Key holding problems - Page 2

Hi they are a registered business and have been trading for some years even the president in our community uses them.  

We are going to ask for a receipt and I hope he doesnt give us one from himself and not the electrician.  

I just have this feeling that we’ve been ripped off.   Well he might of done it once but he won’t be doing it again.   All electrics are off now and are staying off until we return.   We’ve paid him in advance for the year so will consider our options in August.  

😐

Hi it has his company name on and it’s registered in Netherlands and when we paid we paid via bank transfer to his bank in Netherlands.  It says he is registered with the chamber of commerce in Netherlands with his reference number.   I have checked in their website and it’s legit on there .  Is this illegal that we pay into his bank in the Netherlands ? His website is not online atm but that could be that’s it’s just down atm.   The plot is thickening I think :( he has had a website as I’ve had a look on it before.   

But is he legally working in Spain?

I presumed so as he has a number of clients even our president.   ... is there any way of checking if a business is registered in Spain ? 

"is there any way of checking if a business is registered in Spain ?" 

If he's registered in the Netherlands and you're paying him there then I'd rate the chances of him being legit in Spain as slim to nil.

Without a Spanish business name to research then it will be difficult verify it however all businesses and tradesmen are required to have insurance (Spanish) so he should be able to show you proof of that and it should show the company name - if it exists. 

Asking to see that is not an unreasonable request and should be one of the things you routinely check on when considering employing someone to do work for you. 

Also, did you get a receipt for the annual fee you paid up front and did it include IVA (VAT)?

Hi we did get a receipt and it did not mention anything about Iva :( 

Everything was done via email so I have copies of everything.  We transferred the money into his Netherlands account.  

I feel rather foolish now but I think in the 9 months that we’ve had the house we’ve learnt a lot.  

Now we just have to organise someone else to do it but will definitely do our checks now we know what to look for.   

Cheers 

Hi Kim 

We just we told it was expensive as the part is about 15 euros and a 3 min job to complete.  

But that is a great idea as we did think of claiming for the food anyway so he would be non the wiser anyway.  

Great advice ! 

As far as you were concerned, you were doing everything above board and it must have been a relief for you to believe you had a tried, tested and legal key holder for your property and now you find yourself in this situation 
As Kimmy says, ask for the electrician's receipt for insurance purposes and if it is not forthcoming, refuse to pay. French Martini is a regular poster on here and is a legal and insured keyholder service provider with many recommendations, http://fincasinland.com.  If anything untoward happens in the future, you will know that everything is covered by insurance and above board.

He is Dutch and there is no Iva or NIF on his invoice.   

We know now for next time he has been fully paid up until aug.  

Thanks