Earlier this month we received a report from a girl travelling in Costa Rica and her small backpack stolen in a bus. A clear case for her mastercard insurance? No, says Mastercard.

Costa Rica is one of the safier countries in Central America. But it is known as a country where thieves are a daily annoyence. So happened to a girl travelling in a public bus from Puntarenas to San José, accompanied by her boy friend. Their big bagpacks stored below in the transport container, their smaller bagpacks set aside them at the seats.

One hour later, one of the small bags was gone - including digital camera, passport, money and cards. Just everything. Also the fly tickets. After the initial shock and a long procedure to get the passport re-issued, she turned to Mastercard to apply for their insurance services, especially their travel insurance which includes theft insurance.

Original invoices sent in, police report, a detailled report what happened - everything Mastercard asked for was delivered. The simple answer: No, we’re sorry. Your damage is not covered by the insurance due to the fact that your belongings were not locked up or secured.

Hmm. I think the Mastercard manager never travelled in a public tico bus, he? How can you lock up your small backpack in a bus? Chain it to your body? In the case of Costa Rica (and all other countries with similar criminal environment, which applies to 80% of all countries) the Mastercard travel (bag) insurance is without value because it never can be applied by backpackers. Where do you have the possibility to lock up your baggage? Ok, in a safe storage at the airport. Haha.
Another case of promised security is a special baggage lock provided by TSA standards. The story goes like this: if you travel via US, your checked-in baggage will be examined without your presence. If your bag is closed, the lock will be destroyed and the baggage opened. Many, like me, don’t feel comfortable to check in a non-locked case or backpack. For this reason, the TSA (Transport Security Association, an US-organisation) promoted a new type of a lock, which can be opened by TSA staff to examine your baggage without destroying it.

Nice idea, no? This stinks, if you receive your baggage at the airport, but the locks are missing! Ha, some people with knowledge about the lock steal them and are likely to resell them. Value of the lock: 10 US$.
[Technorati Tags: Mastercard - news - Costa Rica - TSA ]

This entry was posted on Friday, November 24th, 2006 at 8:02 am and is filed under News from Zopilote surf camp. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.