Trevor’s Tips – June 2015

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By Trevor Hughes……

Fire Risk

A fire earlier this year in a UK home completely ravaged the home of a young couple in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, leaving them homeless.

A senior fire investigation officer has revealed the probable cause of the blaze was a magnifying shaving mirror left near a window, which caused the fire by reflecting the sunlight onto paperwork and upholstery.

People should be careful about where they leave mirrors, particularly ones with a magnified side, in their homes.

If people have mirrors like this in their home, they need to make extra sure that they are careful about where they keep them, especially with the Cyprus sun being as strong as it is!!

You should ensure the mirrors aren’t sitting for long periods in direct sunlight which might reflect light onto combustible materials like curtains or cushions.

No more paperwork at TRNC crossing points

The visa for going through the TRNC check point is no longer necessary. We went through the system and checked it out for you.

You must now drive up to the outside of the kiosk and remain in the vehicle. An officer will collect the passport/s from you and hand it/them over to the officer operating the computer. When all the information has been entered, your passports are handed back to you, [much more straight forward].

The only drawback is that if you are under the age of 60 years and you are in the Temporary Residence renewal system, you will need to remember the date of the 90 day expiratory; otherwise you could fall foul of the system. Ask the officer how many days they have allowed you.

Beware of a UK Driving Licence Scam

There is a scam currently going around the UK involving people renewing their driving licence because they have reached the age of 70 years. One of our readers discovered the said driving licence renewal process web site which looks identical to the official web site on the DVLA site.

It asks for you to complete the renewal forms and will make a charge of £95.

The DVLA unwisely supplied these people with 1000’s of driving licence renewal forms, and have now realised their mistake.

The earliest you can apply is 90 days prior to your 70th birthday.

These driving licence sites will not return your money when you apply by mistake, as it is easily done due to the clever appearance of their sites. Beware of the web site drivinglicence.org.uk.

DVLA are trying to stop it, but it is known as a “legal fraud” which makes it difficult.

The 14 day cooling off period which by law should be used, does not count. They say once they have received an application or as they call it “touched process” they will not refund.

Editors Note; To ensure what is claimed is correct, we checked and found an article on the internet on the Sunday Post 8.12.2013 which seems to cover this issue click here. We also found that the website shown above does not seem to open and when we did a search of WHOis.net we were able to find who the domain name is registered to.

TRNC Citizenship/ Permanent Residence

Prevention of the haphazard distribution of citizenship, upon a decision by the Council of Ministers and the approval of the Ministry will grant full citizenship. The criteria are as follows:

Acquiring a citizenship via marriage, there is a condition for living together for at least 3 years.
Those born and residing in the TRNC are granted citizenship.
Foreigners who have come to North Cyprus before the age of 7 are granted citizenship rights.
Foreigners who have a work permit and/or a permit to establish businesses are granted a white card after 6 years.
White card holders are given the right to apply for citizenship after 9 years.
An arrangement is made so that those who have a permanent residence permit or a migration permit are granted citizenship.
Investors are granted citizenship based on a certain criteria and with a decision by the Council of Ministers. ( They should make a three million euro investment or at least 100 euro donation)

Persons who have offered the Country any “outstanding services” in scientific, technical, political, and cultural fields will be granted

Citizenship as decided by the Assembly rather than the Council of Ministers.

At the moment it begs more questions than answers, for example

Will full citizenship exclude you from the 2 year military service if you have not spent previous time in the armed forces?
Will the new citizenship have the need to make an application for permission to purchase?
Will he/she be able to own property which they cannot get because of its location to military land?
How much time will you be allowed to leave the Country before making your application?
Will you have the right to vote, and many more?

Watch this space it could get very interesting!!

Mole Examinations

Now that summer is upon us and because the Cyprus sun is so very strong, it is imperative that you keep a watchful eye on any changes to the colour/size, the appearance of moles, or moles that are itching.

If you do see any these symptoms or a mole starts bleeding, get it checked out immediately.

You can go either to your favourite hospital/clinic and get the moles examined, which will cost between 120 TL to 160 TL each time you go. Or you can go to the State hospital in Girne and book an appointment with Dr Fatma. She has a machine which examines the mole[s] more accurately for diagnosis and necessary treatment if she feels it appropriate. The cost of this examination is 16TL. She is also the very same person who examines moles in the private clinics/hospitals, but the machine remains in Girne hospital and she uses a magnifying glass instead.

I know where I would want to go and see her if the need arises!

Buying a Used Car in the TRNC.

Having worked for several car dealerships in the UK, and because I needed to appraise part exchange cars being offered as part of the deal, I gathered a reasonable amount of knowledge of what to look for.

Here are some guidelines when choosing your new second hand car.

Sit inside the car and switch the ignition on without turning the engine over. Make a note of any lights that do not come on when it/they should have. If the orange engine management light comes on, it could prove expensive if it is identifying a faulty part.
Check all aspects of the interior, upholstery, internal lights, door cards, carpets and seat belts.
Switch on all the electrical switches, ensuring they all work, including the air conditioning, if applicable.
Before test driving the car, make sure the bonnet and engine are both cold; walk away if they feel hot, as warm engines can hide mechanical problems.
Gaps between panels should all be even and uniform. Run your fingers along the gaps, this will tell you if a repair has been done badly.
Get down and look along both sides of the car to see if the panels have been repaired, and look along where the doors fit into the body to see if there is any corrosion.
Lift up the carpets including the boot carpet to see if there is any corrosion and whilst in the boot check the spare wheel, it may not even be there.
Check the battery area to see if the battery acid has caused metal corrosion.
Check to see if the vehicle has a first aid kit and fire extinguisher. It’s mandatory here that all vehicles carry one.
Test drive the car making sure you go over rough surfaces, listening for any funny noises, squeaks, or strange knocking noises.
Take a small magnet with you and place it on various parts of the car body [metal only]. If the magnet drops off, that area will more than likely have been repaired with body filler.
Finally, check that all the paper work is in good order and check with the police via the registration number that there is no unpaid traffic fines and that the vehicle has had all the MOTs and the road tax has been paid on time when it should have been.
When you collect your purchase and when buying, check all the fluid levels. Make sure what you wanted repairing has been completed. Never buy, or drive away a car in the wet, rain is the sales persons best friend as it hides defects and scratches in the paint work.
Lastly, don’t kick tyres, or bounce on the car to see if the suspension is ok, it’s telling the sales person that you probably don’t know much about mechanics!!

Remember; be as critical with your prospective new car as the person who is taking in your car as part exchange, responsibility will be all yours. And remember to have more than one name entered on the log book!!

Information supplied by Dagli Sigorta