My wife and I were robbed today in Buenos Aires. We hopped off the bus downtown and 3 minutes later I was cleaned out by two ladies.

Here is the short story. We were about to grab a cab to the Hilton when I felt some crap fall on me. I figured I just got bombarded by a pidgeon. Two ladies pointed out that I had pidgeon crap all over my trousers and bag. Within seconds, my wallet was opened, credit cards taken out and wallet then put back in my pocket. My travel folder containing our passports, airline tickets and other ID was lifted from my bag. They were off in a cab before I knew what happened. My wife had no idea what was going on and nor did I. We were luckey in that we were not hurt.

We caught a cab to the Hilton quickly. The Hilton staff called the police and set us up on the exec floor and sent up the laundry boy to gather my clothes. Hilton rocks but we are now stuck in EZE. We have filed a police report, the police are very aware of these people and they are professionals. (and I feel stupid - it all happened so fast and we were very tired. Within 30 minutes - all Credit Cards have been cancelled and AMEX will be sending a replacement within 48 hours to Hilton.

I have some questions which unfortunately I hope someone can answer:

1) How long does it take to get another Canadian and Australian Passport? We have E-Tickets on Swiss departing Aug 7th to LHR.

2) We had all our Hilton H Certificates taken. (1 ALON, 2 GLONS, 1 SS5 and others) should we be worried about these being used or should I just print off more from my email?

I am mainly concerned about our passports. We know our numbers but do you think we can get out by the 7th - any experience (It is Sunday here and no one can help).

Call 613 996 8885 COLLECT for the Canadian passport. That is the after hours #. No idea about the Aussie passport but I am sure someone on the board will help you. Sorry to hear what happened. Good Luck.

Biggles.

Wow, that sucks. I'm very sorry for your bad luck.

Although I have no direct experience with this, I do know that the Department of Foreign Affairs has 24 hours consular assistance officers on duty in Ottawa. You can call them at 613-996-8885. They might be able to get moving on getting you a new passport.

Sorry to read of this experience. Had a similar scam -- "pidgeon ****" on my shoe -- pulled on me in Cannaught Circus, New Delhi, by a group of kids, but not with the same consequences, just shaken down for a few hundred rupis. I know this can be shattering. [Also was target of an attempted swarm by Gypsy women and children in Florence, but we got away from that one before they moved into action.]

I am sure HHonors will be able to track your certificates and cancel/reissue them. Given it is a holiday here in Canada tomorrow -- except for Quebec -- there may be a bit of a delay with processing new passports through Ottawa. And the Embassy may be closed tomorrow as well. Australian one is likely to be open, so that one should get started easily enough.

Have a stiff drink, and get a good night's sleep. At least you had no physical injury or peril.

If you have problems, there's a passport office down the street from me here in Toronto, and will help if I can. However, I expect the Embassy in BA has handled these things before and should get you travel documents in time for your departure on Thursday, even if to just get you into London where you can go to Canada House [Grosvner Square offices actually] to follow up.

The very same thing happened to me in EZE two years ago. Quite fortunately, they didn't manage to get my wallet and camera, just a daypack with an umbrella and a couple worthless thing...

This is a very frustrating experience, but I'm sure a concert at the Teatro Col�n or a good restaurant will help make it just a bad memory. For your passport, there shouldn't be a problem getting a new one in time. The Canadian Embassy is open tomorrow.

Hope everything goes well for you Davistev.

A friend of mine was recently robbed while on the road and had his Canadian Passport stolen. He was due to depart for home the next day. A quick trip to the Canadian Embassy in that country, and he had an emergency replacement within 2 hours. You need to show up to the Embassy in EZE and they will take your photo and issue you an emergency passport for ~ $65.00. Without it you cannot leave the country.

While it is traumatic, I know I have been robbed before, it will in no way delay your journey on the 7th. Go there first thing in the a.m. and by day's end, the replacement will be in your hands.

Good Luck. (FYI you don't need to call Ottawa, just go to the local office, everything will be done there).

------------------
Too late is tomorrow's life; live for today.

Martial (1st century), Epigrams, I, 15

Thanks people for putting our minds at ease. We will be at the Canadian and then Australian Embassy first thing tomorrow morning. We are relieved to hear that replacements can be had quickly.

I must highlight once more how professional the Hilton EZE staff are. we just had a plate of cheese and fresh flowers delivered to our room. The operator found the embassy addresses for us and we feel pretty safe right about now.

It�s funny as the first thing that went through my mind after we were robbed was to get to the Hilton ASAP. It was the right thing to do. I am not too sure any other hotel would have taken good care of us like Hilton.

And of course the second thing that came to my mind was to contact you wonderful people on Flyertalk. As always, I appreciate the sincere comments and genuine dialogue on the Air Canada forum.


From Mrs. Davistev and myself.
Arigato gozaimus.

I�ll let you know the procedure and length of time for stolen passports as soon as I know. Just in case another Flyertalker needs a few words in the future.

[This message has been edited by davistev (edited 08-03-2003).]

I would like to give my regrets to you for your experience. However, I can relate a similar experience.

We were pickpocketed at the Mexico City subway a couple of years ago - my wallet completely taken. Someone else wanted to take my wife's handbag, worne by her with a shoulder strap, over her shoulder. Fortunately, she was holding our daughter, over that shoulder - so the pickpocketer could not take the purse. Also, fortunately, our passports were in the hotel room.

It was a hassle to call and get all the credit cards and our Aeroplan cards replaced; when we came home, I also had to get my driver's license and OHIP health card replaced.

I have learned the lesson when travelling in the city out of the hotel room, with minimal cards (perhaps one credit card, and one ID card) and/or money. Are there any cities/countries around the world where one should carry one's passport on one's person, without leaving it back at the hotel - perhaps in the safe in the room and/or at the front desk?

I have not yet gotten into the habit of carrying a photocopy of our front passport pages, with extra passport type pictures - but we should. We also have citizenship Cards - I wonder how useful they would be to get replacement Canadian passports, at most countries. I believe that one can use such cards to travel between Canada and USA; I am not sure about using these cards to travel between any other countries in the world, and Canada, or between 2 other countries in the world (thereby precluding the need to get a replacement Canadian passport, until one arrives back home).

[This message has been edited by FlyerGoldII (edited 08-03-2003).]

Just remember to tell the embassy staff you are not returning directly to Canada. Sometimes they might, on very short notice, only give a travel document that lets you back into Canada.I had that thappen to colleague once who was transiting through a another country on his way home to Canada and he only had the emergency travel document which caused him no end of grief AMS.

Good luck and be thankful no physical damage was done. It sure can put a damper on a vacation but just think you cancelled all cards right away and passports will be replaced relatively easy on Monday.So enjoy the rest of it;and don't feel bad because many of us have had the same experience.

Call Hilton Diamond Desk ASAP to cancel your outstanding HHonors certs 888-HHONORS.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Chin up!!

Sorry to hear... I can relate as well...

I know someone at the High Commission in London (MacDonald House) who may potentially be able to help you if needed. Send me an e-mail.

Passport Office in Hull is opened tomorrow. That I know for certain.

I'll go into the office tomorrow to help if necessary as well. (I probably won't be able to do much, but I can at least try to find you names, etc.)

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. This is one of my great fears in travelling. So, I usually photocopy my passport front page and leave the passport back in the hotel room. Hilton gets the thumbs up for being so great. If I have to carry the passport, it's usually in a waist pack under the shirt and vest. If they can get that far--they are going to take it anyway!!

davistev, very glad that you and your wife are alright.

Until now, I always thought I was a group of '1' who had been robbed in a foreign land.

However, after reading all the posts within this thread, I think we should be welcoming you to the club.

I too, was robbed at the Marriott Stellaris Casino and Resort in San Juan in January 1999. Two teenagers got off the elavtor with me on the 16th floor, pulled out their guns...I'll spare you the rest, I'm over it now.

I'm astounded at all the fellow Ac FT�rs that have had similar experiences. I'm glad to know everyone is alright. I was living in MIA at the time. 6 months later, I moved the family back to Canada and we haven't looked back since.

I think Shareholder gave some good advice...have a stiff drink...I'm sure you're looking forward to reading that sign which hangs in the CUSTOMS waiting area

"Welcome to Canada"

Interesting also to note the Various countries/areas all within Latin America which are being metnioned...2 x Argentina, Mexcio, Puerto Rico.....fellow travellers beware.

[This message has been edited by mjschill (edited 08-03-2003).]

Usually, it would be a good idea to leave half of your IDs, credit/debit cards in a safe at hotel and bring other half with you. Do the same with cash. What I do is if I bring my ID with me, then I lock up the passport, vice-versa. Print photocopies of your passport and important documents is also a good idea and lock them up in a safe or a separate place from the originals.

Emergency replacements of passports are usually done within same day. I remember a few years ago, a good friend of mine from Spain had his backpack stolen in the sub-way of New York. We were on our way back to Canada as we were going to take the greyhound bus to Montreal. So naturally, a EU National may not enter Canada without a passport so we were stuck in NYC for the night. It was awful and of course I couldn't just left him behind and returned to Canada. So the whole night, we were running like crazy, first filling up police report and other documents - the guy was not so good in English and I couldn't speak for him most of the time though I translated most of it anyway. Thankfully, the police officer, a black male, who took the case understands Spanish somewhat. By the time we were done, it was like 2AM. In our case, there was no good Hilton looking for you when you need it. I realized the next morning would be headache because we would have to get him a replacement passport as soon as possible or he was not going anywhere. So at 2 AM, I called Starwood to book a hotel in NYC. While the SPG reservation located in the west coast still showed today's date, the hotel in NYC is already in the next day, so impossible to book a hotel for tonight on the SPG line. Then, I called the hotel direct, they somehow didn't take me seriously, thinking I am one of those drunk people in NYC calling at 2AM in the morning. I said that when I asked them to guarantee me a room, they said: "Just come, we have plenty of rooms." No asking for credit cards, nothing. While the SPG reservation can quote me a good rate, the hotel charged me Rack rate when I got there. And they looked surprised that I actually went and yes, no upgrade. By now you can guess it's one those god hated Sheratons in NYC. That night was miserable and I ate the cost of the entire bill because my friend was just a University student from a not so well-off area of southern Spain who hasn't planned for this kind of 'accident'. I remember I barely slept even though I was tired. He told me to sleep but he was the one keep asking those 'what if' questions the whole night, arrgggh!

Next morning was hell. Red-eye is one thing. First, we had to find out the Spanish consulate information in NYC which we had the help from the hotel concierge. He called and the consulate told him that they can only offer him a document that allows him to return to Spain, but not a passport. He almost fainted on the spot because his month long vacation in North America was just about to begin. I consoled him and asked him to try with the Embassy in Washington D.C. as I had a hunch that the answer of the Consulate seemed akward to me even though I am not familiar with Spanish regulations. In the meantime, it was a mind game of back-up plans after back-up plans and basically, I had to think for two. On one end, I had to calm him down and said: "Look, worst come to worst, we'll be stuck in the U.S., so be it. We'll figure a plan entirely within the U.S. then. You just skip Canada, that's all." and on the other hand, find a way to get his replacement passport. So once we contacted the Embassy in D.C., they said of course he could get a replacement passport if all the criteria are met. Guess what, when we gave the NYC consulate a 2nd call, asking for an explanation in the discrepency, the person answering admits that his boss tells them to use this answer because there are so many Spanish speaking people claiming to be Spanish nationals lost in NYC for obvious reasons!? You know I can understand the problem they faced but what they were doing was not right and unethical. If that was not enough, the office closed at 1PM and we were like almost 11 AM if I remember correctly. We had less than 2 hours to get to the office on the other side of Manhattan and before that, bring 2 photos for the passport. So it was like participating in the Amazing Race for the next 2 hours - find a photo shop to get the right size photos done, then bring the photos to the Consulate before the cut off time. At the end of the day, everything was done, wow... Thank god, it was taken care of. I did call the Canadian consulte for emergency services the night it happened from the police office to see if there is a way we could get him into Canada without the passport considering this situation as he still has EU/Spanish citizenship ID with him, got a flat no as answer.

I say the moral of this story is be ready that sometimes the Consulate may not be very helpful at times so don't take a first no as the answer, try other ways too.

An additional information, if you need emergency passport/consular services and the Canadian is not available, you may contact the nearest Australian/British office for assistance. Canada has an agreement with them to provide you with emergency passports. Say if the Canadian office is closed and you need to fly out tomorrow and the Australian one is opened, then you can go to the Aussie for assistance.

[This message has been edited by Guava (edited 08-03-2003).]