Fulltiming - how do you do it

F

Fidge

Joined
Sep 24, 2013
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swansea
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28,258
MH
Autosleeper Broadway
Exp
Since 2013
How do full timers manage not having a permanent uk address. What do you do about passports, driving licenses etc. I'm thinking about it but can't get my head around all these bits.
 
Fidge said:
How do full timers manage not having a permanent uk address. What do you do about passports, driving licenses etc. I'm thinking about it but can't get my head around all these bits.
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Far Far easier to have a permanent address.
You need a friend or relative, ideally one with a holiday home!, and use their location as your address.

As an aside, my sister used my mothers address for 15+ years whilst living abroad.
As far as all the authorities (Bank, Doctor, Passport, Driving Licence, Mobile phone, HMRC etc.) were concerned she never left the country, but in reality she picked up her post once or twice a year.
 
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Ditto the above for me.

There is a mail forwarding service called boatmail that can be used.

edit. Jim beat me to it :LOL:

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How do you all manage about addresses for DVLA, passports,driving license etc. I found a long list of stuff you have to have a permanent address for or you can't get them. It all looks very difficult but I know lots of you do it 😁
 
We went full time the week before Covid kicked in (and ended up in France for lockdown 1 and a few more months) and used my brothers address for everything but finally caved in before lockdown 2 just to get vaccines etc sorted.
 
Fidge said:
How do you all manage about addresses for DVLA, passports,driving license etc. I found a long list of stuff you have to have a permanent address for or you can't get them. It all looks very difficult but I know lots of you do it 😁
Click to expand...

Shrimp, maz (I know you're a land-lubber now!).
 
Fidge said:
How do you all manage about addresses for DVLA, passports,driving license etc. I found a long list of stuff you have to have a permanent address for or you can't get them. It all looks very difficult but I know lots of you do it 😁
Click to expand...
As others have said, we just used a friend's or family member's address.
 
Fidge said:
How do you all manage about addresses for DVLA, passports,driving license etc. I found a long list of stuff you have to have a permanent address for or you can't get them. It all looks very difficult but I know lots of you do it 😁
Click to expand...
Friend or family member.
Someone that owns a house.

If needed you can officially draw up a Standard Tenancy Agreement (Available in W H Smiths) to rent their garden shed for £1 a month.
They can even fit the shed with a letter box.

Ideally it needs to be somewhere you return to on an occasional basis, it then simply becomes your 'official' address

We have a property that is now rented out as a holiday let most of the year.
My ex brother in law, who has been living abroad for since the 1990's and comes to the UK maybe once every year or two (and not at all during the pandemic years) uses it as his official UK address.

The only regular post is his bank statements, but he also has a PAYG UK mobile number, a doctor and his PAYE registered there (not that he has earned a penny in the UK for two decades.)
He will never return to live in the UK, but this gets him around all the problems.
 
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Th
Brains said:
Friend or family member.
Someone that owns a house.

If needed you can officially draw up a Standard Tenancy Agreement (Available in W H Smiths) to rent their garden shed for £1 a month.
They can even fit the shed with a letter box.

Ideally it needs to be somewhere you return to on an occasional basis, it then simply becomes your 'official' address

We have a property that is now rented out as a holiday let most of the year.
My ex brother in law, who has been living abroad for since the 1990's and comes to the UK maybe once every year or two (and not at all during the pandemic years) uses it as his official UK address.

The only regular post is his bank statements, but he also has a PAYG UK mobile number, a doctor and his PAYE registered there (not that he has earned a penny in the UK for two decades.)
He will never return to live in the UK, but this gets him around all the problems.
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Thank you that is really helpful, plenty of food for thought!
 
Fidge said:
How do you all manage about addresses for DVLA, passports,driving license etc.
Click to expand...
Just because they require a 'permanent ' address it does not mean you actually have to live there.
Fidge said:
I found a long list of stuff you have to have a permanent address for or you can't get them.
Click to expand...
If you tell them that is your permanent address then it is.

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If your van is old enough you'll need to come back every year for the MOT.
 
I heard this the other day. Not sure if it true or not.
There was a couple that bought a motorhome to live in full time. It developed a fault and took it back to the dealer who had sold it to them and was aware that they were living in it. The dealer kept fobbing them off so they went to a different agent. When the agent heard their tale he said the reason for the delaying tactics would possibly be that the warranty was not valid. Motorhomes and caravans are only built for occasional use as leisure vehicles.

As I said. Not sure if that is true.
 
Verteuil Man said:
I heard this the other day. Not sure if it true or not.
There was a couple that bought a motorhome to live in full time. It developed a fault and took it back to the dealer who had sold it to them and was aware that they were living in it. The dealer kept fobbing them off so they went to a different agent. When the agent heard their tale he said the reason for the delaying tactics would possibly be that the warranty was not valid. Motorhomes and caravans are only built for occasional use as leisure vehicles.

As I said. Not sure if that is true.
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There have been a few people who have had warranty claims refused due to that situation.
 
Verteuil Man said:
I heard this the other day. Not sure if it true or not.
There was a couple that bought a motorhome to live in full time. It developed a fault and took it back to the dealer who had sold it to them and was aware that they were living in it. The dealer kept fobbing them off so they went to a different agent. When the agent heard their tale he said the reason for the delaying tactics would possibly be that the warranty was not valid. Motorhomes and caravans are only built for occasional use as leisure vehicles.

As I said. Not sure if that is true.
Click to expand...
If you read the small print, most motorhomes are designed for 'occasional' use.
Limits seem to be between 60 and 120 nights per year.

Hence when looking for 2nd had motorhomes I tend to avoid the high milage ones.
It's not the miles on a commercial vehicle base that is the issue, it's the nights on the habitation that matter.
 
Brains said:
Hence when looking for 2nd had motorhomes I tend to avoid the high milage ones.
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You get extremely low mileage ones where the inside is worn out due to long term living.

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Brains said:
Far Far easier to have a permanent address.
You need a friend or relative, ideally one with a holiday home!, and use their location as your address.

As an aside, my sister used my mothers address for 15+ years whilst living abroad.
As far as all the authorities (Bank, Doctor, Passport, Driving Licence, Mobile phone, HMRC etc.) were concerned she never left the country, but in reality she picked up her post once or twice a year.
Click to expand...
Simples👍 l never understand why people fuss over it.
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned insurance, as a full-timer you will pay a lot more than someone who is just a leisure MH user.
 

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