Happy Friday Dinks. Yes it’s true as I write this Nick and I are filing an insurance claim because yesterday our car was broken in to and all our personal belongings were stolen. Has this ever happened to you? I have to tell you it was a less than perfect scenario, but it definitely could have been worse. Here’s what happened…
We rented a car
We are on vacation all week and decided to rent a car for a few days to run errands, get things for the apartment that normal city dwellers don’t have access to such as Wal-Mart and maybe even take a weekend getaway to a nearby town for some relaxation. However all that was screeched to a halt when we came out of the liquor store and our car window was shattered.
Then we were robbed
We went to Best Buy to buy some things we needed for the apartment and then came back to put our bags in the car before walking over to the liquor store. We could have only been in the store for ten minutes and when we came out we immediately noticed that the Best Buy bag was missing from the back seat. I asked Nick where he put the bag and then when I walked around to the passenger side of the car to get in I noticed the back window was broken. And that’s when we realized we were robbed.
The police wouldn’t come
Nick called the police and they took down all the details over the phone, but would not send a squad car or create a police report. They told us that we could go home and file a police report online. What? All I kept thinking was CSI would be so disappointed.
I mean seriously there were cameras at the liquor store and I’m sure the thief is going to try and return the items at Best Buy for a full refund (although Nick thinks they will pawn them). They could flag our account and let the police know if he comes into the store. However no one except Nick and I seemed to care that our rental car window was smashed and over $300 in Best Buy merchandise was stolen.
Thank goodness for insurance
I didn’t take insurance with Avis because thankfully I have car rental insurance on our Amex. I immediately called them to explain what happened and figure out the next steps. Our credit card insurance representative was fantastic. She explained the process step by step and told us the claim would take approximately five to 10 business days to be examined. If approved they will work directly with the car rental company to cover the costs to repair the window.
If this happened five years ago I would have freaked out, but this time I was surprisingly cool. We thankfully have a credit card with insurance coverage and fingers crossed they accept our claim. Five years ago we were in such a bad place financially that this stress would have taken a toll on us. I’m so glad we’ve matured financially and learned to be responsible.
How was your week?
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear about it! My friend’s car got robbed too, he just went to the supermarket for less than an hour, but when he came back, he saw that his car window was broken and his things were gone.
Yes, those CSI shows are totally unrealistic when it comes to police investigations for robbery or a lesser crime. My mom’s house got broken into and while the police did come and write a report, they didn’t even dust for fingerprints! We knew there would be prints because items in the house had to be moved to get to the items stolen. Very disappointing.
I am sorry to hear that. Man that’s rough. I always keep all my valuables with me and if I buy anything, we have a habit of putting them directly to trunk so at least it is not visible to thieves. Although I think the thief must have been observing nearby to grab the chance to steal yours.