UKC

Guys, please be aware that the car park at Carrafour has just ruined the holiday for some guests staying with us. Or some scum bags to be more correct!

They stopped off at the supermarket in Finestrat on route and left a bag on show in the hire car!!!! Crazy I know but they thought that would be safe.

Please if you have facebook spread the post I have just done!

https://www.facebook.com/theorangehousespain/

Tell everyone you know, I am going to ask to see the Manager of Carrafour next week as they should have posters up to warn people or cctv camaras as this happens way too often!

Sam Orange House

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

My van got broken in to there last year, scum central. Would love to have caught them in the act.

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

Friends of ours have also had hire cars broken into shortly after picking them up from Alicante - at service stations and first night hotels. Just starting to speculate whether the culprits lurk around hire car pick up points and follow cars to their first stop?

In reply to heleno:

Hire cars are easy to identify, and car criminals have been known to target them in Spain especially. Tricks include putting nail under tyre and following the car and pretending to offer assistance when the inevitable happens

In reply to balmybaldwin:

They don't need to be that creative. Despite the car park in question being super busy and having security people they just break a window, help themselves and stroll off with their winnings.

In reply to heleno:

Years ago we had a group arrive in a minibus from the airport, 2 guys in a shitty old car pulled in behind them and walked straight into the house!

They picked up a passport and mobile phone from one of the tables, they had 100% followed from the airport, luckily one of the girls yelled and they dropped the items and walked our. Rich heard the yell and followed, he stood in front of the car and took a photo of the number plate.

The police picked them up within 30 mins and they were sent to court as they had been found stealing from various hotels in the area!

LUCKILY for us that is the only time in 14 years we have had anything go missing and I do think we are safe down here and you can leave the cars open in car park as people coming and going all the time. I have thought about a CCTV camera just in case.

Sam Orange

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

>



Lets get this straight. You should not leave valuable and easy to sell items such as climbing gear on display in an unattended car anywhere. That this happened at Carrefour Benidorm, is a Red Herring and implies you could leave gear on display at Escalat at Tremp or Tesco in Glossop.

In reply to J1234:

I have a feeling that there are hot spots where it happens more than elsewhere.

In reply to Phil1919:

Thieves are everywhere, leave stuff on display and it will get nicked. Why not? Smash grab, £50, buy some drugs, chill out, no work and minimal risk. Just use some common sense and conceal your gear.
Top tip, do not put climbing wall stickers in your car windows.

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

Spot on. Don't put any brand stickers on your car no matter how swanky you may think it as a secret squirrel signal. Hide everything in the boot and if you can't, leave somebody with the car. This applies in every country in the world - except perhaps the USA where thieves are afraid of being shot. Oh the irony!

In reply to J1234:


Jeez, Sam's not implying anything. She's trying to help folk. Maybe you need to heed her next sentence:


If I remember correctly, she's posted on this theme a while back - again trying to help people. A friend of hers' and mine had a very nasty experience in Carrefour Benidorm - and others have lost stuff. You really do need to be careful there. It's not a Red Herring - it's a Black Spot (am indulging your liking for capitals).

Conversely I've always felt very safe indeed at the Orange House. One incident in 14 years ain't going to change my feelings about that. As Sam says, Rich was straight on to it and the bad guys got nabbed. So nothing bad actually happened and something good did happen. It's a result.

In fact the worst ordeal I've ever had around the Orange House is getting the earnest and deeply well-meaning lecture from young Swedish climbers on why trad is ethically superior. It seems churlish to point out that they've come to Spain for some sunny bolt clipping and/or I've been bumbling along at trad for much longer (eek, twice as long!?) as they've been alive.

Toujours la politesse! (As we say in Barnoldswick.)

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Who has said The Orange House is not safe or even implied it? I am just saying wherever you go, be careful. People on holiday do seem to leave their brains at home. When I was a kid it always fascinated me how people at Blackpool would walk out in front of cars, as if on holiday you cannot get run over. NoT SUre wHat you mean about the capitALs.

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

Sorry to hear that Sam. Sorry for your guests. One always hopes it won't happen to you....

As an aside, Spain is a country with an 18% (38% youth) unemployment rate, coming out of a ten year economic crisis which seems finally to be improving somewhat. I take reasonable precautions when I visit.

In reply to Sam Mayfield:

If hiring a car, take the hire car company's stickers off and out of the wndows - they just advertise the fact that it's a hire car to potential thieves.

I've had hire cars broken into twice now - see the other thread.

I have lockable strap (strap with steel cables and the cam buckle has a lock). I use it to secure the load and at the same time making it much harder to take a bag out of the car. Works well when fully loaded and everything is bagged, not so much the trunk is half full with lots of loose stuff...

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Its probably been said on here before, but in the paper this morning it gave some statistics about American gun ownership. So far this year, 2 people have been killed in terrorist related incidents against 27,000 who have been killed in other types of gun 'activity'. One statistic quoted 1700 ( I think) who have been shot accidentally.

In reply to J1234:


No it doesn't.

In reply to Sam Mayfield:
Thanks for posting this, the Blanca is still a lovely destination, better to be aware of problem spots than not.

In reply to Trangia:


THIS! DO THIS.

In reply to J1234:

I have no idea what you are going on about with that post.

The bag was a small rucksac so the thiefs had no idea it was climbing gear!

I leave bags on show in my car all the time but its a shitty fiesta, I dont even lock it. These areas maybe not only Carrafour are organise gangs and they know who they waiting for.

Another hot spot used to be the N332 near Mascarat Gorge, but I think people know better now than to park there.

Sam Orange

In reply to Trangia:

This car didnt have any stickers at all, but I do think a hire car is easy to spot as they have no wheel trims etc etc.

Another trick is to slash the tyres and grab your attention showing you before you drive away, they did this to friends and one guy removed all bags from the front seat!

Also I hate to say but the main gangs are not young Spanish but other nationalities!

Mick Ward! Trad better, but of course lol

Sam Orange