Hi I have been pondering whether it is appropriate to make a complaint to the mairie about the manager of a tourist facility ? It concerns a personal matter. He lied to me, treated me unfairly, and beside this he threatened to report my son who also relies heavily on the tourist trade to the URSSAF. I suspect he did too . I have already advised my friend who was interested in coming to stay not to bother wasting her money… I was interested in moving to the town to be near my son, but I would never want to cross this manager’s path.
Should I leave it at that, he has lost money for the town, or should I take it further ? Would it even be of any interest to the mairie or too petty ? Thanks
Sounds like a personal matter, as you say, to be sorted out between you. The maire probably won’t get involved but difficult to comment as you don’t give details. As for your son, if he pays his charges sociales etc. then why is he talking about URSSAF, on the other hand, if he isn’t registered correctly and paying then yes he should be shopped!
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I really can’t see that a maire would be interested. If you wish to take things further, and sometimes this is not the sensible thing to do, then you should approach the employers of the manager in question.
But as Andrew says, if you are correctly registered and contributing then people can complain to URSSAF as much as they like and it will have no effect whatsoever!
Hi this is my point. My son is all above board thank you very much. Why does everyone in France have this nasty attitude ?
The manager in question is a snake. I stayed on his campsite last year and helped my son who has his own restaurant as a mum washing up during the high season. The following January , I had come to see the snake about several other matters, (in which I , as a caring person, had asked him to take care of his employee, as I didn’t know anyone else to ask for someone I was worried about, and also ask if there were any jobs the following season - to which he lied) and he took the opportunity to threaten me that if he or anyone else that knew I was washing up, could report him. I checked with the gendarmerie, apparently this is correct, But the snake was quite happy taking my campsite fee all that time, and knowing me through the winter months, knowing he could have warned me about it straight away. Strangely enough, several weeks later my son told me he had received a letter advising him that the URSSAF were coming to do a controle and to get all his papers in order. He said he didn’t think the snake had reported him, but he has never answered me as to whether he found out for definite.
It is not being nasty, it is being realistic about the differences between France and the UK. France has very serious labour laws, and you were in breach of them which could have opened your son up to severe penalties.
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Steady on, Veronica, that’s a bit of a sweeping statement.
I’m not sure how anyone on here can help or advise you as this is clearly a very personal issue. Only you can know whether you should pursue this further.
However, employment laws are very strict in France and if your son was employing you incorrectly then that is no small matter. I would suggest that your son does a bit of research on French employment law to make sure he was doing everything as he should. It’s very easy to make an innocent mistake.
I wish you well.
Izzy x
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Hello Veronica… sorry to learn about the incident re the tourist facility.
If your son is not answering you… it is impossible to guess what has been going on with him and URSSAF.
However, generally speaking, it would not be in order for an unpaid-volunteer to work for a business… since the volunteer would not be covered by insurance for anything which might occur…
Perhaps you doing the washing-up at your son’s restaurant falls into this no-no area…
In which case the Manager was right to be concerned; concerned for you and concerned for the business and the tourist facility…
Personally, in a similar situation… I would not be pursuing the matter any further.
I hope you are able to make contact with your son in the near future.
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My point is about the underhand manager, he could have warned me immediately when he knew I was going innocently to help a family member . He was quite happy taking money from me while watching me. I just wondered if the mairie would be concerned about a local tourism manager treating good-intentioned people unfairly. I have read an opinion on Tripadvisor that he treated another camper no better than a dog. I have learnt about french law, I am not on here to discuss my son. But thank you for your thoughts.
The mairie will either take no notice at all or possibly feel obliged to deal with the working without being declared issue, which might cause problems for your son; so if I were you I’d just drop it and try to forget about it.
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Thank you. I find the gendarmerie a good friendly source of advice. he was not concerned for me, it was another opportunity he seized upon in that conversation towards the detriment of me settling in that town and linking my son, popular and long since established with a thriving business. I do not understand why or how making threats helps the campsite he manages in supporting the local tourism, ?
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Thank you Véronique, I,it’s what I thought, I like to cross-reference thoughts to try to understand the way things work before going ahead with anything. Pour ne pas etre prise comme imbécile !
What do you know about the personal relationships involved?
Also is the complaint one in which the Conseil Municipal is competent to rule on?
On the other hand if you get on the wrong side of your Commune’s Maire it is not always the legality of the siutuation that determines the outcome.
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Hiya Veronique
I agree with the different members on this page.
Leave it well alone… best this way really.
URSAAF do random visits, your son was lucky to have been warned in advance .
Best left alone for your sons future, he seems to be doing well, so that’s lucky for him 
Stay safe
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The point I was trying to make. This manager could have warned me immediately if I was innocently doing wrong. No he was quite happy to take my money for camping and watch me cycle off innocently to help my son., Not telling me until months later,as a way of hurting me over a personal seperate matter I had turned to him about; If I had have kept my story to where it belonged, the manager treating me badly and therefore me telling my friend not to bother coming wasting her money where I had been wronged, Would the mairie be interested in how the manager treats his customers and thereby losing recommendations for the only campsite in the town?
Hi Grahame , I find you comment intriguing. Certainly food for thought if you would care to discuss further, just for me to understand how things work. It’s not worth taking anything further. It’s mainly my hurt feelings, from turning to someone I thought was trustworthy.
Personal relationship, I do not think the manager knows my son personally, maybe mutual business or personal contacts ?
He did say ’ if I, or anyone else’ that knew you were washing up etc. Who could he have meant ?
May I step back, how does anyone know for definite if a member of family ( or any other person) has been declaré or not in order to be in a position to make such a threat ? Mutual contacts again and gossip can’t be reliable unless you have the right to check the facts for yourself ? What abut protection of personal information for both parties, business owner and volunteer, in question ?
I did find it strange that much later on I started to chat with a stranger feeding street cats, who said your son could have declared you to help you, even if you were helping for free. How on earth did she know I had been helping or that he hadn’t declared me ? Thanks
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With the manager that threatened me, I know someone he is associated with who openly admitted to me that her sideline business is not declaré. Maybe I should have cut him in his tracks by making a counter admission of knowledge ?
Never ever go down that path
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You best route he is most definitely to:
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[quote=“Veronica_Durkin, post:15, topic:30749”] “Who could he have meant ?”
These are two of your own statements, Veronica, from the same post, and in the order in which you made them.
Do you make it a habit to contradict yourself so quickly? Maybe you should sort your head out, or get someone professionally qualified to support you in doing that, before you develop this theme any further on SF?
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Thanks Mat, just the job