Our fault, thieves in Spain (1 Viewer)

[Jackomet]

Well we were duped, pulled in to dump station at a repsol gas staion going south on AP 7 between juntions 4&5. SWMBO dumped her hand bag on the front seat to help me to manouver over the grate. Then I jumped out to let it gush because she would'nt. As I was doing so some Spanish bastard distracted her by asking for the nearest laundry?? I guess while doing so his "mate" nipped in & grabbed it.
Now before everyone starts saying "should never leave anything on front seat etc. " I completely agree, we were chumps but at a dumping station!
Anyroadup, passports, her credi cards, driving licience, ACSI card, spare keys for everything, €20, and her Gucci hanbag.
So leason learned.
Still being stuck here in 26 degrees for the next few months has lessened the pain.
Happy (ish) in Marjal, nr Alicante.
JK

 

[Blisters]

Sorry to hear you bad news, easily done i suppose, pitty they don't chop their hands off when they catch them, this would cut down on these crimes

still as you say, several months in the sun will help:thumb:

 

[geoff1947]

Thieves

Sorry to hear that. One moment of lack of attention and the B****** take advantage. Had my bike nicked from outside Lidl in Roqetas de Mar and it was locked !!!. Now I take the saddle with me AND unscrew the handlebars and lock it. If I see anyone loitering near the van I ensure that I stay with it whilst the wife pushes the trolley around the supermarket, Thats a first for her!!!!

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[haganap]

No, Its not your fault. Its the fault of the scum bags that do these things. We have all left things where we shouldn't .

Hope it gets sorted soom

 

[geoff1947]

Thieves

Sorry to hear that. One moment of lack of attention and the B****** take advantage. Had my bike nicked from outside Lidl in Roqetas de Mar and it was locked !!!. Now I take the saddle with me AND unscrew the handlebars AND lock it. If I see anyone loitering near the van I ensure that I stay with it whilst the wife pushes the trolley around the supermarket, Thats a first for her!!!!

 

[chatter]

Sorry to hear this, I hope you reported it to the police, the nearest consulate is in alicante they can sort out the passports for you but it aint cheap, been there and done it,


maggie

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[2657]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, hope you soon get things sorted out and enjoy the rest of your stay. Don't know about 26 degrees for the next two months though, still we can but hope!!
We have had a couple of similar experiences, a few years ago we had our passports etc stolen from a hire car at Cabopino near Marbella the Friday before we were due to fly back from Malaga on the Saturday which was a bit stressful but sorted by helpfull staff at the Consulate in Malaga on Saturday morning.
Travelling south on the AP7 in February this year we stopped at L'Hospitalet services near Tarragona for a convenience break. I had been having problems with the tyres on the trailer and whilst looking at these we were both distracted by a 'helpful' Spaniard while is mate made off with the wife's handbag containing everything including my wallet. Luckily we noticed what was happening in time and I caught up with the accomplice just as he was starting off in his car(I was nearer to his car than he was). I attempted to grab the handbrake as he was setting off but could not quite reach when instinct and adrenaline must have taken over and I grabbed the guy's gonads and squeazed VERY hard, tha handbag was soon thrown out of the car and collected by my wife. The car then drove off and collected his mate on the way out of the services.
It is very difficult to be vigilant and aware of every risk situation, these people can be very plausible, when it happens to you it certainly increases awareness.

 

[Kon tiki]

It's not your fault but we can understand how you feel, don't let it get to you we thought about coming home but we are glad we didn't. We got robbed on a Sunday afternon while driving through Valencia, they punctured our tyre (can only think it must have been at traffic lights) then while I was changing it this spaniard kept coming over to us on the pretense of helping. All he helped himself to was the wifes handbag, we had it under the front seats & it was covered but he must have just seen the strap or something. We thought we were being careful such as locking the doors when we at the back or opposite side. We were lucky that there wasn't a great deal of cash in the bag but all the wifes credit cards & driving license were in it.
It might be an idea to have a old bag with nothing of value in left in the van (not in too prominent place that's just asking them to break in) but not hidden away. We think that if they hadn't got the wife's bag they might have mugged us, I had all the cash in my wallet.

 

[LesAshmore]

No it isn't your fault, And I am very sorry to hear of this.

I never have a large amount of cash, Max €300 Euro, I use the Nationwide Flexy card and withdraw that amount when I get short so even if they got me coming from bank, That is all they would get, The card itself I keep in a belt pocket, so it cannot be picked and they are very hard to see, My wife also has a Flexi card on the same account and we never take hers out and it is left in the safe, So if mine was either lost or stolen we could stop mine and use hers until a replacement came.

I keep all Documents, ie Licences, Passports, Reg Document all other cards etc in a very well hidden safe and they never come out unless needed and then only what is needed, I have photocopies of every document and card and they are hidden in another location.

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[Road Runner]

I was robbed on the autopista 7 in Spain.

Reckon the police there are in on crime.

Sorry to hear you have been robbed it's devastating and not your fault they are professional criminals.

 

[jomel]

So sorry to hear about this. It is not your fault it takes a second of distraction and they planned that. Hope you get things sorted out.

 

[billkce]

Bad luck on the theft.

Best £150 i've spent is on a fitted safe under one of the rear seats. Put all important docs, passports, spare cash, cards etc whilst en-route. Just carry a few quid/euros & one card. Wifes handbag has nothing of interest in it except her lippy.

Safe is fixed to the chassis so it doesn't turn into a missile if we crash.

Cheers

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[Boo]

Only time I have been robbed in spain was by the local police with their ficticious fines.

But when in Benidorm a few years ago I saw 2 guys on a scooter grab a womans bag, cut the strap and away they went in a split second...................their problems started when they headed in my direction.
As they wizzed past me I couldn't resist grabbing the guy on the back by his hood, and as he was holding onto the the driver they both came off the bike.......oooopsi!

The driver ran off and was chased by a few guys, however I had hold of his mates hood tightly and proceeded to use as much force as I deemed adiquate to keep him on the floor :Blush:

The police however thought I had used a little too much force and arrested me

After questioning I was set free and never heard another thing about it.

The guy had a broken, nose, leg, arm, 2 black eyes, 4 broken ribs and a badly bitten hand.........................thats the kinda force we need to do the job i recon :thumb:

I keep all my bits n bobs in a safe in the van too............priceless!


Boo

 

[Griffs]

Robbed in Spain

Hey Boo,
Think you let the b******d off very lightly.

 

[geoff1947]

Well done Boo. Scumbag got what he deserved:thumb:

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[theresa]

oh dear sorry to hear that some bas---d robbed you . we got done 2 years ago and lost every thing . lucky for us our lads live in our house so sorted things for us . i stopped our passports and got new ones on line in spain , they were then posted to our home and our son posted them out to us , less hassle then trying to get them in spain from british embassy and cheaper i think , also new bank cards sent to home address which were posted out to us . good luck , hope you get replacements sorted soon . dont let the buggers win by putting you off :Blush:

 

[Jim]

Bummer, I feel for you. Unfortunately its very easy to be robbed. It can happen to anyone, it's happened to me :Blush:

Losing a wallet or a handbag when you are at home can be bad enough, but to lose everything while away can and often does, ruin a trip. Whenever you are away, think about loss and theft and how you can limit your losses.

Always split the cash and the cards, you need to keep some on your person and a credit card or some cash very well hidden in the motorhome. You should always think worst case scenario. If someone nicks the motorhome and you have everything in it you are really scuppered. If you lose your wallet with everything in it- ditto Spread cash and cards between you, your partner and your motorhome. This will ensure you don't lose everything in one fell swoop.

On a long journey anything can happen. You wouldn’t be the first person to leave a wallet at a service station or have a vehicle stolen from a service station forecourt! Handbag snatching is a national sport in some cities and no wonder, often the handbag holds everything. every bit of cash, all your cards, the motorhome keys etc. Split it up:thumb:

Additional tip: When giving the wife the credit cards for safekeeping, to ensure the cash stays in the bank, don't give her the PIN as well

 

[bazfergy]

wot a nightmare,dont beat yourselves up it could've been anyone hopefully the rest of your tour will be great:thumb:

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[old-mo]

Sorry to hear about this,, :Angry: Only consolation you are not the first and wont be the last.. :Sad:

We will be there in a couple of weeks,, hope they left you enough to buy me a drink or four..

See you shortly and save some sun for us.. :thumb:

 

[Wheelie]

The guy had a broken, nose, leg, arm, 2 black eyes, 4 broken ribs and a badly bitten hand.........................thats the kinda force we need to do the job i recon :thumb:



Boo

I think you were quite restrained to be honest!

Really sorry to hear about your robbery, i agree when caught they should have there hands cut off

 

[nahnotme]

Best advice I can give is get a dog, mines called Ozzy, free out of a paper and hes paid for him self ten fold....if that makes sense. He looks like a doberman with little legs, soft as sh*t but anyone comes within 10 feet of my motorhome and he dont half show his teeth !
Theres been several occasions where ive had to let him loose on dodgy characters...well on a retractable lead, no doubt if he bit a burgular PC plod would be on MY back !

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[ronald4874]

Spanish Robbery

Like all of us we are very sorry to hear of your robbery, especially where we spend a lot of our holidays at Hospitalet on the AP7. We believed it was outside the robbers area, this being Barcelona.
Unfortunately every successful robbery leads to another and therefore all of us need to get our security 'hats' on. This type of robbery is very common and its not unknown to hear people being robbed of all Docs and vast quantities of money. Talking to a motorhome chap at LeHavre ferry port only a week ago said he had been touched for Docs and £450 in a bag carried around his waist in a wine and spirit store. He also indicated that he had just sold his previous van without locating his credit and debit cards he had hidden inside. He had to cancel them with the bank and obtain new ones.
I personally have a safe bolted through the chassis and all Docs, spare keys, insurances, log books etc and major parts of our cash are located inside and hardly see the light of day during our 2/3 mths trips.
We never use our driving and passenger doors, each door is drilled through the locking button and pinned to stop opening those doors. only the entrance door to the van proper is used at all times.
It is common for robbers to get you to stop by moving in close and then hitting the van side with a hammer. If this is evident in your mirrors throw a 2-3" beach pebble through the window, creates wonderful patterns on their windscreens. This was indicated to me by a Spanish gent who also was fed up with attacks. Many caravan people also carry 3/4 pebbles just under their driving seat, get the wife to draw down the window and chuck one out .
Once again use locked facilities for your small amounts of cash carried, such as your glove box.
Keep alert--- keep safe.
Ron W

 

[staging lady]

Sorry to hear about this. These people are very slick and plausible and any one could be caugh - definitely not your fault.
The old handbag idea sounds good.
Posting on this site will help warn others ,so thank you. It may also encourage the authorities to be much more proactive, instead of the present casual attitude from them. I hope it does not spoil your stay.
Lucille

 

[Kon tiki]

My wife also has a Flexi card on the same account and we never take hers out and it is left in the safe, So if mine was either lost or stolen we could stop mine and use hers until a replacement came.
I keep all Documents, ie Licences, Passports, Reg Document all other cards etc in a very well hidden safe and they never come out unless needed and then only what is needed, I have photocopies of every document and card and they are hidden in another location.

If your Flex cards are for the same account I think you will find that the account gets stopped not just the card. We have a joint Flex which is our main account, then we each have seperate Flex accounts, money (our budget for the month) is automatically paid into these from the main Flex (easy to set up). We draw money out alternately from these as we need it. This way there is never a great deal of money in either of our personal Flex accounts, our main Flex card is well hidden in the van for any emergency.

As for documents I take photos of everything - passports - driving licenses - insurance - etc.... The store this on a memory card & on my PC in a password protected Zip file. You could probably store the file on a phone.

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