Nightmare paperwork

[idun]

I was talking to a good friend in France today and they were telling me about the carry on they had when they applied for a new ID card.

As their mother was born in Italy and moved to France as a child and married a french man, she became automatically french at that time.

Several years and three children later, and officials came knocking on her door and said she was going to be deported to Italy. That was resolved eventually and when the paperwork was done, the french officials in their wisdom decided to ignore this lady's date of birth and has her born two days later than the date she was born..... and they would not change it....... apparently they knew best!

And now approaching 60, my friend, born in France to this 'italian' lady tried to renew their ID card and was refused. Not french they said, in spite of being born in France to a french father. My friend has had to get copies of all sorts of paper work, going back to italian and french grand parents, and it has taken an age...... and my has my friend rale'd, like one has to. And they used this wonderful expression 'j'etais noir'.

Nightmare paperwork in France, yes, it happens and we are having really terrible problems at the moment. With so much unemployment, why cannot people just do their jobs properly and well and use some common sense, I find a distinct lack of common sense incenses me these days, in both France and the UK.

[Lehaut]

I agree.

My wife's 92 year old maiden aunt got onto a bus in Edinburgh last year. The driver took a look at her bus pass and told her, as it was out of date (by one day) she was not allowed to travel on it and should get off the bus which she had to do.

My mother in law, also north of the border ,was renewing her reduced price taxi card, available for over 65s. She is 83. They would not renew the card as she had not brought proof of her age!

Our eldest has to cash in his childrens NS&I bonds and wants to convert them into Premium Bonds, not touching the cash. They still want "certified copies" of his passport/ID card and his tax ID number (which, at 20 and a student) he does not have.

Why is it the "little" people are subject to so much control by other small minded people.

Moan over :)

So its not just France

[dave21478]

Common sense doesnt exist in France, but what makes it worse is people get uncomfortable and often hostile if you dare to question whatever shite they are spinning you.

Exhibit A....

The guy from the mayors knocked on my door the other day and presented me with a shiny yellow plastic box.

Whats this for?

Its for recyclable paper and cardboard.

Oh, ok. when does it get collected?

Collected? no you have to take it to the recycling facility.

the dechetterie?

Yes

     I would imagine the conversation generally ended about there for him at most houses.

How is this better than putting the paper in the general recycling bin 100 yards down the road?

Thats now for plastic and metal only.

Thats not what I asked. Why is this a better system?

its..... paper can no longer be mixed with plastics.

right, so why not add another bin down there for paper?

That would be too expensive

How does that cost compare to the cost of giving one of these boxes to every single house in the commune?

I.....

So everyone now has to drive their cars to the dechetterie. Is that going to be better for the environment?

Look, this is how it is and you have to do it this way or you will be reported.

ok.    (reported to who I wonder? the recycling police?)

So what happens at the dechetterie? is there a special skip for paper now?

No, you leave the full box in a special area there and pick up an empty one.

Its an exchange system? you know these boxes are all going to end up filthy and broken within a few months?

You will be charged for a replacement box if you break it.

If they are not assigned to anyone, how will you know who broke them?

He was really quite angry when he left.

[Théière]

It would be better for the environment if we could just shut up civil servants.

[Gardian]

I can empathise completely with all of the above. However, I did witness a happy episode a few years back.

I boarded a TGV at Lille bound for Avignon. When I got to my seat, there was an elderly (as in mid-80's) lady in my window seat. No problem - I just parked myself in the vacant seat next to her.

The train moved off and the lady spent the first hour taking things out of her handbag, putting them back, taking them out again and so on. After the Paris area stops, the train was then non-stop down to Avignon and predictably along came the Ticket Inspector. You guessed it - she couldn't find her ticket!

"Where are you going Madam?" She didn't know (there were only 2 options, assuming of course that she was on the right train!)

"OK my dear, let me just take your name and seat number and we'll sort it out". He came back half an hour later and said "I've spoken to the office at Lille and your ticket was bought last week and you're going to Avignon".

He then said to me "Make sure she gets off there, would you?" "I've warned them down there and they'll look after her when she gets off".

Done - only slight problem was that when she vacated her seat at Avignon, I just thought that I'd check if she'd left anything behind. Stuffed down the side of her seat was her purse and ............ her ticket!

[Cendrillon]

What a wonderful story Gardian, thanks for sharing that.[:)]

[CSV]

[quote user="dave21478"]

Look, this is how it is and you have to do it this way or you will be reported.

ok.    (reported to who I wonder? the recycling police?)

[/quote]

Nope - the Gendarmerie [6]

http://www.lepopulaire.fr/limousin/actualite/2015/01/17/juge-pour-avoir-jete-un-carton-dans-un-bac-a-ordures_11293685.html

"Des habitants de Châteauponsac ont été verbalisés

pour avoir déposé des déchets inadaptés dans les bacs à ordures

communaux. Jugé au tribunal, Bernard Gauthier ne décolère pas.

Il a laissé l'étiquette avec son nom et son adresse sur

le carton, et c'est comme ça que les gendarmes l'ont retrouvé. Bernard

Gauthier, 64 ans, venait d'installer une nouvelle cabine de douche dans

sa salle d'eau quand il a décidé de déposer l'emballage dans des bacs à

ordures de la commune, près de la salle des fêtes. Un geste anodin qui

l'a pourtant entraîné devant le tribunal de police à Limoges."

[Cendrillon]

o.m.g. both parties caught out by their labels.....one left too much information and the other provided too little!

[idun]

Lehaut, one simply buys a bus ticket if one has not got a valid bus pass, I don't understand why wasn't asked to just pay up, like other passengers.

Don't get me started about the NS&I, no time for them at all.

[Gardian]

I didn't tell the rest of the story about the elderly lady.

After the Ticket Inspector passed by, she opened up to me, not having said a word for the previous hour or so. Her husband had passed away a year or two back - he was a handsome, dashing man who had been a 'leading light' in society in their area. Her daughter was going to be meeting her at wherever she was going to. Problem was that she recounted this family history three times over!

I went off to get her a coffee from the buffet - it was a deliberately extended 20 mins of peace.

On arrival at Avignon, the bloke behind me said "I'll see her off - she shouldn't have been let out on her own". He'd had nearly 4 hrs of it too!

Her daughter, with an army of SNCF bods, was waiting on the platform for the old girl.

I remember it well - Mme de Roubaix

[Cendrillon]

ah bless.[:)] I do like a happy ending.[:)]