Yeah yeah, I know I shouldn't have given the rental company my passport but I did and they never returned it to me when I returned the car. They held it and tried to blackmail me for money. This happened several months ago, in February. I need to travel now. What would you do? File a police report? Pay someone to put pressure on them to return it? Apply for a new passport? Pay the car rental place the extortion money? I know, I know. I have nothing but **** luck in this country. Live and learn, again
- Thread starter Andrea Duguay
- Start date
Passport stolen by car rental company.
You made a huge mistake. This is why you need to rent from one of the big name Franchises.
Go immediately to get a Police and buy him lunch (wink wink) to put the pressure on the rental fleas.
If not that you need to file a stolen report and then go to your Embassy/Consulate. Big pain in the bumpkus.
Go immediately to get a Police and buy him lunch (wink wink) to put the pressure on the rental fleas.
If not that you need to file a stolen report and then go to your Embassy/Consulate. Big pain in the bumpkus.
I agree, HUGE MISTAKE! I was not comfortable from the beginning with leaving my passport as I know that is a big no no, but I needed the car. Should have went to a different, reputable place. And every car I have rented since then, at several other places, I have done with just a photocopy of my passport so it is now clear to me that it is not standard practice to hold people's passports as was explained to me. Paying a police officer to help me was my first thought. Wonder if it would actually work?
And if this happened in February, your second "HUGE MISTAKE" is waiting until now to address the problem.
Not sure what country issued your passport, but right on the first couple of pages of the U.S passport it says something to the effect of:
"This passport is the property of the United States Government and should only be surrendered to authorized gornernment officials". So whoever explained to you that it was "standard practice" to hold people's passports was incorrect (but probably deliberately told you that to set you up for the exact situation you now find yourself in.
And rather than potentially compounding the problem by trying to bribe people, I would suggest your first inquiry should be to the embassy of your native country.
Good luck.
Not sure what country issued your passport, but right on the first couple of pages of the U.S passport it says something to the effect of:
"This passport is the property of the United States Government and should only be surrendered to authorized gornernment officials". So whoever explained to you that it was "standard practice" to hold people's passports was incorrect (but probably deliberately told you that to set you up for the exact situation you now find yourself in.
And rather than potentially compounding the problem by trying to bribe people, I would suggest your first inquiry should be to the embassy of your native country.
Good luck.
The one thing I have learned though is money talks, even if I don't agree with bribing, in this country you need to do things differently..
I did contact the Canadian Embassy in February. They were supposed to contact the car rental place on my behalf. They never did. I contacted my Member of Parliament in Canada and they were of no assistance either. I have an email trail to prove it, not that that does me any good.
For an Canadian you must of been out in the sun to long eh! 6 months after the fact you come on forum say need to travel now what now really ? You looking for Mexican mule get you across to Canada? Your screwed pay bill fastest ...or beg government for new one because it can be said its stolen ... not that complicated...nobody can help you here...best of luck real ****ty position to be in...
Thanks for the laugh
I waited this long because I am very good at procrastination. Ma?ana is my new saying since moving here, lol. Passports are not replaced for free. They actually cost more to replace them than the cost of an original passport. That is why I delayed the inevitable.
It may be too late for that - the link that Gringo posted says that once a passport is reported stolen/lost to Canadian authorities [which she did in Feb], the passport is no longer usable by anyone.
I never officially reported it as stolen because the embassy, my Member of Parliament, and myself were sending emails back and forth to each other trying to get my passport back. Then we all just stopped communicating. I will probably drop into the Embassy on Monday to speak to someone in person. Getting a replacement will be such a pain as I need my long form birth certificate and other things that I do not have here in this country.
I don't recall her saying she reported it lost in Feb. If she had, an official would have visited the business and demanded the surrender of the document on behalf of the Canadian Govt.. After this period of time, the chances that it is still sitting in a drawer are pretty slim. When Andrea now reports the loss, the delay in reporting will not be well received. Someone will still try and locate the passport but if unsuccessful, the investigation will take longer as they attempt to see if the passport has been used and try to determine where it is now.
If Andrea wants to travel to Canada, she can get a travel letter, but she will have to remain there until the investigation is completed and a new passport issued. She won't be going anywhere else anytime soon. Hopefully she can avoid a situation where she is asked to produce her passport in this country.
I can't remember what they wanted to be honest. I think around 10,000 pesos. I thought maybe I should file a police report, then take the paper they give me that tells them to report to the Fiscal?a on a certain date. However, before I present the paper I find out how much he wants to return my passport and from that point negotiate the amount. If we cannot come to a resolution then I will present the Fiscal?a paper to him and just apply for a new passport.