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Shocking Behaviour


rosienoo
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Hi, think I posted on this forum nearly a year ago now prior to moving out here to set up a Gite holiday complex.  Well we have been here since May and have loved it.  Even had 2 lots of guests.  Now for the shocking news....... and not about the gites!!!

Yesterday we went to Trellisac shopping and when we returned to our car there was a note on it which implied that we'd damaged someones car and that we should have left our phone number and an apology. At no time did we make contact with another car so we were perplexed   Then I went round to the passenger side to get in our car and saw that someone, obviously this person, has keyed the whole length of my Landcruiser. Not just 1 scratch but 2 on each door and side panel right down to the metal. So we are assuming we were either targeted because we have an English plate on our car still, or that this person's car was damaged by someone else and we got the blame because we were English. The note had a definite anti-English slur to it. So now this is going to cost me god knows how much for something we didn't do and didn't deserve. So beware, I thought the French vs English had long gone but clearly not !!! Very Disappointed and extremely upset.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this???  I even asked at the shopping centre whether they had cameras in the carpark and they said no, and the security guys there were not interested and wouldn't even come out to look at the damage.

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Last year during the 24 hour race, several campers had their cars keyed.  It appeared to be confined to up-market and expensive vehicles - of several different nationalities, including French.  The resentment appears to be against the perceived rich and comfortably off, not just the English. 

Although of course I do know some posters on here who get extremly hot under the collar when they read of French residents illegally keeping their cars on UK plates and insurance, long after their one month's grace is up.  It could have been one of them.[Www]

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Hi, thanks for response

But since they were complete strangers they'd not know about the car situation.  I could have just been a holiday maker.  I'm rather disgusted.

My car is still registered in the UK because I still travel back there on a very regular basis for my work, being employed by a UK company still and staying over for a week or two, so it's gonna stay registered there until I'm good and ready and not when some plonker thinks it should be registered here.

It's a sad day when you have to share oxygen with these types of morons

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Hi Benjamin

Get where you are going with that but don't think anything else will happen.  If this person genuinely thought we'd damaged his car (although in a huge car park !!! what a moron) could have been the person before us for that matter but clearly we got the brunt of it [:@] but I can't see him/her staking us out.  Might start a new sport, "Shooting Morons"  10cent joining fee ???  I'd be a millionnaire in a week [I]

[;-)]

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[quote user="rosienoo"]  My car is still registered in the UK because I still travel back there on a very regular basis for my work, being employed by a UK company still and staying over for a week or two, so it's gonna stay registered there until I'm good and ready and not when some plonker thinks it should be registered here. [/quote]

Where you work doesn't come into the equation here.  The plonker that says you should have re-registered your car is the law, which may be a plonker, but going backwards and forwards to the Uk when you live here means the car should have been re-registered.

Who knows, the plonker concerned may have seen your car here on and off since May and decided to give you a rather blunt reminder.

But that doesn't detract from the fact the car should be re-registered and when you're good and ready wont be appreciated by some people who have been here for some time!

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Thanks Tony F Dordogne for your "interesting" input. 

Which ever way you sugar candy coat it, this has been a criminal act against my property.

Officially I have 6 months in which to re register my car so as I say, when I'm good and ready !!!   I also have two houses, one here and one in the UK and live between the two so am I now supposed to have a French car and a UK car?

Oh and the plonker I'm referring to was the one who keyed my car and noone on this site.

 

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Hi Gastines

Sorry to hear about your car too, it's all so expensive when people do this.  Anyone who does criminal damage like that is unhinged in my opinion and a drain on society.

So now I will have to have the whole side of my car resprayed and I guess you will too.  Is that type of damage covered on French insurance out of interest?

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Provided that your French insurer is not amongst the plonkers that believe you should have re-registered your car (and insurers worldwide can be slippery little buggers) then I beleive you should be covered for this. They may want a police report to go with the claim, so you might do well to go an see your friendly neighbourhood gendarme sooner rather than later. As you say, this is a criminal act.

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Ok fair enough, bit emotional about it right now apologies if I've offended.

But this doesn't detract from the fact that I will decide when to register my car not some nut who doesn't know me and will never have seen my car around before.  Because I don't live anywhere near where I was shopping at the time !!   So this was not anything to do with me registering or not registering my car.

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[quote user="rosienoo"]

Thanks Tony F Dordogne for your "interesting" input. 

So, you clearly approve of my car being keyed then??  hmm very interesting take on it.  Which ever way you sugar candy coat it, this has been a criminal act against my property.

Officially I have 6 months in which to re register my car so as I say, when I'm good and ready !!!   I also have two houses, one here and one in the UK and live between the two so am I now supposed to have a French car and a UK car?

Oh and the plonker I'm referring to was the one who keyed my car and noone on this site.

[/quote]

Firstly I would do what was suggested, contact the Gendarmes. This may make it easier to deal with the UK insurance as its classed as criminal damage.

I think you are right, how do they know if your car is here for most of the time and that you are not a holiday maker. I must admit I have not heard of this sort of thing (targeting UK cars) down my neck of the woods but I do know that the French can take matters in to their own hands at times and can deal out a bit of rough justice, not always picking on the right culprit as well. I wonder why they didn't hang around till you came back to your car and deal with the issue?

Just one last point as you seem to be badly informed. From the time you become resident in France you have 30 days in which to register your car. That said I have no idea if you are officially resident in France or not. There is loads of helpful stuff which deals with this and how to register your car in France in our motoring section HERE.

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[quote]

Firstly I would do what was suggested, contact the Gendarmes. This may make it easier to deal with the UK insurance as its classed as criminal damage.

I think you are right, how do they know if your car is here for most of the time and that you are not a holiday maker. I must admit I have not heard of this sort of thing (targeting UK cars) down my neck of the woods but I do know that the French can take matters in to their own hands at times and can deal out a bit of rough justice, not always picking on the right culprit as well. I wonder why they didn't hang around till you came back to your car and deal with the issue?

Just one last point as you seem to be badly informed. From the time you become resident in France you have 30 days in which to register your car. That said I have no idea if you are officially resident in France or not. There is loads of helpful stuff which deals with this and how to register your car in France in our motoring section HERE.

[/quote]

Thanks Quillan

Very helpful information and I'll look at the link you recomend.  I'm not currently a permanent resident in France as of yet as I am still living between the two countries hence my car still being registered in the UK. 

And yes I agree with you, if this person though we'd damaged their car then they should have hung around not completely totalled mine in retaliation.  It is sad that we bore the brunt of someone elses actions if the note was to believed !

 

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I assume the note was written in French ! Was it good french? or franglais?

Seems strange to key the car and then leave a note as evidence! Clearly they know tehre is no chance of getting caught.

Re the car, you can't win this one, because as I found out on this forum to my amazement, once you have registered in France, you can't legally drive it back in the UK!

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[quote user="Bob T"]Strange that your car is UK registered but French insured, do the DVLA accept the French insurance for road tax purposes?
[/quote]

She didn't actually say that Bob, what she did was ask a question "So now I will have to have the whole side of my car resprayed and I guess you will too.  Is that type of damage covered on French insurance out of interest?". That does not mean she has French insurance, she was simply asking Gastines whos car is on French plates with French insurance if he was covered. I understand your concern but you could be in danger of jumping to the wrong conclusion just like the person who 'keyed' her car.

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[quote user="baypond"]

I assume the note was written in French ! Was it good french? or franglais?

Seems strange to key the car and then leave a note as evidence! Clearly they know tehre is no chance of getting caught.

Re the car, you can't win this one, because as I found out on this forum to my amazement, once you have registered in France, you can't legally drive it back in the UK!

[/quote]

Oh!! that would render my car useless in the UK then, is that right??  are you sure.  Oh and definitely very good french, but the writing left alot to be desired [:D]

Apparently there is an EEC agreement that if you are in any of the EU countries you are covered for the whole period of your insurance policy in which ever Member State your car is covered.  Even if your UK insurer says you aren't covered for longer than 3 months at one time, they are contrivening the EEC agreement.

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[quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="Bob T"]Strange that your car is UK registered but French insured, do the DVLA accept the French insurance for road tax purposes?
[/quote]

She didn't actually say that Bob, what she did was ask a question "So now I will have to have the whole side of my car resprayed and I guess you will too.  Is that type of damage covered on French insurance out of interest?". That does not mean she has French insurance, she was simply asking Gastines whos car is on French plates with French insurance if he was covered. I understand your concern but you could be in danger of jumping to the wrong conclusion just like the person who 'keyed' her car.

[/quote]

Thanks Quillan,

Yes you are correct and obviously a 'detail' kinda guy/gal.  Good spot, I was just going to reply to Bob T in the same vain.  No my car is still officially registered and insured and taxed and Mot'd in the UK.   I was just interested to know whether this kind of damage was covered under French insurance for future notice, just in case anything like this happens again, god forbid.[:-))]

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I'm straying off topic - but then, how unusual is that?

[quote user="baypond"]Re the car, you can't win this one, because as I found out on this forum to my amazement, once you have registered in France, you can't legally drive it back in the UK![/quote]

Just to clarify, the only reason why Baypond can't drive his (her?) French-registered car in the UK is that Baypond is still UK-resident. A French resident person of UK nationality can drive a French-registered car in the UK.

Seriously, though, rosienoo, you might want to clear up at least in your own mind where you are actually living. If you have a look at:

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1839257/ShowPost.aspx it will provide some guidance as to your actual situation.

Regards

Pickles

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[quote user="rosienoo"][quote user="baypond"]Re the car, you can't win this one, because as I found out on this forum to my amazement, once you have registered in France, you can't legally drive it back in the UK![/quote]

Oh!! that would render my car useless in the UK then, is that right??  are you sure.[/quote]

ONLY if you are UK-resident. If you reside in France then of course you can drive your French-registered car in the UK.

[quote user="rosienoo"]Apparently there is an EEC agreement that if you are in any of the EU countries you are covered for the whole period of your insurance policy in which ever Member State your car is covered.  Even if your UK insurer says you aren't covered for longer than 3 months at one time, they are contrivening the EEC agreement.[/quote]

Be careful here: IIRC your insurer is required to provide the statutory minimum level of cover (as set out by each individual EU state) for your car in the EU, for any length of time. HOWEVER, in most cases this is generally equivalent to Third Party cover only: thus your insurance company can impose restrictions on the time out of the UK for which to is prepared to provide comprehensive cover.

Regards

Pickles

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