My New Life in Malta

It was time to fill up the refrigerator once again, and so M and I went to Pavi, our favourite Maltese supermarket. It only opened a few months ago, and we were greeted at the door with the news that they now have the Pavi Bonus card. Great! We had been waiting for them to create one, thereby matching the other supermarkets’ frequent-buyer cards. We filled up the application, and since there was a long queue (today was the launch of the bonus card) M stayed taking care of it while I went ahead and filled up the trolley.

Before paying, we stopped at the customer care desk to collect the new card. It turns out that they did not require a Maltese ID number (which I do not have), and so M asked them if we could have a second one for me. Sure, no problem. BUT, I wanted both cards to be linked together. Otherwise what would be the point, if the bonus points are accumulating in two different accounts? So we filled up a second application in my name.

The clerk seemed a bit troubled at the idea of having two men sharing one bonus card account. “I’ll have to call the manager,” he said as he looked around embarrassedly. Fine with us, call the manager. Then there was an exchange that went roughly like this:

Clerk: “They want to add a second bonus card, but they have different surnames.”

M: “So? Many married women keep their surnames these days, so I don’t see how that would be a problem in any case. We are two people, but one household.”

Manager: (Quite serious and to the point) “What’s the problem? Just issue the second card.”

I am glad that the manager was no-nonsense and did not even blink for a second. The clerk continued to seem embarrassed, but that was really his problem. He was then flustered because my name was too long, but a few seconds later a card was printed in my name. I was so excited! Yes I was so excited about a supermarket bonus card. The Republic of Malta might not recognise M and I as a couple, and they might not extend to us any of the rights that many other countries do. But Pavi supermarket has officially recognised us as a couple sharing one household!

You have to start somewhere J

And also, it is my first Maltese identification card of any kind. I am so proud.

Just like in a love relationship, there comes a point in an immigrant’s life when the honeymoon period with the new country ends and the problems begin to appear.

And so, the saga of the electric company continues.

M went in person to the electricity/water company office in Valletta to see about fixing the bill. As I mentioned, the bills we have been receiving do not make sense when one tries to trace all the payments and charges. So, a kind lady printed out all charges and payments for the last several years. It turns out several things go on that are just confusing.

For example, once a payment is made, they do not send out a bill showing the payment was received. The amount simply disappears. Thus, you, the consumer, have no way of balancing out all the bills. Even on this official printout, things were complicated. For example, if we made a payment of Lm30.26 and they decided to apply it to different parts of the bill, it would show up as:

Lm5.23 for the water part

Lm22.34 for the electricity part

Lm2.69 for the government surcharge

The clerk had to sit and hunt around and add things up to see which sets of numbers might possibly match up with payments we had made. In the end, there were Lm31.13 which went unaccounted for.

Now, all of our payments have been made on-line, and as Sabine wrote today, on-line services in Malta do not always work out. So, M called up the bank to see why money was deducted but the electric company never received it. It turns out the bank made a mistake, and sent it to an incorrect account number. Wait, what?! This is not some individual who receives a deposit once in a while! This is the national electricity and water company that receives hundreds of payments daily! At least the mistake was found quickly, and the bank promised they would call the electric company directly to sort things out.

So, this morning I took the bill, subtracted the Lm31.13 that are supposed to be credited, and went to pay. As a “convenience” to the customer, bills can be paid at any MaltaPost branch, so I walked down to our local post office… where they refused to let me pay.

MaltaPost Clerk: “I’m sorry, we can’t ‘arrange’ the bill here, you’ll have to go to Enemalta and ‘arrange’ things there.”

Me: “But I already went to Enemalta and ‘arranged’ the bill. I want to pay it, minus the amount that will be credited due to a mistake.”

MPC: “We are not an Enemalta office, we simply take payments, so we have to take the exact amount that is on the bill.”

That last statement made absolutely no sense to me. If all they are doing is taking my money and passing it on to Enemalta, then why do they care how much I am paying? Take my money, pass it on, and the electric company and I can “arrange” things between ourselves later.

So I guess now I am supposed to sit and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for the revised bill to come some day, so that I can go and pay it. In the meantime the bill will become overdue, and I wonder if we risk having our electricity cut off.

Plan B would be to pay the bill in full, and hope that a credit is applied… but after all of this, it simply does not seem wise to trust Enemalta to magically return our money.

I have always paid my bills promptly and on time, everywhere in the world. This is the first time that I have not been allowed to pay a bill.

At least the kind lady at Enemalta gave us tips on how to reduce our high electricity bill. The tumble dryer is a big culprit (we are not using it during the summer anyway) and suggested we can air-dry clothes and then put them in for ten minutes just to soften them. The other big problem is the electric cooker, though we are trying to figure out if it would be more expensive to replace it with a new gas stove or to pay the electricity as it is.

And lastly, since the flat was empty last year, our estimated payments were based on minimal use. Hopefully this year’s estimated payments will be more in line with reality, and in the end we will not be stuck with a huge bill. Already the next estimated bill is on its way. I really cannot stand this estimate system.

I was waiting for the bus earlier today, when a tourist with an Eastern European accent asked me about the bus number, what time it came, and how he could get to Marsascala. I explained that all the buses wind up in Valletta and then he would have to transfer to another one. We began to chat, and I realised that he was assuming that I was Maltese. I was about to correct him, but then I felt a bit flattered. I have been here long enough to answer all of these practical questions that a tourist might have, and being taken for a local gave me a sense of pride and connection to the country.

He complained as to why the bus stops do not list the bus schedules. I was about to get defensive if he was going to criticise MY island, but he did not seem to be mocking the place. We continued talking on the bus, and I found out that he came from Poland , more specifically from the city of Lodz . Then I had a bit of fun with my Maltese persona. I asked why he had chosen to visit Malta (the usual answer: it’s warm and they speak English), if people in Poland know where Malta is (yes, Poland has the world’s best geography education in schools, I was informed), if he liked it here (yes, he’d like to come back, but he didn’t have a chance to try the rabbit).

I mentioned that I visited Poland once, he said I was the fifth Maltese he had met that had been to Poland . He then began to say how the biggest street in his city is 17km long, which would mean it could go clear across Malta . Therefore, distances here do not seem so long to him, and he was considering walking back later that night, unless… “do Maltezian people pick up hitch-hikers?”  I really had no idea what to say. I told him I had never thought about it.

As a contrast, a couple of days ago as I was getting on the bus, I checked with the driver if he was going where I wanted. I did this in Maltese. Still, when we got near my stop, a woman turned to me and pointed out, in English, that we were nearly there. I was about to protest, inform her that I live here (and didn’t she hear me ask the driver in Maltese?) but I smiled and gave a polite thank you. After all, it is sweet to live in a country where random strangers still look out for one another, will remember where a tourist is going, and make sure he gets there. I hope I was able to give our Polish visitor a good impression.

Amusing, though, that I can be seen as both a local and a foreigner, hux?

It is time for another installment of my euro reports.

Today, 1 July 2007, is another milestone on the road to Malta adopting the single currency. Starting today, all prices must be displayed in both liri and euros. This six-month period aims to familiarise the Maltese public with the new prices. Advertisements come on the television all the time with little hints and tips, the latest of which is to make sure you pay attention to the prices in euros over the coming months.

Some retailers have been prepared for some time, already adhering to dual-display of prices and issuing receipts with totals in both currencies. The little € has been showing up in more and more price tags, menus, advertisements and receipts. It also shows up in places that I had not considered. For example, stamps have to show both prices as well, with the 8 cent stamps now showing both "Lm 8c" and "€0.19" somewhere on the design. Magazine ads showing discounts now have to show both prices as well. The balance of my mobile phone account is displayed in liri and euros. Bank account statements, credit card bills... anywhere that a sum of money is displayed.

However, I do not think that everyone is ready, despite having had plenty of time to prepare. As of last Thursday (Friday was a public holiday), I received a few receipts that did not show the euro totals. My local food store down the street was not showing a single price tag in euros, and neither was the pharmacy. They now have to work hard to get all the new price tags up over the weekend, or face lack of compliance. As of 11:45pm last night, 30 June, the restaurant where we ate had the euro prices on the menu but not on the receipt.

Which leads me to wonder how many retailers will not be compliant come Monday morning. Still, it is a reminder that the euro will soon be here. The Financial Times, which lists the prices for the newspaper in many countries, did list both prices for Malta for the first time. The lira begins its long goodbye.