½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

I'd just like to put a different point of view. I'd be fairly pissed off if someone planted photovoltaic panels rather than lettuces in the field next to my house - but no more pissed off than if the field was covered by (even low level) polytunnels - which would have the same aesthetic disadvantage. To be brutally honest, the photovoltaic panels are unlikely to be there for much longer than the lettuces: the ½ûÂþÌìÌà state (having bought into this global warming notion) are obliged to throw money at anybody wanting to 'farm' electricity, and so much of the granted money is upfront that it really does not matter whether any electricity is generated. I've seen 'fields' with these panels - they tend to be around the 3sq m per panel size, which mean that 1000 panels occupy about a third of a hectare - say about half an acre. The installations I have noticed are planted on grass fields - I do wonder whether it is even worthwhile strimming this grass below the panels - I doubt it - so almost certainly you are going to be looking at a somewhat overgrown bit of grassland within three months of the panels having been installed! (You will have already sussed that high grass interferes, probably terminally, with any claimed generation performance.) I do understand your worries, and in your position I'm sure I too would be protesting as hard as I could- but maybe it would help you to sleep at night if you understand the probable very short-termism of the phenomenon.

I got a bit interested in this thread, and picked up on some stuff from 2007 on an ½ûÂþÌìÌà consumer finance site. It appears that in 2007 there were not many supermarkets (but there were some) offering cashback (on CREDIT cards) but by 2008 it had all stopped. Now, whether this was simply because the credit card companies had upped their percentage charges to the retailer, so it was no longer worth their while - maybe - since the crack was that if you were a loyal customer even to a petrol station they'd oblige you just to keep your custom - it was all down to Lehmann brothers and doubts about credit cards. Take your choice - but as has been advised in the earlier posts - the answer is no!

Hiya Ram - 'twas Fillide and not adriatica methinks! No hard feelings.

I have a few friends in your 'category' who got a bit panicky - one of them used his son's address in the UK, another did it totally 'online', so I'd go along with Andiamo's advice. Surely you have somebody in the UK who'd let you use their address if necessary? Nobody needed any certificate from a doctor.

You say your house was finished three years ago. Now it is possible that the permission to build the house was granted rather earlier, in which case you maybe do not have the 'guarantee' which was implemented by ½ûÂþÌìÌà law (I'm sorry I can't remember the date) - but it was effectively a national 'NHBC' assurance, backed by the developer/builder paying into a collective insurance scheme. The thinking behind this was about selling 'off plan', but it (if your house is covered, because of when it was built and when the permission was granted) you should find some mention of it in your compromesso, and (I would imagine) in your act of compravendita. I hear Alanh's rational advice to 'leave it to your solicitor' - but the solicitor is wanting to earn a buck so maybe isn't bringing this to your attention. Good luck, but do check whether you have any 'statutory rights' first off.

I must say Heinz Tomato soup was never a favourite of mine, but if I wanted a tomato soup here in Italy I guess I would start with 500ml of passata (about 40c, though probably a no-name could come in at 20c and be just as good) - then, maybe to achieve the glutinous Heinz "mouth feel" I might experiment with a bit of amido di mais (cornflour), or even (if tending to the Nigella school) throw in some panna da cucina. Heinz use sugar in everything, so maybe you'd want to add a bit of that, and surely a fair pinch of salt! However, to be rather stylish, you could make a "bloody mary" granata or sorbet, which involves an ice cream making machine, vodka, and fresh tomato juice. Now that really gets your guests in the mood as a starter! It must  be the 48th variety....

Would you believe The WI-ADSL link on that site has a place where you can register, and a lot of other info probably of interest to anybody living in the area.

I think Dec 8 is about the right time, so maybe Dec 12 isn't too late! In my 'piazza' a lovely chap died (too young) last year on about Dec 7, and it was simply 'understood' that nobody did Christmas lights last year: so I waited (along with my neighbours) until his widow 'opened the window' this year  by stringing up stuff on her balcony. That happened yesterday: now everybody has followed her lead and the piazza is truly glowing. It is less about globalised Christmas, more about solidarity with your neighbours. Just a thought... 

Thank you for your courtesy in replying. I know that reading a thread (especially when people like me are being too analytical) it is easy to miss points - but in my first post I did compliment the people who had had the 'balls' to bring this case, and I also complimented the ½ûÂþÌìÌà court for having found in their favour. You are completely right when you emphasise the negative 'advice' that 'there is no point' in attempting to seek justice under ½ûÂþÌìÌà law; as you say, this case is important beacuse the foreign plaintiffs won. (It would be interesting to know whether this success came at a financial cost to the plaintiffs - but even if they ended up out of pocket I still agree it has established a good precedent.) I think the aspect which has somewhat aggravated me is that this case (at least on this forum) has become a sort of beacon for people who have simply had an 'unexpected' (inefficient, misunderstood, delayed, perceived as disrespectful etc etc) outcome. That this disappointing outcome has occured does not always imply that the deal was entered into with bad faith (which clearly the contested case had been).

Clearly (as Ram spotted earlier) you have had a bad experience. If you are willing to do so, why don't you go into a bit more detail? I ask because it is always helpful to other forum members who are potential purchasers, but it is also helpful to people like Ram and Adriatica and myself who do our best to assist foreign purchasers. It could be that we will all say 'you were trying to rush it' - (which is a recurring snaglet with people who feel that the 'piano piano' ½ûÂþÌìÌà approach doesn't fit with the 'gotta do the deal this minute ' notion which comes from the UK ability to 'gazump') - or maybe you just got one of those notaios who Ram or I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Patience is not only a virtue in Italy, it is essential, but it seems you did the right thing by backing out of a deal that you, personally, were not happy with. Could you be so sure that by having trusted a UK solicitor (handing over to him much more authority than an ½ûÂþÌìÌà delega) you would not have signed up to stuff you were not happy with?