Mark,
The wall’s already been taken down and sent to’the’?Prosecutor. He’s/ She’s going to have one hell of a f’ing surprise when it’s delivered 
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I wonder whether we could get David Hasselhoff to sing ‘Looking for Freedom’ on whatever’s left of the wall like he infamously did in Berlin on New Year’s Eve 1989 just after the wall fell. We’ve got a month to get him booked and to France. I sure that would smooth relations between all parties just as it did in Germany.
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As an overview of the entire situation, I note that the collision between the lorry and the wall apparently took place nearly two months ago, and yet it would seem that no formal written demand for compensation has been sent to the registered office of the vehicle owner by means of a letter sent Recommandee avec Avis de Reception.
I wonder how long this matter can be left in limbo before such a claim could be considered to be ‘out of time’.
Surely it would not be unreasonable for the ‘other side’ in this situation to consider the delay of the plaintiff in making the formal claim to be indicative of the plaintiff believing that the grounds for the claim are weak. The longer the claim is delayed, then the weaker it may be thought to be.
Suzan seems to be waiting for a decision of the Procureur that is unlikely to be notified to her in any case. The Procureur’s office will notify the person or body that referred the matter to them of their decision. In the event that it is decided that there are no grounds for any prosecution, then the referring body will be informed, and that will be the end of the matter.
I think it highly unlikely that Suzan will ever receive a letter, from the Mairie for example, saying something along the lines of ‘Well we were thinking of possibly prosecuting you, but the Procureur says that there is no evidence to support such a case and we were wrong to think that there was’.
So as things stand at present there simply is NO prosecution taking place as no papers have been received to that effect. As and when the Procureur’s office comes to a decision, then there is no likelihood of Suzan receiving any notification of that decision UNLESS the decision is to prosecute, and that, given all the available evidence, seems highly unlikely.
So Suzan delays her claim whilst awaiting receipt of a letter that is not likely to ever arrive, and by so doing, continues to further weaken her claim in the eyes of the other party.
Seems to me that this is a strategy which is most unwise.
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I agree. For things to happen in France you generally have to do them the French way, and not assume that because X happens in your home country the same will work here. So following the formal processes and timelines laid out is important.
And there are wonderful things that smooth processes here that are unheard of elsewhere. For example registering a “main courante” at the police station - which would get a dusty response in a UK police station as a waste of time.
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If there was anything legal going on, you would receive a visit with the official court papers from a Huissier de Justice and I have been on that receiving end many times. If no one at the property, they then get lodged at the local mairie for you to collect. I doubt very much if this goes to tribunal, the state of the system currently is swamped and they have bigger fish to fry than some insurance claim over a wall so do not lose sleep worrying about it plus it takes a very long time to go through the court system - I had 14years of it constantly.
Absolutely agree . It’s the French way or No way. The lorry driver may be an asshole or not, I do not know but he pays an insurance premium and he expects the insurance company to deal with the matter. Likewise the insurance company are used to dealing with other insurance companies and, in fairness to them, they don’t seem to have been sent anything resembling a claim.
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OT what’s the thing with Orange Jane?
Oh, I so needed a comma there - I was thinking who on earth is Orange Jane? Visions of Orange is the New Black. 
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Grrrr…a delivery of a repeteur to a point relais that never arrived. Transporter couldn"t prove they had delivered it, so ought really to be pretty automatic that Orange refund our €100 given that wehave made a formal complaint to them.
But no. For the refund process to kick in we have to have a police reference, so we have to make a formal police complaint.
Which everyone knows is a waste of time. But that is how it’s done. So we do it.
So I am shivering in gendarmarie car park while OH waits for an interview.
Ahhhh… could have been worse.
Would have thought it would be up to the transporteur to report it. Since the bar code scan would show it went into their care but no proof they gave it to you.
My first one with Orange was when they issued myself and someone else the same phone number, and wouldn’t fix it and said visit Orange shop 40 miles away. Shop refused to help as they hadn’t sold it - it had been bought from Orange online. I was receiving distressing voicemails from elderly members of the other person’s family till after weeks I finally got them to sort it out. But no compensation for all the stress and time wasted and no refund of any charges for the period my number wasn’t just… mine.
That’s the bit that is insane.
Mind you in the UK I’d just say “OK, I’ll stop the DD, take the SIM out and post it back to you, and if you want to sue me we’ll see how it goes in court”. Then get a new contract somewhere else.
Not quite sure I’d be that brave in France 
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That early experience was the beginning of various which have given me the impression there’s a long way to go on consumer rights in France
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I have explained this many times in previous posts Jane, however here is the cut and paste from original email sent to me from urbanism at Marie not the prefecture.
Je vous écris suite à votre mail envoyé à la police municipale.
Nous ne pouvons pas vous conseiller sur ce sujet car votre mur est une affaire qui est dans les mains du procureur pour sa hauteur et son emplacement.
Dès lors que nous aurons un retour du procureur de la république, nous vous tiendrons informé.
Bonne journée,
Cordialement,
The Facts
Je vous écris suite à votre mail envoyé à la police municipale.
Nous ne pouvons pas vous conseiller sur ce sujet car votre mur est une affaire qui est dans les mains du procureur pour sa hauteur et son emplacement.
Dès lors que nous aurons un retour du procureur de la république, nous vous tiendrons informé.
Bonne journée,
Cordialement,
Thanks Robert, the incident took place on 17th October, yes there has been much communication. No I didn’t lodge a claim in court yet, but today heard from his insurance asking for my rib, so I think that could be a promising note.
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Insurance companies usually take an arm and a leg and more frequently the urine but fingers crossed for the best outcome.
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Suzan, lets hope it goes well
Well at least that identifies that the planners (most likely) are concerned about its height and position, not just whether it was in the right place. But every tiny thing goes to the Procureur (including our stupid €100 complaint against Orange) so it is quite likely that it will be classé sans suite. Especially if it is no longer there!
But do take care in rebuilding to triple check with a géomètre.
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I have no intention of rebuilding, but thanks for the thought. The height has now been cleared as others in area have the same, just waiting for measurements to be checked. Good luck with phone.
Thank you so much.