13/04/2013 00:00
TW
0
By Jason Moore THERE are two issues which I feel strongly about; the ridiculous shop opening hours in Majorca and the useless certificates which have replaced our residence permits. This week we have had two very good letters to the editor which clearly underline why the normal residence permit should be re-introduced. When travelling to the mainland or the other Balearic Islands to get discounted travel you need to show a document which is Identification and also shows you are a resident. The “useless certificate” is not valid ID because it does not contain a photograph. And there is more. We are told that your passport is a valid form of identification; yes it is but it does not contain your NIF or NIE number therefore it is completely useless if you want to carry out any sort of financial transaction. Whoever devised this new system certainly wins the lemon award of the year. So please and double por favor bring back our original residence permits; it was a good system which worked for all.

A ND now returning to my other complaint; shop opening hours. I saw that Madrid has recently passed legislation which allows shops to open seven days a week; what a fantastic idea and it should attract more tourists and getaway holiday weekends. Meanwhile, in the Balearics there are some shops (yes, you know who you are!) who only open five days a week. What a nightmare. If Majorca wants to attract winter tourists then the shops must open at the weekend otherwise tourists will just go to Madrid or Venice or Barcelona, where they can shop until they drop.