My intention was to write a new post each week, but life seems to get in the way of my best intentions...For example, today I spent part of my afternoon visiting the local police station (for the second time) in an attempt to file a formal complaint against a French online company. Remember that Vladi wanted to buy a special flatscreen television to which he could connect our computer and thus watch our DVDs on a larger screen? You may remember that we drove to Lille in France to check prices there, but in the end, he decided to order from a company he found online which appeared perfectly legitimate (but how can you tell?).
That was in September, and we still have not received the tv. I set out for our local police station on foot, passing the impressive International Deutch Schule (International German School) and a tiny International Montessori Preschool on the way. I spoke with two inspecteurs, one a friendly, smiling young Polish rookie who then deferred to his chef (boss), a less friendly, unsmiling Flemish officer who basically reproached me for stupidly buying online and then expecting the Belgian police to solve my problem. I could almost sympathize with his perspective, but at the same time I told myself, "Well, that's what you're here for - to help people solve their problems..." Outloud, I blamed my husband, saying that I wouldn't have ordered the tv online myself, but I am just trying to help him sort this out. "And where is your husband right now? he asked me sternly. "Au travail (at work)" I replied. The officer wanted to know where he worked, and when I indicated that Vladi worked at the Commission (The European Commission), the inspector's disdain was nearly palpable. In general, the commission employees are an irritation to local Belgians because of their special work status that provides them with enviable benefits like tax-free income, discounts on high-priced purchases such as cars, home furnishings, etc.
In the end, the Flemish officer called the company himself to ask about the status of our order, and was told that they had just received confirmation of our payment. (What a coincidence!) Obviously, a little phone call from the police didn't hurt. Vladi has been calling regularly for the past month and has always had the same reply: We cannot reimburse you until we have received confirmation of your payment." If, within 30 days of today, we still haven't been reimbursed as promised, only then will the police consider it a criminal act and proceed with filing the claim.
Despite the united Europe that the EU proudly proclaims, in certain areas such as law inforcement, international cooperation is not always the name of the game. The police inspectors with whom I spoke were not optimistic about our claim reaching any further than the French border. The first officer I spoke with even recommended that we drive across the border to file our complaint directly with the French police!
I left the clean, modern offices of the police station (no suspects or criminals in sight; this station appeared to be more of a bureaucratic, paper-pushing terminal) with my problem unresolved, but with a certain satisfaction that I had been able to hold my ground in French with the somewhat gruff Belgian police. I have the officer's business card and the request that if all is resolved to please give them a call so that they can close the file....but, my friends, the case is not yet closed! To be continued...
