___PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN ON HOLIDAY______WE WERE ROBBED IN BARCELONA______

[RTKangaMummy]

Please be very careful when on holiday.

We were going back to the airport in the hire car and while we were in a traffic jam a motorbike rider told us that we had a flat tyre. {it was a different man to the one who robbed us cos the motorcyclist rode off through the traffic jam iyswim}

So we drove very slowly with hazzard lights flashing until we could get off the main road. {It was a 4 lane main road}

So we came off at the next junction and went into the car park of a primary school.

We had a mega flat tyre - in the car was an electric pump but that didn't make any difference.

Anyway we didn't know where we were - as the map didn't show it - and AVIS didn't provide the GPS SAT NAV system we had booked

So when this friendly man came along to help and give us directions to a garage - even though we didn't want a garage cos AVIS were coming to collect the car.

We were being very polite and listening to him and he was pointing away from the car and saying "SIGNOR" to DH to get his attention back to what he was saying iyswim

When he left we thanked him and then found that one of our hand luggage bags had been stolen from the back seat of the car. Obviously by a 2nd person.

It had our digital and video cameras and a pair of my sandals and a present DS had bought for us, and my filofax

We are most upset and angry about DS present that he bought with his own money and about the pictures and video that we have lost

We are of course pleased that we are safe and weren't hurt either by the car having an accident or by the man but we would rather have given him our wallets and all our money than the things he got

And we knew all about the warnings about distraction robberies but we were going to be late for our plane and we were very stressed cos we were lost we couldn't really speak much spanish and we were in an area that didn't speak english.

SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEARN FROM OUR EXPERIENCE AND ALWAYS LOCK ALL THE DOORS WHEN SOMEONE COMES TO "HELP" YOU

We are all very very upset and angry about this and so wouldn't want someone else to go through anything like this on their holiday

RTKanga - thank you for sharing that. And what an awful experience.

We go to Barcelona in ten days time. I will take note, and also show this to my dh.

All capital cities are like this, but Barcelona is in the top of the league.

They used an air-rifle to take my VILE SIL's tyre. PIty they missed her.

Poor you hope it didnt mar the trip.

Some friends of friends were mugged in Barcelona - they were newly engaged and the muggers took the rings, they were very upset.

Know these things could happen anywhere but have heard that Barcelona is a magnet in that area in Spain for criminals as its a wealthy city in a relatively depressed area.

Poor you

I went to Barcelona when i was younger with a group of friends and a few of us were pick pocketed, one friend had his watch taken and another had some money taken.

Be very careful and dont trust anyone

Thanks for all the messages

The photos and video film that we had stolen is the most upsetting also the present that Kangaboy bought for us with his own money.

But at least we weren't hurt either by the car crashing or the robbers attacking us

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BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL I DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO BE ROBBED

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Sorry to hear this - what a horrible experience for you all, especially poor KangaBoy. I don't think you can really appreciate how lucky you were not to have been hurt until you're an adult really, so he might not be able to see the lucky side of it.

I suppose another thing to be learnt from this is to upload your photos etc from the hotel or a netcafe as soon as you can. I think it's v thoughtful of you to be posting this experience as a warning to others, rather than a big 'how dare they' rant - which would be v understandable! You must be a very kind person.

Apart from the horrid end, hope you all had a great holiday. Hope KangaBoy's upset doesn't last too long.

I went to Barcelona last year and didn't carry a handbag for a couple of days as I'd read about the pickpockets there. In the end I was tired of asking dp for money when I wanted something so I carried my bag very tightly under my arm and sat on it rather than put it on the table or on the floor in bars. At night we put our spending money in one purse which dp carried - he had the pockets! We always take out a daily allowance so if we lose that, it wouldn't be so calamatious as losing the whole lot of money plus cards etc.

I hope it didn't spoil your holiday too much RTKanga and thanks for the warning.

Thanks WT

The really stupid thing is that I had the laptop with me and the connection wires etc

The laptop and my handbag were in another bag on the back seat, which would have been even worse if he had taken that

SO it is even more frustrating that I didn't upload the photos before returning home as I had all the equipment

I agree, I have explained to Kangaboy that we are lucky we weren't hurt and he does understand that but I think he feels as we do that someone who was pretending to be nice turned out to be horrible.

I think it has taken away our trust of "nice" people iyswim.

I just wanted to warn others of the dangers and scams that are going on around Barcelona and other places so their holiday isn't spoilt.

I feel annoyed with AVIS for not putting posters around their office warning people of the thieves.

So I wanted to warn the Mumsnetters so they knew before they went.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS KEEP THE CAR DOORS LOCKED AND DON'T TRUST ANYONE EVEN IF THEY ARE BEING "NICE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF YOU ARE ROBBED JUST GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY AND CREDIT CARDS

ALSO WE RANG 112 {999 EQUIVILENT TO REPORT IT AND THEY TOLD US WE HAD TO GO TO THE POLICE STATION WHICH WE COULDN'T DO COS NO CAR AND NO IDEA WHERE IT WAS - ANYWAY AS LONG AS YOU GO TO POLICE STATION IN YOUR HOME TOWN WITHIN 24 HOURS OF GETTING ROBBED THAT STILL COUNTS FOR THE INSURANCE}

oh yea ole Barcelona. I used to sit at the top of las Ramblas drinking coffee and thief spotting. Just to waste away time really. It's very sad but you can spot a victim a mile off. Ruck sack on back, camera over shoulder, worldly possessions in the ruck sack, front and side pockets. You can also spot a thief a mile off , however as you are on holiday, it's the last thing you want to look out for. Oh and Bum bags, forget them, they are very easy to cut. I was a holiday rep in all sorts of countries in my day. These would be my top tips to a relaxed hol.
NO bum bags
DO NOT put wallets in back pockets.
in fact try to persuade DH/DP not to carry a wallet, but take what is needed in front pockets and keep a hand in there.
IF you MUST carry a bag, buy one that goes under clothes, and carry the minimum.
DO NOT talk to or listen to anyone that wants your time whilst in a vehicle. IT IS VERY common for thief's to target cars, in and out of airports.
you may seem rude but don't stop to talk to people on the streets.
please don't put bags under you seats when out for drinks or meals.
I remember as a 20 something and on my first adventure from the uk on my own, I ended up walking through the red light/drug district of Barcelona. I panicked, Scruff-ed up my hair, spat on my fingers and smudged any traces of makeup all over my face, then head held high sauntered the streets spitting in front of me. Vile I know, and totally out of character. But hey, I was one unattractive girl that managed to get home safely.
Happy Holidays.

So you're sitting at an outside table of a cafe, with your phone, wallet and camera on the table.

Along comes a 'tourist' with a big map, spreads it all over your table and politely asks you to point out where you are and how to get somewher.

The charming tourist thanks you profusely, folds up his map and leaves....

.....taking your phone, wallet and camera with him.

This goes on in London a lot.

I saw that scam with the map on THE REAL HUSTLE ON BBC3

I just hope that everyone else has a good time on holiday

We did have a lovely time in Barcelona beforehand and at least happening at the end meant we enjoyed the time beforehand

I guess travelling to/from the airport makes people sitting ducks doesn't it?

WE SHOULD HAVE COVERED UP THE SUITCASES AS THE CAR DIDN'T HAVE A BOOT BUT WAS A MPV AND SO A SPACE IN THE BACK WITH A COVER THINGY THAT YOU PULL OVER IYSWIM

FWIW, I drive with my doors locked in the UK anyway when I'm on my own - I definitely would abroad but it wouldn't stop someone if they really wanted to break into the car. Must be hard to know what to do though if someone lets down your tyre - you can't keep going on a flat.

That was what was really frightening as the tyre was SOOOOOOOOO flat it was making a weird noise as I went along and it was a main road where the traffic was going very fast

I didn't know what would happen would it start to spark or maybe fall off or what and so that is why we felt much safer when we drove or limped into the primary school car park

I wished we had known how to change the wheel and how to get the spare tyre out from under the car beforehand cos then DH could have changed the wheel really quickley and we would have been away before the man arrived

SO PLEASE IF YOU HIRE A CAR ON HOLIDAY PLEASE WORK OUT HOW TO CHANGE THE TYRE AND HOW TO GET IT OUT IF IN A DIFFICULT PLACE {UNDER THE CAR ON A BRACKET THINGY} BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CAR HIRE DEPOT.

BOOKWORM & SIXER thanks for the tips

Exactly the same thing happened to a friend in France after they stopped for petrol.

i was in barcelona for a weekend wedding in may. i arrived myself at the airport and had an hours wait for a girl who was on a different flight. in that hour i was approached 3 times by different men trying to, i guess, case me out. i was very rude and told them in no uncertain terms to feck off. that night was ok. next night we met up with several other wedding guests for drinks. we had a stolen handbag and 2 cameras from the table. nobody noticed a thing at the time.
barcelona is a lovely lovely city, but please be aware that they would nick the eye out of your head!

Glad you are all ok. that you lost your photos and present though.

The distraction thing is such a common way of going about it, and one that is so difficult to avoid happening to you.

I was pickpocketed in Brussels a few years ago. They took my digital camera out of my top, fasten jacket pocket - whilst I was wearing the coat, and this was a close fitting jacket too. I didn't have a clue. We were distracted by a young child bumping into us and then proceeding to ask for money from us.

I was approached by a woman in Croatia earlier this year when I was reading on a seat by a marina (bag firmly tucked under my arm as usual). I don't know what she was saying but I caught the word 'kuna' over and over again so I suspect she was asking for money - I think that she was a gypsy. I kept saying 'NO' then when she'd gone, I legged it back to the hotel. My brief spurt of independence vanished as all I wanted to see then was my dp .

I bet as many overseas tourists get mugged or ripped off in major cities in the UK - esp London - as Brits do abroad though.

lowlife scumbags - I have read all of these posts and it is disgusting, how naive do we all feel?
I had a bag nicked in Majorca a few years ago (was our own fault as we were at a water park but everyone left their bags, even our friend wh lives there and has a Majorcan wife!). I was 7 months very pregnant at the time, they nicked my bag which had my maternity trousers, crappy sunglasses and a packet of pringles!!
I was more upset about the bag being nicked and the pringles!!
On a sensible note - it happens everywhere but most people are so trusting and would not think it would hapen to them. I am terrible, I was so upset when it happened to me, it such a sinking feeling, it must be even worse when you have been pick pocketed without even feeling it.
Low life scum should have their fingers or hands cut off - is that a bit harsh?
It would stop them from doing it again.

I've lived in Barcelona for a couple of years, and it's true that petty crimes here are rife, though violent muggings are rarer. I've been pickpocketed once and have also caught a gypsy girl with her hand in my bag on another occasion.

I found this website not long after I moved here, and it's useful to read about the type of scams that are used to rob people here, and in other places.

Barcelona Scams

I actually think pickpocketing is almost as bad around Oxford Street. I used to work around there and there are whole gangs of them working together.

bumping for those planning holidays now

Please be careful wherever you go in UK or abroad

this is ancient
why are oyu so obsessed wiht it

I am not obseesed Cod

you are so weird someitmes - why post if you aren't interested in the thread

I was just bumping cos another MNetter was asking about Barcelona

When I was a child we drove from Calais to Provence with our car full of camping gear. We stopped in a village for a drink and when we came back to the car - everything had gone. All the stuff from the roofrack, the boot, tyres slashed etc. Not a good day.

Well, I'm glad you bumped it. It's just given me the sharp reminder I needed just before our holiday. I'm just too trusting.