April?? Open your shutters, man, it's a lovely sunny day outside! If this were a May day in the UK you wouldn't feel short-changed...

Sunny and 23c here. ;-))

Yes it's a lovely day today. Just been for a walk up the mountain thanks, That soon gets you warmed up.

As for feeling the cold.... TwynTub , maybe you ain't acclimatised yet. The year we arrived (on 6th April) I wore shorts for 8 months then I had to relent. But it certainly feels colder this year so far and you tend to find that the house is colder inside than it is outside during the day.

Oh we're fully aclimatised! You'll find Mrs Twyntub outside the school gates of a morning wearing nothing short of a full face balaclava and mil-spec arctic wear! So, if she says the finca is toasty warm, then I believe her!

Perhaps you need to get your air-con serviced? Ours was newly installed when we moved in a few months back but I got the landlord to re-gas both units straight away. One had only a small amount of refridgerant in, the other had almost nothing!

Sad to say but they'd been fitted by Brits who were 'no longer answering their mobile phone' - the repairer did say that many units do leave the factory with borderline refridgerant on board, and without the right equipment and/or experience it's easy to mess it up.

So has anyone brought from MASA in Hondon?
Have seen lots of threads about different agents but none through MASA
And come on you all dish the dirt or goods points about the removal companies, i have contacted about eight so far & still dont know who to trust.
Some seem so cheap that i wonder if i we would ever see our stuff again !!

PM me if you need more info on your agent.

Removals: The cheaper quotes are cheap because your stuff is relayed from depot to depot and may end up being unloaded and re-loaded many many times - you can tell if this is the case because it'll take about two weeks for the stuff to arrive.

Unless your stuff is professionally packed (more money) then goods WON'T be insured for damage. You'll have to pack it very well if it's to survive all that re-loading. Everyone we know that's done it that way has had stuff broken / missing.

We also had several 'cash quotes' - which alarmed us somewhat. I.e. pay us XXXX pounds when we deliver your stuff, no cheques, no credit cards, no receipt. If they don't want to pay their income tax - then they're hardly going to pay their goods in transit insurance premiums are they?

We moved ourselves and even during peak season the total cost was the same as the cheapest of removal quotes. Driving right across Spain with my five year old daughter and Jack Russell puppy was a great start to our adventure! Door to door from Cheshire to Alicante was about 40 hours with just me to drive.

Like with all things there are good and bad removals companies. I think referrals and asking people is the best way forward.

With regards to the prices, just because they are cheap doesn't mean they are bad. It depends on what type of service they are providing. So long as it is a checkable VAT registered business you shouldn't go far wrong.

I have a client of mine that carries out removals UK-Spain for €2100. Now that is not a full blown removals service, it's for a driver and a van, where you pack your own items.

At the other end you have the big firms with the large removals vehicles massive resources, packing service etc. and a bill to match. They will however provide a far more comprehensive service.

It boils down to what type of removal you want and how much you are willing to spend or save by doing a few of the basics yourself.

Regards

Hi, I am looking for a removal agent recommendation also....we are packing all out own stuff and the idea of a Van and driver seems quite a good one.

i am sure Kitty Linda & myself would appricate names of this removal company (if poss)

Search this forum for removals..... Here are two results.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...oving+to+spain

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...oving+to+spain

Well Happy New Year to you all !!!
Be truthful how many of you have the dreaded hangover?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

No hangover for me! Even managed to stay awake and watch T.V.last night to midnight

Jdr
thankyou for that search, very useful.

OK, I admit it, I have a huge hangover! Hope everyone in Hondon (and all over Spain and the UK) had a great New Year's eve!
A happy and healthy New Year to you all!
Love,
bchapl
XXXX

Thats what i like to hear, an Essex girl with hangover. (No pun, although i was born in Suffolk i lived in Southend-on-sea for years, my family still do)
Where about in Essex are you?
And what dose Bchapi stand for?