NYCFoodSnob

This has been an interesting read. I'm a gullible fodorite. I never suspect "troll" unless it's so obvious it slaps you in the face. It actually took me awhile to figure out what a troll really was. I'm still waiting for someone to explain "Uncle Sam."

I happily assume 99.9% of the people who post here are looking for sincere advice. It's comforting to know that any stranger can come to fodors and find thoughtful and reasonable solutions to their travel problems in spite of some nasty dysfunction. This thread makes me think of my wonderful parents who never stopped worrying about me long after I turned 30. My Dad still asks me, "Do you have your wallet, do you have your ticket, do you have your passport?" And I always smile and say, "Daddy, I'm going from Ohio to NY, I don't need a passport."

This thread also reminds me of several friends who endured terrible parents. I wouldn't trade shoes with them, ever.

The University of Bordeaux required that my Godson open a checking account the day he arrived with a minimum of $600. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. Even with the delayed ATM card, he was covered for an emergency. Maybe the French know what they're doing here.

dutyfree

Latest update for those who feel my pain........we have opened an ATM with Citibank and got the card on the spot. We are about to either Fed Ex or DHL it to Italy so hopefully he will have it next week. His original ATM through our credit union will take quite a while to get replaced so I feel better that even though he will not have a credit card he will hopefully have the ATM as a "band aid". Remember the ONLY thing that he still has is his passport-everything else was taken,cash,ATM,credit cards,driver's license with student ID,etc.It has been a very interesting thread and for those who have been so helpful and understanding-I do appreciate it. The others who made me feel so bad-you suceeded as I had a good cry after reading some of the above posts.Talk about needing therapy when you get slammed on your parenting skills by strangers? I do agree with those who said that you do what you can for your loved ones when you are needed-thats why they are our "loved ones".
NYC FoodSnob-I laughed about your folks asking you about your travel necessities.I still have the parents who ask when I visit them"do you have enough gas in the car and toll money for the trip home" and I am REALLY old!
Hopefully,"Mr. Know IT All" has learned a very valuable lesson from this and will have a good trip the rest of the year?

4totravel

Wire him some $$ to get him by for the next day or two - Fedex should not take 7 days to arrive but be careful how you complete the bill of lading...do not say there is anything of value (I would say it is papers and the value is $0) or it will get held up in customs.
Don't worry - he'll be OK and all will be fine - and you'll be OK too. Good luck.

4totravel

Scoll down the most recent posts - check out "worriedmomma"!

mrwunrfl

I hope that the rest of the year goes well for both of you. Not as a parent, but from my perspective as a (still) stubborn and independent do-it-my-way guy (mom died when I was 20) I thought that he might not have been holding up his end of the bargain if he didn't try solving this himself. If that had been the case, then the advice to let him figure it out was good advice, IMHO. I suppose he was out of options.

I hope the lesson that he learned was the one about not keeping all one's eggs in one basket.

Statia

Dutyfree, glad to hear that it seems all has been worked out. Good luck to both you and your son. I'm sure you will both look back and laugh at this dilemma with glee someday....although not too soon.

dutyfree

New ATM card sent but it will take 5 days to get there-what ever happened to that phrase "WHEN YOU NEED IT OVERNIGHT?" Thanks for the "travel" therapy everyone! Now this troll is going to get a large glass of wine!!!

suze

Several posters have touched on the idea, it doesn't solve all problems but does the immediate ones...

Can't you wire money Western Union (or whatever) that doesn't require a bank account especially since he still has his passport for ID to pick it up?

Huitres

I can totally commiserate with your son. I got my wallet stolen (had 200+euros, Visa, AMEX, driver's license and basically everything in it) on a bus in Naples last month. I consider myself a savvy, heads-up traveler and have never had trouble with theft in Europe, but since traveling with my toddler and stroller this time around, I must have been an easy target since mothers tend to be "distracted" with all else going on. I totally understand your frustration and anger and can't sympathize with you enough. I am still trying to put "my life" back in order (have yet to buy a new wallet!)

This is what I did: within 30 minutes of the robbery, I went to the American Embassy and pleaded with them to let me in as I had just been robbed and needed to get some help. The American Embassy staff gave me a ready-made packet of information on "what to do if your things are stolen" in Italy. They provided me with 800 numbers ("verde" numbers as they are called in Italy) to call within Italy toll free to cancel all my cards and get assistance. (I used those 800 "verde" numbers throughout my whole trip afterwards to follow up with things -- it was a great help). I cancelled my credit cards as fast as I could (but not fast enough as the thief had already charged 600 euros of merchandise in the short space of 1.5 hours!) AMEX has a terrific program called "Global Assistance" and they were able to wire me $$ through a local Western Union office operating out of a travel agency in Naples. I got the $$ in 2 days. In addition, I got a replacement card within 4 days. My Visa/ATM card, on the other hand, took very long for my bank/credit union to send to me because they insisted on sending Airborne Express that ended up taking 12 days to arrive -- and arrived after I had left my hotel location (I had already moved on to Tuscany). So, I ended up having to re-order another Visa card (more delays!) and then my credit union wisely heeded my advice and used FedEx. It arrived within 3 days -- however at the end of my trip!

To make ends meet in-between waiting on the Visa card, my family wired $$ to me and I picked it up at a local Western Union office (showing my passport as i.d.). That seems to be the best and quickest way to help out your son since he doesn't have a direct address at the university. There are Western Union offices all over Italy, I am sure there is an office in Torino, especially since it is an university town. I would call Western Union's 800 number here in the U.S. and find out their international locations, specifically in Torino. Keep in mind that the euro/USD transfer rate took about $40 off what you initially send because of the stronger euro right now. But some $$$ is better than no $$ at all. I was very grateful to Western Union and glad to know they are all over the world -- should this unfortunate incident ever occur again (hopefully not!)

Good luck to your son and to you - just remember this too shall pass........

Nutella

I'm with UhOh and Jacqui. I'm a uber-independent woman almost twice the age of dutyfree's son, and I called my mommy (yes she's still my mommy and I'm still her baby) when I got stranded overseas during 9/11 to help me sort out my reservations. I could have done it myself, but it was nice to have her help and she was happy to. Likewise, I was in Jerusalem during a suicide bombing, and before I could get to a phone, my worried Dad had called the State Dept, the Embassy, he probably even tried to call the President and Prime Minister, to see if I was okay. That's what family is for, to worry about you and to help out!

dutyfree

Thanks for the kind remarks. I do think that most of us would agree that when one is in a foreign land and have been "violated" all bets are off about being adult and doing things on your own.That is the reason that I am helping him-also the reason why I asked Fodorites earlier in the year for suggestions on what to take for a year's study (way different than a short trip to another country).He is a sharp young man but as in all college students his age-still needs "assistance" on things that are out of his normal realm (as most of us would need).He still loves Italy and is thrilled that he is getting the chance to learn the language and live there for a year.I am sure that this experience will be but one of the many things he remembers in years ahead about his year over there!

Canadian_Biker

Ouch...as a 20 year old I can imagine what my parents would be saying too!!!

There were too many post and I may be repeating something already mentrioned but I think you should try using the Embassy of your country (assuming the USA)as a mailing address over in Italy. Generally speaking most embassy's have experienced situations like your sons and know exactly how to handle it. They also allow for phone calls over seas to the home country as long as it is intended for security issues or emergencies and not to check to make sure you got there.

Gretchen

This is too late but I have experience in this, unfortunately. You can demand that the credit card company overnight your card to your address. Then you can overnight it to an address in Europe. When we had this happen with our daughter we sent it C/O American Express. When all our CC's were taken in France we had replacements overnighted to our hotel in Avignon. they were replaced from a service center in Germany. But you have to insist that you need them immediately.