A Helping Hand In The Quercy

Getting Through the Language Barrier and Red Tape

Do you love the South of France?

Do you struggle a bit with the language and administration?
Need a helping hand to “sort things out”?

“Help in Quercy” are at your service.

You love France and particularly the South of France, the weather is warm and sunny, the gastronomy and wines are just wonderful and life there is perfect. The only slight problem is that a lot of the people you need to deal with speak perfect French, but very little English. So everyday life can be filled with a succession of small tasks that seem to grow in difficulty.

“How can I find a tradesman to fix my roof?”
“Does he speak English?”
Most of the time the answer is basically: no!

“How will I manage to explain my particular situation in the Préfecture or Mairie to get the advice, assistance or document I need?”

“How will I manage to fill in all of the documentation to start my own business – it’s all in French!”

These are just a few real examples that we have come across, but there are many more. What you need is a “helping hand” – someone who speaks both French and English and who fully understands how things work in France. Welcome to “Help in Quercy” – here to help English speaking people moving to, or already resident in, the Quercy region of France.

When Mr. and Mrs. Jensen called me about 2 months ago, they were wondering if I could help them find a tradesman to renovate their home façade and apply for a subvention (subsidy). We arranged a meeting at their house and agreed on exactly what help they required. When I left, I knew precisely what I neeeded to do. At first, I called a French builder and arranged a meeting where the four of us would be present. During the meeting I translated all the questions from both sides, so that when Mr and Mrs Jensen received their estimate everything was clear and there were no big surprises!

Then came the second part of my mission; the next day I met Mr. and Mrs. Jensen in front of the Mairie of their village and asked for a subvention file and explained their situation. The secrétaire at the Mairie was also very happy: she did not have struggle with the language barrier and things were easy.

Once we got the subvention file, we completed it together and had it ready in less than an hour. Before handing it over, we still had to wait for all the required documents to arrive. As Mr. and Mrs. Jensen had to drive back to Denmark, all the missing documents were sent to me. I managed to give the complete file to the “Communauté de Communes” on time and their subvention request will be processed very shortly. I will be in regular contact with the Mairie to make sure everything goes through smoothly.

Another of my clients had a slightly different requirement. He is an English man that is learning to speak French, but needed help to practice. He has been learning on his own for a few years but has not had many occasions to speak with French people and put it all into practice.

These two cases are quite different but they have something in common: English-speaking people living in the Quercy region (permanently, or just as a second home) facing difficulties in dealing with French people and the French language!

“Help in Quercy” is here to help in cases just like these and many more…

“Help in Quercy” is an English-speaking assistance service aimed at all the English-speaking people living in or moving to France.
We can make phone calls, write letters, come with you for important meetings and as a sworn translator, we can even translate all your official documents.

Please get in contact for a no obligation discussion of your requirements.

Contact

Website: www.helpinquercy.com

Telephone: 0563 24 17 74

Mobile: 0603 90 77 73

©Help In Quercy