# WARNING vans broken into in Spain



## cavaqueen (Mar 27, 2006)

Hi there,

Just a warning for people who park their motorhomes outside supermarkets when shopping.

Yesterday a couple off Marjal site were parked outside Lidl which is on the retail park just off the N332 just near the site, they locked their van and were only inside for 20 minutes, when they returned to their van it had been broken into via the habitation door and all the cupboards had been searched, her handbag with money, passports, credit cards, phone & kindle had been taken.

This was in broad daylight. Also a friend on mine had her handbag stolen at the same location when a man and a woman distracted her when she was trying to put her trolley away.

This is not the first time that motorhomes have been broken into at this location. My suggestion would be that only one of you go shopping and the other stays in the van, or at least set the alarm when you leave your van.

Cavaqueen


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

How very sad.

We often leave one of us or someone in the van. In rural France, we never feel the need. But I guess you never know.

Last time we made a bed up in the front with our Daughters hair extensions hanging off a pillow! (every little helps).

Our Credit cards are with us or in the safe within the van.

A £2,000 Cash rated safe that fits laptops start at around £50. These will at the very least delay if not prevent theft if correctly fitted.

TM


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

My suggestion would be to take money, passports, credit cards etc. with you especially if left in a location where they are easily discovered.
This applies not only in Spain or at supermarkets.


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## captainking (Jun 16, 2005)

As I have said before, the best answer is to have a tracker alarm that sends text msg to your mobile........

I have theses fitted to my 7.5 ton truck and 3 ton digger, I stopped two toe rags nicking my tools from the locker at 3 am, they cut the battery leads and cut the locks, but the tracker has a function that senses power loss and has a tiny internal battery that sent me the message...power cut......they ran away leaving their tools and rucksack.

My digger and 3.5 ton trailer was also stolen at 7.30pm and I was able to track and send police to within a few feet to factory where it had been taken, the thieves got away through a fire escape, but I got my digger back the same night.

In the past I have suffered several break ins and lost tools and kit so since fitting these trackers I have now changed the rules 

Captain 1....Robbers 0...

Get a decent tracker fitted!

Cap't


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

Sorry to hear that. 

The risk of having your vehicle broken into exists in every country. 
her handbag with money, passports, credit cards, phone & kindle had been taken. 

Statistically it is much much lower in Spain than the UK, but that's still no consolation.

But we can all take the most basic of precautions to ensure that even in the event of an opportunist break-in, we don't lose anything of critical value, wherever we park up and leave the MH.
"....her handbag with money, passports, credit cards, phone & kindle had been taken." Seems totally nuts to me to leave those things in a handbag in the unattended motorhome for 20 minutes of more.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

These posts, and there are many in a similar vein, give a false impression of the risks abroad, as Nomad points out. You would think Spain was crawling with thieves, whereas it can happen anywhere. If you take precautions at least you are lowering the odds although you can never eliminate the possibility altogether.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

captainking said:


> As I have said before, the best answer is to have a tracker alarm that sends text msg to your mobile........
> 
> I have theses fitted to my 7.5 ton truck and 3 ton digger, I stopped two toe rags nicking my tools from the locker at 3 am, they cut the battery leads and cut the locks, but the tracker has a function that senses power loss and has a tiny internal battery that sent me the message...power cut......they ran away leaving their tools and rucksack.
> 
> ...


What tracker do you have?

On our previous van, we had a pager that received a message to alert us of a trigger.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

I'd be interested too. Another thread was on the same subject but no model details were given.


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

cavaqueen said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Just a warning for people who park their motorhomes outside supermarkets when shopping.
> 
> ...


Sad thing is it probabably wasn't Spanish doing the theiving there.More likely to be Romanians or other eastern European nationals


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

BrianJP said:


> Sad thing is it probabably wasn't Spanish doing the theiving there.More likely to be Romanians or other eastern European nationals


Unhelpful national stereotyping.


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## brynric (Oct 17, 2009)

It's my dream for Mrs R NOT to take money and credit cards when shopping! But I always insist she does when in the van.
More seriously is it necessary to keep passports in a handbag? Apart from the Uk border and sometimes booking onto sites, especially in a Spain, we have never had to use passports when abroad. We find it safer to keep them in a small secure and hard to find "safe".


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

I can thoroughly recommend wearing Rohan® clothing.

Trousers, shorts, shirts, jackets all have multiple (often hidden) zipped pockets.

The pockets are invariably well-sized, unlike most other makes.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

brynric said:


> More seriously is it necessary to keep passports in a handbag?. .


Two reasons we carry passports 1) we flash them to get Seniors discounts 2) It's our identity document and you are supposed to have one about you in certain countries.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hey up.

Sandra goes into the supermarket to do the shopping and I always stay in the van...

Nothing to do with security, I don't do shopping. :wink: Works for me!.

ray


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## captainking (Jun 16, 2005)

Sorry I should have thought of that.....

The ones I have purchased are from HTDExtreme THINPAX on ebay

we and a friend have bought quite a few for our plant! all working great.....I would suggest if you order get an extra fob and shake sensor theses are really good if someone tries to pinch bikes off the rack any metal type sounds sets the alarm and send msg sensor alarm!

very easy to fit and set up just need a valid sim card with enough money on I keep at least £15.00 topped up.

you can turn stuff on and off via a supplied external relay.

Emma is a very nice person to deal with, when my digger got nicked they tried to disable it by ripping out the shake sensor but the tracker was behind a panel that had to be removed by bolts so it kept transmitting, she sent me a new sensor FOC.

It is best to try and hide the small Ariel's.

Hope this helps to keep your kit safe. 

Cap't


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

pippin said:


> I can thoroughly recommend wearing Rohan® clothing.
> 
> Trousers, shorts, shirts, jackets all have multiple (often hidden) zipped pockets.
> 
> The pockets are invariably well-sized, unlike most other makes.


Are you a shoplifter then pips? :?


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

wug said:


> BrianJP said:
> 
> 
> > Sad thing is it probabably wasn't Spanish doing the theiving there.More likely to be Romanians or other eastern European nationals
> ...


No its probably the truth.
Here in Andalucia the police have spent a long time rounding up organised gangs of "East Europeans" who have been responsible for much of the crime in the area against not only residents but tourists.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Maybe we live in a 'fools paradice' here in rural Normandy. Sheds, motorhome and car left open most times. We even leave the sat nav stuck to the screen all day in large towns.

But I guess we will have to face up to the real world soon as we head off in the van to seek tourist traps.

Ray.


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## brynric (Oct 17, 2009)

Grizzly said:


> 2) It's our identity document and you are supposed to have one about you in certain countries.


We carry our photo driving licence which fit easily into a wallet. Again no one has ever asked for our identity, we must get out more .


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## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

We have a safe fitted and take anything of value not in that with us.
We also leave a poorly hidden old handbag with broken mobile broken camera old credit cards and other valuable looking stuff including a full looking wallet.
We work on the premise that if they find that they will scarper and not discover their stupidity till a way off.

But if it looks wrong at a supermarket (too quiet, too remote) I stay in the vehicle.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

brynric said:


> Grizzly said:
> 
> 
> > 2) It's our identity document and you are supposed to have one about you in certain countries.
> ...


We've only been asked once, on the Spanish/ Portuguese border, but I understand that bank cards, driving licences etc are NOT accepted as proof of identity in Spain and it must be your passport or national identity card. This is true of other EU countries.

In Italy I have found that a passport is necessary for an age discount but in Spain they take one look at you and you're in !

G


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

We too have a safe fitted but should the alarm not have gone off?
Most of us must have a Thatcham Cat.1 alarm fitted for insurance purposes and it MUST be switched on at all times according to a recent thread on this subject.
Mine is a "Strikeback" and it went off when some kids, out of my sight although I could see the van, touched/ tried to open or knocked the van.... they ran off. This was on a Motorway station in England.

Alan


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

On "Absolute" radio yesterday I heard a public information advert about the risk of bogus police and theft from vehicles in Spain. It said go to www.gov.uk for further information and follow the links which takes you to this page.

The releveant text is copied below:

_When driving, be wary of approaches by bogus police officers in plain clothes travelling in unmarked cars. In all traffic-related matters, police officers will be in uniform, and all police officers, including those in plain clothes, carry official ID. Unmarked police vehicles have a flashing electronic sign on the rear window which reads Policía (Police) or Guardia Civil (Civil Guard), and normally have blue flashing lights. Genuine police officers will only ask you to show them your documents and will not ask for your bag or wallet/purse.

If in any doubt, you should talk through the car window and contact the Civil Guard on 062 or Police on 112 and ask them to confirm that the registration number of the vehicle corresponds to an official police vehicle.

Be aware of 'highway pirates' who target foreign-registered and hire cars, especially those towing caravans. Some will (forcefully) try to make you stop, claiming there is something wrong with your car or that you have damaged theirs. If you decide to stop to check the condition of your/their vehicle, stop in a public area with lights like a service station, and be extremely wary of anyone offering help.

Only use officially registered or licensed taxis._

Kev

ps Barry didn't put me up to this!


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## cheshiregordon (Sep 24, 2011)

stop it you guys - we're off to spain and portugal in a few weeks and we don't need frightening. While its good to be aware and prepared a sense of balance is needed. We've been to spain with the van three times before without incident (found the spanish to be very helpful) so hopefully I can make it four.
But after reading this post I will sharpen the dogs teeth.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

A word of warning... make sure your "old" credit cards don't belong to active accounts. It would be only too easy to clone the card and raid your account even though the old card may be expired.


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## lifestyle (Apr 27, 2008)

cheshiregordon said:


> stop it you guys - we're off to spain and portugal in a few weeks and we don't need frightening. While its good to be aware and prepared a sense of balance is needed. We've been to spain with the van three times before without incident (found the spanish to be very helpful) so hopefully I can make it four.
> But after reading this post I will sharpen the dogs teeth.


Been going to Europe for past 30 years .Keep a photo of the wife in the window,never had any problems :lol: :lol: :lol:

People need to chill.

Les


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

cheshiregordon said:


> stop it you guy - we're off to spain and portugal in than in the UK. weeks and we don't need frightening. While its good to be aware and prepared a sense of balance is needed. We've been to sprepercussions forwardan three times before without incident (found the spanish to be very helpful) so hopefully I can make it four.
> But after reading this post I will sharpen the dogs teeth.


Hey just go and enjoy yourselves. 
Dont take too much notice of whats been said here as I have always beleived that many of the posters on this type of subject have little practical experience as they repeat what has been said before ( now wait for the repercussions).
As someone who has lived and travelled in Spain for many years I can assure you that they are the friendliest and most easy going of peoples you will come across.
Of course they have their problems but I guarantee you will always feel safer there than in the UK.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hey up Chucks.

In the year we have just had traveling round Europe, 18 countries, and some very poor ones at that, we never had a moments trouble.. That is until we were on an Aire in the South of France on our way into Spain, the passenger and habitation door locks were screw drive-red, luckily they didn't get in. :roll: 

So things do happen, the van is in the garage as I type this to have the locks fixed, oh and the stuff that's dropped off nailed back on!.

ray.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

My understanding of these conditions, the victims are at least one of the following.

*Thick as Feck
*Simply Unlucky
*Naive
*Complacent
*Insurance scammers themselves (+)
*Lack of awareness
*Real Life Victims
*No Street savviness
*innocent (Complete)

Read a 3 week experience here

Does not matter if you are parked on your drive, in Moss Side or Almost crime free Monaco. Keep your wits and belongings with you.

Thieves can be local, eastern European, Western Australians or a Juif marocain. They are out to rob you.

Take care.

TM

+In Benicassim, we overheard an English speaking couple who had three differing amounts stolen from them. Never did get their 1,2 or 3 thousand €uro story the same.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

Warning from Foreign Office of the Carpathian republic:

"When driving in the UK beware of insurance scammers in old vehicles, particularly at roundabouts, where they will stop suddenly without warning, and showing no stop lights, resulting in a collision. The occupants will pour out of the vehicle in great numbers, blaming you and claiming whiplash injuries."


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

With around 1,5 MILLION vehicle related crimes taking place every single year in the UK, your best bet to avoid being broken into is to get your Motorhome over here to MUCH-lower-crime-rate Spain as soon as you possibly can for as long as you can.


The latest OECD figures that I can dig up, for theft of motor vehicles by country, per 1,000 population:-
UK: 6.40
Spain: 3.32


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

I find that using hollow point ammunition deters the miscreants.

Just remember the following catchphrase.

'Lock and load'.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

TheNomad said:


> With around 1,5 MILLION vehicle related crimes taking place every single year in the UK, your best bet to avoid being broken into is to get your Motorhome over here to MUCH-lower-crime-rate Spain as soon as you possibly can for as long as you can.
> 
> The latest OECD figures that I can dig up, for theft of motor vehicles by country, per 1,000 population:-
> UK: 6.40
> Spain: 3.32


For those figures to be relevant we would need to know how many motor vehicles there are per thousand people in each country.

Geoff


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

nicholsong said:


> TheNomad said:
> 
> 
> > With around 1,5 MILLION vehicle related crimes taking place every single year in the UK, your best bet to avoid being broken into is to get your Motorhome over here to MUCH-lower-crime-rate Spain as soon as you possibly can for as long as you can.
> ...


Hey up.

Your not wrong, go down any road or motorway in most of Europe and you will be on your own and see very little of other road users, OK busy in City's, but the rest of the roads are dead,

Try the M62 over the Pennines any time of day you would be lucky to get 8ft between vehicles as they crawl along, same for M1 and M25, even our little B road into Hornsea can get clogged with holiday traffic during the summer.


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

nicholsong said:


> TheNomad said:
> 
> 
> > With around 1,5 MILLION vehicle related crimes taking place every single year in the UK, your best bet to avoid being broken into is to get your Motorhome over here to MUCH-lower-crime-rate Spain as soon as you possibly can for as long as you can.
> ...


Well then maybe look it up Geoff. Google is your friend:

Number of vehicles (excluding motorcycles) per 1,000 population:
Spain: 593.
UK: 519.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

TheNomad said:


> Number of vehicles (excluding motorcycles) per 1,000 population:
> Spain: 593.
> UK: 519.
> 
> ...


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

rayrecrok said:


> nicholsong said:
> 
> 
> > TheNomad said:
> ...


And we paid for all those smart empty motorways through the EU funny how we dont get funds for ours.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

> And we paid for all those smart empty motorways through the EU funny how we don't get funds for ours.


I find it alarming how many nations have fully paid for all these roads in Spain. My German friends claim they paid for them too.

This is clearly a dreadful case of Spanish corruption. UK citizens paid for their roads and the Germans also paid for exactly the same roads. Presumably corrupt Spanish officials took all the money from both countries, built one set of roads and divvied the other money up among their mates. Bloody foreigners, eh?

Not content with that they also want to steal the contents of our vans. It's a wonder anyone from a civilised country bothers going there, Alan.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

Vehicles per km of road: UK - 77; Spain - 44

http://www.factfish.com/statistic/vehicles per km of road

UK population 62 million; Spain 46 million


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

Thanks for making me laugh, Alan. Brilliant post!!!

I'll go out into the garden with a smile on my face.


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## captainking (Jun 16, 2005)

Can't wait to move our Hymer to our little bit of France, It will be my home while I am re-building our Moulin.....Crime seems to be low in our area and the roads are lovely to drive on.....an don't get me talking about cycling on me carbon pro on the French roads...bliss !

Captain.....looking forward to the TDF....


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes Captain.
We often go 30 or 40km. weekends to a boot sale or markey. Usually takes us 20 to 30 minutes and we harly see another vehicle.
Not only that I leave the Garmin stuck to the screen all the time. Even when leaving the car all day.

Ray.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

wug said:


> Vehicles per km of road: UK - 77; Spain - 44
> 
> http://www.factfish.com/statistic/vehicles per km of road
> 
> UK population 62 million; Spain 46 million


Us and the Germans must have spent some more money on them there Spanish roads then.

Because, Vehicles per kM...

UK = 77
Spain = 41

TM


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## captainking (Jun 16, 2005)

There's a bit in me book where we hadn't seen a car for some time and quite a few k's....as soon as I had done a wrong turn and had to reverse up a lane in the dark with M/H and trailer is was like Piccadilly circus cars came from every direction trying to squeeze past all 40 foot of us,... we hadn't seen any for half an hour..LOL

Cap't


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## Gazzer (May 1, 2005)

rayrecrok said:


> Hey up.
> 
> Sandra goes into the supermarket to do the shopping and I always stay in the van...
> 
> ...


Snap! :wink:


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

teemyob said:


> wug said:
> 
> 
> > Vehicles per km of road: UK - 77; Spain - investm4
> ...


Ok so if you all believe that why dont you just get over there and enjoy your Investment as many of us already do.?


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