No more being pushed around

After my blog post yesterday I sent an email to Veselka and Dilyana (the translator) making much the same point and waited.

Time is a-ticking....

I set three distinct requirements and gave deadlines for each.

1. The contract emailed to me by the end of tomorrow (now today)
2. An update telling me what had happened since 18th October (the last communication)
3. To be told that a visit to the Obshtina would happen by Wednesday

It was not much of a surprise when I received a reply from Dilyana within about an hour or so telling me that Veselka was ill but she was sending a representative to the Obshtina on Wednesday to continue the investigation. I have a couple of things to say about this. First this could have been done last week surely? And second I am willing to bet that it was only my email which prompted this visit.

Tellingly the reply did not mention at all anything about the contract but it did answer the other two points; a visit to the Obshtina is planned and absolutely nothing has happened since the last update. Surprise surprise.

Too calm?

The clear point here is I have been way too calm with this woman and I should have been angrier before and certainly should not have kept calm when I was sat in her office. I was steaming quietly during that meeting but trying to not lose my temper. I now think this was a mistake.

Anyway, since then I have had a few replies with my questioning regarding the contract getting more insistent and Dilyana attempting to play the "oh this IS Bulgaria..... she's an artist..... when I needed an architect I was delayed too" cards but none of this means anything. To quote my most recent email:

Let me be very clear, and please will you call Veselka and get her exact response to these points as my deadline for receiving the contract is the end of the day today.

Veselka had a contract for me to sign. It included getting Planning Permission which involved the PUP. The only reason I did not sign it is because she made the mistake regarding what she was delivering. If she had had the quote correct I would have already signed a contract!

1. She PROMISED me that she would send me the amended contract at the end of that week.

2. All she had to do was edit the schedule to take into account the correct values to pay her and that was it.

3. The contract already contained provisions for external delays and getting the PUP.

I need specific answers to each of these questions.

I really cannot get my head around any real reason why a contract should not be forthcoming today, unless Veselka is admitting that she is just not going to do the work required to fulfill it. For this reason my determination to hold the line on this is strong.

My guess is she wants to wait until after the Obshtina visit tomorrow and then try and put me off with "oh now I need to talk to Sofia".

Hmmmmmmmm....

Another thought I have just this second had is that I gave Veselka Power of Attorney; how can she send a representative to collect the information she needed? One of the excuses she gave for not having been to the Obshtina prior to my last visit was that she did not have my Power of Attorney.... Anyone else think I'm being sold a crock?

My research into an alternative architect needs to kick into gear. I gratefully received the recommendations on the comments yesterday and am going to send an email in to those people now. I haven't heard from Martin (the contact for the second architect I met at the school when I engaged Veselka) yet and I am still open to other suggestions or recommendations.

Onto other things...

The landlord has received his quote for the shutter and is now just looking for a forklift truck on the cheap to remove the old shutter. I am also still waiting on a date for fixing the electrics from the camper van dude; I think I may chase him today.

It's all about keeping on top of things.