On the plus side....perhaps they will stop putting up these awful windmills.....a complete an utter waste of time, space and an absolute eyesore. Nuclear is surely the way forward........yes, I'm a heathen, flat earther.....
Oh Hell cate! I've just read your post & agreed with you;-) Seriously though, if this was kosher the press etc would surely be all over it & the "Ambulance Chasers" of the legal profession would be working their magic! by now as they did in the PPI miss selling debacle. Not withstanding any of the above, surely, if it was an illegal deduction EDF will be obliged to reimburse all clients not just them wot ask! The sad truth is that even if they do divvy up it's us who will pay 'cos they'll just jack up the other costs.
Edit. I've just seen Doreen has posted similar comments whilst I was pecking my keyboard
Doreen, look closely and the ECJ has ruled X but thus far the French government has done nothing which includes them having the possibility to appeal against the judgement and there is nothing to say how long the deadline is for that so... Perhaps that is six months, I cannot imagine less, then X years until the appeal is considered and before we know it there are three more years gone and nothing done, known and beyond gossip. People hereabouts are sending in claims, but then bottom line is sending it in, albeit it to the shredder indeed, costs a few minutes, a sheet of paper, an envelope and a stamp, so if people have a go there is not that much to lose. If it comes to nothing, then those of us who are prepared for that will let it gone but those who feel aggrieved will jump up and down in fury before forgetting it.
There are also people who believe rumours about UFOs ;-)
It’s recorded delivery (Lettre Recommendée ave Accusé de Reception).
Locals here in Finistere are completely unaware.
Ditto, although I learned from it here it was my not-actually-English speaking (though she does) OH. Then all of the local people I told have told others and locally the postwoman must have taken a fair old handful of claims with her already.
why Doreen? surely if you are advised that any of the services you pay for have included a tax that has been judged to be illegal, it is reasonable to claim it back? am I missing something here? I know the French neighbours we have are certainly all claiming their's back.
We have sent off our claim using the standard letter...will let you know how we get on. Also have shared the info with friends and noticed it has hit the local Eymet Forum, so looks like a wave of applications will be going in at the same time.
Yes, back to almost where we started David, Doreen posted that among the first comments. There is actually very little available but nothing saying that there should or will be repayments, unfortunately.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-327_en.htm
Latest press release from European Commission (27 March). At least it wasn't 1 April. Long way to go.
To Doreen From 3 january 2003 loi 2003-8
Your second paragraph is exactly right. Those things are what it says (or does not say).
I've just phone EDF about this and the person I spoke to knew nothing about it, but she's going to find out and let me know. It seems to me that if it's illegal, there should be no need for individuals to claim it back, everyone should be refunded automatically. I'll let you know what happens!
Having looked at the court decision it seems to indicate that it is preliminary. I think that the French government will look to wriggle out of it as we are talking big bucks which it should be noted has probably all been spent on the wind farms. They are banned where we are in a Parc Naturel but are everywhere else and it goes against the grain to pay large taxes to support such disfiguring beasts. Mind you you could possibly say the same about defence expenditure too. Nobody should reckon that their claim is going to be successful or just around the corner. I thought I had a good claim with Equitable Life but got nothing after ten years of claiming.
Have a read: http://www.lawinfrance.com/articles/IMG/pdf/lettre_energie-legal_ma...
It is complicated stuff, the tax has been declared illegal BUT the decision on how that should be 'compensated' is absolutely not clear. The ECJ's 'verdict' itself is on their site but is basically looking at the fact that the end consumers, namely customers of electricity suppliers, should not have been made to pay for the development of green energy. That was made into the government's business by us paying for it through this 'unjustified' tax. It would appear that repayment is a rumour that has as yet to gain substance. People claiming to have one already are probably confusing it with another reimbursement. So, the fact we go a delaying email rather than an answer would probably lead in the direction of them wanting to find a way out.
That, I would hazard a guess, would lead to consumers going to the ECJ again and another few years will come and go and probably by then the government would have engineered a way out, everybody will lose interest et voila! So, sending in a claim costs a bit of time and a stamp, nothing ventured, nothing gained at the very worst.
Glad it's not just me. To be honest, I can't see how, if the tax IS deemed reimbursable, they would give people such a narrow window for claiming - and I think if I do claim I'll do as Catharine has done and reclaim the lot back to 2010.
I agree that article just confuses the story further. It sounds as if CPSE is part of TURPE 3.
Thanks Sandra :)
cate dal molin suggested holding off claiming and saving yourself a trip to the Post Office, but I have registered my claim by Lettre Recommande because the amount, almost 500 euros is far from trivial, and would be worth a trip to the post office even if only a small fraction is recoverable.