jvc

Anyway, half the time we get these "prepaid envelopes" etc I don't feel they are secure enough to handle what I am sending. Last week a company they sent me a prepaid envelope, but were asking for witnessed copies of documents, which I certaily wouldn't send with a standard postal stamp.

cupoftea

If you look on the La Poste website, you will see that it is perfectly easy to buy and print your own stamps onto your envelopes. Weigh your letters first, put in where you want to send them etc, then pay, then print. No standing in queues, it is really convenient.

jvc

On a similar thread, if I have a failed delivery on a letter by avis de reception can I request it to be redelivered? I had this last week and the postman said it was sat at the post office awaiting collection for 8 days. It wasn't collected, which could of been due to a holiday, so I have just wasted 5 euros? I know the address is correct but to be honest if someone is on holiday 8 days isn't long to wait for a letter? It wasn't until after I signed it back that I thought they should of tried a redelivery?

Chatter Static

Some folk and businesses especially just don't accept sign for post.

dmu

I've never been in this situation, but I thought LRARs were kept at the Post Office for 15 days before being returned to the sender? I suspect that you've wasted 5 € and will have to start again and hope that the addressee is back from holiday and isn't one of the people mentioned by C-S....

babyposer

Hi !

Here's a tip.

Go to the post office and ask for different stamps (5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents and so on). I have a lot of 5 centimes stamps, they are the most useful to me. You are not allowed to use them unless you use another "normal" stamp. So they are only additional stamps. So don't use them on their own.

Use your kitchen scale to weigh your letter.

Then check : Tarifs Postaux 2014 - Tarifs La Poste

Use the stamps required.

Et voilà !

InVinoVeritas

A letter RAR (recommandée avec accuse de reception) will be kept at the post office for 15 days after which it will returned to you HOWEVER legally it is deemed to have been delivered so you need to keep hold of it as proof of delivery. There is no point at all in anyone dodging such a letter.

dmu

I thought that, as long as no one has signed the Avis de Réception, it is deemed not to be have delivered.
I imagine that some people (dodgy artisans? debtors?...) avoid signing, as most Registered Letters are bad news for them as they only have a short time after delivery to settle the problem.
In any case, the OP should keep the original letter, LRAR receipt and card, if deadlines are involved (e.g. termination of an insurance, etc...), and send copies when writing again.

InVinoVeritas

Here is the text from the legal website voslitiges.com - a very useful resource but unfortunately in French:-

"La lettre recommandée est présumée délivrée à la date de sa première présentation au domicile du destinataire et non au jour où elle a été retirée au bureau de poste.
Une exception : en matière de baux d'habitation, la Cour de cassation a considéré que le congé est valide et ne commence à courir que lorsque le destinataire l'a reçu en main propre.

Si vous refusez une lettre recommandée qui vous est adressée ou si vous n'allez pas la réclamée, vous prenez le risque de vous pénaliser.

La lettre sera retournée à son expéditeur avec la mention, selon le cas, "refusée" ou "non réclamée". L'expéditeur aura, en plus de la preuve de son envoi, une présomption de votre négligence.

Vous ne saurez pas ce qu'elle contient et légalement, vous êtes réputé l'avoir reçue.

Les effets légaux de la lettre recomandée commencent à courir au jour de la première présentation qu'elle fut délivrée ou non en main propre."

So, in other words, the recipient is deemed to have received the letter on the day that delivery was first attempted and not when it was collected (if ever) from the post office.

It is very tempting (for some) to try and hide from a recorded delivery letter but it is self-defeating.

dmu

This is good to know - even my French OH thought the legal date of remittance was the date when the addressee signed for it....

jvc

We sent a letter just by normal post to the "neighbour" who owns the land next to us, as the trees are growing over our garden. The mayor said he cannot get involved in something like this, but by law they are obliged to sort out the problem. He (the mayor) recommended resending it by avis de reception, so they may well of received the first letter, in fact it would be a certainty! The second was never received!!!!
Aparantely she lives miles away and uses local farmers to maintain her land. We have spoken to him but he thinks we will have a job getting her to do anything. Sounds like she is a bit odd by all accounts? Hence the problems with the letter!

InVinoVeritas

The problem is deciding what to do after sending the letter RAR and assuming she still doesn't respond. The proof of sending the letter and of her either accepting or refusing it is only of value if you plan to take some substantive action afterwards. You are at liberty to cut off any branches overhanging your land provided these are left on her side of the boundary afterwards but, of course, this would be at your expense.

jvc

I understood (moving away from the topic in hand), that We are not supposed by law to cut these branches as they are not on our land. What's more we had a tree chopped down in our garden when we moved in, the devis for that was in excess of 800 euros, so won't be paying for work to be done when legally it is her responsibility. However any that I am chopping down are going straight back over the fence, even though I know this is not acceptable either. We also do not own or have the desire to use a chainsaw for obvious reasons, as many branches are around 10ft + off of the ground so hanging precariously from a ladder with a chain saw fills me with dread! We do understand though that by law these branches are her responsibility legally, especially when they extend beyond a certain height, and overhang our land and especially when some break in the snow during winter. Knowing how heavy tree branches can be, it doesn't bear thinking about when these snap!

InVinoVeritas

There's two ways of dealing with this:-

1. You send a recorded delivery letter and if you have no reply in, say, 4 months you go straight to the Tribunal and ask for an injunction against the neighbour. Normally it is a €3,000 fine if she doesn't respect the Court order. The Tribunal will cost you nothing provided you do it yourself.

2. You cut the branches and put them on her land. Technically you don't have the right to do this but since she has an obligation to cut them she won't be able prove any prejudice. And probably she'd be happy that she avoided having to pay.

PS If you live on a lotissement then these rules don't apply.