TAP refused damage luggage claim - what next

bod1467

I read it as physical damage that was also evidenced by how the shampoo bottle was damaged.

andykn

agrinnall wrote: »

I think you would need to use the courts in Portugal, and as you have no case there seems little point in wasting any money. It was your decision to put unprotected fragile items in a soft case, not the airline's.

They're not that fragile, they've had a quite severe impact that would have damaged a hard sided case.

ajb69

andykn wrote: »

They're not that fragile, they've had a quite severe impact that would have damaged a hard sided case.

You seem to be ignoring the other points raised -

1/ do you have travel insurance?
2/ what is the monetary damage incurred?
3/ what is the actual damage, and what caused it (the impact, or e.g. shampoo leaking)?

I'm not sure what response you are looking for, to be honest.

andykn

ajb69 wrote: »

There's no ombudsman. While you can of course take legal action, the protection afforded by the Montreal Convention (which, as an international treaty, trumps both domestic & EU law) is very strong.

Hence why everyone on this thread is mentioning travel insurance, which is designed to cover precisely your situation.

Sorry, but just my two cents as an anonymous internet poster.

Edit - you may find this useful for any legal action: http://www.ebookers.com/info/win?id=MontrealConvention

Edit 2: by the way, what is the rough loss you have suffered, in monetary terms? That also might help frame further discussion.

If there's no ombudsman then I may have little choice. But given the choice between making the guilty party (the airline) pay and making other travellers pay I'd prefer to write to an ombudsman rather than fill in a lengthy claim form.

The razor was a top of the range Philips, replacement cost 200 quid, and the electric toothbrush also a top of the range Oral B one, original cost around 160 quid IIRC.

ajb69

andykn wrote: »

If there's no ombudsman then I may have little choice. But given the choice between making the guilty party (the airline) pay and making other travellers pay I'd prefer to write to an ombudsman rather than fill in a lengthy claim form.

The razor was a top of the range Philips, replacement cost 200 quid, and the electric toothbrush also a top of the range Oral B one, original cost around 160 quid IIRC.

How old - were they new, or had you had you used them, and for how long?

andykn

unholyangel wrote: »

I dont think such an argument would work unless you have some sort of proof that you bag was handled abnormally.

You say to them that it was the nature of the impact rather than the bag and they'll just say "well why wasn't everyones bags damaged in the same way".

In your OP I got the impression it was physical damage to the electrical items. But from your post above, it seems like they have been damaged due to shampoo leaking?

No, the damage to the shampoo bottle shows what a heavy impact it was, the top's been stove in. It's opened up the body of the razor.

It looks like a point impact, I found after a small spot of grease on the bag so I suspect it's dropped in the belt mechanism somewhere and been impacted stopping the whole system.

andykn

ajb69 wrote: »

How old - were they new, or had you had you used them, and for how long?

Not new, a few years.

ajb69

OK, thanks for the replies. A court would obviously be in possession of photos and your personal evidence, so we can't provide any advice on how they would decide based on the balance of probabilities. TAP may not even turn up, so you may win simply because of that.

Having said that, you'd be very lucky to get new-for-old replacement costs out of the airline - so you'd need to base your claim around how much a toothbrush and razor are worth after a few years use. I don't know, but I suspect a lot less.

You'd also need to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the damage did not occur "[because] the damage resulted from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage". As Shaun from Africa says above, this is a tough call - you are suing, so the presumption will be in favour of the defendant. I'm not an expert (as I mentioned above), but I can't see a spot of grease being decisive unless you have other evidence - including photos showing that the spot of grease was not present before travel.

Sorry to be negative, but...claim on your travel insurance, which may even offer new for old replacement if you are lucky.

LilElvis

andykn wrote: »

If there's no ombudsman then I may have little choice. But given the choice between making the guilty party (the airline) pay and making other travellers pay I'd prefer to write to an ombudsman rather than fill in a lengthy claim form.

The razor was a top of the range Philips, replacement cost 200 quid, and the electric toothbrush also a top of the range Oral B one, original cost around 160 quid IIRC.

If you are correct and the damage occurred during the baggage handling process then the "guilty party" is the airport rather than the airline.

shaun_from_Africa

LilElvis wrote: »

If you are correct and the damage occurred during the baggage handling process then the "guilty party" is the airport rather than the airline.

That doesn't matter.
Once the baggage is handed over to the airline at the check in desk, they are responsible for it irrespective of whether it was them or one of their subcontractors that caused any damage.