Loss of baggage, who do we report too?

greensalad

Yesterday I arrived back from a trip to Antwerp, Belgium and discovered that one bag with some clothing and an expensive pair of boots was left somewhere along the way.

I've contacted the hotel to ask if they have it, but the hotel was really rather crummy so I expect they won't. Who knows.

I purchased travel insurance through Barclays, using their "Travel Pack" which includes family travel insurance.

The travel insurance says the following:

We will not pay claims:
if the loss or theft is not reported to the police within 24 hours of discovery and a written police report obtained (or other independent prof of loss)

So I discovered the bag was missing when I got back to the UK at around 6pm.

Who do I report the loss to to cover myself for the insurance? Belgium Police? Antwerp police? UK police? How do I sort this out?

Voyager2002

How did you travel back? Was it checked with an airline?

If you simply forgot to put it in your car when you left the hotel then from the moment of your departure it was unattended, and so is unlikely to be insured anyway.

callum9999

Voyager2002 wrote: »

How did you travel back? Was it checked with an airline?

If you simply forgot to put it in your car when you left the hotel then from the moment of your departure it was unattended, and so is unlikely to be insured anyway.

That makes no sense whatsoever to me... Surely anything you lose is "unattended" - otherwise you wouldn't have lost it!

DTDfanBoy

callum9999 wrote: »

That makes no sense whatsoever to me... Surely anything you lose is "unattended" - otherwise you wouldn't have lost it!

Not if it has been passed into the care of another party, such as luggage checked in at the airport etc

Very few policies will cover you for simply losing an item while under your care, ie you dropped £10,000 cash or left your laptop in a bar

greensalad

Ugh that's bad to hear. I figured "lost luggage" meant exactly that, accidental loss. I didn't realise it applied specifically to "who" lost it.

It didn't get put in the car as we left the hotel. I think we left it in the lobby area. But it was an unmanned apartment complex place rather than a proper hotel.

Voyager2002

callum9999 wrote: »

That makes no sense whatsoever to me... Surely anything you lose is "unattended" - otherwise you wouldn't have lost it!

For example: on one occasion I had been at a conference in Vienna, and at the end I checked out of my hotel and went to a coffee bar with two cases. Had I walked out of the bar with one case (forgotten the other one) then it would have been left unattended and my insurance would not have helped me. In the event both cases were in my possession, but at a certain point I realised that one had been removed. Presumably a thief grabbed it when for an instant I was distracted, and so my insurance did pay out.

Voyager2002

greensalad wrote: »

Ugh that's bad to hear. I figured "lost luggage" meant exactly that, accidental loss. I didn't realise it applied specifically to "who" lost it.

It didn't get put in the car as we left the hotel. I think we left it in the lobby area. But it was an unmanned apartment complex place rather than a proper hotel.

So read your policy carefully...

In the meantime, I suggest you make a police report here. Probably you can do so on-line, thus automatically generating the paper-work that you need for an insurance claim. Presumably your local police station can communicate with their colleagues in Belgium.

callum9999

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

Not if it has been passed into the care of another party, such as luggage checked in at the airport etc

Very few policies will cover you for simply losing an item while under your care, ie you dropped £10,000 cash or left your laptop in a bar

Really? I guess I've been lucky then - every single policy I've ever had has covered me for that. The two times I've lost something (with two different insurers) both paid out without any hassle at all. A third claim is just being submitted now and when I went through it on the phone it didn't seem like they'd be an issue.

Voyager2002 wrote: »

For example: on one occasion I had been at a conference in Vienna, and at the end I checked out of my hotel and went to a coffee bar with two cases. Had I walked out of the bar with one case (forgotten the other one) then it would have been left unattended and my insurance would not have helped me. In the event both cases were in my possession, but at a certain point I realised that one had been removed. Presumably a thief grabbed it when for an instant I was distracted, and so my insurance did pay out.

My mistake, I thought that would be included as standard. As above, I guess I've just been lucky!

callum9999

greensalad wrote: »

Ugh that's bad to hear. I figured "lost luggage" meant exactly that, accidental loss. I didn't realise it applied specifically to "who" lost it.

It didn't get put in the car as we left the hotel. I think we left it in the lobby area. But it was an unmanned apartment complex place rather than a proper hotel.

You might as well try and start a claim anyway. As I said, I've had similar claims go through successfully - I don't know how your specific policy would deal with it though.

Voyager2002

callum9999 wrote: »

You might as well try and start a claim anyway. As I said, I've had similar claims go through successfully - I don't know how your specific policy would deal with it though.

I hope that you have published favourable reviews of the insurers in question. Or perhaps you would care to identify them here: there are frequent calls to 'name and shame' but it would be useful to know which businesses treat clients fairly as well.

callum9999

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I hope that you have published favourable reviews of the insurers in question. Or perhaps you would care to identify them here: there are frequent calls to 'name and shame' but it would be useful to know which businesses treat clients fairly as well.

I haven't as a) I don't really write reviews and b) I thought it was completely normal!

The two insurers were Flexicover Direct (who I believe were underwritten by AXA at the time) and the free Nationwide insurance (UK Insurance).