u/Frustrated_Zucchini

I live about an hour away and am planning to go to the game - probably mixed in with the home fans.

Is there anyone here in the group who will also be there? Mainz is quite a nice city, and it's the start of the Federweisser season, so it's perfect for a weekend city break right now if anyone is interested.

Forecast for Saturday is 36° and sunny all day, a few degrees down from Friday's forecast.

I got a letter just over a week ago from the Kreisverwaltung saying that my car is uninsured and that my insurer "VIA Versicherung" no longer insures in Germany.

I have never heard of "VIA Versicherung" and have been with Allianz Direct since the start of 2025. Everything is paid, I AM insured, and this has been confirmed by Allianz Direct.

This is where it gets weird, though.

I when I spoke with AD on the phone the day i received the letter, they said they'd pay any fines if the problem is on their side, and that I should send a copy of the letter to unterlagen@... - which I did immediately.

I called Kreisverwaltung the next day (weird beamter opening times), and they said they will not accept any proof of insurance from me (despite the letter saying I need to prove I'm insured) and that my insurance need to send over confirmation of my insurance.

I spoke with my insurance again on Monday, and told them what the Kreisverwaltung had told me. I was assured that they would get on and do it.

Today, I got a letter in my postbox dated 16th July - without envelope, which is weird in itself - that I'm not allowed to drive and that if I do, the police will search for me and sieze my vehicle if I drive.

I am insured!! This is not a failure on my side at all.

I can't get hold of my insurance and berate them for not contacting the Kreisverwaltung yet because it's Saturday afternoon, and obviously not the Kreisverwaltung either. I have to be in work on Monday, I literally started a new job on Wednesday, and I can't be _that_ unreliable hire who randomly doesn't show up.

Do I need to lawyer up about this?

The most confusing part of all this to me, is not only why it's happening at all, but why it's happening in July when I haven't changed my insurance at all...

Has anyone had a similar experience, or does anyone have some decent advice for how I can deal with this on Monday?

Who are some drivers that you (or anybody) just can't like?

I'll go first. Romain Grosjean.

He was fast but unreliable in F1 back in his day, but since then it seems like he has been living purely off his 2013 season. Even in Indycar, he had some flashes of pace when he first arrived and then was just a midfielder on a good day.

Don't get me wrong, I respect him as a fast driver, and I appreciate his resolve after his 2020 crash and the comeback he made... but despite all that, I just can't grow to like him at all.

Keep it civil though please guys, no need for arguments here, we can all have our own opinions.

So, I'm currently on the search for a job, as someone with a decade in the automotive industry seeing the writing on the wall...

I get approached by a recruiter who is looking to put me forward for some positions (non-automotive) at a company that was originally German but was taken over by a large American firm that everyone will know the name of.

On their website, they state they participate in the "e-verify program" which is a screening process run by the USA Department of Homeland Security. So, they want to send my information to a USA governmental organisation. Is that allowed?

This seems to fly in the face of what Datenschutz & GDPR try to achieve - especially at the moment. I know you technically have to consent (which you must do to apply), and that is probably their work around legally, but it feels wrong.