Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Money left in safe!!

164 replies

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 08:00

Dear all,

My elderly parents recently holidayed in Montenegro.
Upon completing their 4 hour journey to the airport to catch their flight home, my mother realised she had left her purse containing £600 in English cash in the safe.

The hotel have been brilliant and have the purse, but we cannot work out how to get it home to England.

DHL won't carry it as they do not ship money. The standard post is liable to get stopped at customs/ stolen.

Can the hotel put the money I an English bank?

I don't know much about Montenegro, but my father says it's about 20 years behind the rest of Europe??

Any advice would be gratefully received

X

(I have also posted in Travel, my father is desperate and rings me every three hours to see if I've got the purse back yet!!)

OP posts:
thenightsky · 12/06/2018 09:53

I did the exact same thing in Madeira. Left my purse in the safe with 80 England quid, credit and debit cards, id card for work etc. I realised on the plane when I came to pay for a drink. Contacted hotel as soon as I got home. They said they'd found it . I gave them my address and they parcelled it up securely with lots of tape and sent it by a courier. It came about 6 days later.

somewhereovertherain · 12/06/2018 10:00

For the future get him to take a no fee credit card like halifax or creation. One you get the best rate and two you don’t need to carry large amounts of cash about.

bimbobaggins · 12/06/2018 10:15

I would just leave your dad to get on with it. Ungrateful sod

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 10:42

He has a preloaded card that I set up for him and it had plenty of money on it....

He took a shit load of English cash too incase he could buy things cheaper using the might of English pound notes (I think he did this in Greece a few years back when the economy was apocalyptic).

He really does live in the dark ages and thinks people will fall over themselves to ease him just because he's English.

I've emailed the hotel about PayPal and bank transfers, and waiting to hear back.

I quite like the idea of letting the staff kee the excess money to have a few drinks as I expect he called them all by vaguely racist names thinking they enjoyed his colonial patronage....

I think I may have issues surrounding my somewhat overbearing father.

OP posts:
thenightsky · 12/06/2018 10:49

I've just asked DH if he could remember which courier was used to bring my purse home.... he thinks it was DHL or Fed Ex.

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 10:56

Hotel aren't happy sending it via DHL.
Something about smoke??????
I think there's a translation issue.

Plus it's quite a lot to take the chance. Anything under £100 I think I would have just gone ahead and organised and if it had gone astray, could have potentially talked him round using long words.
If 'I' (again, not sure how I'm responsible????) lose £600 of his, he'll sulk and try and emotionally blackmail it out of me as he's a pensioner who can afford four holidays abroad a year

OP posts:
Karatema · 12/06/2018 11:06

My husband left his driving licence at home and only realised when we arrived at the Airport for a fly drive holiday in US. As no one was available to drive the 2 hours to the airport, my DMiL arranged for it to be delivered to us via a courier company. She had to be sparing with the truth because no one would take legal docs and she didn't feel she could lie. The description, when it arrived, read "papers to aid a person to steer an automobile"! We did laugh but we were able to carry on with our holiday albeit 1 morning late.

ForgivenessIsDivine · 12/06/2018 11:09

Sounds like the beginning of recognising your issues and stepping away.... good luck, we are all right behind you.

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 11:23

Ha. Perhaps I should get them to send a package containing 'papers to aid a person to stop being such a belligerent old bastard'.

The hotel are sending it via Western Money.
I've just had the email.

So, stats for this entire morning:

Number of times my dad has called to check when his money is arriving: 3

Number of times my dad has suggested I put the money in his bank in the meantime so that he does not lose out on the interest: 7

Number of times my dad has 'affectionately' called the hotel manager 'Pedro': 4

Number of times that I have thought about flying to Montenegro and spending the money on cocktails: 147

Number of times that I have made a mental note that I need to buy gin on the way home: 7

Number of times I have said the words 'unavoidable transaction fees' to my dad so that he understands that I am not 'creaming off the top' : 12

Number of emails between my father and the hotel in order the get absolutely nothing resolved except that DHL will not ship the purse due to 'smoke': 17

Number of emails between myself and hotel to resolve issue: 3

Amount of actual 'real life' work done so far today: zero

Number of times I have reminded myself that it will all be worth it when they open the will: 425768

God help me.

OP posts:
thenightsky · 12/06/2018 11:30

Wow. He sounds awful OP Sad

GahWhatever · 12/06/2018 11:33

Will? He's left it to a cats home!

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 11:52

He'll probably make me drive him to the bank the day before he dies so that he can withdraw all of his money in £50 notes and be buried with it.

OP posts:
SparklySeashell · 12/06/2018 11:57

OP, I think I love you!!

Bump3rcarz · 12/06/2018 13:19

You have the patience of a saint !

whywontteenswearcoats · 12/06/2018 14:05

Your DF sounds like mine OP, mine has just moved house & everything that goes wrong, even a tiny glitch, is twisted around until it's my fault. I used to get really upset and stressed but I am learning to stand up for myself and get a sense of humour about it. Lots of swearing and gin helps too.

NapQueen · 12/06/2018 14:09

This is brilliant!!

Wtfisthis11 · 12/06/2018 14:35

I just can't get my head around you somehow being liable for the £600 OP, either in terms of him 'losing interest' or in the event of him not getting it back from the hotel Confused Presumably you must have uttered the words 'it wasn't me who left it in the hotel safe' at some point and I'm struggling to imagine what response he could possibly have to counter that and still twist it to being your fault!

I'm swinging between laughing at your (beautifully written and very funny) account and feeling absolutely outraged and gutted for you that you have to put up with this shit AngrySad

Here, have a bucketload of Gin, you totally deserve it.

Littletinyraindrops · 12/06/2018 15:14

Either post it back or if it was a package holiday then get a rep to pass it over to one of the flight crew for you to then collect at the airport with the passport belonging to the owner.

Western Union and PayPal sound like a right ball ache, and your dad sounds like an ungrateful twunt.

AdoraBell · 12/06/2018 15:22

If your father is that difficult then leave it to him to sort it.

kissthealderman · 12/06/2018 15:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mostdays · 12/06/2018 15:37

Number of times my dad has suggested I put the money in his bank in the meantime so that he does not lose out on the interest

Oh god op, he really is dreadful, isn't he? What's his reasoning behind this being something you should do?

glindathegoodbitch · 12/06/2018 17:51

So funny reading your replies.... and yes, I know I facilitate the arrogant egotistical behaviour.... but I deal with it by plotting my revenge (daydreaming about buying a one way cruise ticket under the false name of 'Molly Boudoir' and pushing him off of the ship....) drinking gin and swearing like a motherfucking sailor under my breath.

I have been amused this afternoon by the thought of his dying wish being for me to take all of said fifty pound notes and craft a life-size paper mache model of Margaret Thatcher so he can be buried with her. It's the little things that keep me going.

I contacted Western Union and have enquired about how everything will work and I was sorely disappointed not to be offered some sweet sweet loving by a Nigerian Prince etc... but when all is said and done, I'll just be glad for this saga to be over..... until the next one.

OP posts:
CristalTipps · 12/06/2018 18:39

Ask your Dad if he's going to treat you to a slap up dinner as thanks when you get the money back...

Phosphorus · 12/06/2018 18:50

You are taking it all very well OP.

'Smoke' Grin. I wonder what on earth the smoke was meant to be?!

Spidermansthong · 12/06/2018 19:23

Did you tell your dad that you would lose interest if you deposited your £600 into his account?