Robbed in Playa Del Carmen - Page 3

Kathy W · 01-21-2010

Thrifty just said they were sorry, but that was it.

**Heather** · 01-21-2010

It's interesting that Kathy's experience was with Thrifty as well as the others with Thrifty...I wish I had known that before. I'll not recommend Thrifty, that's for sure.

solkiss73 · 01-21-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjbzx

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on our latest experience in Playa. All of our suitcases were stolen from the trunk of our Thrifty car rental on Jan 5/10. We were parked on 1 Ave and 30th in the middle of the day, lots of people around, on our last day of our vacation. We never normally carry anything in the car, but as we were on our way to the airport we had everything out of sight in the trunk, stopped for one last stroll down 5th and upon our return found our trunk was emptied!!! The odd part is that they must have had a key because there was no forced entry, and they even closed the trunk!!!

The police were useless and said only that they cannot keep up with the crime.

So lessons learned, dont leave ANYTHING in your cars. I know its just material stuff, but it was my wifes 40th Birthday New Years eve and all of our memorable pictures were lost as they stole the camera too.....

not liking playa right now.......

Mike & Milena

We had some friends who had their backback stolen right out of the back seat of their car on 1st Ave & 26th, and it was a busy day... Lots of people around. These Robbers are gutsy!!

rainmaker · 01-21-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathy W

I rented a minivan from Thrifty in PDC when I came down last August. My husband and I went into Cancun to go to Home Depot and Costco. When we came out of Costco, our car had been robbed. There was no damage to the minivan, nor did we leave it unlocked. I flagged down the police that were driving by and they mentioned a lot of break ins happened with a master key. Unfortunately they said there was nothing we could do. At least the person(s) that robbed the car only stole the items we had just bought in Home Depot and did not take any of the personal items in the car, such as my diaper bag, stroller, camera and spare change. It definitely put a damper on our vacation, but I can say that it is the first time in 27 years of coming to Playa that I ever experienced anything like that.

The answer may be to disallow rental car stickers on the car so noone knows that it is a rental car. I believe that that is the law now in Florida and various other states and provinces.

DarMI · 01-21-2010

Seems like the master key would be for a certain brand of car, not a rental company. Unless Thrifty repaces all the locks on their fleet.

English Stu · 01-21-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by solkiss73

We had some friends who had their backback stolen right out of the back seat of their car on 1st Ave & 26th, and it was a busy day... Lots of people around. These Robbers are gutsy!!

I can empathise as that happened to me too last Summer.
Right in middle of day, in a LOCKED car, 20th Ave, heavily tinted windows, my backpack with all my photo gear was taken out of the rear seat. Was only away from car for 15mins and i am very careful to always lock it. Still don't know how they got it out.

Shell Seeker · 01-21-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by English Stu

Was only away from car for 15mins and i am very careful to always lock it. Still don't know how they got it out.

Not your fault.

Unfortunately, in any tourist town, there are organized teams of criminals who are watching, tracking, surveilling and following potential victims. They probably planned this days in advance as soon as they saw your car's rental plate. And were watching for you to load up, then send in their buddies the second you turned the corner.

Playa is no worse or better than any other big tourist hotspot. I feel safe there.

MayanNut · 01-22-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather

It's interesting that Kathy's experience was with Thrifty as well as the others with Thrifty...I wish I had known that before. I'll not recommend Thrifty, that's for sure.

Guess we were lucky! Rented from Thrifty for three day earlier this week and were blessed not to have any issues!! Car renter beware!

snappysammy · 01-22-2010

rental cars have red license plates, different than the green regular plates, so the sticker thing might not work so well
sounds like thrifty has some bad dudes working there, these robberies sound like people with keys

i got very lucky this week, as i left my keys in the door of my car, parked in front of a friend's house
there they were when i got back the next morning to pick up my car

wasabiloco · 01-22-2010

Well, sadly I have to add to the negative.

My wife was in Soriannas the other day shopping. When she went to check out she found that her wallet had been stolen from her purse.

Now, its her fault for leaving her purse on the cart while she turned around. No doubt, vigilence is way ahead of 2nd place.

In any case, what was surprising is that a. they made their first purchase within fifteen minutes at Walmart and b. citibank was on the phone to me within twenty minutes of the theft to report suspicious activity.

Oh yeah. I guess I don't get out enought but I was shocked to find out that pin numbers don't protect your money at all !!

THe good news is that all the credit cards were cancelled and we got new ones and the credit cards are picking up the tab for the fraudulent charges.

All's well that ends well . . . BUT . . . I still think this is one of the safest places I've lived and I've been to quite a few countries.

Cheers,

candylady401 · 01-22-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappysammy

rental cars have red license plates, different than the green regular plates, so the sticker thing might not work so well
sounds like thrifty has some bad dudes working there, these robberies sound like people with keys

i got very lucky this week, as i left my keys in the door of my car, parked in front of a friend's house
there they were when i got back the next morning to pick up my car

It could only happen to you!

snappysammy · 01-22-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by candylady401

It could only happen to you!

my luck has been sensational lately
i gotta be more careful

morganlefaye · 01-22-2010

What about cars with foreign license plates (Canadian in our case)?

We were also planning on stopping by several archeological sites on our way to Playa but now I am scared about leaving our car with our stuff in it in their parking lots (Teotihuacan and Palenque)?

snappysammy · 01-22-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by morganlefaye

What about cars with foreign license plates (Canadian in our case)?

We were also planning on stopping by several archeological sites on our way to Playa but now I am scared about leaving our car with our stuff in it in their parking lots (Teotihuacan and Palenque)?

i have been very lucky, i reckon
i leave my car unlocked a lot of the time
i have been all over mexico, including palenque and teotihuacan without any theft from my car
stay at maya-bel in palenque
don't miss out on teo because of fear
these are two of the most outstanding places in mexico

i certainly do lock the car when traveling

morganlefaye · 01-22-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappysammy

i have been very lucky, i reckon
i leave my car unlocked a lot of the time
i have been all over mexico, including palenque and teotihuacan without any theft from my car
stay at maya-bel in palenque
don't miss out on teo because of fear
these are two of the most outstanding places in mexico

i certainly do lock the car when traveling

Thanks - made me feel better. :-)

Where exactly is Maya-Bel versus the site itself?

01-21-2010	#31 (permalink)
Kathy W lost on fifth Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New Jersey - The Jersey Shore Posts: 21	Thrifty just said they were sorry, but that was it.

01-21-2010	#32 (permalink)
Heather employee of the month Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 14,600	It's interesting that Kathy's experience was with Thrifty as well as the others with Thrifty...I wish I had known that before. I'll not recommend Thrifty, that's for sure.

01-21-2010	#35 (permalink)
DarMI añejo Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Waterford, Michigan...for now Posts: 1,581	Seems like the master key would be for a certain brand of car, not a rental company. Unless Thrifty repaces all the locks on their fleet.

01-22-2010	#39 (permalink)
snappysammy añejo Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12,291	rental cars have red license plates, different than the green regular plates, so the sticker thing might not work so well sounds like thrifty has some bad dudes working there, these robberies sound like people with keys i got very lucky this week, as i left my keys in the door of my car, parked in front of a friend's house there they were when i got back the next morning to pick up my car

01-22-2010	#40 (permalink)
wasabiloco way into it Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 130	Well, sadly I have to add to the negative. My wife was in Soriannas the other day shopping. When she went to check out she found that her wallet had been stolen from her purse. Now, its her fault for leaving her purse on the cart while she turned around. No doubt, vigilence is way ahead of 2nd place. In any case, what was surprising is that a. they made their first purchase within fifteen minutes at Walmart and b. citibank was on the phone to me within twenty minutes of the theft to report suspicious activity. Oh yeah. I guess I don't get out enought but I was shocked to find out that pin numbers don't protect your money at all !! THe good news is that all the credit cards were cancelled and we got new ones and the credit cards are picking up the tab for the fraudulent charges. All's well that ends well . . . BUT . . . I still think this is one of the safest places I've lived and I've been to quite a few countries. Cheers,

01-22-2010	#43 (permalink)
morganlefaye way into it Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 161	What about cars with foreign license plates (Canadian in our case)? We were also planning on stopping by several archeological sites on our way to Playa but now I am scared about leaving our car with our stuff in it in their parking lots (Teotihuacan and Palenque)?

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