First world problems but here goes...
Dh and i decided to splurge and have a couple of nights in Paris for our 10th wedding anniversary, (along with my two boys and our DD). I was pick pocketed (and yes I feel beyond foolosh - even though I had a cross body secure bag that I thought I'd held onto all the time) lost all our cards, money, annoying stuff like nectar card and library cards.
My eldest is severely autistic so doesn't cope brilliantly with upheaval. We ended up with no money for food or doing stuff.
Today was ment to be spent shopping then wondering the Jardins de Luxumbourg, but instead was spent at a police station followed by a frantic afternoon rush to Eurostar.
I online sorted Barclays credit and debit cards, phoned Amex- who were beyond lovely with empathy and do you need emergency cash etc (they have my business for life after today), phoned HSBC who treated me with extreme caution as I didn't have my (stolen) card and online pins to hand!
Three hours waiting to make a statement to French police. Who when we got to a police officer were again very empathetic.
Arrived tired at London to major train upheaval but inspite of their own difficult day, the ladies in the Virgin lounge sorted me with possibly the best tasting and most needed glass of white wine ever. Lovely friendly Virgin staff on the delayed train home (all the floods causing trains and drivers to be in the wrong places)
Got home to phone HSBC again, to get my account sorted. 30 mins on phone, numerous checks, feel like a criminal and I've managed to get cut off.
I'm not asking anything, just need to write it down to start to unwind. What I've learnt today, is have copies of all you ID documentation in the cloud, a cloud, accessible remotely. Know what your card holders policies are. If you're stuck abroad and be confident that they'll be there to help you. Amex were amazing. HSBC - words fail me.