Post by Ribaric on Oct 29, 2017 13:10:43 GMT 1
Not meant to be a long diatribe in the way the US does this annual address but a few cases which have fallen on my desk lately....
A major bank is withdrawing its standing order service for customers to pay the mandatory monthly bills to HTV. Why? They say that HTV are constantly screwing up the recording of payments which they then regard as unpaid debts. This allows them to take payments from peoples' bank accounts, plus a hefty fine, the people then complain to the bank. The bank's position is "we've paid HTV and we've paid them on time". HTV's position is they have not received payments. The result is the bank no longer trusts the national institution of HTV and now refuses to collect and pay the monthly payments on behalf of its customers.
The local rubbish clearing organisation, a company wholly owned by the city, have removed the ability of resident to pay bills at the company's own office (built explicitly for that purpose). Goodness knows why, perhaps they suspect their own people are stealing from them and don't have the wit or will to stop it. When asked how payments can be made, we are told we must go to the head office and pay there - if you can find somebody there - or pay by direct debit (see above story). We asked why is the cashier's location still in existence even though nobody can pay bills there.... the answer we got was "Welcome to Croatia".
We accompanied a customer to Vrbovec police station to make an application for temporary residency for an EU citizen. The police accepted everything but saw the person did not have health insurance and so could not issue the visa. We asked what kind of health insurance is acceptable for this purpose and were told "only HZZO". We asked if EHIC or BUPA will do, no, it must be HZZO. We then advised the friendly lady that we'd just come from HZZO and they would not accept anyone to join HZZO unless the police confirmed them to be legally resident. The catch 22 situation remains although we did get a classic shrug of the shoulders.
I went to pay a tax bill for a customer in Krapina. The official asked for my ID card and then asked why the bill payer was not here. I advised the person lives in Sweden and only visits from time to time so I am here to pay his tourist tax - in cash - right here - now! I was told I required a special notarised form to give me the authority to pay. I explained, "I am here with cash - I'm going to give it to you - I want nothing from you other than acknowledgement that I've paid it."... but no. I returned the following day at a later time and found a different person at the counter. No problems, no questions, I just paid, got my receipt and left.
I have a family asking me to find a nice house for them to rent on a long term agreement. I'm having huge problems finding anything because all the places I know about are already rented. Two years ago, the situation was the exact opposite so I started asking owners how it is that renters are now much easier to find. The same story emerges every time: all these people have had their properties re-possessed and lack the funds to buy another. I regard this as a reflection on how things are generally.
The bulk of our business is concerned with property management. We spend most of out time waiting in official offices, cutting grass, landscaping, fixing plumbing, electrics, leaky roofs, erecting fences cleaning, servicing rented holiday homes.... you get the picture. Two years ago we had a full list of trades people: sparks, plumbers, builders, decorators, gardeners, floor layers, surveyors... but now we don't. Our plumber is 68 years old, our electrician has his own full time job now, we can find no gardeners and very few builders/decorators. Why? They've all gone to Germany or Ireland. They get paid a living wage there and they don't have to put up with the kind of things outlined on this rant. I currently have young ladies pushing motor mowers up hillsides.
I have a pension from the UK. I trust it as an institution, I trust the people who run it, I get regular updates and I can vote for the trustees. I am advised by the people we meet in our work-a-day life here that their pension, administered by the sate, is mostly invested in Agrokor.
Views?
www.ruralpropertycroatia.com
A major bank is withdrawing its standing order service for customers to pay the mandatory monthly bills to HTV. Why? They say that HTV are constantly screwing up the recording of payments which they then regard as unpaid debts. This allows them to take payments from peoples' bank accounts, plus a hefty fine, the people then complain to the bank. The bank's position is "we've paid HTV and we've paid them on time". HTV's position is they have not received payments. The result is the bank no longer trusts the national institution of HTV and now refuses to collect and pay the monthly payments on behalf of its customers.
The local rubbish clearing organisation, a company wholly owned by the city, have removed the ability of resident to pay bills at the company's own office (built explicitly for that purpose). Goodness knows why, perhaps they suspect their own people are stealing from them and don't have the wit or will to stop it. When asked how payments can be made, we are told we must go to the head office and pay there - if you can find somebody there - or pay by direct debit (see above story). We asked why is the cashier's location still in existence even though nobody can pay bills there.... the answer we got was "Welcome to Croatia".
We accompanied a customer to Vrbovec police station to make an application for temporary residency for an EU citizen. The police accepted everything but saw the person did not have health insurance and so could not issue the visa. We asked what kind of health insurance is acceptable for this purpose and were told "only HZZO". We asked if EHIC or BUPA will do, no, it must be HZZO. We then advised the friendly lady that we'd just come from HZZO and they would not accept anyone to join HZZO unless the police confirmed them to be legally resident. The catch 22 situation remains although we did get a classic shrug of the shoulders.
I went to pay a tax bill for a customer in Krapina. The official asked for my ID card and then asked why the bill payer was not here. I advised the person lives in Sweden and only visits from time to time so I am here to pay his tourist tax - in cash - right here - now! I was told I required a special notarised form to give me the authority to pay. I explained, "I am here with cash - I'm going to give it to you - I want nothing from you other than acknowledgement that I've paid it."... but no. I returned the following day at a later time and found a different person at the counter. No problems, no questions, I just paid, got my receipt and left.
I have a family asking me to find a nice house for them to rent on a long term agreement. I'm having huge problems finding anything because all the places I know about are already rented. Two years ago, the situation was the exact opposite so I started asking owners how it is that renters are now much easier to find. The same story emerges every time: all these people have had their properties re-possessed and lack the funds to buy another. I regard this as a reflection on how things are generally.
The bulk of our business is concerned with property management. We spend most of out time waiting in official offices, cutting grass, landscaping, fixing plumbing, electrics, leaky roofs, erecting fences cleaning, servicing rented holiday homes.... you get the picture. Two years ago we had a full list of trades people: sparks, plumbers, builders, decorators, gardeners, floor layers, surveyors... but now we don't. Our plumber is 68 years old, our electrician has his own full time job now, we can find no gardeners and very few builders/decorators. Why? They've all gone to Germany or Ireland. They get paid a living wage there and they don't have to put up with the kind of things outlined on this rant. I currently have young ladies pushing motor mowers up hillsides.
I have a pension from the UK. I trust it as an institution, I trust the people who run it, I get regular updates and I can vote for the trustees. I am advised by the people we meet in our work-a-day life here that their pension, administered by the sate, is mostly invested in Agrokor.
Views?
www.ruralpropertycroatia.com
