How my car was taken away.
Yesterday I flew to Greece for a 4 day stay in Athens.
I had a small car hired and a bed in a hotel.
At midnight I parked my car at 100 meters past the hotel. I noticed the concrete slab and looked: no sign that told me that parking was forbidden. The big door looked like it was not used in the last 40 years.
When I came back the next morning my car was gone, and a man was repairing a car on the spot where my car had been parked....
He told me that he needed the spot and had called the police, and they had towed away my car.
In my country the streets are for driving and parking, not for repairing cars.
I told him so, but he did not speak english enough to understand me.
I asked him where my car was taken to, but he did not know.
So began the search for my car . It turned out I was in Kafka-country.
The search for the car.
Abbreviated version:
I expected the police to advert AVIS that they had taken a car of theirs from the street, so I phoned about 12 times to Avis. No results.
So the police had not adverted them, or the message did not get trough to me.
Apparently they were not able to trace their own car in their own city. Probably they did not even try.
The hotel manager told me: " there are at least 20 places in Athens where they put these cars."
I called the Dafne police office..
I called Athens Traffic Police.
I calles Athens Tourist polic.
I called the Kalithea traffic Police.
In total I made 25 calls to police-offices.
I counted them in the log of my phone.
'Tourist ' said: call Athens. Athens said: call Kalithea. Kalithea said: call Athens.
The later in the day, the less often they picked up the phone.
After 6 hours I was a little desperate, and I saw a police-car and
I explained my problem to the policemen in the patrol car.
They were very helpfull, and after 8 minutes they had found my car !
They even dropped me off at a metro station.
I went to the adress which they had given me.
It was a Parking. I saw my car. The number plates were taken off.
Let me go and pay the fine and take the car...
The Parking-man gave me a paper without an adress, and said something like 'Ellas street, Police. "
He waved his arm to the left, so off I went. Searching for this police building.
I found it, and there was a police-man behind a desk. He was a friendly looking man of about 36 years old. When I had given him my papers and asked what to do he looked at my papers, but was much more interested in the sports game on tv. It was clearly his first priority.
Suddenly I understood why nobody at the police was able to help me locate my car. And why the policeman in the street found it in 8 minutes. The police have other priorities!
Because this man was a friendly policeman, and because I am 30 years older than he, and because I work my ass off during 360 days in the year, which results in high taxes that paid for the big highways in Greece, I felt that it would be appropriate and legitimate to speak truth to this policeman.
Little did I know that my Kafka-experience as not over yet !
My friendly policeman said: Well, your license plates are taken off, and we can give them back only after 10 days !
But I can come next monday ( this was saturday-evening) and speak to his boss.
I have no idea why these plates are put away for 10 days, and if that is the usual procedure.
Police confirmned: we take your car and you search where it has gone...
I asked the man: did you call Avis, the owner of the car, to tell them that you took the car from the street, and where it was taken to and what procedure to follow?
He answered that this was not done.
Resumé :
I parked my car on a place where it is and was allowed. Not one sign that says otherwise.
The next morning this part of the road is used by a garage mechanic.
In a normal country the police ought to give a ticket to the garage owner. But here it as the civilian who parked his car who is punished.
Why?
And why do they keep the license plates for 10 days ??
Hoping for help from AVIS/Budget car rental ( So far they had done Nothing for me!) I contacted AVIS, hoping that they would say: great that you have the car. We will take it from here, don't bother. Please come to us and pick up another car.
But that is not what happened.
They said: "We tried to call you."
(I do not believe that: There is no missed call on my phone. And they had not found the car, so what were they calling me for? To say what? )
They said : If your car is without a number-plate for the next 10 days, then you must pay us the rent for 10 days, because we cannot hire the car out during this time.
You can come to us with your car ( without number-plates) and hire another car during your stay here.
"Can I drive without plates? "
"If the police stops you, then you tell them that you bring the car to us."
So that is hat I will do now: bring the car to the airport ( 32 km) and hire a second car...
What else can I do? I only have 3 full days of holiday , and one day was already lost in Kafka-land.
Are the Greeks responsable for their misery?
Not for all of it. Goldman Sachs and a lot of other bankers, Greek Elites and a lot of European politicians are also responsable of course.
And the Greek farmers and workers and shopkeepers have my deepest respect and sympathy.
But there is also a segment of people in this country who are themselves to blame.
How can you pick up a car which is not parked against the law?
How can you let the owner guess where he can find his car?
How can you take away the number-plates from a car for 10 days??
How can you be looking at a sports-program while you are on duty, and let the person that you are talking to, wait??
Greece is a country with an Elite class ( the very rich and high placed) and a priviliged class ( e.g. policemen in their offices who are absolutely not interested in service to the people) that are in charge, and the older and poor people suffer the most.
These Elites should be treated in a righteous way.
That would teach them.
At the police station the wall was full of religious icons. The Virgin Mary and her baby son.
These policemen think that they are good because they believe in God.
But God will sent them away, when they knock on Heaven's door.
They simply do not deserve it to enter, as they destroy the country of their parents and children by their lazy-ness.
==========
Short update.
On monday ( today) I went to the police, and expected a serious talk with a higher officer.
Nothing like that.
I entered a small hall (H) where about 15 to 35 people were standing in line. ( It varied during the3 hours that I was there) .
I spoke to some people and they learned me that there were in fct two lines: one for people who want to request a shorter punishment ( many people loose their number-plates for 20 days, which can be really bad if you need your car for your work) and
a line for people who - after their 20 days 'ban'- come to pick up the plates.
So I left the waiting line to go and pay the fine: 20 Euro.
Then the woman said: Go to the little office downstairs (D) to pick up the plates.
There I found out that I had to pay 80 Euros on the bank which are for the transporters who picked up my car.
So I went out to the bank.
Then I went back to H, and waited .By then there were 35 people before me.
I spoke to several people, and thy all were frustrated by the bureaucracy.
Also we saw a woman 'jumping the waiting line' because she had a friend working there. I must say that the crowd was not pleased, and showed it. But also they said: this is our tradition of corruption.
When I finally came in the office there were two police,men.
One took all my papers and shifted them for several minutes.
I do not think that he read my 'letter o appeal'.
But he looked to the rental contract and especially to the circled date: car is hired till 9 october. ( The very nice employee at 'D' said to me that this was important.
Then he sent me out to make copies of my ID card.
I went outside again to a little shop for the copies.
Then back to the office:
And indeed: without even one question I received the papers to pick up the plates.
Just in time, because right after me this officer left the room: lunch time I guess.
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Some remarks.
The waiting line consisted of two different groups of customers.
This gave a lot of misunderstandings and conflicts.
A better organisation of these lines would avoid a lot of unnecessary anger and suspicion.
I learned that the police sometimes even take away all the cars from a street ( if some ceremony is planned there, for instance) and they tell nobody where the cars are dropped off. I advised the Greeks to revolt against this kind of behavior. They agreed with me, but I think they will not do it.
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