mrcusa

Hi all

Having been now in Mallorca for 6 months, and having lived in UK, USA, Germany and Austria, here are some observations!

1) Why have they made registering a car, which takes 10 minutes everywhere else, so complicated that you have to employ someone to register the car for you? How can they justify the need for an engineer's inspection and MOT for a 6 month old vehicle?

Result - Everyone drives on foreign plates!

2) Why are you made to feel privileged if you can obtain an ADSL connection? How can a wait of 2 years be normal in this day and age? If you do get one eventually, it is arguably the slowest ADSL in the World. Hardly the 16MB standards now throughout the rest of Europe.

Result - No one can do any business online!

3) Why are the IVA regulations so bizarre? A friend of mine has a business in Palma. I was going to PC City and offered to pick up a backup drive for him. A whopping Euro 99. To do that, I had to take some sort of certificate to do with his business with me. I could not go through the the normal checkout, I had to go to some desk at the back of the store and it took the operator about 20 minutes to produce the necessary paperwork, which I then took to the cash desk and had authenticated. Now my friend will be able to claim back the iva!

Result - Everyone works for cash! You can't get a receipt for anything. Any work that you want done at home is paid cash. If you ask for a receipt you just get very strange looks!

4) Add to which, it seems that just about everyone sells their homes using two contracts. One for the official amount, and one for the cash bit! Unbelievable that millions of Euros are going untaxed!

Result - I bet those tax officials are still concerned about giving back the 14 Euros iva on that tape back up!!

5) How come supermarkets only have two choices of milk? Normal, or skimmed. I guess the skimmed version is about 6 or 7%. Anyway, on 50% of the visits to the supermarket, they have sold out of skimmed but have a milk mountain of the full fat variety!

And, sticking on the subjects of supermarkets, why do they feel it necessary to offer about 50 different varities of bottled water, occupying 2 rows of supermarket fixtures, but such a limited choice of other products?

I am dreaming of Marks and Spencers and Tesco!!

Martin

Douglas jack

Because its Spain.

poollounger

Personally I am glad it's different. I know it must be frustrating if you are living there, but anything to ward off this blasted global uniformity. Why go live in Spain then expect Tescos and Marks and Spencers ??
Vive le Difference!!!

mrcusa

Yes, well, if it was just the supermarkets, I wouldn't have started the thread.

My advice would be, rent a property for a while before you buy.

If the demand from people buying property abates, and this is something that Spain has relied upon for many years, I don't see a switched on dynamic economy waiting to take over.

Martin

Rixxy

Welcome to Spain Martin! Yes all the above and more - but think of all the stories you can dine out with after a few more years of this type of madness.

jenna m

I will always remember my problems with SUMA on the Costa Blanca - it was absolutely horrific.
Andalucia was much easier to have all the utilities set up and paid.
Is SUMA still difficult to deal with nowadays?

Mercedes

Your'e living on a island

poollounger

I was just using your example. Perhaps as part of the group of people who love visiting Spain as an escape from the rat race I have an idyllic view of the place. It's the old argument about wanting to retain the tranquil lifestyle of Pedro and his donkey, while Pedro would love a modern flat with broadband etc. In the large cities yes. Living in London, for eg, I know that I can expect the very latest in medical care from hospitals like Kings and Guys but would never expect the same in Spain. Hope this doesn't sound patronising or confrontational...just an observation.

Douglas jack

The rent before you buy advice is usually past on,on this forum,as well as allways do your homework on the area, and country.You seem to be a travelled person so you must know that the country is there to be adapted to,not the other way about,you made your bed,I am sorry to harp on,but why moan Spain is Spain and lots of us love it,when you buy in a village you cant expect a supermarket,as for water you cant live without it,and your surrounded by it.

mikelincs

all the supermarkets I've been in over here have desnatada, semidesnatada, and entera milk for sale, so no problems there, as to SUMA, well I pay it, and haven't had any problems, it just disappears from my bank account and I get a receipt. ADSL had little in the way of problems, OK had to wait about 3 months to get it, but I suspect that was mainly due to NOT contacting the right peopel and trying to go through Telefonica in English to start with. Not being in business can't talk about IVA, and as to importation of cars, it takes longer and costs more and there has to be an inspection BECAUSE the authorities insist that the car is unmodified from the manufacturers specifictions, so there has to be a check, and that a car only 2 days old could have been modified.

crispy

[QUOTE=mrcusa;4429645]
3) Why are the IVA regulations so bizarre? A friend of mine has a business in Palma. I was going to PC City and offered to pick up a backup drive for him. A whopping Euro 99. To do that, I had to take some sort of certificate to do with his business with me. I could not go through the the normal checkout, I had to go to some desk at the back of the store and it took the operator about 20 minutes to produce the necessary paperwork, which I then took to the cash desk and had authenticated. Now my friend will be able to claim back the iva




Luckily I have completed accepted the fact that buying practically anything in Spain can take at least 1/2 day. I had been looking for a brick BBQ for the garden for months, I refused to pay the 400 - 600 euros I was being quoted for what I wanted. One day last year I heard that the local builders yard had what I wanted for 180 euros so off I dashed. Sure enough outside the office was what I wanted, waited 35 mins whilst the lady in the office fussed around trying to located the product number for it; then she told me they had none in stock and that they would not be getting anymore so I asked if I could have the one on display. Well you would have thought that I was asking for the tiles off the roof not the last BBQ they had in stock. I could not possible have that one as what would they use for the display model, I pointed out there was not going to be anymore as it was the end of the line. No could not have it, she phoned their main branch in Chiclana Town and was told they could help me there.

Arrived at the main branch, now my Spanish is not very good at all and by good fortune there was someone working at the store that spoke perfect English and Spanish who came with me to the counter that dealt with the BBQ's, but after nearly an hour of looking in books and typing away at a keyboard and making 4 phone calls we were still no nearer to buying the BBQ (which was on display in the middled of the shop). In the end the lady that was helping look at me and put her head in her hands, she said that she just could not understand why eveything is so difficult, the BBQ had a product number on it, they had found it in the book, typed the number into the PC, yes it was in stock - where is the problem. After we got it all sort we then realised that it had no metal inside to it, we had to go through all the same to get that added to the invoice.

This shop is not a small one man business it is most probably the biggest building suppliers in the area, you would thing that they would have a system in place that meant you could just go in and buy what you want within a few minutes especially if it is on display. I know for a fact that if I was in the UK I would most probably walked out of the shop after about 15 mins but here in Chiclana, well that's the way it is done. In all fairness I have to say the benefits were not negative as we got free delivery and have had some fantastic meals cooked on it.

poollounger

[QUOTE=crispygirl;4433456] Now how many times in Britain have you been told that the display model is the last one and no it cannot be sold ?? I have.

gallerie9

well.....last week in a very large DIY store we found what we were looking for, but as you say crispy girl last one on display and no we can not have it ........ my other half wouldnt accept that .........he walked over to another assitant, who got a screw driver took it off display and on to our trolly.... now what was the big deal .......... One said NO the other said YES .......can not for the life of me understand why !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

crispy

[QUOTE=poollounger;4433462] More than once I have been able to buy the display model when it has been the end of line, back in the UK, otherwise shops would be full of one off's never to be sold. Madness if shops anywhere in the world are not willing to sell off the last one, I mean what will they do with them, send them to the little shop in the sky for last ones left

scampicat

We are in the process of having our car registered, what a nightmare!

It went to the ITV station and failed on the paperwork (we are paying a gestor to do it for us). Why?

Well on the paperwork it said it had 5/7 seats. It's got 7. Now the guy in the ITV place said that's not correct - the paperwork says 5 or 7.

The paperwork didn't specify how much it weighed. He asked us. How are we supposed to know? We've never weighed it!

They even measured it! (How do you alter the length/width/height/axle width of a car?).

We had to remove the towbar before we went as we had nothing to say where it had been fitted (in the factory, but it didn't say it anywhere).

I wouldn't mind if it was some sort of obscure marque, but it is a Seat - made in Spain!

AND it's going to cost us £1000 euros to do it.

Totally agree with OP, the totally unneccessary and complicated bureaucracy is the one thing I hate about Spain.