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damaged property at Heathrow!!

last july we were flying from Heathrow for a holiday. When we went throgh security check, my wife put her hand bag (only bught the day before for £200) in one of the plastic boxes to go through the xray machine. When it came out on the other side, we found that one of the security guys has removed the bag from the box and put it directly on the rolling metal which clearly ahs just been oiled as there were bad oil marks on the bag (the bag is cream leather). We complained and as one of the security guys was very rude I asked him to call his boss. The manager was very nice and apologitic. He tried to clean the bag but he couldnt. He eventually completed a form and gave us a copy. It states that the complaint will be sent to passenger communication team !!! A month later we still heard nothing. The only contact number on the form is not answering (i tried it for a week)..Any idea on where to go from now? the bag has been damaged and cant be used in its current state. We took it to the shop (Radley) and they said they cant clean it!!

Comments

  • melancholly
    melancholly Posts: 7,457 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    might be worth trying those magic eraser things - i've seen them lift biro off leather which i thought was ruined. my mother swears by them as a last resort. can't help with heathrow being rubbish apart from saying i'm not surprised and they've trashed luggage of mine before.......
    :happyhear
  • pulliptears
    pulliptears Posts: 14,583 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    as an aside....

    Went on holiday to Egypt last year with my sis and bro in law. Bro in law and my husband spent the entire week looking at bloomin fake watches, drove us mad. By the end of the holiday both had furnished themselves with some hideous timepiece for ten pounds. Bro in Law was especially proud of his shiny new Tag Huer....

    We get the the airport and bro in law throws all his stuff onto the conveyer belt, but throws the watch on to the rolling bars. We all watch in amazement as it slips between the rollers and hits the floor shattering :)

    Good luck anyway OP, I adore Radley and their customer service is usually spot on. Give them a call and ask if there is anything that can be done. They took one of my bags back for an overhaul once and I had to send it back via post. Don't rely on what you are told in store.
  • judyb
    judyb Posts: 173 Forumite
    Most leather problems can be fixed - there are several specialist places in the UK where you can send a bag to be cleaned/restored. Send some photos for assessment. Please do not use a magic eraser on leather as the only way it works is to damage or remove the finish.
    Hope this helps
    Judyb
    Lots of knowledge about leather
  • melancholly
    melancholly Posts: 7,457 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    judyb wrote: »
    Please do not use a magic eraser on leather as the only way it works is to damage or remove the finish.
    Hope this helps
    Judyb
    now i'm confused! they advertise it as working on leather and causing no damage, and i've seen it used no probs. there are also a lot of forum threads on the internet, admittedly mainly using it on car seats, that say it's a good idea......
    :happyhear
  • sam1970
    sam1970 Posts: 1,196 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    thank you all for the advice... my problem is that I am not happy to pay to clean the bag, if it can be cleaned, as the damage was not our fault. the staff at he throw accepted liability by completing the form but I will need to find a way of conacting them
  • Zandoni
    Zandoni Posts: 3,465 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    What other information is on the form, is there a company name?

    How about ringing the airport and asking them to put you through to the correct department.
  • sam1970
    sam1970 Posts: 1,196 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    thank you for that..I tried calling the airport switchboard...it is all automated with various options...after trying various options, I tried the one for lost property (the closest option to my problem) and the automated message was to contact the airline..simply I was getting no where
  • sam1970 wrote: »
    thank you for that..I tried calling the airport switchboard...it is all automated with various options...after trying various options, I tried the one for lost property (the closest option to my problem) and the automated message was to contact the airline..simply I was getting no where

    When I have this problem, I press 0 repeatedly to get put through to an operator. Would this work for you perhaps?
    :A

  • bazzaboo
    bazzaboo Posts: 244 Forumite
    Write to the BAA customer service duty manager at Heathrow.
    :hello:
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