A Belarusian man arrived at the Polish border, stepped out for air, and his bus with belongings vanished from the queue. What happened next?
The man fell victim to a scheme by carriers who bring people to the border and then leave once all passengers transfer to buses at the front of the queue, writes BGmedia.
In one of the border chats, a Belarusian man shared an unpleasant story. He arrived by bus at the Poland-Belarus border and joined the queue at the Terespol border crossing point. The man stepped out to get some air, but when he returned, the bus was gone. His belongings and documents were left inside.
The Belarusian man posted his first message in the border chat on the afternoon of December 21, adding a photo of the bus.
«Good evening. Does anyone know this carrier? A bus left the queue with belongings and documents, heading towards Warsaw.»
The bus that left the queue with the Belarusian's belongings. Photo from the border chat
The next day, the man continued: «Good evening. Yesterday I wrote about the bus that left; the belongings and documents have been found. Now I'm looking for the person [responsible].»
The belongings and documents were only retrieved two days later, on December 23: «Good day everyone. Yesterday, thank God, I picked up my belongings and documents. The driver, as always, claims no responsibility. He blamed everything on the company, saying he was 'blind' and didn't notice the belongings.»
Some chat users didn't understand how a bus could just leave the queue.
It was explained to them: «The guy went out to grab a bite at a cafe, and his bus left the queue, heading back to Warsaw with all his luggage. The driver brought everyone, dropped them off, and went back when he realized all his passengers had slipped ahead to transfer. This is just a profiteer who came to make money on the hype with a tour bus. If they were removed, there would be fewer queues.»
Such a problem occurred a few days ago when dozens of buses gathered in the queue before the Terespol border crossing point. Belarusian travelers would arrive at the border and transfer to the buses standing closer to the barrier. Exactly the same scheme operates when there are queues before the Brest border crossing point.
Belarusian users in the chat explained how this scheme worked and how drivers profited from it: «We traveled like this: another bus was in the queue for us since the morning. We arrived and took its place, and it turned around and went back home.»
«They occupy a spot in the queue, placing a 20-person van there, and before the border, they swap it for a 50+ seat bus. As a result, people who arrive later end up in a deep mess. Plus, the transfer costs 50 euros, so do the math. But never mind that, if you want to – pay… But what about mothers with small children? People, until we start thinking about each other, being solidary, we will all be in a mess.»
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