Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
yesterday morning complete with all electronics.

A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
without Id (impossible) and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.

No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !

Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...

[1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.

On 31/05/2023 12:15, BrritSki wrote:
> Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
> a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
> yesterday morning complete with all electronics.
>
> A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
> with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
> have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
> remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
> without Id (impossible)  and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
> the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
> waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.
>
> No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
> job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
> and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
> succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !
>
> Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
> mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
> OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
> driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...
>
> [1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
> been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
> might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.
Blimey! You'll need a holiday by the time you get back!

On Wed, 31 May 2023 12:15:30 +0100, BrritSki
<rtilburyTAKEAWAY@gmail.com> wrote:

>Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
>a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
>yesterday morning complete with all electronics.
>
>A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
>with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
>have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
>remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
>without Id (impossible) and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
>the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
>waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.
>
>No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
>job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
>and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
>succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !
>
>Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
>mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
>OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
>driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...
>
>[1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
>been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
>might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.

Hopefuly all is well with the bank and CCs and it's good the passport
is on it's way. Avoiding a collision is good too!

I've had some annoying paperwork and online issues but we too said all
the worse things it could have been.(after muttering and grumbling for
a few hours :) )

On 31/05/2023 12:15, BrritSki wrote:

> and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
> succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !

Similar to my experience. Discovered when they rang me that I didn't
know the nth and xth letters of my password. (Well, actually, I had
forgotten there was a password in addition to all the other security
codes.) When I then tried (on the Santander site) what I thought it was
it didn't work, so I wanted to change it. Trouble was, if you want to
change your password, the first thing you have to do is enter your old
password. I gave up at that point.
>

>
> [1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
> been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
> might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.

TG for that.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEAWAY@gmail.com> wrote:
> Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
> a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
> yesterday morning complete with all electronics.
>
> A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
> with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
> have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
> remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
> without Id (impossible) and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
> the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
> waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.
>
> No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
> job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
> and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
> succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !
>
> Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
> mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
> OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
> driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...
>
> [1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
> been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
> might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.
>

EEEEKKK! Don’t know about tunnel and lorry collision. Glad some bits of
Blighty still work over the big water

Mrs McT

On 31-May-23 12:15, BrritSki wrote:
> Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
> a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
> yesterday morning complete with all electronics.
>
> A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
> with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
> have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
> remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
> without Id (impossible)  and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
> the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
> waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.
>
> No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
> job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
> and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
> succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !
>
> Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
> mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
> OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
> driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...
>
> [1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
> been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
> might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.

<Expletive!>

I've had an absolutely mundane couple of days.
You have made me very thankful for that.

You must be due for some really good luck in the near future.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 11:15:34 AM UTC, BrritSki wrote:
> Today I bin mainly cancelling things and changing passwords as there was
> a bad start when 2 rucksacks were stolen from my car in France early
> yesterday morning complete with all electronics.
>
> A long day spent at Gendarmerie reporting theft (I was in the car asleep
> with doors locked and was not awoken - lots of people think there may
> have been a dose of sleepy spray and then doors were opened with a
> remote transponder thingy) and then trying to buy a replacement phone
> without Id (impossible) and then trying to get to get to Sanremo when
> the main motorway closed due to an accident [1] and then waiting up for
> waife to arrive by plane with her phone and laptop.
>
> No Id as my passport and driving licence went too. Waife did an amazing
> job yesterday with BrratSki using Lookout to wipe the phone and tablet
> and contact banks. Barclays great, Santander useless and still haven't
> succeeded in contacting them as they need my old phone for 2FA. Duh !
>
> Gov.uk great on emergency passport (although costs £100). Within a few
> mins of completing forms this morning someone called to confirm it was
> OK and discuss where to pick up on Tuesday - we are in Italy now, but
> driving home through France so Marseille Consulate easier than Milan...
>
> [1] Looking on the bright side, if I hadn't been robbed I would have
> been in the tunnel at about the same time as the lorries collided so I
> might have been MUCH worse off than I am now.

Berloimey BrritSki! That's no way to start your hols! Very relieved to hear you are well and everything else is getting organised by you and for you. Pretty callous disregard for your health and safety by the abstrads who did that to you. Is that sort of thing rife sewer le congtenong?

Nick

On 01/06/2023 07:00, Nick Odell wrote:
>
> Berloimey BrritSki! That's no way to start your hols! Very relieved to hear you are well and everything else is getting organised by you and for you. Pretty callous disregard for your health and safety by the abstrads who did that to you. Is that sort of thing rife sewer le congtenong?
>

The theft from cars is, I'm not convinced by the drug/spray theory, I
just think they were very quiet and used a remote key thingy to unlock
the car. It was not a casual theft, these are organised people who are
cruising the parking aires in the middle of the night looking for
suitable victims.

Most things back in order now - Barclays were very easy to deal with,
Santander a nightmare.

Emergency Travel Document form was easy to find and fill in but rather
long winded (understandably). About 10 minutes after I sent it waife's
phone rings with unknown Milton Keynes number. I answered tentatively
and it was the FCDO calling to discuss ETD and where to pick it up. We
agreed that although I am in Italy it was easier to pick it up in
Marseille on the way home as that would be only an hour's delay rather
than Milan which was 4 hours extra, more toll and diesel costs and also
the expense of the Mt.Blanc tunnel. Great. Until email came through a
few minutes later asking me to book an appointment in Milan !
Impossible to reply to email or call anyone back (the incoming number
just went to Security). Eventually I found

On Friday, June 2, 2023 at 7:20:23 AM UTC+1, BrritSki wrote:
> On 01/06/2023 07:00, Nick Odell wrote:
> >
> > Berloimey BrritSki! That's no way to start your hols! Very relieved to hear you are well and everything else is getting organised by you and for you. Pretty callous disregard for your health and safety by the abstrads who did that to you. Is that sort of thing rife sewer le congtenong?
> >
> The theft from cars is, I'm not convinced by the drug/spray theory, I
> just think they were very quiet and used a remote key thingy to unlock
> the car. It was not a casual theft, these are organised people who are
> cruising the parking aires in the middle of the night looking for
> suitable victims.
>
> Most things back in order now - Barclays were very easy to deal with,
> Santander a nightmare.
>
> Emergency Travel Document form was easy to find and fill in but rather
> long winded (understandably). About 10 minutes after I sent it waife's
> phone rings with unknown Milton Keynes number. I answered tentatively
> and it was the FCDO calling to discuss ETD and where to pick it up. We
> agreed that although I am in Italy it was easier to pick it up in
> Marseille on the way home as that would be only an hour's delay rather
> than Milan which was 4 hours extra, more toll and diesel costs and also
> the expense of the Mt.Blanc tunnel. Great. Until email came through a
> few minutes later asking me to book an appointment in Milan !
> Impossible to reply to email or call anyone back (the incoming number
> just went to Security). Eventually I found

Aaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!! Now the abstrads have nicked the rest of your post! I hope that the missing bits contain good news about your passport collection but this is all about British overseas services for the British wot we British have already paid for in extortionate fees previously demanded and based on my own experiences of the same, I'm not entirely hopeful.

Wishing you all the best for a safe (and easy?) continuing journey and return home.

Nick

On 02/06/2023 10:28, Nick Odell wrote:
> ... Eventually I found
a webform I could use and explained the problem and soon received a
reply in the form of a cancellation of the Milan appointment (that I'd
made just in case) but no link or anything else for making an
appointment in Marseille.
I opted to phone the Consulate direct and they in fact did know about my
ETD and I can collect any time between 10 and 12 on Tuesday morning on
my way home which suits me perfectly. So well done those Civil Servants
I dealt with, although the overall process needs some tweaks so you can
get back in touch more easily if there are problems.
>
> Aaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!! Now the abstrads have nicked the rest of your post! I hope that the missing bits contain good news about your passport collection but this is all about British overseas services for the British wot we British have already paid for in extortionate fees previously demanded and based on my own experiences of the same, I'm not entirely hopeful.
>
> Wishing you all the best for a safe (and easy?) continuing journey and return home.
>
Thanks Nick.