a lot less cover and only minimum benefit for a lot of problems that could occur. I shopped around and found HBF were prepared to cover us nearer the 12k we were paying, a lot of companies did not want to insure "overseas visitors" even though we are settled here. HBF are now removing some benefits and no doubt the premium will increase at renewal. I think you will find you are not entitled to any medicare benefits and have to pay all bills up front and reclaim a percentage from the insurer, which is not much in some cases.

Afraid no decent private health insurance is cheap here, have a look at the comparison sites, even with insurance you will still have to pay quite a bit, and be careful that you are covered for what you may need, there are a lot of exclusions.