mugging- loss of documents

[Milo]

Some friends of ours were over in Carvoeiro recently 2 sisters and their elderly Mother- on arrival they went to the local supermarket ,it was quite late around 8pm to buy some provisions.
Whilst our friends were packing up the shopping their Mother was standing outside the main entrance when she was pushed to the ground from behind and her shoulder bag snatched from her- the culprit then jumped into a waiting car and sped off.
Unfortunately she lost all her documents ,passport, money and credit card etc.
This totally spoilt their stay as the Mother was afraid to go out .

The reason for my post is obviously to advise people to be wary- i appreciate these incidents can happen anywhere but also to ask if when carrying documents for car hire purposes would copies of licence and passport suffice if stopped by the police.

thanks for any input.

Milo

[Michael Crane]

How awful. What supermarket was this? Do you know if the assailants were Portuguese or not?

I hope your friends are not put off Carvoeiro or Portugal because of this incident. It's a rare crime (in this area) so far as I am aware.

[Milo]

I believe it was the Intermarche on the way into Carvoeiro.
Unfortunately they only saw the back of the assailant so no real way of confirming Nationality.
Any views on carrying copy documents?

Milo

[Michael Crane]

I always have a copy of my passport with me. Unfortunately the GNR need the real thing when they stop you by the road side so you have to have the real one with you at all times. However; the copy does make it easier to get a replacement passport. The last (and only) time I had my passport stolen in Portugal, I had to go the Portimao for a replacement, hence I now always have a copy with me.

[pato]

Sounds like a Spanish type mugging, similar to the one the Judy experienced in Barcelona.

[pickwick]

Regarding documents - you can have a copy of your documents notorised and then the GNR have no objection. This can be done online by a solicitor in Portugal and means you do not have to carry the originals.

[steve]

Some people carry notarised documents and although the GNR will most times accept these it is my understanding that legally it is necessary to carry and produce original documents. If anyone has legal chapter and verse on this it would be useful.

[EMM]

When stopped at police checks earlier this year I presented my car hire paperwork and my new UK photo lisence.

They seemed happy with this and did not ask for the a passport. They were also happy with similar documents carried by our swedish friends.

[rolf66]

Regarding documents - you can have a copy of your documents notorised and then the GNR have no objection. This can be done online by a solicitor in Portugal and means you do not have to carry the originals.

I believe your documents can be notorised at a mayor post office eg Lagoa, this would hopefully be less expensive than using the services of a solicitor.

[TomUK]

Like some others, I tend to carry a scanned copy of our passports, but have the car hire docs. with me and my photo driving licence. Fortunately, I've not been stopped in ten years of Algarve driving. Always loathe to carry original passport in case of theft or loss. As EMM suggests the GNR may be happy with hire docs. and driver's photo licence.
If they were insistant on the original passport, what is the penalty if you don't have it with you?
Do Portuguese drivers have to carry a passport or do they have a form of ID card in addition to their driver's licence?

[Gambrinus]

If the lack of original documentation was due to a mugging, then it will suffice if you have copies acompanied by the police report on the incident.

[MikeandDi]

I had my handbag stolen in Carvoeiro about 18 months ago. It wasn't until I went to pay for a newspaper at the newsagents in the out road that I realised my bag was missing (it had been tucked into my shopping bag over my shoulder but when I went to get a newspaper from the rack outside the shop, a tall guy behind me asked if he could get it for me as it was quite high up, so I can only assume this was probably when the bag was stolen, but it was very professional and I didn't get a good look at the guy. The police dealt with the matter sympathetically - except they wanted 10 euros for a copy of the documentation, which I couldn't give them as my money had been stolen,so they kindly gave it me free of charge. Having previously been robbed in Barcelona outside the Olympic stadium, I fortunately did not have my passport, phone or other documentation with me, so had to go home to get my passport. I just lost one credit card, which the thieves tried to use, unsuccessfully, and some cash. I had a follow up letter from the police some months later to our address in England to the effect that they were keeping the matter on file although, surprise surprise, hadn't had any success in tracing the bag. I think you have to be ultra cautious wherever you are these days, however safe the local environment seems to be - we're even having opportunist car thefts in our sleepy village in Norfolk.

[alext]

A group of 6 stayed for 2 weeks at the beginning of July at a terrific villa near to Madonna Santa. We had a great holiday even though slightly out of town, but taxis are cheap enough so no problem.

The real issue, following on the thread of being careful, is that we were robbed within 8 minutes of arriving at the villa, late at night. Whilst unloading the hire car and taking the cases into the villa, a youth came out of the bushes and grabbed my sports bag from the back seat of the car. He legged it to the end of the driveway where a 'get away car' was waiting and that's the last I saw of the bag and its contents.

I lost cash, camera, clothing, MP3 player and glasses, but thankfully passports and wallet were not in the bag. The police believe it to have been an opportunist crime and said that there had been very little crime this year. Cold comfort I'm afraid. The first night we were all on high alert in case the robbers came back, but we gradually relaxed as the days went by and enjoyed the holiday.

A warning therefore to anyone arriving at a strange villa in the dark - keep someone in or next to the car whilst unloading.

[sam]

If the villa is let regularly the thieves often know the change over day. People are generally less careful and have more money on them in the first day or two, so these are usually the target days. I think in these days of recession these opportunistic thefts are likely to occur far more often.

[jh]

We have just returned from a week's stay at Monte Carvoeiro and our apartment was broken into on the second day between 2 and 4 pm, the shutters were locked but were prised open and the window broken. We think we disturbed them as they took a mobile phone and some cash from the first bedroom but didn't get to go in the second bedroom. The GNR advised us that this was the first break in this year in the Monte Carvoeiro area.