greenery

From the OP:

OK, here is what my friend did in a rural area of Brazil.

He got in a cab and told the driver the address of his hotel. Once he arrived he had to convince the people at the hotel that he was checked in the establishment, he was who is, and explain the situation. He convinced them to pay the taxi driver out in cash and charge the expense to the credit card that was on file when he checked in. The hotel a 2* was not high on customer service and was not even convinced that my friend even stayed there. If they would have said no-- it could be a serious problem.

Once he got back to his room he made a number of phone calls and he got access to a new credit card and new ID in a day or so.

The situation could have been alot worse. Watch your wallet. It is your connection to the civilized world.

jpatokal

It sure is -- for one thing, you'd need a lot more armed men to block the 8 lanes of National Highway 4, which is the backbone of the entire country.

valve bouncer

Got mugged in Jo'burg near the train station. Lost the lot although I'd checked my bag into the cloak room and still had 20 rand in my pocket. Went to the cops at the station there and they told me there was a place where the muggers throw away the stuff they can't use so they took me there to have a look. Couldn't find anything but they advised me to come back with a ladder so I could look on the roof of a bus stop where stuff gets turfed. I had people in Jo'burg who could help me fortunately and they looked after me.

Went back the next day with my friends and one cop. Parked about 50 metres away from where we had to go. Looked down as I got out of the car and saw something that looked familiar. My driver's license. You beauty. ^ Found my loose leaf South African visa too (this was 1991) that not only had my picture on it but my passport number too. Went to the embassy in Pretoria the next day and secured an emergency travel document (I was on my home when this all happened).

Some vignettes from that day;
- at the cop shop had to fill in the incident sheet myself as the cop was illiterate.
- while at the cop shop a black guy came in who had been stabbed in the arm. The Afrikaaner cop running the show in the station basically told him to get lost.
- the cops took me to look for my stuff. They parked in front of a liquor store while they went off to look and told me to wait in the van (paddy wagon type of deal). There were a dozen or so blokes both white and black outside the shop getting hammered on the street. Sudenly a guy dressed in leopard skins holding a spear (I kid you not) appeared next to the van. I just about soiled myself and locked the doors. This guy was both really drunk and really friendly and just wanted to say hello. When the cops got back they told me there was going to be an Inkatha march later that day and these guys often march in traditional garb.
- when the cops got back another Inkatha guy (not in traditional garb) asked them if they'd give him a lift. Cops said sure and he hopped into the back. Cue a deliberately wild ride through the streets with this guy thumping around in the back. Then they stopped, turfed this poor sod out and got back in laughing. They told me they'd dropped him in an ANC area (at that time Inkatha's mortal enemy- maybe still today) and left him to fend for himself. South African coppers

I sometimes recall that day and go cold realising that I was lucky to leave there alive considering who and where I was.

mcrt

I have had my pocket successfully picked twice while traveling. Lessons learned have served me well. Before the first time I would keep one credit card and my passport seperate from what I kept in my wallet. Now when traveling abroad I only keep what I am willing to lose in my easily accessed pockets.

I did discover that you should have cards from different banks. When the first wallet was stolen I lost my cash card. The credit card was from the same bank. When I called to cancel the cash card they cancelled them both even though I told them that I still had the credit card. Fortunately it was the last day of my trip.

The second time my pocket was picked I lost about $10 no big deal. I was on a walking tour and we talked about how to protect yourself from losing too much. About 20 minutes later on of the other guys had his wallet stolen. We went back to where it happened, found the thief and got the wallet back. He was really lucky because it had his plane tickets, passport, credit cards, etc.

BelfastFlyer

If your visa or mastercard gets stolen or lost you can ring them and they promise to have a replacement with you within 48 hours. I dont know how true it is, anyone ever had the misfortune of trying it?

kingsroadgal

I had my purse stolen in Paris a couple of years ago. It had everything in it, and while I would not say it was a pleasurable experience, it turned out much better than I would have expected. Passports were replaced within a few hours by the embassy even though we had no ID. I think they were able to look up our applications on their computer, and thus confirm our identity. Thank goodness my husband had two credit cards that I was not carrying, so we were able to cancel my credit cards without any problem. No charges were ever attempted on them, I am shocked to say. We didn't cancel the ATM card since there was no code on it, so were able to use my husband's card.

I agree with a previous poster that there is no reason to carry all those other cards that you will not use on a trip - library cards, membership cards. Clean out your wallet before you leave. And if you are travelling alone, I would recommend leaving a credit card behind at your hotel, although that carries its own set of problems. And now my husband carries passports, etc. on a little pouch that hangs around his neck.

The real surprise in my story, however, was that some kind soul found my wallet on the ground, with many of my worthless cards and documents inside, and sent it back to me in Los Angeles. It was waiting for me on my return.

tide

I had my wallet stolen last week on a Sunday. I was away from home in London. I called up Citibank USA (on my own dime, the UK operator told me their number that was touted to accept collect charges apparently did not) at 6am London time (on a Sunday). I reported my card lost and asked them what I could do. I was leaving on Wednesday in 3 days time. Their reponse: "We cannot get a card in time to you".

I called up Amex next-they have a tollfree UK number. They said "we're sorry for your loss. You can go in into one of our London offices first thing Monday morning and we'll print a card for you on the spot".

SiDFresh

Fearing this would eventually happen someday.
I always carry 1 credit card & drivers license with cash in money clip in my FRONT jeans pocket.
I learned this from living in Rome. Never had any problems.

NickW

I arrived into Milan without my wallet (either lost it or had it stolen somewhere on the way from Madrid), and was heading for Venice. I had about two hundred euros in cash and my Eurostar reservations already made.

I called American Express, and they said they could have their travel service issue a new card on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen - the agent gave me bum information and the office was closed!

By this point, I had checked into the Gritti Palace ("Yes, I am Mr NickW. No, I don't have a credit card. Is that a problem? You've upgraded me to a junior suite, why thank you!") which was going to leave me with a large bill to settle in a few days.

American Express were very apologetic, and referred me to their Travel Assistance partner. They tried to wire me a thousand euros via Western Union, but that didn't work (some problem of different wire circuits that don't accept payments from certain other circuits - who knew?). So the following morning (Sunday...), they sent a small woman with a large bodyguard to deliver cash directly to my hotel!

On Monday, when I got back to my apartment in Varese, I found a card which had been same-day couriered from Milan.

Oh and they comped me half my annual fee.

mkt

Not exactly international, but I was mugged in SJU... took my wallet, my cellphone, and my shoes (...?!?!). Thankfully the only contents in my wallet were my license, ATM Card (non CC logo.. woohoo!), $50 cash, some random Euros, and my hotel key. I always travel with a backup license (so I no longer had a Florida License, but a Cali one... bit whoop), so I had ID. I walked 3 blocks back to my hotel, and spoke to the front desk agent who was really nice about the whole thing and gave me a new room key and directions to Plaza Las Americas to buy a new pair of shoes. Called my bank to cancel my ATM card and have a new one sent home, and used my credit cards. And I called the police to file a report so I could have my Florida license replaced.

All worked out... but having 2 punks holding a knife to your chest is definitely unnerving.

eatmoresushi

Jumped from behind by 2 men in Spain and strangled. When I regained consciousness, my bag and moneybelt were gone. Luckily plane tickets and photocopies of everything were in the hotel. But cash, ATM card, credit cards, spare ATM/credit cards, passport, cellphone were all gone The hotel manager gave me 2 Euros so I could take the subway to the embassy.

1) Visa had emergency cash waiting at the bank for me almost immediately. They have a clever procedure for confirming the identity of clients whose ID has all been stolen. Visa also couriered a replacement credit card right away to my hotel
2) Some banks will not give you a replacement ATM card unless you can pick it up in person from your home branch Be warned!
3) The embassy replaced my passport in 24 hours ^

Lessons learned:
1) A money belt does no good when you are unconscious.
2) Keep one spare ATM card and one spare CC in the hotel at all times. The odds of both you and your hotel room being robbed on the same day are low.
3) Have a couple of phone numbers of close family/friends back home memorized. When your phone and notepad are stolen, you will be grateful.
4) You will be surprised how quickly the practical matters can be resolved when disaster strikes. My cards, cash and passport were replaced well before my physical injuries healed.

EMS

dizzy

Not sure if this counts but...
I was helping students move into the dorms this summer/fall and on move in day, a Brit came to the check-in desk (which I was running) with a problem. Between the time that he left the airport and tried to check in, he had dropped/lost all of his documents. They were all in a small bag and he lost track of it among the large number of bags he had. This meant his passport, credit cards, various ID's (not sure what he meant), large sum ($2000) in traveller's checks, cash, everything. So, he was on US soil for less than an hour and had to spend the next 2 weeks trying to fix everything. He had to go down to Chicago to get his passport sorted out. What a way to start your freshman year huh?

craigslist

having been mugged with a two by four five days ago in phuket (almost unconcious, but not enough for the muggers to get what they were after(,having gone to bangkok and chosen my usual guesthouse cuz they were honest and had a safe at front desk for customers docs (which was broken, someone else had left his passport and all his cards in his room but they were lifted by a prostitute, this topic is on my mind, so some suggestions ...

$100 bill ina photocopy of passport and trav cheque nos in ones shoe

and some info in the email account you use all the time - you might be surprised to remember this and not your home phone number let alone your pin number or creditcard numbers in a pinch.

and help someone out a bit who comes to you with a story. i am used to hearing these stories by visitors in thailand, usually con stories, but not always.

whiteknuckles

If I could get internet access, I would wire myself money using Western Union.

MelP

I had my wallet either lost or picked out of my purse (AFAICT, it was in a pub so who knows) in Dublin Ireland in 2000. My cash (about $100), credit cards, and ATM card (non-MC/VISA) were gone. I forget if I had my passport in the same purse or back at the hotel, but either way it was fortunate I still had that. Also fortunate that this was a rare non-UK trip where I was traveling with five other people. Didn't even notice it was missing until the next morning... I had stopped by at my friends' much more posh and full-service hotel where the desk staff was very helpful in letting me look up the phone numbers and using their phone to cancel the credit cards (had to wait to cancel the ATM until I got home but without the PIN it was useless anyway). Since I was returning home the next day I just had them send new cards home. My friends loaned me 100 punt to get me through the two days. Fortunately my hotel was fully pre-paid!

Had a bit of a scare at the airport returning home though when I checked in (with two hours to spare) for my EI flight and they told me I might not get on and might have to spend another night in Dublin or London. Only had about $50 left (and still needed to get home from the airport) so I was worried that I'd be sleeping at the airport. Fortunately, they did get me on the flight at the last minute - in Premier class, certainly took the sting out of losing the wallet. :-D