Charged a fortune for over weight luggage

UnitedFlyer

There is a point everyone seems to have missed ... the fact that the op was not allowed to put the hand luggage into the checked bags.

If this was the case, First Choice are in the wrong!!

It totally sucks, and I'd demand a refund.

Ali_UK

But would that then have made the checked luggage overweight?

My OH and I are always really strict about what we take and we always weigh our bags before we leave. This even more so he has started taking diving gear and I take lots of snorkelling stuff. OH goes nuts when he sees the huge bags people take on as hand luggage.

We recently flew back from Spain and the people in the queue before us had overweight check-in bags and huge carry-on's and they were very stroppy about the fact they had to pay extra. Our hand luggage wasn't even weighed as the check in girl could obviously see that it was not large (I had a small handbag and OH a small rucksack) and therefore unlikely to be heavy - hence they do not check and weigh every piece of hand luggage but as someone has already mentioned they watch to see if you are struggling and use their judgement, which I am sure also saves check in time!

True, nothing to stop you buying four large bottles of vodka, for example, and thus adding several kg to your hand luggage weight, but I have also been on a flight where our hand luggage was checked and weighed in the boarding queue, and another where a guy was heaving a bag along and when he dropped it on the floor to find his boarding card it made an obviously loud thud so the stewardess picked it up and said no, that's going in the hold, so these things do happen.

To me this is just another one of those situations where we all have to take responsibility, read the info on our tickets and if you take a chance with overweight bags be prepared to pay the extra if you get pulled up about it.

Having said that, if you do feel you have been unfairly treated then by all means write and see if you can get your money back - good luck!

Altarf

moneysaver wrote:

Read my original post

I did, and I quoted it.

moneysaver wrote:

Where does it say 40kg

Firstchoice charge £5.50 per kilo excess.

Amys

Hand luggage is not usually weighed, but this does not mean there is not a weight limit. The airlines will usually ask to weight the hand luggage if they see it and it looks over weight. The weight for hand luggage is on the documentaion for the holiday.

If it happens again just say that you'll put somthing into your checked luggage. They won't let you break it into more hand luggage as that means you will still be over.

moneysaver

Altarf wrote:

I did, and I quoted it

In my original post I said

moneysaver wrote:

most of this was foodstuff to eat in the departure lounge including bottled water.

Altarf wrote:

3kg of snacks & pastries per person?

Not just snacks & pastries.