Naughty Credit Card Companies

I've never won anything in my life. I always assume that I've been so generally lucky that when it comes to raffles, lotteries and class action lawsuits, it is someone else's turn. So, when I got a notice with my credit card bill this month that I might be eligible for a refund as part of the winning side in a class action lawsuit, I threw the notice in the trash.

But then I read about it in USA Today and I checked out the Website set up by the plaintiff's counsel and it looks like I may be getting a little check.

And, it seemed worth spreading the word to anyone who has been traveling or living outside the United States over the last decade and exchanging money.

Here's the language from the Website, where you'll also find an online form for filing:

"Any person who held a Visa-, MasterCard- or Diners Club-branded credit, charge or debit/ATM card issued in the United States as of November 8, 2006 is a member of the Settlement Injunctive Class. Those persons who made a foreign transaction on at least one of those cards between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006 are members of the Settlement Damages Class. Only members of the Settlement Damages Class may seek refunds by submitting a claim. If you are only a member of the Settlement Injunctive Class because you did not make a foreign transaction between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006, you will still benefit from the settlement, which requires certain disclosures to cardholders concerning the rate used to calculate the U.S. dollar amount owed for a foreign transaction and any fees applied in connection with a foreign transaction."

With the exchange rate being what it is for dollars these days, the refund might buy you a baguette.

Useful Addresses

I spent three months searching the Web for properties, using both English and French versions of the sites created by various immobilier (real estate agents). Since there's no such thing in France as an "exclusive listing," in theory nearly all realtors should have the same properties. But they don't. You see a lot of overlap, but you also find unique properties on each site so it is definitely worth searching through various immobilier and forum.

I looked at Provence and the Languedoc Roussillon as a grid and searched area by area between Apt in Provence and Beziers in Languedoc Rousillon. I developed a standard list of key words and searched them in each area or town. You'll need to make your own list, but my search terms included Houses for Sale, Maison a Vendre, Immobilier (with name of city), Real Etate Agent (with name of city), French real estate and Maison de Village (name of city).

It is the subject of some debate whether you get a better deal buying directly from a homeowner or through an agent. If you work through an agent, between the agent fees and the fees charged by the Notaire -- the government officials who preside over property sales -- you pay an average of 8-12 percent more for older properties. (There are special breaks on taxes and fees for properties less than five years old.) You have to pay the notaire no matter what, so with the 3-5 percent agent fees, buying from an individual has real appeal. On the other hand, people selling their own homes often overvalue their properties and can be difficult in negotiations since they have more emotional investment. A good agent can answer questions and save you a lot of wear and tear. But don't forget, they represent the seller, not you, so question absolutely everything you're told and verify everything.

Beside the immobilier sites, I also quickly found other sites that were of great use, including online expatriate forum, online classified and portals, and some newspaper sites. There were sites that contained a huge amount of information on every topic related to buying a home and moving to France and there were even a number of independent Web sites set up by tech-savvy sellers for their own homes.

Here are a few Web addresses that I found useful and may provide a good place to start:

L'Immobilier en Provence CTI, the Website of the realtor who sold me my home, Vincent Dumond
Maison de Provence Immobilier Luberon
Immo30 for the area around Uzes/St. Quentin la Poterie. Agent Eric Bardel is fabulous.
ImmoFrance.com
French-Property.com which contains a great deal of relevant information and a forum
FrenchEntree.com, a portal to real estate listings, great general background and an e-newsletter
Franglo.com, a network of Websites, classifieds (including houses for sale and rent) and a forum for English speakers
Americans in France, a portal to all kinds of information, as well as classified ads
Creme de Languedoc, another portal and great resource with excellent listings by both individuals and agents

A long way from Southern France

I'm in New York City tonight for a meeting tomorrow. I'm in a trendy hotel adjacent to Lincoln Center, adorned for the holidays with a 50-foot-tall Christmas Tree illuminated with royal blue lights in the shape of snowflakes. It's freezing, with an icy wind barreling down Broadway and people rushing into taxis and buildings for shelter. I arrived late and went out right away to get a bite to eat, something to bring back to my room for a working dinner. On the corner between my hotel and the EuroPan coffee shop, an elegant store displayed brightly colored Lycra workout clothes, $125 a pop. Opposite the shop, huddled in a heap on the ground like a pile of dirty laundry was a man clutching a tattered paper cup containing some loose change.

"It's so cold," he wimpered, "please someone help me." His cry was muffled as he kept his face down to protect himself from the wind. His feet stuck out beneath a moth-eaten coat, the mismatched shoes were torn. People rushed by.

At the coffee shop, I ordered two large bowls of soup to go, two teas and two rolls with butter. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped and kneeled down by the man.

"Here's some warm soup and tea," I said, handing him the bag. "Can you find a doorway out of the wind to eat?"

After a moment, he lifted his head slightly and looked at the bag.

"Thank you," he said. He had three $1 bills clutched in his hand. "I'm trying to find a room. But nobody sees me.

"Nobody sees me."

And, it seems, nobody did.