Burgled again - the straw that broke the Camel's back

[logicbob]

Sorry to here of your troubles, but as Gary says there are a few companies selling insurance for lost cards whereby you log all of your cards with them and if you loose them or they are stolen just give them a call and they will cancel them all for you.

[shanagarry]

I have always worked on the basis that it would never happen to me - so never took the precautions in respect of credit card cancellation - I will now. Hopefully I will never need to make use of the service.

Fortunately - the thieves never got to use any of the cards - but I have learned of an insurance issue - which is not going to be easy to resolve, initially.

Family decision taken last night to leave - will be gone by mid-September. Living with a siege mentality is too much to bear - in a place where you would not expect to have to.

[Matryx]

We have unfortunately experienced house burglary both in CVO and the UK, and it is a total violation wherever it happens. However, I still feel very safe walking around CVO at anytime of day or night, and that is sadly something that I cannot say about towns and cities in the UK. As such, I would have a long hard think about moving back, why not let the dust settle over the experience and look at it again through a fresh pair of eyes?

[laserblazer]

Family decision taken last night to leave

As the title suggests, I can't help feeling this sad incident is not the sole factor in your decision. We need to be careful that new readers don't get the idea that Carvoeiro is a war zone and that everyone is pulling out.

[bruce]

Personally I would have been out of the property after the second break-in!

[Michael Crane]

Personally I would have been out of the property after the second break-in!

I'd have bought a big ****off dog!

[shanagarry]

I'd have bought a big ****off dog!

I have - but he does not attack. He might just have to start having 'nasty-lessons'.

I had to take receipts to the GNR today for the stolen equipment and while I was there they told me that in the last 3 weeks there has been 17 burglaries in and around Cvo. While I was there I counted 19 officers + 4 in plain clothes. I was temped to tell them that burglars don't usually hang around police stations - but thought better of it.

We need to be careful that new readers don't get the idea that Carvoeiro is a war zone and that everyone is pulling out.

That's a fair statement and I don't believe it is for one minute - but there is a problem - probably bought about by the economic climate. The GNR officer told me that they have to buy their own anti-stab vests and handcuffs and that they have 23 police cars parked-up in Portimao because they cannot afford to repair them.

It's desperate times - be it in Portugal or the UK and I feel that we might just be safer in the UK.

[traveler]

I doubt that you would be safer in the UK, but you do know the culture and expectations so can handle events in a more knowledgeable fashion, which is no small thing.

Losing the wallet is a huge pita. Hopefully, your wife carries different cards than you do. We have had ours stolen so many times that we make this a standard practice. It was a life saver last time my husband was robbed - in the Lisbon bus station.

[shanagarry]

As the title suggests, I can't help feeling this sad incident is not the sole factor in your decision.

Yes, there is another minor factor but on a scale of 1-10 the burglaries account for 9.5

[billybee]

We were burgled 6 years ago in the Rocha Brava area and we lost wedding rings cash passports and credit cards when our place was broken into midday on a Sunday they ripped the safe from the wall.Since then we have had an alarm fitted and do what most do now and keep the shutters closed when on a different level.I fully understand how you feel but l note you are going to be in west Sussex l have friends that live there and I,know it covers a wider and more populated area but they suffer over 500 incidents of robberies and burglaries per month and Bognor Regis is suffering from a large influx of eastern Europeans criminals.It was reported recently that there was a big sign put up in a polish prison block naming Bognor as a good place to head for in England.l respect your decision but l don't think you are going back to a much better environment

[shanagarry]

It was reported recently that there was a big sign put up in a polish prison block naming Bognor as a good place to head for in England

In addition to the recent murders of Polish vagrants, the aisles of Polish products in the local supermarkets, the train timetable printed in Polish and the Catholic masses in Polish - can't see how that differs from too many other places along the south coast of England. In The Algarve, including Carvoeiro change Polish for Brazilian and other Eastern Europeans and you have the same toxic mix.

We can live with knowing we are in the midst of a hotbed of criminal activity where we can take the necessary precautions - what we can't live with is the constant siege in a place where we didn't expect it to be (having to lock windows and doors when you move about your own home is a total anathema to us). Had we known this was going to be like this, we would not have relocated here - we would have kept a holiday property and come here as and when. It's not as if we are newcomers - we have been coming here since 1984.

With the experience of the last 5 days it is unlikely we will ever come here again

[EMM]

This type of house crime is ( touch wood ) something we have been able to avoid so far ?.
We have had petty thefts from gardens in both the UK and Portugal which of course you view differently to that when your home is invaded.
Our home in Portugal is not that far from the one in question , we know it well walking past it at least 8 times in the last 3 weeks.
I must admit some surprise that someone could climb over the fence/hedge without being noticed in daylight as at this time of year it a a busy area with its combination of full time residents of many nationalities and holiday visitors.
We do and always have done where ever we are try to take the basic precautions of keeping everything closed and locked when we are not in the garden or downstairs.
This has got nothing to do with being in Portugal such opportunist walk in crime happens just as often if not more so in the UK.
Lets be honest in these hard times we are more likely to be victims than your Portuguese neighbours as we are deemed to be more affluent and careless when it comes to basic security.
What ever Shanagarry decides to do he has reminded us all not to let our guard down.

[traveler]

I agree with EMM that the upturn in crime has more to do with the economy and less to do with immigrants from central and eastern europe.

[shanagarry]

Our home in Portugal is not that far from the one in question , we know it well walking past it at least 8 times in the last 3 weeks.

So you know the size of the fence and gates - the rear gate being the point of entry,

This has got nothing to do with being in Portugal such opportunist walk in crime

Do you honestly believe this was an opportunist walk in crime - I certainly don't as nothing can be seen from the road - this was somebody (probably a tradesman) who has been in our home and has either done it themselves or told somebody else.

the upturn in crime has more to do with the economy and less to do with immigrants from central and eastern europe.

I have no desire to start a debate on this matter - but the comment is wide of the mark. The immigrants are here because there are rich and easy pickings - they're certainly not here for the work - there isn't any. The Brazilian economy is going through a purple patch so what are they doing here? The eastern Europeans are slightly different in that they have never had a good economy and used EU membership to 'legalise' their dishonest ways. While Greece cannot be classed as Eastern Europe (maybe it can) - their situation is a perfect example of what happens when you put the nutters in charge of the asylum and then try to integrate them into a sophisticated society - they rob you (legally).

What ever Shanagarry decides

We're off in early September

[bruce]

You have my sympathy Shanagarry and I hope everything works out for you.
The UK has it's problems but I don't feel the need to have the intense security in my home that is apparently required in Portugal.