Bags do go missing, as witnessed during last year’s disastrous opening
of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, but regrettably the high incidence of theft
abroad goes largely unreported.
But it is a growing problem and affects thousands of holidaymakers
abroad each year. Generally when we go abroad, our guard is down and
this is what the professional gangs and pickpockets look out for.
Whilst baggage that is lost, whilst under the control of the
airline, may be attributed to theft, generally this will be marked down
as lost in transit and a claim against the carrier and travel insurance
will be fairly straight forward providing that a passenger irregularity
report is obtained from the airline. But this is just the tip of the
iceberg for the unwary traveller. Many thefts occur as soon as you have
picked up your bags and ventured into the arrivals hall. Picking up a
hire car is a very common place to be targeted where bags are taken
whilst distracted at the counter. Travelling on public transport is
another popular target area where jostling can appear harmless, only to
find that a purse or wallet has been taken in the confusion. Placing
bags under your chair in a restaurant is an open invitation to it being
lifted.
If you are unfortunate to have any items stolen on holiday, do make
a list of the items stolen and cancel your credit cards and travellers
cheques immediately. Go to the local police station as soon as possible
and insist on a police report. This is an absolute must if you intend
to claim on your travel insurance and most policies insist that this should be done within 24 hours of the incident. If you don’t, then you will find your travel insurance
company less inclined to pay out. If you lose your passport, then
contact the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate who
will be able to issue you with an emergency replacement passport to get
you home.
Keith McGregor is
a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester
and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content
managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and
graphic design
