Lost Luggage Saga (Iberia)

darrinm81

Hey All,

Looking for some guidance here.

Father and I flew from London via Madrid. On arrival at our end destination my father's checked-in bag was missing. Lodged a claim, contacted the airline etc etc. Anyway, 4 months later we are no closer to a resolution.

The bag was found and while being sent back to us was subsequently lost again.

My father submitted a claim for expenses while without the bag. A cheque for US$90 was sent with no message or explanation. This amount is not close to the figure claimed for. We were claiming for replacement essential items purchased during the time abroad (eg toothbrush, clean clothes).

I have contacted Iberia numerous times (phone, email, fax, letter). No response. I have lodged a formal complaint twice via their website. No response.

I sent a claim to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. They have now said that because my father is not a UK resident they cannot help with the claim. The ticket and flight both originated in the UK.

Any advice? I know it is probably a waste of time pursuing this anymore but seems unjust that Iberia can get away without even providing an apology.

This may all be irrelevant but I thought:
i) Under the Montreal Convention airlines were liable to pay up to £1,049 in compensation when luggage is mishandled.
ii) We could pursue a claim via the UK Small Claims Court for up to £5,000 for compensation.

While the tangible loss is not £5k the frustration this has caused is probably worth that amount. I assume small claims court wouldn't cover 'personal' loss and suffering?

Travel Tip: Don't pack anything of value in your checked in luggage. And probably don't fly Iberia either!

Polly_Esther

darrinm81 wrote: »

Hey All,



Father and I flew from London via Madrid.

Where did you fly to via Madrid?

darrinm81

We flew London to Mexico City, via Madrid (1 hour stop over). Bag got lost somewhere in between.

Spidercat

We had our baggage lost on the way to Cuba, by Iberia, found just before our Return, and then lost again on the way home. Never did get any redress through Iberia, but travel insurance paid out, so maybe better to Clinton travel insurance.

darrinm81

Insurance is a viable option. However we would like the bag back if it has been found and want Iberia to compensate us for loss. Seems crazy that Iberia can get away with treating customers like this.

Kira000

Just a thought, but the £90 sounds like the sort of amount airlines normally allocate for a few people for "first needs" expenses when the bag first goes missing and ou are away from home- usually covers things like emergency toiletries, spare socks and pants, a tshirt etc, but not the cost of replacing items in a bag that turns out to be actually lost.

Did you register the bag as lost through the baggage desk using your tag number, or did you just write to the Customer Service team?

Did you provide itemisation of what was in the luggage, and any copies receipts you have for those items?

darrinm81

Yep. We did all that. At Mexico logged it with baggage staff in terminal. Then visited Iberia office and desk - all staff said you just need to wait and track online. Called, emailed etc but always referred to website. Anyone you speak to is totally unaware about the history of your case.

We sent all receipts via offical claims process. When we told them the bag had not arrived (after being found) they said they would issue a cheque to reflect this fact. They did not.

We could take them to small claims court but not sure the amount we could claim against (ie would this be more than claiming via Iberia formal channels?).

Voyager2002

darrinm81 wrote: »

Yep. We did all that. At Mexico logged it with baggage staff in terminal. Then visited Iberia office and desk - all staff said you just need to wait and track online. Called, emailed etc but always referred to website. Anyone you speak to is totally unaware about the history of your case.

We sent all receipts via offical claims process. When we told them the bag had not arrived (after being found) they said they would issue a cheque to reflect this fact. They did not.

We could take them to small claims court but not sure the amount we could claim against (ie would this be more than claiming via Iberia formal channels?).

If you use Small Claims, the judge would expect to see evidence that you had tried to settle outside court first. So you should certainly make use of Iberia formal channels, including any complaints process that they offer.

In practice, papers from a court showing that a claim has been made against the airline would be likely to ensure that someone fairly senior would look at the problem, and so might lead to a solution.

Kira000

darrinm81 wrote: »

Yep. We did all that. At Mexico logged it with baggage staff in terminal. Then visited Iberia office and desk - all staff said you just need to wait and track online. Called, emailed etc but always referred to website. Anyone you speak to is totally unaware about the history of your case.

We sent all receipts via offical claims process. When we told them the bag had not arrived (after being found) they said they would issue a cheque to reflect this fact. They did not.

We could take them to small claims court but not sure the amount we could claim against (ie would this be more than claiming via Iberia formal channels?).

To the best of my knowledge, you can only claim for actual losses/costs, and not inconvenience /stress. The costs COULD be viewed to include the cost of phone calls, faxing etc whilst sorting out the claim.
The other thing to bear in mind, is that whilst you will usually get the full amount of cost for items purchased as emergency items when the bag goes missing, but will not generally reimburse new for old on missing items- it is a proportion of the cost, based on the age of the items.

As Voyager says, it is worth demonstrating full efforts to resolve with the airline before going down the Claims Court route.

I would suggest pulling together a final concise letter, including the baggage tag details, flight details, key dates when things were reported, communications you have sent them, and a full list of what you are claiming for, including which you have receipts for, and their ages.

Be clear exactly what you are asking for, and whilst its fine to say the delay and lack of progress in unacceptable and disappointing, avoid emotional or personal feelings (although they are understandable!). Give a reasonable timeframe by which you expect a response which should give their next action. I.e. Due to the delays so far, i expect a formal response with your next action within the next 21 days (and give the date that is), and then what your action will be if you don't hear. I.e will start the proceedings for small claims.

Although frustrating, i dont recommend following advice that says send it recorded (this bit is a good idea) and give them 7 days (bad idea), as airline complaints teams can be so busy, that they will not even GET to your letter for more than the 7 days, which makes it a bit pointless making the demand.

It is worth trying to track down some email addresses for senior executives- CEO etc to copy in, as it can add some extra pressure for the complaint to be investigated/looked at more thoroughly..

curios

darrinm81 wrote: »

Insurance is a viable option. However we would like the bag back if it has been found and want Iberia to compensate us for loss. Seems crazy that Iberia can get away with treating customers like this.

I would suggest contacting the CEO of Iberia, Antonio Vazquez Romero.

His e-mail address is:

aromero @ iberia.es