suefrater

Hi guys We are emigrating to Perth at the end of this month (Jan) One way ticket booked!!! I have informed HMRC here in the U.K of our intended move and they informed me I have to fill in a P85 form. Is this necessary?? I have not worked now for about 7-8 years, I am nearly 65, I already receive my state pension of about £500 a month. I worked part time for many years since I had my daughter and so have not paid tax for many years. I have no intention of working when we get to Oz. So my question is, will I need to fill in the P85 form?? I keep reading conflicting advise on this. Or maybe it's me just not understanding all the advise!!! Would be grateful for any advise!! (that I understand!!!) Sue

Hiya. On reading all your posts regarding getting items though customs..although not really allowed!!! i:e wood, wicker etc, we have some dried flower arrangements, and other wooden items such as brooms, wooden spoons, rolling pins! large church candles etc, ( you might laugh coz non on these are exactly sentimental!!) but my question is, if we were to declare them, would they then give us the option first, so we can decide if we want to bin them or will they discard them and fine us without us having a say??

We will be in Amberton, Eglinton, which is near to the beach and not too far from Joondalup! probably about a 15 min drive! So best of both worlds...we hope!!

HI SpecialK I honestly don't want to bring doubts into your decision but just be aware when they say they will lower their quote because some time back I read a review..and it was for White and Company, so different to who you are using, but in order to make their money up they used a share container instead of the quoted sole container and didn't tell the customer!!! So just make sure that you get the service they have quoted you for!! Like you say, i'm sure there will be hiccups, after all, a company is only as good as their workers!! Wow Woodvale!! that's a coincidence! our daughter lived there for a few years!! I think her address was The Crest?? it was a few years ago now so I can't remember exactly. That's weird isn't it. I do remember it being really nice there, the only thing was you definitely needed a car as there was only a few shops in a mall within walking distance, oh! and a library but it was definitely a lovey area to live. She moved to Burns Beach which is nearer the coast as she has 3 kids and she thought they'd love it there, which they do!! except every now and then the eldest one (11yrs) says " oh do we have to go to the beach again"!!! haha. Kids eh, they don't know when they've got it good! I can understand that you don't want to commute too far! who needs the hassle! Very best of luck for your future in Oz, hope it all goes well for you and your family. Exciting times eh!!!

Hi Specialk. We also had a few shipping companies here to give us quotes. We are going with Pickfords mainly because they were the only ones we found that actually bring the container to the house and load it, where's the others load a lorry and take that to the container and transfer the contents. We feel the Pickfords way is the best because then it is only packed once, so cuts the chances of damage down to a minimum. Our friends had Anglo Pacific and although they were fairly happy with them, A.P didn't tell them about some hidden costs i:e insurance extra's, and also there was some damage to a couple of pieces of furniture. But it's down to the team you get!! whatever one you choose isn't it!! Very good luck with your move. It's all so exciting isn't it! Where are you going? We are off to Amberton, Eglinton. which is north of Perth

Hi We are finally emigrating from the U.K to Perth at the end of January!! One way flights are booked!!!! My question is : Are there any institutes we should/could be informing now, or is it too early yet? I:E council etc We have a house built in WA already, so don't need ref for house rental, we are hopefully retiring so don't need work references, we already have an Oz bank account so don't need references for credit cards. I have heard about getting proof of no claims bonus for future car insurances, is this necessary? What about getting medical/dental records? I did ring my doctors and they said they haven't heard of it before but can get me records for a price!!!!! I feel like I should be running around sorting things out but not sure if it's all too early. I have started to make a list of people I should inform of our change of address but feel like I should be putting something into action...but what???!! We have decided on a removal company, we had about 3 around to give us quotes and reviewed them all! you get so many good and bad reviews that we just stuck to the one that our gut told us!!! Any advice on anything really!!! especially things to do in preparation, will be much appreciated. Many thanks Sue

Hi Pegg I've never heard of a move cube!! so many thanks for that info, i'll look into it.

Hi there We are thinking of our future move to Oz and the insurance of our container. We have been advised by a couple of removal companies that we will need a 20ft container. Has anyone organised their own insurance? We wondered if it was preferable rather than using the removals own insurance, as we have heard it can double the price of the original quote the removal companies give you. Any experiences gratefully received. Sue

Ohhhh that is sooo unfair Plimthing I feel your pain!!

Hi John. I usually do it online these days so don't think I have an actual a/c manager?? although I have spoken to a Chris Dunn in the past. Yes please that would be good to have someone contact me to point me in the right direction. Many thanks John

Oh!! that is soooo unfair for you! Life can def be a b-tch.

Hi Steely Oh if only I did have the answer to the lottery...shame I don't do it!! I put the money I would place in a pot and then at least I have a couple of hundred of pounds a year to give to the grandkids. Thanks for the Moneycorp advice and btw I'll be your new best friend...if you don't mind a poor one!! haha

Hi there Can I direct this question to a money guru!! We have a substantial amount of money to transfer over to our a/c in Oz. We usually use Moneycorp. We know it's at about $2.05 to the £ right now. Should we wait a little while to enable the exchange rate to rise or should we transfer now? Does anyone know what the trend is although I know you can't actually predict the future! We wondered if the Oz dollar is likely to fall or not against sterling in the near future due to their business downturn at the moment. Many thanks Sue

That's brilliant Druid, thanks for all that info. I'll get back on to my settlement agent, anything back is better than nothing! We are also still building, the roof is going on as we speak!! Good luck with your move in August. Thanks again.

Thanks for the info Druid. Would you happen to know, if for any reason, i:e we aren't able to emigrate and consequently not be able to move in to our new home in time to get the FHOG, will we still be eligible to get the stamp duty rebate? or do you have to have the FHOG in order to get the stamp duty rebate? Thanks for your imput.