Wednesday 19 August 2020

French bureaucracy.



French bureaucracy is legendary.

I recently received a letter telling me that I hadn't used my Post Office Savings account for over 10 years, and that if I didn't go to see them with masses of papers within the next few weeks; they'd pocket all my money.

I took what I thought was needed, but, OF COURSE, it wasn't right. It never is!

They needed proof of my identity, and a bill with my name and address of less that 3 months old, which I provided; but they decided that it wasn't the right one. If I couldn't find a replacement, the alternative was horrendous; I would need Lady M to provide bizarre papers, and even more proof of domicile, identity papers, her grandfather's inside leg measurement, etc.

Once home, and my blood pressure settled, I remembered that my telephone/internet bill was in my name (most of our bills aren't) so I searched for a recent one. Then I remembered that we no longer have paper bills; only online ones.

So, I thought I'd better print one off.

I found the page, typed in my log-in Email address, then they wanted a password.... I couldn't remember it.

I then asked for a new password, which they say will come BY POST in 7 days.

This is all very simple in comparison with some French bureaucracy. You dare not throw away any papers, receipts, invoices, etc, for generations. You need to know your family tree back to the time of Napoleon, with all birth/death, marriage dates, etc.

It's a bloody nightmare. If I don't get my new password, I'll let them keep my bloody money; it'll be worth it, just to be rid of them!

28 comments:

  1. Agree bureaucracy has a way of depriving us of our hard-earned.

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    1. Even if I HAD died, the money should still belong to someone. They can't keep their hands off it.

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  2. Commiserations.

    Alas, it's not just the French. All countries are like that. Not that that's any comfort to you (or anyone). And forget the old wives' tale of certain countries (say, Spain or Greece) being relaxed and lenient about Bureau Crazy. They aren't. Worse: They take even longer to chew the paperwork.

    I agree with you; if and where possible just throw money at a headache, cut your losses instead of wasting precious time.

    U

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  3. Greece could teach them a few extra layers of that bureaucracy - like having to take everything to the KEP to have it all verified as original and signatures witnessed before rejoining the queue at the post office...only to find you still don't have 2 copies of all the original documents they wanted to see (because they wan to keep a copy and don't make their own). It's woeful.

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    1. I once showed interest in buying a small house on a small Greek island. When I heard of all the bureaucracy involved; I changed my mind! It was bad enough here (pre-EU).

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  4. I get most of this but that your new password will be sent by post and arrive in seven days is extraordinary. Maybe you should call the utility company and ask them to reset your password, but then they may well ask you what your old password is.

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    1. Believe me, this is the easiest way to do what I need to do. It all sounds crazy, but that's how things are done.

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  5. And here's me envying you living in France!

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    Replies
    1. This is why I try to keep well away from bureaucracy.

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  6. Sending a new password by snail mail - now that is weird.

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    1. They said it had to be sent to the address I'd used to start my phone account. V odd.

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  7. It is the same in the UK Cro....worse actually. My bank would not accept a computer print out of a telephone bill. It had to be a hard copy sent by the telephone company. For me it wasn’t a question of printing off the bill. I had to sign back on to getting paper bills and wait for one to arrive in the mail. I hope your post office accepts a print out.

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  8. I think as I get older there is more bureaucracy in things that involve me. I can understand some of it because of security and scammers but it can be maddening at a time in my life that I have worn out my patience and want things easier.

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    1. I certainly agree that things should be made easier for retired people. The last thing we want are administrative complications; we have enough to deal with by just getting old.

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  9. It might be worth your time to make a list of all your NAMES and PASSWORDS in a document, save it, print it and keep it handy by your computer!
    I have always done that because I cannot remember passwords ... ever!

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    1. I've mostly used the same password for the few sites that require such things, but I think this one was given to me by the phone Co, and I probably took no notice of it.

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  10. Tigger says it all for greece but it definitely helps if you live in a small village/island and know someone in the office or are the second cousin of their godfather.
    Sleep on it and continue on. Or in your case that is not the advice you want to hear. You'll be sleeping even less now your mind has this chew over

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    Replies
    1. The problem is, you NEVER get used to it. When I first came to live here in 1972, I was stunned by all the officialdom; nothing has changed.

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  11. Can't you print your own from your electricity company's website (that's what I'm usually asked for)? Or go to your Mairie and ask them to do an attestation de résidence?

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    1. I will print it, but first I need the password. Why I need a username and a password just to look at my phone/internet bill, I'm not sure.

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    2. Ha ha, as someone upthread said, I wrote all my passwords down (and put a password on the document). I'm surprised they won't send your password to your email address though. Oy vey!

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  12. Cro, there should be a way to make things a bit simpler for us retired folks. I don't want any special favors, but I also don't want a heart attack from high blood pressure every time something frustrating pops up.

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    1. Quite right. I've had to put up with all this bureaucratic nonsense for the past 47 years; I've had enough.

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  13. Take a deep breath and chant "ohm" repeatedly as if you were a Hare Krishna monk in saffron robes. I hope you didn't leave a fortune in the savings account.

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    1. Only enough for a very small house! Even so, it's better than nothing.

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  14. Making things difficult is job security and importance for some. Your experience confirms bureaucracy and petty officials are alive and well.

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    1. We always used to say that if you could afford a suit (sons of farmers couldn't), and got yourself a job in a bank, or the Mayor's Office, or the Post Office, you suddenly had the right to treat others as sh*t. Such people still treat others as inferior idiots.

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