Dear Sir,
I WOULD like to suggest a weekly feature in the Bulletin that allows readers to ask legal questions relating to life on the island. I can start the ball rolling with this:
A few weeks ago I looked at my bank statements for my local account here in Palma only to see that the local council had embargoed (or stolen from in my language) my account and taken out 135 euros without my knowledge.
I went to my bank branch to find out what it was for, where they supplied me with a print out saying it was due to me not paying my contribution (rates) on a flat I used to own. I went to the Ayuntamiento (town hall) to ask why this was, seeing as I was sure I had always paid my rates. After standing in line for an hour, I was sent upstairs to Urbanismo (town planning) where they confirmed it was because I had not paid a rates bill from 2003.
I am sure I have, I responded, and then asked why they hadn't bothered to give me any notice of their intent to steal 135 euros from my account. They said they had sent notification to me, but the address they had sent it to was a flat I owned about six years ago. I had changed the address with the council when I sold the flat six years ago, and they admitted that they had the change of address, just that it had not been changed in the part of the system where they send out letters!
So, off I trot back home to look up all my receipts, and lo and behold, there is my rates receipt from 2003, paid on time and in full. Back at the local council in Palma (and after having to wait again for 45 minutes) I show them the receipt and they admit, without apology, that they have obviously made a mistake.
Fill in these forms (three of them), and then come back with your bank details and all the forms fully filled in, I was told (fortunately, it was one of those rare occasions when the forms are actually in Castellano and not Majorcan!).
So, I fill the forms in and return to the local council once more, wait in line once more, and then politely hand in my forms with the claim for a refund. As soon as I hand in the forms the woman laughs, because there is no way, she tells me, that I can possibly claim for the petrol and parking I had to pay for the go to the bank and the council offices four times.
And there is no way I can claim for hours missed of work, even though council offices are only open in working hours. All I can claim for is the amount they took from my account plus lost interest if I'm lucky!
And then comes the biggest kick in the teeth...It will take five or six months to return to my account! Which actually made me laugh as well, because I was sure the woman was joking!
She wasn't. So, any gestor or lawyer out there who can let me know where I stand, I would love to know.
Matthew O'Connor, by e-mail
Waiting in line for your own money