The Spain Forums

Maxi

Hi Lee,

I too have a laminator, scanner etc. You can get the document "compulsado" in the town hall (i.e. stamped), but I suspect that if you had a really snotty guardia who had just had a bust up with his missus, you might find that it would not be acceptable. These are all grey areas that should have been sorted ages ago.

Being a little contrary, I carry my old expired residencia and hold it by the corner that has been cut off. Arguably, it hasn't actually expired, as there is no expiry date on the NIEs that are now issued, again a contradiction.

El Sid

Is all this stupid bureacracy a hang over from Franco's days or do the Spanish actually enjoy all this paperwork ?

If I want to be subjected to stupid rules and regulations I may as well stay in the UK. Why do the Spanish make everything so bloody difficult ?

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When I was here I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.
I've been here a week now. Waiting for a mission, getting softer.
Every minute I stay in this room I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger.
Each time I look around the walls move in a little tighter.

Lee

A lot of it is an over run. At one stage any films or TV shown in Spain had to be dubbed into Spanish, so only films and television in Spanish were shown.

I remember a builder saying how they follow everything by the book and don't question what they are told to do. If a builder was told to build a wall in a certain way, he would rather than point out any errors or mistakes which could result in it falling down.

With importing my car we found the Spanish way hindered things. No non factory extras allowed to be fitted. In the UK you go into halfords, buy a nice set of spotlights or shiny rims and fit them. No questions asked at the MOT if there is tread on the tyres or if the spot lights face the right way. In Spain, forget it. If it ain't a standard item, you will fail your ITV.

But it adds character to the country. Other words can also be used

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Maxi

Hi El Sid - good to hear from you again.

There are plenty of other fun things the authorities can do - for example, if you want to import a car that is legal in the UK but was ORIGINALLY registered in, say, Japan (a grey import), if it hasn't a 16 digit chassis number, they can't do it.

They don't say "no", it's just that the computer won't let them enter any other number of digits!

I like the ITV system - much better than rip-off Britain. The ITV stations have no interest in failing you, as they aren't allowed to do repairs. You can sit in the car on the rolling roads and see your own brake efficiency, emissions etc. etc.

If you fail, you have 2 weeks to correct the item(s) and have to return as they keep your paperwork. Also, it's easy to see if someone's ITV'd as you have a sticker in your windscreen.

I'm sorry to say that paperwork can only get worse under Zapatero as he comes from the same mould as our Gord. God help us all.

Maxi

Oh - and don't get me started on the catastro! Only Spain could have two separate organizations to register property, neither of which talks to the other.

El Sid

I know I won't be happy in Spain, just less miserable than I am in the UK.
Even when you get away from NuLabour, there is still the socialist EU making stupid rules and interfering in everybodies lives.

It's the USA for me, if I can persuade them to let me in somehow. Maybe we'll come to Spain first for a while though. Anything to get out of this place.

__________________
When I was here I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.
I've been here a week now. Waiting for a mission, getting softer.
Every minute I stay in this room I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger.
Each time I look around the walls move in a little tighter.

Lee

If you had the same ITV system in the UK, you can imagine the lads down the markets selling display only purposes versions

Some things are good in the UK. OK they have gone too much big brother with their love of all things data base. But at least you don't need to carry every bit of paperwork to do with your car every time you go out.

One of my biggest concerns if your car gets done over, you can loose every bit of paperwork to do with it, ITV paperwork, ownership documents and insurance certificate.

My own car is an American import, bloody fun and games that was. Because I purchased it in Spain on British plates, the ITV guys would not import it until my name was on the V5. DVLA would not put my name on the V5, because I was not a UK resident. The guy who sold it to the garage could no longer be traced for doing a sales receipt, even though I had one from the garage that sold it to me, which the ITV station would not accept as a legitimate sales receipt.

Two months messing around in the end with some creative paperwork used.

My truck could drive itself to the ITV station on its own in the end

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Maxi

Lee,

Almost exactly the same thing with car registration happened to someone I know. I don't know how they got out of it but they were in a right pickle.

You're right about employees following their boss's every command, but the bosses themselves don't follow the rules.

I spent a year working in a metalwork factory welding (never done it before or since! - minimal training) and there were 3 phase cables connected with electrical tape sitting in puddles of water on the floor from an un-guarded lathe. Stick and Mig welders had no covers, so that you could touch the 3 phase contacts inside. We had to climb up 5-6 metres to get to do the work on the assembly, with no safety arrangements. 3 phase was connected to the wall sockets simply by sticking the bared cable into the holes.

There was a 3 metre sheet metal cutter which could have your arm off. No guard. Really hairy stuff.

I regularly got shocks from welding gear, arc-eye from welders 2ft away, sunburn from arc-welding with just a cotton shirt, caught on fire from sparks from a disc cutter (nearly lost my nuts!) the list goes on.

I never once saw a elf-n-safety inspector!

I am not a wuss - I have worked on roofs, demolished old houses by hand etc. Pulled down old roof beams, with just a bit of Spanish scaffolding - and been up that working on the third tier without barriers, or it being secured, rocking everywhere, but that factory really gave me the willies!

Lee

Story in the Coast Rider this week.

Guy overtook a slow moving car. The car then sped up and over took them and on comes the Guardia lights in it.

Guy copped a 150 euro fine for not wearing a seat belt even though he was. And they could offer no evidence to prove their claim.

Police gave the go home foreigner attitude

I'm waiting on the Coast Rider to update their web site and see if the story is on there.

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mookman

all the above is true, but at least you can still own a 9 mill here!!!!!!!