MOTORING IN SPAIN

Alert E-mail from a "Victim" who wishes to prevent others falling into the trap

(Read on to learn about the Political Correctness tragedy in Britain and

now Spain that is being imported by a few Brits.)

From: Luisa Cripps (Marbella, Spain)

Date: 05/06/07 01:01:05

Subject: Robbery alert

 I would like to alert your readers to the danger of distraction robberies being carried out on the Costa del Sol by Eastern Europeans. 

I thought I was savvy - not true, unfortunately. I was unloading groceries from my car outside my house in pouring rain in a very quiet street by the beach in San Pedro when a car drew up asking for directions to Nueva Andalucia. In the time it took me to explain and give them my map, an accomplice stole my handbag from the passenger seat and disappeared. 

The couple in the car were young, attractive, pleasant and plausible. I didn't even realise until I went to find my bag after they had driven off.    I lost everything - passport, residencia card, two credit cards, mobile phone, book, perfume, etc. And about 100 Euros in cash. They were only interested in the cash. They have not tried to use the cards or phone. 

I would like to advise others: if you are asked for directions, walk off. Fast.    If you are in a car shut the windows, lock the doors and hit the horn and drive off if you can. This is advice from the police. Thieves are hiring cars with false papers for a day and turning them in, so details are not that important but get them if you can. 

Obviously you need to cancel credit cards immediately, but you will need to do a denuncia/crime report at your local police station. This can be done by phone on a free number - 902 102 112. Just say what language you want and you will be passed to someone who speaks that language. You then have 48 hours to go to the police station to sign the report. You will then have that to use to replace all your documents. And if you have done your denuncia by phone you get priority in the queue when you go to sign it.    I actually felt fortunate when I went as the group in front of me including an elderly blind man had had everything - luggage, documents, medication - stolen from their hire car at a Supersol supermarket while they were doing their shopping on the way to their holiday apartment from the airport. They had noticed North Africans/Moroccans hanging around the car park when they arrived. 

In no way do I want to be racist. But as far as I can tell from the local press, the majority of this type of crime is not committed by Spanish nationals who welcome us here to Spain. 

Comment here by Brian Deller.   It is sad that many of especially the British have become so brain-washed now that they are actually frightened to state the facts as in case because they are scared of being labelled quite wrongly as ”racist”.  If the alleged/suspected crooks are of a certain race or colour, then it is vital that they be described in as much detail as possible and this includes if they are white, or of apparently Eastern European origin (see below).  How else can they be identified?  It is a mistake that can allow other members of the public not to be on guard and place them in danger.   The pendulum seems to be swinging back to common sense in Britain away from this PC mindset, thank the Lord!   No need to apologise Luisa.  The facts are vital to protect us all; otherwise we will only be wary of what we perceive personally to be the perpetrators, and in many cases, the racists are the ones who accuse others of being so to protect and make sure that their thoughts are obeyed by everybody without question even though no laws are being broken. 

Back to Luisa.

More advice.  Here in Spain we need legally to carry identification - and under EU Directives, this does not include your passport if you are resident here. You only need your passport when you travel to another EU State, or anywhere else in the world, of course.    A residence certificate with say driving licence (foreign EU or Spanish) which has a photo on it is OK.  Your residence certificate (started from 28th March 2007) can be photocopied and is OK as long as you have your DL.     I carry a Spanish DL and photocopies of my British passport, a copy of the nota de empadronamiento and my Spanish social security card.   Except for the driving licence, you should not carry original documents as they are often difficult to replace, especially the British passport which is now literally worth its weight in gold.    You don't need to carry the original documents.    Copies of car documents are a different subject and must either be carried in the vehicle or certified copies, then if your car is stolen/hijacked with all the documents inside you will have proof of ownership.

 I had just returned from a visit to Mexico where I grew up and had not sorted out my handbag which is why I was still carrying all my documents. There I felt totally safe as I used to here. 

I have been on the radio - OCI and REM.FM stations  - to warn other people. 

Please publish this in your newspaper. 

Louise Cripps

luisa@mercuryin.es

952 78 05 07

Post Script.

Luisa sent out her E-mail to many friends and associates.  One replied and is very interesting.  It is copied here, without the senders' details.