# Robbed on Holiday



## Coleve (28 Aug 2007)

Myself and my fiance were away last week in the algarve on a package holiday. On our final evening we returned to our apartment at about 7 from the beach where we had spent the day. On returning we found that the safety deposit box in the bedroom had been robbed. In it we had placed 2 phones, 2 passports, car and house keys, wallet with cash,credit and bank cards,a bracelet and 2 rings, one of which, worst of all, was an engagement ring - We had only just got engaged few weeks beforehand! The police and holiday rep and apartment owner were called from reception straight away. 

The police found no evidence of a break in to our third floor apartment and from what we could understand they were having a very heated discussion with the apartment complex manager. Our apartment key had been left at reception all day,while we were at the beach. The safe had only been screwed to the wall and required a key, as opposed to a digital code, to open it. The actual safe had just been removed from the wall and robbed. A case belonging to us was also taken, presumably to carry the safe out. The apartment owner said "in this case we give a thousand euro". We were disgusted to discover this and never would have placed such items in the safe if we realised this. When we questioned management and our holiday rep (who had finally arrived after 2 hours) as to where this information was written, they said it wasn't written anywhere and was just their policy. We didn't know whether to take this money or not and wanted to think about it and seek advice as we weren't flying home until the following morning. We were told we had to make our minds up there and then as the manager wanted to go home. Our holiday rep said we should take the money. As you can understand we were totally confused and distressed and took the money. 
We then had to go to the police station to obtain a report on the robbery, which mainly consisted of listing the items contained in the safe. 

Our main problem is that we feel that we robbed by our hosts...key at reception,out all day everyday, the safe was not secure and didn't require any personal code etc. to open it (so our hosts would obviously have been able to access safe with a master key to investigate contents, if they hadn't already noticed the my engagement ring when wearing it each night when handing in the key at reception) ,no evidence of forced entry found by police etc. We know we have no proof of this - we're not conspiracy theorists either, but everyone we speak with feels the same as us about where the blame lies!

Our second bone of contention concerns the lack of help we received from the holiday rep (well known irish company) following the robbery. When we initially contacted her she said she would be with us within an hour. When there was no sign of her, we rang again, only to discovered that she had decided not to come - she felt it could be resolved over the phone! When we insisted that she come to help us, she reluctantly said that she would,and so it was another hour before she arrived. She was therefore not present when the police were having the heated discussion with the manager. We were only guessing as to what was going on but were totally frustrated at the lack of information we were getting. When it came to going to the police station she was not going to come. We had to plead with her to come with us. She was Portuguese and in hindsight we would have never been able to get the police report completed without her translating for both us and the police. She then left at half 10, saying she had asked the police to organise a taxi for us. It was an hour and a half later before we got one.
We returned to the room to pack but we couldn't stay there - i was very distressed after what had happened there and felt sick at the thought of being in the apartment. We stayed with our two friends on the couch in their room as we hadn't been offered an alternative room.

Does anyone know how we can progress with this to achieve compensation for the ring? Our holiday insurance only covers our passports and jewellery to the value of four hundred euro. Unfortunately the engagement ring wasn't on our house insurance, as we weren't long engaged.

Any help will be gratefully accepted.


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## Bronte (28 Aug 2007)

Do you have holiday insurance that would cover this?  I believe you need a copy of your police report and you need to report it immediately to the insurance company as they have terms and conditions about this.  

By giving you 1K the holiday apartment seems to be accepting liability.  Did you sign something that said you were accepting this amount as a full and final settlement.  

Just curious, how did you fly home without passports?


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## CCOVICH (28 Aug 2007)

Bronte said:


> Do you have holiday insurance that would cover this? I believe you need a copy of your police report and you need to report it immediately to the insurance company as they have terms and conditions about this.


 



			
				Coleve said:
			
		

> Our holiday insurance only covers our passports and jewellery to the value of four hundred euro. Unfortunately the engagement ring wasn't on our house insurance, as we weren't long engaged.


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## Sunny (28 Aug 2007)

Not sure what you can do. You may need to get some local legal advice. Am not sure if accepting the money you forfeited the right to further claims. Horrible story. Good luck


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## CCOVICH (28 Aug 2007)

Yes-in the absence of sufficient insurance cover, it could be very difficult to get anything back.

Are you still in contact with the police in Portugal?

All the best with your claim.


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## pat127 (28 Aug 2007)

The European Consumer Centre can help with cross-border disputes. See:- 

http://www.eccdublin.ie/


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## Vanilla (28 Aug 2007)

Something similar happened to us a few years back on a fly drive in Marbella. The evening before we were due to fly home the apartment was 'broken' into. No sign of forced entry. In our case luckily they took only cash. We went to report it to the reception who said they would call the police. They asked us to wait in the apartment. Naively we did. No sign of police. In retrospect I doubt they ever called them. We called the holiday organisers in Ireland that evening too who said they would get on to the hotel owner and help organise the police report etc. We never heard from them again in Spain. The next morning we were due to fly home early and we didn't know what else to do- we enquired at reception before we left who just shrugged their shoulders. Although we had holiday insurance without a police report we couldn't claim. Since then I've heard of a few people I know who've had similar experiences. It always seems to be the evening before you fly home so you don't have time to get to the police. There never seems to be a forced entry. Maybe it's a common thing?


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## foxylady (28 Aug 2007)

Similare thing happened to us as well a few years ago the day before we left although not on a grand scale like op. There was just bottles of perfume taken, that said they were worth a couple of hundred euro.

When we approached the rep we were told we would have to pay for a translator for the police which I agreed to it but in the end it was resolved by the complex owner as seemingly they had new cleaning staff on from an agency that week and lo and behold one of them was cleaning our room. We were reimbursed for the perfumes but needless to say it left a sour taste in our mouths and spoiled the last night of what had been a great holiday.

We had been to these apartments before but needless to say did not return afterwards.


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## Coleve (28 Aug 2007)

we got home without the passports ---the complex had taken information from our passports when checking in - our numbers,expiry date etc. using this and the police report, we were ok to leave. the next morning at the airport, we spoke to a guard in dublin airport who gave us permission to travel and we gave her name to the passport control in dublin airport.


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## demoivre (28 Aug 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Since then I've heard of a few people I know who've had similar experiences. It always seems to be the evening before you fly home so you don't have time to get to the police. There never seems to be a forced entry. Maybe it's a common thing?



It happened to my brother and his wife in June. They had rented privately but their experience was similar to  Vanillas - no forced entry, evening before coming home, mostly cash taken but also an engagement ring and some other jewelery. Luckily they did get a police report to bring home so they could make a claim on their holiday insurance ( unlike the op the sister in laws engagement ring was covered under their house insurance ), though the amount they will get is only a fraction of what was taken.  Other than claiming on travel insurance or home insurance I don't see what come back one has in these circumstances.


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## Afuera (28 Aug 2007)

Nightmare story. Not sure that there can me much done now though. The fact that you had insufficent insurance will probably get thrown back in your face no matter who you take it to.

One option that you may consider would be to go to a watchdog type programme and try and get it publicized. If it's as common as some of the other posters here suggest, they'd have no problem getting a big story out of it. It may not result in you getting fully compensated but the problems it would create for the apartment complex may give you some vindication.

I never liked those hotel safes myself. I think the best foolproof system when travelling is to leave your valuables locked in your suitcase (with for example a combination lock), and attach the suitcase to an item of furniture in your room with a security cable. If someone wants to get into it, they'll have to break something to do it. Besides being a deterrent to any would-be theives, it makes it very easy for the police and insurance companies to process.


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## ClubMan (28 Aug 2007)

Coleve said:


> The police found no evidence of a break in to our third floor apartment and from what we could understand they were having a very heated discussion with the apartment complex manager.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


Surely this is a police matter and if they don't have evidence to make a case against a suspect then there is not much that you can do? You have nothing other than weak circumstantial evidence to accuse the apartment owner/staff of perpetrating this crime as far as I can see.


> The apartment owner said "in this case we give a thousand euro".


On what basis was he offering this money? E.g. was he admitting some sort of liability? Did he put anything in writing? Do you have witnesses to this offer?


> as to where this information was written, they said it wasn't written anywhere and was just their policy.


In my experience there are usually disclaimers about responsibility for items stolen from apartment safes in the brochure and in the apartments themselves. Seems odd that this was not the case if they are saying that this is the policy.


> if they hadn't already noticed the my engagement ring when wearing it each night when handing in the key at reception


I don't understand the relevance of this.


> Does anyone know how we can progress with this to achieve compensation for the ring?


Haven't you have already received compensation from the apartment owner so I doubt that you can pursue them for more (assuming that no criminal prosecutions arise from this incident etc.)? If you are unhappy with the service provided by the tour operator and their agents then write to them outlining the grounds for your complaints. You need to do this as clearly and concisely as possible. You also need to do it within 28 days (?) of return.


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## Danmo (28 Aug 2007)

This is horrible stuff. At least the €1000 may go some way to replacing your ring. I would still pursue this via the insurance and the agent. Have you written to the agent? I would have written a stinker of a letter on my return. It's of little comfort now but I NEVER take my rings off unless I am going for a swim and then my husband wears them until I get back. I also lock our passports in our case and only bring enough cash for a day or two. I take tags off new clothes (in case they are stolen from case - I know people this has happened to) and only bring one small bottle of perfume. I have had a mositurizer stolen by cleaning staff in a hotel in Lanzarote along with other guests who had things stolen like towels! The management said outright that it was the cleaners and arranged the return of the items. It's really disgraceful.


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## Recam (28 Aug 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I don't understand the relevance of this.


 
OP is having a hard time here, without anyone calling to question the relevance of any information in their post, it was pretty detailed.

I suspect OP was trying to explain that Hotel staff had the opportunity to see that the couple had an engagement ring.


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## Coleve (28 Aug 2007)

Just to answer a few questions that were posted.

We have not been in contact with the police since our return. Before leaving the station we asked them what else could be done. They said they would wait and see if anything turned up. We took from this that the investigation was probably dead.

I have just checked the document we signed for the 1000 euro. The words 'full and final settlement' are on this so we have probably shot ourselves in the foot in a big way by signing this. We wanted to think it over for a few hours before decicing whether to take it but were given a now or never ultimatum. We then took it after some advice from our rep who also signed this hastily handwritten note

The relevence of wearing the ring when going out each evening is part of our conspiracy theory! As we left and returned each night I would hand in/collect the key with the ring on. It could have been noticed then. As we had a safe it was obvious where the ring was to be found during the day when we were on the beach. During this time the key was also left at reception so it was obvious to staff when exactly we were in and out of our apartment. We know there is absolutely no evidence to back this up but we are convinced that this is what has happened, as are others who have heard our story.


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## Danmo (28 Aug 2007)

I'm sorry your holiday was ruined in this way. Good luck with whatever route you take...


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## Jane (28 Aug 2007)

Coleve, so sorry to hear this.  It's just awful.  Appreciate you highlighting it though. The more people who know about this alleged scam, the better.


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## coleen (28 Aug 2007)

can you name the resort and the place that you stayed so that others can be forewarned of this type of thing happening. Sorry about your loss


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## Coleve (28 Aug 2007)

Ya, We were in Albufera on a Budget holiday. We stayed in Neptuno apartments which are situated only a few mins walk from the old town and main beach. Be warned!


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## niceoneted (28 Aug 2007)

I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you and I hope there is a favourable outcome for you. 
Just to note, I never take valuables with me on hols and always bring passport/ wallet/phone/camera with me everywhere I go. There are safe ways of carying minding them. I have the attitude that if anything taken after that I'm not bothered.Had my bag lifted in majorca once and got it back by going after the guy and roaring at him. 
I think if your engagement ring was not involved as in sentimentality and cost you might not be feeling it as badly. 
Good luck all the same,


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## SOM42 (28 Aug 2007)

niceoneted said:


> Just to note, I never take valuables with me on hols and always bring passport/ wallet/phone/camera with me everywhere I go.


 
I have a similar but slightly different approach.  Passport, phone and camera are easily replaced.  Wallet, cash and jewellery are not.  As a rule I always keep these on me.  The rest I keep in the safe when not in use on holidays.  I know its a bit late now and it must be awful to lose the new engagement ring.


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## z103 (28 Aug 2007)

As a long shot you could ask the hotel to put up a notice - "Engagement ring lost in hotel restaurant. €500 Reward"

Worse case the notice is ignored.


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## LIVERLIPS (29 Aug 2007)

I was on holidays with friends about 8 years ago in Turkey and we all had our money in the safe in seperate envelopes. And we only seemed to take it out together at night when going out. The safe was at reception. The last few nights we noticed that a bit of money seemed to be taken from each of our envelopes as we always counted it when we where finished it. We got the manager of the apartment and called our Budget Rep who filed the complaint at the time the apartment manager was more or else saying we must have been robbing from each other.

When i got home i contacted Budget Travel and got no where with them so i brought them to the Small Claims Court and one the case and i got £150 out of it as i was the only person from our group who went ahead with the case. 

So you could always try this.


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## ClubMan (29 Aug 2007)

Recam said:


> OP is having a hard time here, without anyone calling to question the relevance of any information in their post, it was pretty detailed.
> 
> I suspect OP was trying to explain that Hotel staff had the opportunity to see that the couple had an engagement ring.


So you're not sure of the relevance of that information either? Fair enough.


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## tinkerbell (29 Aug 2007)

So sorry to hear your terrible experience.  I can only imagiine the shock you must have felt and all you went through.  I have heard so many people getting robbed in the street, at airports etc. but in your case, its much worse.  Sorry I only have sympathy and not any help but really hope things work out well in the end


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## Guest127 (29 Aug 2007)

Dreadful experience. Most places now have those electronic safes but in this case it wouldn't appear to have made any difference if the thiefs made of with the actual safe. Wonder was it replaced before the next customers arrived? If it was I would be very suspicious.


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## ragazza (29 Aug 2007)

Hi,

that is just awful - you must be sick with disappointment.
Unfortunately if you dont have insurance, there's little chance of getting any recompense.

On your house insurance - are you SURE your ring isnt included. I.e. do you HAVE to state the ring separately? Maybe there is a clause that items over xxxE need to be stated separately, so could you at least claim the xxxE towards the cost of the ring?
Can you at least claim the cost of phones, wallet, cash, replacement passports and keys etc, off your insurance?

It does sound VERY dodgy that the hotel was immediately prepared to give you 1000E, without a formal claim from you. Normally hotels would have cover absolving themselves from items kept in the safe. 
But since its a foreign country, it would be very difficult to have pursued a claim of liability against the hotel.

Its no help, but maybe try to console yourself with the thought that these are only material things, and how much worse it would be if you or just fiance had had an accident.
(Last year I lost a suitcase with a few thousand euro worth of possessions inside. I was devastated, but managed to get over it by remembering they were just material possessions (but, in your case the engagement ring is more significant) ).
Best of luck with what happens..


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## ragazza (29 Aug 2007)

I just thought, if you have travel insurance AND house insurance, can you claim for the wallet/replacement of passports/cash etc TWICE?
I thought initially no, but maybe you can, since you insured yourself twice.

So it would mean at least you could get :
  -1000E from hotel 
 - 400E from travel insurance (you said this is the maximum)
 - whatever amount is valid from the house insurance claim.
This would add up to a couple of thousand euro which would help towards replacing the ring.


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## Coleve (29 Aug 2007)

Thanks to all for useful suggestions. We are going to start the ball rolling with a letter of comlaint to Budget Travel. Does anyone know what the official time period is, in which Budget must reply to the complaint?


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## ClubMan (29 Aug 2007)

Coleve said:


> Does anyone know what the official time period is, in which Budget must reply to the complaint?


You must put your complaint in writing to them within 28 days of your return from the holiday. 

[broken link removed]

I'm not aware of any time limit on them responding. Not sure if _Budget _are members of the _ITAA _but [broken link removed] might also be of use.


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