nomoss Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I just bought a car and planned a trip to the Préfecture in Carcassonne to register it.I completed the forms and collected the documents, then called the Préfecture, to discover, from their automated message, that they now only deal with Cartes Grises on Mondays and Fridays. My mistake, I re-checked the hours on the website and listened again to the message, and it says "Monday to Thursday" (times open) "and Friday" (times)Deciding I'd rather not go there, as the wait will probably now be even longer, I started to check online.After avoiding the many sites which offered to get the CG for me when I searched for the Préfecture, I found their website, but then found that on opting to get the CG online, I was simply redirected to one of the agencies I had avoided. This happened when following several series of links to get a CG.If I were of a suspicious nature I might even think that someone could be benefiting from this.Another option offered was to make a "pre-demande" to register, but this still involved going to the Prefecture.Not wishing to pay another 39€ to an agent for a CG costing 94€50, I decided to send the dossier by post and risk its getting lost.The "vosdroits" site says that copies only of some documents can be sent by post, but doesn't say to whom to make out the cheque. After further digging I found that it should be made out to Trésor Public, but only in Paris - otherwise I should check with the Préfecture.I phoned again, listened to the rest of the long automated message, and found that applications by mail have to go to Narbonne, not Carcassonne, and that the cheque should be made out to the Sous-Préfecture de Narbonne.As I couldn't quite understand the address in Narbonne, I phoned yet again, and spoke to a lady in Carcassonne, who gave me the address, but insisted I should make out the cheque to Mr le Régisseur de Recettes, which is what I did....Fingers crossed .......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 And thats an improvement [:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I would strongly advise against using one of these third-party websites that will do it for you - Not only are you paying them a fee for not a lot of work on their part (they are just going to bang it in the post like Nomoss did or perhaps they will have their own computer link to the prefecture as some car dealerships now do) either way, its €40-€50 wasted, but the real risk is sending copies of your ID documents to a third party whos reputation and security are completely unknown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 If it were a regular event I could understand trying to avoid going to the prefecture but as a one off it seem churlish to try and circumvent it.To avoid the queues get there first thing in the morning when the doors open be there at 2pm when they open after the lunch break (if they have one) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 [quote user="AnOther"]If it were a regular event I could understand trying to avoid going to the prefecture but as a one off it seem churlish to try and circumvent it.To avoid the queues get there first thing in the morning when the doors open be there at 2pm when they open after the lunch break (if they have one)[/quote]Gosh, I never thought of that![:D]It is quite a long way to our Préfecture, difficult to find parking nearby, and I have problems walking.Apart from that, I already spent enough of my life standing in line in government offices during the years we lived in Spain. It was one of the many reasons we left there, and I try my best to avoid it, even if that seems ill-bred or plebeian to some. Actually, it's been a while since I met any churls[:D]I still have, occasionally, to sort out something or other about our Spanish pensions when mail goes astray, but at least we can book an appointment at the office, unlike the Guardia Civil (Trafico), who have almost the same (non) system as in 1980, although they do now have a "take a number" ticket system, which is cutting edge technology in Spain. Since we have lived in France, especially since I began to find it difficult to get around, I have been delighted to be able to handle most bureaucratic affairs by telephone, email and post, without leaving the house, and thought that others who regard visiting government offices as a chore might be interested in alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Received the new Carte Grise in my name today [:D]Application etc. posted on 11 Feb. Beats going to town! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 [quote user="AnOther"]If it were a regular event I could understand trying to avoid going to the prefecture but as a one off it seem churlish to try and circumvent it.To avoid the queues get there first thing in the morning when the doors open be there at 2pm when they open after the lunch break (if they have one)[/quote]La sous-préfecture est ouverte du lundi au vendredi de 8h 30 à 12h 30 Usagers de la route - Cartes grises : du lundi au vendredi de 8h 30 à 12h 30 (arrêt du gestionnaire de file d'attente à 12h15 sauf si les capacités d'accueil du public par le service sont dépassées) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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