Damage bag compensation from US Airline?

LucyVanJamieson

I reported it in the baggage hall as soon as I saw the tear in the bag, got a baggage report from the baggage department in the airport with "clear ripped hole in bag" written on it, etc.

jpsartre

That didn't answer any of the questions I asked.Sorry but it's really hard for anyone to offer advice without more details about what happened, what you did, and what you've been told so far.

photome

jpsartre wrote: »

That didn't answer any of the questions I asked.Sorry but it's really hard for anyone to offer advice without more details about what happened, what you did, and what you've been told so far.

Strange isnt it, that the first post was really long but subsequent posts have been lacking in clarity

Justicia

jpsartre wrote: »

But what is the status of the claim? Did you fill in a report online within 24 hours of receiving your bag? Is it still being processed? Has it been denied? If so, what was the reason given. Be aware that valuables in general won't get reimbursed though you should get some money back for the suitcase and lost clothes (though I doubt it will be anywhere close to £1100).

jpsartre wrote: »

That didn't answer any of the questions I asked.Sorry but it's really hard for anyone to offer advice without more details about what happened, what you did, and what you've been told so far.

LucyVanJamieson: see above posts. Read them. Then read them again. Then reply, giving a proper, direct response.

You are seriously not helping yourself to get assistance with this, by evading the answering of these questions being raised.

I suspect that if you continue, those trying to help you will lose enthusiasm and also their patience and will then desert this thread.

I am not trying to be mean to you; in fact, far from it. But you are not helping yourself at present.

LucyVanJamieson

I did actually give all this info in my first post.

I went to the luggage room in the airport to report the case being torn as soon as it came off the luggage carousel. The report given to me clearly details “tear clear in bag.”

Less than 24 hours later I emailed three bosses at Delta to ask them to expediate finding my missing items.

It took six more emails and three weeks before someone from Delta luggage/baggage claims dept finally got in touch. She said she’dsend a form to fill in to make a claim, but forgot and took another month just to send this form.

Claim was upheld some four months after the incident, thre and a half months of this time due to unnescessary hold-ups by Delta, “as an exception” (whatever this means) and I was offered $800 (which is the worth of the credit cad receipts I sent for missing items) asa credit for future use with Delta.

Most of the items are the cae and lost clothes.

Hope someone can make some better sense of this now…

jpsartre

Thanks, it's clearer now. I think part of the problem is that you didn't follow the correct procedure for filing a claim. You have to fill in a form online within 24 hours of making your claim at the airport. I'm guessing that's the form you eventually got send and they allowed you to fill it in as an exception despite the deadline being long past. Another problem is that you've been focusing too much on the expenses you incurred away. There's just no way that Delta would ever pay you back £800 because you had to buy new gifts at your destination.

If you do not want your compensation in the form of a credit for future use, get back in touch with them and tell them this.

LucyVanJamieson

What about things I don't have proof of purchase for?

Having proven via receipts and credit card bills over half of the things I lost, surely some lenience must be given for the rest?

I also don't have proof of purchase for my suitcase, although, obviously, that was damaged and is the basis of the whole claim, so surely that doesn't need proof of purchase? I also heard somewhere that items over $100 require proof, so surely items worth over $100 with no proof should be covered up to $100 at least regardless?

Finally, aren't I owed something for the massive !!!!-up made by Delta in taking THREE months to even get my claim looked at?

jpsartre

You'll have to talk to Delta about those things. Did you have to list all the items missing on the form? Did you list the suitcase as damaged?

It's very unlikely that you'll get anything extra for the time it's taken to process the claim. For one thing, if you'd filled in the form online within 24 hours as they ask you to, you could have cut off about 2 1/2 months off the waiting time by my calculations. In any case, I would focus on the lost items. You seem to be a big traveller so I assume you have some sort of travel insurance? It might be worth looking into whether they will cover anything.

neilbond007

Easy to ask in hindsight, but my question is - Why didn't you check you bag more thoroughly at the airport, SFO, when you saw there was a hole in it.

If there were a number of valuables in there that's the first thing I would have done.

By claiming for so much after you left Delta probably think you're trying it on. Personally I think you've done well to get $800 out of them, even if it is only credit towards a flight.

LucyVanJamieson

I was in a rush, plus somebody had pushed the fabric back into the case so it did not look so bad. Further, there was a bag of stuff in the way of the hole anyway, so I thought it was okay. In any case, opening it there and then to check if anything was out of order would not have been the best thing to do, given that I didn't have a clear idea in my mind of everything I was travelling with. Like you said, great idea in hindsight.