Banking etc

BANKING-Strangely, for a country seemingly obsessed with bureaucracy,opening a bank account is a doddle.

No photocopies are needed, and you don't even have to live in Greece to open one.

Simply present yourself at your chosen bank, they will check your passport, take down your address and ask your fathers christian name, bizarrely this will appear on your bank book, so Lynda's says Lynda Harold. You will then be given a bank book there and then, that's it.

Greek banks provide all the same services as UK banks, although Internet banking is only just becoming available. Also AMT cash machines tend to only be in major towns and the busier resorts,Greece still seems to operate a mainly cash economy.This may be something to do with the Greek national pastime of Tax Avoidance.

TAXES

As mentioned previously , to buy a car ,boat or have a telephone you will need a Tax number.This automatically puts you on the Greek Tax System.Your earnings are assessed differently to the UK.

If you buy a car for example, this will register with the Tax people. They will assume that you have an income to support this purchase. The income assumed rises with the value of your car.This is the same with boats and motorbikes.To avoid being taxed on this "Asset" you need to prove that the monies paid out come from outside Greece. Therefore it is essential that when you transfer any monies from UK to Greece you obtain a receipt from your bank. This is commonly known as a "Pink Slip". If you get a Tax Return it will be in Greek, so get help filling it in! You must list such purchases as cars and then attach a copy of the Pink Slip to the Tax Return.

So far neither of us has received a Return, so we live in hope!

Bills- Your bills will be similar to the UK.

Electricity is billed every two months, and is often estimated, only read from the meter once a year. Due to world oil price rises electricity is considered very expensive in Greece,about the prices as in the UK.

If you have a new property or rent a house new to the market, get your meter read. Bills are estimated on the previous history of the property. If the house doesn't have a history the estimated bill can be ludicrous, usually too low, so when a meter is finally read the adjusting payment can be horrific. All you have to do is contact the state electricity company at their local office and arrange a reading. Also please note that air conditioning although a blessing in Summertime , is very expensive to run, so keep an eye on your usage.A small charge on your bill also pays the Greek TV Licence

Water is metered and your bill comes every 4 months. Prices are cheaper than the UK, ours is about 60 euros per bill, and we do use a lot to water our large garden and allotment.

Rates- There are two types, one is on home owners, this is assesssed as a percentage of the value of your property. Ths is normally paid by the landlord if you rent.

The second type is a small charge for rubbsh collection etc and is added to your water bill, this is only a few euros.

Telephones- Bills are quarterly,please pay them on time, OTE the national provider are a bit triggerhappy at cutting you off, and reconnection is expensive.Local calls in Greece are very cheap and you can purchase phone cards with a pin number to reduce the cost of foreign calls.

The internet is available and broadband is now becoming generally widespread. I would advise against a dial up connection as it's very slow and not secure. Friends of ours inadvertently uploaded a "dialler programme" which merrily made expensive overseas calls from their modem.By the time they realised this it cost them 12oo euros in phone bills!

You will need your tax number to secure an account with OTE and usually connection is within ten working days.

GAS- there is no mains gas supply so you buy it in bottles depending on need at garages. Most of us only use it for cookers and small camping rings. It is currently 16 euros for a 30 litre bottle, this lasts us approx 3 months on our cooker. As in the UK if you are a new customer the supplier will want a deposit on a gas bottle. I advise you to get a spare as it can be frustrating if the garage runs ot, which happens regularly in the Summer when everybody is barbequeing etc.

Mostly the gas is kept outside and the hose put through a hole in the wall by the cooker. Please ensure that your regulator is in good nick. We couldn't turn ours off once and the only solution was to leave our gas fire(we no longer hsave it) brning on in the garden until the bottle was empty! This prompted much hilarity from our Greek neighbours.