02 Jun 2012 5:41 PM:

The whole point in taking the time to outline our experience was  to try to help / warn others. There was no intention of making a "complaint". I gave the factual information as it occurred.

The point was  to try and underline that what you expect is not always what happens and not to assume you know it all.

We thought we were being careful etc. but it was not enough.

johnzx  :- read it again. Your attitude [i.e. a little too smug] is somewhat similar to ours prior to it actually happening to us.

 

elaineG :-

Most of what you say coincides with what we believed prior to it happening. However what I wrote is exactly what happened.

We had a friend had his wallet stolen in Torrevieja and we reported it to the Guarda  Civil there . So we expected the same in Alicante .

We were directed to Alicante Centro Police Station  - Blue uniforms - Police cars outside with "Police Local"  all over them.

Inside the entrance there is a phone on the wall . We were directed to this by the "helpful" policeman. No charge.

The point about the call to Madrid is that despite being as you say "multiline"  they are swamped and you can wait for hours to get connected. We expected this to be in English - which it eventually was - but initially they spoke in Spanish and their abrupt / brusque manner did not make things any easier. This added to an already "high stress "situation.

The information they required was almost the same as that later required for the Denuncia . [It seems that both the Madrid call and the "local" Denuncia information given is all part of the Denuncia as a whole .You cant have one without the other. ]

When making the "Local" part of the Denuncia the policeman referred to the computer screen and confirmed the info. given to Madrid. You are not allowed to " tell your story" to Madrid on the phone  - they ask the questions  - and you answer [? to save time?].  This as you say  is reflected in the content of the Denuncia printed out. The point I made about it being in Spanish  was that if you don't have basic Spanish  - How can you check that it is factual and "what you said" etc. Once you walk away it is too late to change anything in the Denuncia.

Many of our assumptions regarding  what the procedure was  were wrong and this added to our  stress levels.

I hoped that my account might prepare others. As I said - we thought we were fairly clued up on personal security and had taken reasonable precautions. The reality was somewhat different.

We now - for instance - have to decide whether to carry our spare set of car keys when visiting  Alicante. Should the same thing happen again and we don't have our spare keys - we could be stuck a long way from home with no money -no phone  - no car etc. Not a pleasant prospect. -  So -  what do you do?

I am not the complaining kind - I hope that my post would give people pause and to review  what they need to do should it happen to them  - just a case of "heads up".

There really isn't much more to say .

 

 

 

This message was last edited by Doonhamer on 02/06/2012.
Thread: Pick pockets in Vera almeria

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02 Jun 2012 1:43 PM:

Last month my wife and I took family and friends to Alicante for the day. We ended up at the Port  - the men went up to the castle and the ladies went to see the Spanish Galleon. While the ladies were sitting on the bench facing the bow of the Galleon my wifes handbag just disappeared. We are all "pickpocket" conscious - she had her bag  over her shoulder  - button flap facing inwards - the strap was leather with a thick chain running through it.

When they stood up to move on - the bag was gone - Car keys[spare], Purse with 400 Euros [for a special present], I.D.  card, S.I.P. card , Address card , House keys , Bank Cards , etc.

Total replacemernt value approx. 700 Euros

Local Brits helped search nearby rubbish bins - no luck.

We then had to search for the Local Police Station , fortunately one of our group could speak basic Spanish and could ask directions. We found it after an hours searching and tried to make a denuncia as required for insurance etc.

NOT SO EASY ---  Denuncias are made to MADRID by Phone [ a free telephone is available in the police Station] - and there is only one dedicated phonenumber  [Plastered all over the Police Station]   - ALL victims making denuncias in Spain are trying to use this number.  - so it is continually "engaged". Fortunately , a very helpful Policeman came out of an adjacent office  and began to call the number for us - he did this every 10 minutes or so all afternoon. Finally he got through and spoke to Madrid in Spanish , then he handed the phone to my friend [with basic Spanish]. Madrid refused to speak to him until he assured them that the "victim" was present but still too shocked to think straight. The "denuncia" was made and my wife [the victim] and our Spanish speaker] hen were allowed to enter an office to do the same with a local officer [NO admittance to this office before making the call to Madrid]. The officer was abrupt and rude [in contrast to the previous one who helped with the Phone call] . He ordered my wife to sit opposite and told our friend to "get out". My wife had to vehemently  insist that he stay. Eventually he agreed and used his computer to refer to the Madrid record /report. He gave us the Denuncia [in Spanish of course] which contained only very basic information but had the all important Reference Number for the insurance etc.

All this took about 4 to 5 hours.

While this was all going on I tried to cancel the Bank/Visa  card using my mobile. Being in a built up area the signal was very poor . I had to try 4 calls before finally finding a town square with enough space to give a usable [just] signal. This experience was almost as bad as the police Station fiasco. I only managed to get enough information through to them to cancell the card before the signal deteriorated. I wasn't  quite sure at the time whether it had been enough [another stress factor].

At the end of the afternoon we were all stressed out and exhausted.

We were gobsmacked two weeks later to get a phonecall from our local police in Playa Flamenca - Orihuela Costa to inform us that the handbag had been recovered in Alicante - sent to our local police staion - and would we like come and collect it  [just ask for "Jesus"].

We did this and everything was in the bag except the cash.

I hope those out there who think they are taking all precautions might learn from this account.

1] Limit what you carry in a secure place on your person.

2] Do your homework - Know where the local police staion is.

3]Make sure you both have the important numbers with you  - for card cancellation etc.

4] Make sure that both of you have cash - and ? who should carry the mobile phone etc.?

5] Be prepared for the above experience. Some police are very pleasant and helpful - SOME ARE DEFINATELY NOT.

6] You MUST learn basic Spanish.

Never allow youself to get smug and feel that it cant happen to you.                        

We were very aware but still got robbed without the slightest warning/indication that it was happening.

We were very fortunate to get the bag back. We worried [ FOR EXAMPLE ] that the new car [25.000 Eros worth] would be driven away in the night using the stolen keys.

With the growing unemployment etc. more people will have to turn to crime to live .

BE MORE VIGILANT

Thread: Pick pockets in Vera almeria

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08 Jun 2010 3:35 PM:

Hi More

We have spent most of our holidays in the Canaries with the occasional divergence to the Med.We have looked at all the favourite places for Brits to retire to ,and overall, despite the negative downside,we decided that Spain was still the best for us. As a result I joined EOS several years ago and have been researching like mad ever since ,learning where the pitfalls are and what questions I need to ask when I get there.

EOS far outstrips any of the  other sites in providing this information and in particular yourself [with a few others] who have consistently and politely informed any who cared to ask , on just about any subject.

We have'nt been abroad on holiday for a few years [since 1996] due to getting everything in order for the big move. Our house is now on the market and when it sells ---- WE GO!!!!!.  It is our intention to rent in Guardamar as a central base and eventually purchase on the Costa Blanca.

We just have to bite the bullet and wait for the market to improve.

Thread: 7,000 posts!

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08 Jun 2010 2:16 AM:

Over the years since becoming a member I have probably read most of your posts [more than once].I have come to appreciate your common sense approach and value the detail and quality always expressed in your efforts to help and advise others. I have always found your "content" to be accurate and to the point. I have copied masses of information - much of it derived from your posts -  in preparation for eventually moving to Spain with my wife [hopefully this year].I have often wondered how you found the time to research the content of your posts .

More power to your elbow.What would we do without you?

Keep it coming

Pat

Thread: 7,000 posts!

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26 Aug 2007 7:04 PM:

I have e-mailed SKY customer support pointing out that this company is advertising on their channels and referring them to this EOS thread , inviting them to make their own assessment of this companies business practises.

Thread: Timeshare

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