Paperwork
ˈpāpərˌwərk
noun
We have a new car.
Do not ask about the old car - that is a long and as yet unresolved story that I will save for another day.
The new car is a Kia Cee'd (no I had never heard of it either) which we bought in the UK but from a Romanian man so all the paperwork is in Romanian.
Hmmmm. Then let the fun begin. This is France and a country obsessed with paperwork and form filling. In order to import a car and get French number plates you need a Carte Grise and believe you me, they do make this easy. At least they supply you with an envelope listing all the forms etc you need but it is still a bit of a nightmare, not least because every time you go to yet another office to fill in yet another form or get the car checked they insist on filling in loads of paperwork. They spend ages huffing and puffing because they cannot find the right figure on the Romanian papers we have!! Surely we cannot be the first people to have imported a Romanian car can we? We finally got everything gathered together and took the envelope into the Sous Préfecture who deal with Carte Grise allocation. Did it go smoothly? Well, not quite. The lady there shuffled papers, huffed and puffed, spoke French at us at 90 miles an hour and finally seemed to think all the paperwork was all there ... but there was a problem. For some reason she was unable to tell us how much the Carte Grise would cost because she did not know what type of vehicle it was despite everything being there on the paperwork. She said we could send everything off with a cheque with no amount written on it and the main Préfecture who allocate the Carte Grises would write in the correct amount.
Gulp. OK. Oh but she could not send it as it was holiday season and there was no courier!! We would have to post it ourselves although she did kindly write the address out for us. So we went to the Post Office and sent it recorded delivery and now we are waiting to see if we have sent all the correct paperwork.
Anyone care to place a bet as to whether we'll get a letter back saying we need something else or will we get our Carte Grise?
Oh dear, that sounds like a lot of stress! I'll keep my fingers crossed for a good outcome x #WotW
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kirsty :)
DeleteWow, that's trusting, I'm not sure I'd send off a blank cheque. As for being the 1st to import a Romanian car, I bet you are in your area, it's not exactly one a penny normal thing to do in rural north-western France! How's the UBC going? I must say I love holidays and NOT blogging!!!
ReplyDeleteOf course - "blank cheque" was the 2 words I was searching for and unable to locate when I wrote this post! Not missed a post yet on UBC ;)
DeleteOh, this sounds like a nightmare! What a hassle to just get your car sorted. I so hope that you have sent everything that you needed to have, and that the blank cheque works out well! Thanks for sharing with #WotW x
ReplyDeleteWe will be checking our bank account carefully!
DeleteThank you and we we will be checking our bank account very carefully!
DeleteAlways the way with Paperwork isn't it hun. I hope it all goes through smoothly for you.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice Weekend xx #WotW
Thank you Jayne - and you :)
DeleteOh dear.....What a faff!! I hope it all goes smoothly for you x
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim :)
DeleteCan you drive the car in the meantime? Sounds like a nightmare! Good luck. Emma @purplemulberrys #Wotw
ReplyDeleteYes, Emma, but only with third party insurance so not ideal.
DeleteOh dear! This doesn't sound like much fun. I hope it all works out well in the end.
ReplyDeleteIt's the third car we have done but the first from Romania!
DeleteWhat along winded process.I hope you get it sorted out now without any further issues.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nayna, so do we!
DeleteOh my. I have only dreamed of living in France, but I guess buying a car in Romania and registering it in France gets complicated. Hope you get your Carte Grise without any further delay so you can get back to your family, animals, and gardening!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barbara. Time will tell!
DeleteBureaucrats, Rosie, will be bureaucrats! It's a worldwide epidemic :(
ReplyDeleteJust enjoy the car!
HUGS <3
You are so right, Judy!
DeleteEep, I want to move to France I really do but it is this that would put me off! I know, it's worth it! I hope it all goes through ok though and you get your carte grise :) #WotW
ReplyDeleteThank you and good luck if you ever do make the move :)
DeleteI am from the Philippines where paperworks are like everywhere! It is like there is not a need to save trees in the world. I thought that somewhere like 1st world countries registering things are a breeze. Im wrong =P #wotw
ReplyDeleteIt could all be so much easier I am sure but no. not when bureaucrats get hold of things!
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