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It was my travel buddy, my friend. We had visited some eight or nine countries together, walked miles and miles, bounced down dirty subway steps, ran to catch connecting flights and hugged close to each other when lost on unfamiliar streets.
My little black suitcase and I shared a bond. Then, in a moment of stupid complacency, it was gone forever, along with all the special treasures inside.
I have read the seasonal articles. I have watched the AFN commercials. I’m a diligent, paranoid traveler who always takes precautions against pickpockets and thieves. I normally hide documents or IDs on my person. My hand always covers the zippers on my handbag in crowds. On this day, I felt too comfortable.
I was on the train returning from Paris – a trip I had taken several times.
I placed the suitcase on the shelves sitting at each end of the cars. When the train stopped in Metz, I never once looked back to check on it. My
little black partner had been taken.
The thief probably pulled it easily from the shelf and stepped off the train during the stop. It could have taken maybe 20 seconds.
Now, you are probably thinking, “What an idiot.” You’re right. I did not make a conscious decision to be complacent. I just did it. Many others make the same mistake every month, which is why I share my embarrassing and expensive tale.
Once this happens, the next few hours/days are filled with confusing and time-consuming tasks that many travelers do not realize they need to
complete.
Herr Riffel, a German Liaison Officer on Ramstein Air Force Base, says it is important to file an official complaint immediately with local authorities – the Polizei in Germany.
On the Deutsche Bahn, Polizei offices are located in the larger train stations. He says to describe the stolen items, and the police will make a report and provide you a copy. This receipt is used for insurance claims. Insurance companies can be notified if reimbursement coverage is included in your policy.
They usually need a detailed list of every item taken along with its price.
More importantly, contacting financial institutions should be done immediately if documents or identifications were lost.
SrA Berry from Ramstein’s Police Services warns people to quickly
notify the three credit bureaus if credit cards were taken, banks if debit cards were stolen and the military police or passport office if IDs were grabbed.
Berry urges travelers to avoid credit and debit card use in unfamiliar cities and foreign ATMs. He says many shops in Europe use a system that includes the full credit card number on receipts making it easy for employees or others to steal the number. He encourages carrying cash. “Have a backup plan. Carry cash, and have a friend wire more money to you if needed,” Berry says.
Jeanie Veith from Ramstein’s RTT Travel Agency also encourages carrying cash. She says many places do not always accept credit cards, so cash is necessary. “Divide it up and spread it out,” she says, “If someone gets their hands on something, they don’t get everything.”
Traveling is not the only time to be cautious. Every month, many reports are made to the base of stolen articles. SrA Berry says Ipods and cell phones are big target items as well as anything left in an automobile.
“Things get stolen all year, every day,” says German Liaison Officer Riffel.
In my case, I did not lose my handbag, and my financial documents were safe. However, I still lost a lot of money in the precious outfits I brought with me and the new ones I bought in Paris.
My insurance agency acted superbly, and I was reimbursed for much of the loss.
The incident in itself was a tiring experience. Most importantly, I will always miss my irreplaceable, little black travel buddy.
