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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
Carly Jane Lock finds sartorial
elegance is definitely floral, for a
bright and breezy June
From the 70s Carnaby
Street prints that are
invading our wardrobes,
or the latest flora and
fauna-inspired haute
couture jewellery by
Victoire de Castellane for
Dior, Mauboussin or
Boucheron, lavender-blue
liberty pumps by Gerard Darel
or Brigitte Bardotesque
gingham… as the sun comes out
in June, fashion’s hottest flowers
are in full bloom. Neo-romantic
French designer Claudie Pierlot’s
latest collection (see her boutique
on rue du 29 juillet, Paris 1er)
exudes sunshine with two key
looks: Saint-Tropez-style
black-and-white gingham
check or striped pieces:
Cotton sundresses, miniskirt
or sleeveless tops
make pretty picnic attire.
The collection also features
a Roland-Garros green
polo-shirt dress with
screen-printed floral motif
(left), perfect for staying
cool on court during
tennis season.
Italian designer,
Nina Ricci keeps it
classic with a rosy
Laura Ashley style print
cocktail dress and a
delicate weddinginspired
candy pink
chiffon dress.
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
Readers’ complaints against internet servers and telephone companies are
multiplying even faster than new services and providers. Continual bad service and
difficulties getting through to expensive helplines are frustrating – nigh impossible
if you’ve been cut off. In country areas, the service is often poorer and help harder to
obtain than in the cities. The French equivalent of ‘Which?’ consumers’ magazine, ‘Que
Choisir’, has published an excellent, comprehensive guide on how to resolve a whole host
of specific internet server problems, along with a download of each type of letter that
should accompany the complaints. Here in English is how it works.
• If you have not signed any contract or are
the victim of an aggressive sale, choose
from the following five situations:
1) The contract was set up by phone
with nothing in writing but you are
being asked for payment, or payment
is being withdrawn from your bank
account, and maybe your phone line
has been cut.
2) You have had no contact at all with
the company but you are being
threatened for payment by debtcollectors,
whom you may have paid
out of fear of a court case and your
phone line may also have been cut.
3) You have been contacted by a
company but refused their offer. But
you are now being threatened to pay
as if you had accepted.
4) Either you have not had any contact
with a server or you have refused
their offer, but your phone line has
been hijacked by the company who
has transferred it to their company
without your agreement (this is called
‘slamming’).
5) You have been contacted or visited by
the company in your home, and asked
to pay immediately without being
informed of your right to the sevenday
cooling-off period to change your
mind and cancel (as applies to any
sales made in the customer’s home).
You accepted because you were either
undergoing hospital treatment,
someone close to you had died, or
you were ignorant of this law.
• You have signed a contract, but there are
problems – three cases to choose from:
1) You want the company to fulfil its
contract and compensate you for
technical flaws, such as slow internet
access, bad television service or no way
to phone abroad free.
2) Everything is working fine, but the
prices agreed on the contract are not
what you are being charged. It’s
impossible to get through on the
helpline, services that should be free
are being charged for, and other
services are costlier than agreed.
3) Payments are being debited from your
bank account, but you have still not
received your ‘box’ or modem, and
therefore are not yet using the service.
You want a refund for services not
provided, and to have the service you
are paying for.
• You want to cancel your contract but are
not succeeding. You have sent LR/ARs
(lettre recommandée avec accusé de
réception) cancelling your contract, but
had no reply, and payments are still being
charged to your bank account. You want to
be reimbursed for these non-justified
payments and to be compensated for the
bad service and phone-line cuts.
In each case click on the link that
concerns your case to download the
relevant form.
Now choose either a civil or a criminal
procedure. Here is a description of each.
• Civil procedure (procédure civile)
If you decide to use a civil judge, and your
complaint involves a sum of less than
€4,000, it is the juge de proximité or local
judge who will deal with your case. Since
this can be either local to where the
contract was signed, ie, your home or the
headquarters of the firm, it is to your
advantage to choose one local to you
because you will have to present your case
at a hearing. This very simple procedure
does not need a lawyer (but perhaps a
bilingual interprete if your French is poor).
To trigger the hearing, send your
declaration by LR/AR – or you can deposit
it yourself with the clerk (greffier) of the
court’s office. In the declaration, give
precise details of your complaints against
the firm and include all the written proof
you have. The clerk alerts the defendant,
ie, the company, and informs you both of
the date of the hearing. Send copies of the
declaration and supporting documents to
the defendant at least 15 days before the
date of the hearing and you must attend the
hearing or be represented by a member of
your family (or a lawyer if you wish).
At the hearing, both sides present their
arguments to the judge, who will either try
there and then to obtain an agreement
between both parties, or failing that, make
a ruling. Once the ruling has been made,
the only recourse is an appeal (un pourvoi
en cassation). If the judge decides in your
favour, to get his ruling carried out you
must first ask the defendant to settle
amicably. If he refuses, you should resort
to the bailiff (huissier de justice).
• Criminal procedure (procédure pénale)
For offences punishable under penal law,
there are two ways of proceeding:
By simple complaint: by letter, you
send a filled-in complaint form directly to
the public prosecutor (procureur de la
république) or via the gendarmerie or
police. The prosecutor decides whether or
not to proceed, and will inform you if he
refers your case to a penal judge. Now you
can bring an independent suit for damages.
To complain and sue for damages,
apply by letter either to the senior
magistrate of the high court (doyen des
juges d’instruction du tribunal de grande
instance) or to a CID police officer (un
officier de police judiciaire de police ou
gendarmerie). The prosecutor cannot then
refuse to proceed. You should only choose
this option of you have very solid proof that
the firm is guilty of a criminal offence. The
magistrate will decide, according to your
resources, how much money you have to
leave on deposit with the clerk.
You do not have to engage a lawyer
unless you want access to the investigation
file. As above, the judge can be one either
near the home of the consumer or of the
company. (It may be better for a simple
complaint to be heard near the company so
that any other consumers’ complaints
against it are heard at the same court. This
can reinforce your case and encourage the
prosecutor to pass it to the criminal judge.)
Give precise details of all the facts
concerning your complaint. For example,
if you are pleading personal disadvantage
as part of your case, you will have to show
proof of old age, bad health or inadequate
French. All documents relevant to the case
must accompany your complaint.
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
I refer to the May issue of French News about fosse care. You state
that when your septic tank is examined for suitability there will be
no charge but we have just had to pay €45 for this.
We are at Montpon-Ménestérol (Dordogne) and come under
the commune of Saint-Martial (24700). I would appreciate your
comments and the authority on which you base your information
so that I can take it up with the relevant authorities.
Many thanks for your help,
Yours sincerely, Mrs G. Parr
I do seem to have been misinformed here Mrs Parr, for which I
apologise. There is indeed a charge for this inspection and the
amount will vary according to which water company is carrying it
out, and whether the commune will pay part of the cost (then it’ll
no doubt be added on to our local taxes). I am told it should be
around the €40 to €50 mark. Anyone wanting this information
should ask at their local mairie. If you are asked to modify your
installation because it is not functioning correctly, you’ll be given
advice on what to do, and will have four years to comply.
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
This is compuulsory for all occupied
buildings, other than:
1) temporary constructions designed to
last less than two years and
individual buildings of less than
50m2;
2) classified historical monuments and
3) buildings with no heating system
other than an open fireplace.
The report is valid for 10 years, and
has been compuulsory since November 1,
2006 for:
1) sales of existing buildings where it
must be available to any buyer and
2) new constructions for which the
building permit is applied for after
June 30, 2007.
In the case of a new construction, the
report must be supplied by the constructor,
firm or promoter by the date of its
completion. The report need not be
included in the acte de vente of a planned
future building.
The survey is only for the buyer’s
information and rates the building’s energy
performance and greenhouse gas
emissions. Recommendations are given on
how to improve the rating where
applicable. This rating differs according to
the age and characteristics of the building,
the number of occupants, and whether it is
a block of flats or a house. The seller of a
flat in a block can ask the managing agent
to supply information such as the annual
energy consumption of the building, how
this figure was obtained, and a description
of the block and its management.
Electrical installations will have to be
checked as soon as the decree has been
published.
Once an interior electrical installation
is more than 15 years old, a vendor must
provide the buyer with an electrical report.
This follows a set formula, ensuring the
safety and accessibility of appliances in the
existing installation, that there is an
automatic cut-off switch to protect against
short circuits and shocks etc, that there is a
properly installed earth big enough for the
installation, and that safety rules are
respected near showers and baths. It also
checks for worn, inappropriate and
dangerous electrical materials and
unprotected conductors.
For electrical installations less than
three years old, only two documents are
needed: the certificat de conformité aux
règles techniques et de sécurité issued by
COFRAC (see www.consuel.com then
click on “où se trouve mon agence
régionale”), and a survey carried out
before November 1, 2007 by the
electricity supplier (EDF).
Where bare land is being sold,
only the reports on natural and
technological hazards and earthquake
risk are required. However, if there
has been underground mining on
the land, the buyer must be told
in writing or he could cancel
the sale or be refunded
part of the price.
All this might seem like yet more
onerous work for the vendor
but, in the long term, it
will protect the vendor
as much as the buyer.
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