- This topic has 21 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
On 22 October the Green’s amendment to the EU Budget, to hold in reserve 185 Million Euros from Spain, was due to be voted on. The President of the EU Parliament ruled (on 22 Oct.) that the amendment was not eligible to be voted upon. This was not to be a withdrawal of Funds, but a reservation. Work continues by the Green Party & other MEPs to get this Vote in action before another year passes.
-
-
Spain on the one hand expects to receive all the millions in grants from the EU, but when it comes to Land Grab abuse and demolitions of previously-classified legal properties, it tells the EU to keep its nose out of its business.
Spain shouldn’t receive a single cent in EU grants until it stops acting like Mugabe by stealing peoples properties/land when it has been legally purchased, including stamped documentation from local town halls.
“Oh dear” indeed, UBEDA.
-
-
Did any of you read about how the EU intend to put a stop to all retail refunds!!!! 😯
EU BUREAUCRATS want to end the right of shoppers to get their money back for shoddy goods.
This would end the 100 years of protection British consumers have enjoyed.
For more than a century, shops have offered refunds to people who return unwanted or faulty goods.
Plans by the European Union to “harmonise” consumer law will short-change them by removing that right and weakening safeguards.
Ministers have vowed to fight the Consumer Rights Directive but the UK Government has no power to stop the change if it is backed by the majority of European Union states.
Worse still, if the law is passed retailers will be banned from “gold-plating” the legislation by continuing to offer money- back guarantees.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/137380/EU-to-ban-all-shop-refunds
We all know how there is no consumer law that protects people in Spain. Once the Lisbon Treaty is sealed, we really will be doomed I feel. So much for the promise of the UK being given a vote on this very important legislation. Tony Blair and the Labour government have a lot to answer for….far worse than any other Government in UK history.
-
Claire
while on the first day of our family holiday last year in Italy, I gave my kids £10.00 each to buy a body board each in the site camp shop. After using them for about 1 hour, my sons one snapped in half, so I moaned at him, saying ”be more careful, you will have to share your sisters one now.”…….no chance, sister wouldn’t let him near it. About 5 mins later hers snapped in half also and she is much more careful, so it was obvious these boards were rubbish. I took them back saying we have only had these for an hour and I want my money back, or an exchange for better boards as these are faulty or just useless. The shop owner went mad in a stereotypical Italian way and wouldn’t hear of an exchange that alone a refund, and screamed that in Italy things are done differently!!. Anyway I ended up telling eveyone who walked in the shop that it was all rubbish. After about 5 mins, she virtually threw the money back at me and banned my whole family from the shop!!……..Welcome to Italy eh?
So yes, I feel to lose our consumer rights would indeed be a disaster and lead to the poor quality and unchecked corruption and bullying we see in countries like Spain, Italy, greece etc.
-
Quite an interesting article. However, there is a small error here
@Claire wrote:
For more than a century, shops have offered refunds to people who return unwanted or faulty goods.
That’s just incorrect, we (the UK) have not had a right to get refunds on unwanted goods. Many retailers decide to do this, but it’s not a consumer right, just good customer service. IIRC refunds are only for goods that are not “as described”, “fit for the purpose” or “of merchantable quality”. Even then it can be a real fight to get a refund on an expensive item (e.g. a faulty car).
-
El anciano/Claire
I had to replace brake discs on my car (only it’s second mot) recently, and my local garage informed me that the discs had not worn out but were dangerously corroded while still having lots of wear left, so must have been faulty from new. I complained about this to my local Fiat garage, who as good as said said ‘tough luck’, and still wouldn’t offer anything even after seeing the discs and knowing I had used their services on several previous occasions. They refused to contribute in any shape or form. I then took the issue to Fiat national customer care, who eventually agreed the discs were falling apart well before their time, and refunded me the cost of fitted new disks. Had it not been for the customer care section, I would have been swindled by a large Fiat garage (motorvogue Northampton), so just shows how important our consumer rights are, but you really have to know your rights and get to the right people!
-
The Express article is utter drivel. They should stick to reporting on celebrities and not get themselves wound up about subjects their “journalists” obviously cannot even comprehend.
There is a genuine, accurate, assessment of the proposed changes here:
http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp188.pdf
Andy
-
Well Andy, I wonder if the average Joe Public would even consider looking at the Law commission article unless they knew of the skulduggery of the EU bureaucrats? 😕 Even if they did, I doubt they would bother. (It’s VERY boring reading).
The Express article caught my eye as I was buying my paper and so I looked it up online later….one that I would not have known about but for that headline. It gives people a summary of the proposed action of Brussels. -
@goodstich44 wrote:
El anciano/Claire
I had to replace brake discs on my car (only it’s second mot) recently, and my local garage informed me that the discs had not worn out but were dangerously corroded while still having lots of wear left, so must have been faulty from new. I complained about this to my local Fiat garage, who as good as said said ‘tough luck’, and still wouldn’t offer anything even after seeing the discs and knowing I had used their services on several previous occasions. They refused to contribute in any shape or form. I then took the issue to Fiat national customer care, who eventually agreed the discs were falling apart well before their time, and refunded me the cost of fitted new disks. Had it not been for the customer care section, I would have been swindled by a large Fiat garage (motorvogue Northampton), so just shows how important our consumer rights are, but you really have to know your rights and get to the right people!
Well,a Honda or Toyota would have never had that problem… A good lesson to avoid Fiat next time…
-
-
-
@katy wrote:
Spain does not really care about threats to withold money as they know that the EU Parliament is useless and no pasa nada. Spain has been lying and cheating to obtain funds since joining. I know I worked with the old ESF funds.
Romania, Bulgaria, Greece do just the same. They are happy to get the money from the “Brussels ignorants”…
-
-
flosmichael
re: car brakes issues…… You are quite probably right regarding reliability, but the main lesson learned is that if I ever do have another go at buying abroad, issues like consumer rights will be closely looked at as will corruption, regulation and the justice system amongst other important things that we pretty well take for granted as common sense in the UK.
-
@goodstich44 wrote:
flosmichael
re: car brakes issues…… You are quite probably right regarding reliability, but the main lesson learned is that if I ever do have another go at buying abroad, issues like consumer rights will be closely looked at as will corruption, regulation and the justice system amongst other important things that we pretty well take for granted as common sense in the UK.
I perfectly agree.
I have the impression that in UK, if one is right and makes enough noise the things get resolved.
I do not know about Spain, but in Romania there is an expression”die with the truth in your arms” i.e. one can be right, but nobody cares…
-
@flosmichael wrote:
@katy wrote:
Spain does not really care about threats to withold money as they know that the EU Parliament is useless and no pasa nada. Spain has been lying and cheating to obtain funds since joining. I know I worked with the old ESF funds.
Romania, Bulgaria, Greece do just the same. They are happy to get the money from the “Brussels ignorants”…
Not last year. Bulgaria was repeatedly warned by the EU regarding their rampant corruption & unpunished crime. Their EU ‘trough’ was well & truly frozen – to the tune of 500m Euros.
-
@Suzanne wrote:
@flosmichael wrote:
@katy wrote:
Spain does not really care about threats to withold money as they know that the EU Parliament is useless and no pasa nada. Spain has been lying and cheating to obtain funds since joining. I know I worked with the old ESF funds.
Romania, Bulgaria, Greece do just the same. They are happy to get the money from the “Brussels ignorants”…
Not last year. Bulgaria was repeatedly warned by the EU regarding their rampant corruption & unpunished crime. Their EU ‘trough’ was well & truly frozen – to the tune of 500m Euros.
But the Balkan corruption really is much bigger than anything one can imagine.
The Turks have created a region of top class corruption over there… -
@Claire wrote:
It gives people a summary of the proposed action of Brussels.
Indeed. Unfortunately, completely the wrong one. They clearly did not understand what they were commenting on.
This in no way bans, prohibits or bars refunds. That is total nonsense. It actually strengthens consumer rights. The Express took the truth and stood it on its head. They’re plain wrong.
Here’s a simple table showing the actual effects:
Andy
-
-
-
- The forum ‘Spanish Real Estate Chatter’ is closed to new topics and replies.
