Warning - Costa del sol
 

Thought I'd better post this for any women that are popping to the supermarket on their own

Today I witnessed myself something I have heard about from 2 different people over the last week or so (all around Sabinillas but these people may be operating in other areas on the CDS)

It is a team of 3. One drives, another approaches the car of a woman pulling into the supermarket car park on her own and asks directions. Meanwhile, the 3rd member of the gang opens the passenger door and steals whatever he can get his hands on (aiming for the handbag).

Fortunately on this occasion they had to contend with some nutter in a beaten up Ford Fiesta driving towards the 3rd member with his hand on the horn...alas he ran before my car could hit (probably in hindsight a far better outcome than if I had killed the bugger by mowing him down).

I would advise making sure your car doors are locked when you are driving around and especially when pulling into public car parks.

Another thing these people are looking for are people who park their cars and lock them as they walk away with a remote control. A lot of modern cars will not activate the central locking if it senses that a door is open. These thieves will attempt to open the passenger door in the time between the driver exiting and operating the remote in the hope they do not realise that the alarm does not activate so they can help themselves to the contents while the driver is off shopping. For this reason I would advise getting into the habit of activating the central locking while standing next to the car with a quick check to make sure it has actually worked.

Re: Warning - Costa del sol
 

Not only solo women. A married couple we know had this happen to them recently, not sure of the exact location, probably in the same area - maybe Estepona, Carrefour at Estepona is famous for it.

I am very wary in supermarket car parks - they often approach you to take your trolley back to the park so they can have the euro. I wave them away and if they don't go I start shouting and getting aggressive (I am quite big and ugly). :eek:

I don't know why the supermarkets don't tighten up their security - cost I suppose.

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Did you get his number?

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didn't see the driver..just assume he was somewhere close by. I don't mind scaring them off, I'll leave the chasing for those who are paid to do it

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Good point to raise. People are often all too complacent about security.

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You can usually set your car to automatically lock the doors when you start to drive. Also don't leave your handbag on the seat in full view...do not drive with the windows down. Common sense really.

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Last time I was in Spain 3 weeks ago been there approx 2 hours drove from Malaga Airport to El Ingenio parked up had lunch returned to car to drop something off before going to get food shopping to find my daughters case missing. Very slight mark on passenger door lock where it had been forced back seat pulled forward and case taken, contained her bit of spending money 120 euro and her I phone. Sad thing is she is not well off and had had to save up from temorary job to get these. Put a blight on our break and shows they are watching you so take care, I know I will be more careful in future.

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Another trick the thieving baskets frequently use and worthy of another mention, is to stick big flyers onto the back window of parked cars.

Car owner comes back to car approaching from the front, opens door sits in seat, puts key in ignition, maybe starts engine, checks mirror,sees flyer blocking rear view, gets out and goes round back to remove it, and wham bang, bag gone or car gone in the wink of an eye.

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Like people who leave the keys in the ignition when they go and pay at the garage till.........

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Thats just plain dumb.
I always lock the car doors before paying.

Another fairly well known scam is following the hire cars of newly arrived visitors from the airport when they are fully loaded and then causing a minor diversion.
I believe that one first began in the States,especially Miami many years ago.
The use of guns was fairly common and the visitors were easily picked off because the hire cars were clearly marked back then.

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up until fairly recently cars registered in Jersey were marked with an 'H' also making them a target when travelling off island to France or UK.
some of the hire companies have stopped putting stickers on the rear window, partly because of MOT rules but also because of highlighting hire cars.

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I've just come back from the weekly shop at Carrefour and other shops at Los Barrios (it was here BTW that the married couple I mentioned earlier were done over). I found myself quite automatically checking people out in the car park - making sure I felt safe, being very wary of people coming too close. Sad sign of the times I suppose...:(

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Sounds like the Bull Ring or Notting Hill..........

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I'm afraid that expats are easy targets for criminals in Spain. They are simply not used to the way the thieves operate here, nor the way police respond to their emergency, usually by telling the victims to attend the relevant police station with an interpreter.

There are many sites listing the numerous things to look out for and they are well worth reading.

The Doberman has just come in to nudge me, we both know why he's here. Before he arrived, we had seven burglaries in three years.

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So, with the new head of security, it's less exciting? Glad to hear it.

I had a friend whose son's house was burgled by Gypsies. They climbed into the yard without realising security was handled by two Dobermans with a sense of humour, and a nice understanding of how long it takes a running man to cross ground when death is after him.

They simply waited in absolute silence till the Gypsies had crossed the imaginary line of no return, then gave the local surgeon an awful lot of work.

The police officers who came seemed to find it awfully amusing, and they all had treats for the dogs.

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I had a real scare with the Doberman a few months ago. Luckily I was on the terrace and watched as he suddenly stopped in his tracks, went into attack mode and raced to the back of our house.

The house behind is a holiday home and unoccupied for most of the time. I raced after the Dhobe and saw him chase a young boy who had climbed into our garden from the house behind. The boy was trying to climb back over the fence but the Dhobe got him by the ankle, pulled him down and when I arrived had the boy's head in his mouth. I managed to free the boy and pushed him back over the fence.

I recognised the boy as a 14-year old from a semi=gippo family that lives two streets away.

I got the dog insured early the next morning, but heard no more.

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I dont think my poodle will stop them maybe I need a new dog!:D

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Well I did a daft thing, got out of the car to fill up with petrol, locked the car and then couldn't open the flap for the petrol. No way - so gave up and drove off. Not till later did I find out that locking the car also locks the fuel filler flap - Doh - so now it's fill up then lock the car.

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Shades of Kenny Everett, and his character who goes in to buy Insurance for his car.

"I wanna insure my car against fire."
"I'm afraid that Sir can only insure it against fire & theft."
"Leave it out John. Who's going to steal a burning car?"

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Surely most cars have a little lever beside the seat to release the fuel cap as you get out, so by locking the car then you are still free to fill the fuel before flipping the cap back into the locked position.:confused:

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Don't know about most, but not all!

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Unfortunately mine doesn't have that lever in the car, I have to physically lift the flap to gain access to the filler pipe. Cheapo Ford Focus for you.

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Don't knock the FF. Damn sensible cars. I have an estate, and wouldn't be without it.

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Don't get me wrong, if I was looking for niggles with the FF that would probably be the only one I have, otherwise quite agree with you. It's an automatic so could be better on the petrol consumption. Drive back to UK with it quite regularly and it's one of the few cars I have had that doesn't give me a backache.

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Ours is stick shift, and now you come to mention it, yeah, I don't get backache in it either. It's diesel too.

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Good car - I had a 1.8TD estate - loved it.

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The crap I can fit into it amazes me. It'll take 8 bags of cement, or half a dozen 3M posts, which is impressive.

The OH has learnt not to say to me 'You'll never get that in there,' as I treat it as a challenge.

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:blink:
:ohmy:
:eek:

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It got pretty close once. It was when we had just bought the house and needed to get some stuff to fit it out. Chains, table, TV etc etc.

(The previous owners had practically taken the paint off the bloody walls. I think there was only one light fixture, that's FIXTURE, never mind shades, they took almost all the sodding fixtures the bulbs screwed into and left bare wires.)

Anyway. We took all this stuff to the hire car, and I started to sweat. I did get it all in, JUST, but Jan had to sit in the back with something on her lap.

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I´m guessing he wasn´t referring to the car, I think his "comment" was wasted on you!:);)::D

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I'm sorry, but is that the ambition of our brave settlers in the new world, a Ford Focus that holds six bags of cement?

It's probably true, six bags of cement, six Spanish words to communicate with the ignorant locals, and six posts a day to post rubbish, and six PMs a day to members to persuade them that sectioning is painless.

It's not.

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Are you OK?:(

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It was a Finbarr Saunders comment:thumbup:

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8 bags mate. Much better.

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No, I'm just more subtle when I choose to be.

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Joking aside, buying a Ford Focus is an acknowledgment that the times of youth and adventure are finally over. It's quite a sensible thing to do when the first streaks of grey appear. Funeral insurance becomes important too, whether we like it or not.

Some of us try and delay the process by letting what's left of our hair grow into a pony tail and buying a Harley Davidson to frighten the natives, others grow old disgracefully by stumbling about in ridiculous shorts and frightening the life out of the old Spaniards quietly sipping their coffee and whisky, while quaffing pints of strong lager.

Either way, if you've got a FFF you're in the final furlong, you can see the finishing line.

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I hope not. I'd like to think I have a few furlongs left.

We tend to make cars last in our family. The car my father bought well before his death (he died in 61) lasted my mother and me till the 80s. I had a couple of cheap non lasters till we had a new citroen estate which we drove into the ground, and then it was a mondeo which lasted till we moved to Spain and bought a FF.

So, I guess we get good use out of our cars. I'm hoping this FF will last for a while yet, and then I'd be happy to get another.

I do agree tho that the FF is a practical car, (You could say an old man's car, ) but then I've never had a taste for fantasy cars, and see the FF as immensely practical.

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Naughty :ohmy: :eek:

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I can't say too much, I had a Maxi once, and I've had Escorts, Cortinas, Granadas, the whole bunch. I came over to Spain in a Granada with yellow number plates and kept it here for eight years - I won't mention the colour of the number plates in case it causes another fuss.

On occasions when Lady Luck smiled on me, I bought myself a monster, usually with a star on the bonnet. I'm kidding myself, I know I am, but when I get into one of those I feel ten years younger. I don't give Spanish roundabouts a second thought, people make way for the monster, and if I use the kick-down the thing takes off.

I can see the current one seeing me out, but my wife nags me constantly to get something more appropriate, like a FF; but how can you swap a five litre, V8 engine for a whining Focus?

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You cant so dont even think about it:)

As for transporting bags of cement in a car I just cannot imagine it:blink:. I thought that was what a trailer was for or better still get it delivered.