Thomas Cook Holiday - EasyJet Flight - Lost Luggage

NWUK

Hi, I hope someone can clarify our rights ...
Me, wife and daughter booked a 'holiday' to Sardinia (Sat 17th Sept 2022 from Luton) through Thomas Cook. We paid all monies to Thomas Cook in 3 instalments.
Thomas Cook stated the 'Holiday' as flights with EasyJet, Hotel was named as was the taxi company to ferry us from airport to hotel & on return.
Absolute chaos at check-in at Luton. Bag drop was closed so EasyJet rep said take Hold Luggage to Oversize Luggage and drop there, which we did after massive queue.
Got to Sardinia (Olbia) and no luggage; I reported to authorities there (got PIR number) - by this time a massive queue behind me of people from our flight all without luggage.

Next day, I contacted Thomas Cook via whatsapp and also Easyjet via facebook as they state you have to do. Thomas Cook tried but could not locate our luggage. For Easyjet facebook portal - nothing.

Luggage never arrived at our destination - in fact I found its location by contacting the company that deals with luggage handling at Luton Airport! TC & EasyJet still reporting our luggage as delayed two and a half weeks later.

As we paid Thomas Cook for the Hold Luggage service, should they pay me it back as our luggage never left the UK, therefore we never received a service we'd paid for? TC saying 'not our problem - talk to Easyjet'. 

I put in a claim to Easyjet for 1) the £155 for failure of hold Luggage service and also 2) all the receipts for for 'delayed luggage' which amounted to over £400 as we had only one set of clothes and not toiletries. We had to end up buying a few essential clothing items and essential toiletries for 7 days! This is more than the £25 per day per person for up to 3 days that EasyJet say you can claim. 
(Currently no response from EasyJet).

Can I claim Section 75 for the hold Luggage Service as we never received it on the outward journey, and of course we had no Hold Luggage for the return journey?

Did anyone else 'lose' their luggage that day leaving from Luton? How have you got on claiming refunds/compensation?

NWUK

Well, we are several weeks on now and we wrote to Thomas Cook CEO after no success speaking with customer services who wouldn't elevate my complaint. Two weeks on, the CEO has failed to acknowledge our written letter and evidence of loss regarding services we paid for but never received. 
Easyjet are also still procrastinating about delayed luggage payment. Their customer.support (note they don't call themselves customer services! fail to give me any up date on the progress of my claim. all they can 'see' on their system is the same information I can see. Their work-flow programme seems to be unfit for purpose. 
Both organisations appear to be a digital shambles.

NWUK

Well, we finally got £225 from easyJet for the delayed luggage element of my claim (3 days @ £25 each day for each of the three of us (£75 each)). However this was not just given to us, we had to submitted receipts.
I am still pursuing the £155 for the Hold Luggage Service that I paid for but never received. This is still on-going. Thomas Cook believe we should have it. They are also supporting our claim against easyJet.
I also asked Tesco CreditCard to claim under Chargeback and Section 75 but they have told me without explanation that my case has failed.
So, the only advice I can offer regarding my delayed luggage claim is keep any receipts for essential items purchased AND keep emailing easyJet everyday or sending messages via their claims portal - making a nuisance of yourself - and be prepared for absolutely no response from them, but keep emailing!

NWUK

Thomas Cook finally said they would not help us any more with our claim for a refund of £155 for the 'Hold Luggage Service' we paid them but never received. I have now submitted a complaint about TC to ABTA. 

It's absolutely ridiculous that TC will not refund me the monies for a service I paid them to arrange, that was never provided. They should have checked it was 100% nailed on. As I have proved, it was not 100% nailed on, and they took my money and ran away from the problem.

Wonka_2

I see you've posted a number of times with no response (unless responses have been deleted) - the immediate response would have been to claim on your holiday insurance and let them sort it out. Given what you've gone through the assumption is that you didn't have any and this is why you then end up running the gauntlet between a number of companies for whom it's likely cheaper to pass the buck (and eventually pay up if they have to) than to spend time searching for your bags - especially given the current staffing position/state of the industry 

NWUK

Hi Wonka_2, you are quite correct in that it's easier for the travel companies to resort to 'claim off your insurance' and hence insurance premiums high because of this 'don't care' attitude. It's disappointing to say the least. 
As I said in an earlier post, I managed to find (very easily I might add) the contact details of the luggage handling company and within 8 minutes (YES 8 MINUTES) I had a response and they found our luggage. This shows both Thomas Cook and Easyjet that if they had the correct channels of communication instead of dealing with the problem at a distance through 'emails', 'whatsapp' and 'facebook' channels you can actually achieve work and success. The unfortunate thing is that there were no flights that could guarantee us getting our luggage to Sardinia BEFORE we flew back. So the KIND luggage handling people put our luggage in a safe place and we collected it upon return. 

My gripe is that we paid for a 'Hold Luggage Service' of £155 to Thomas Cook as part of our package, who then paid this money to Easyjet to secure the service. I am trying to get this money back - money I paid  for a service I NEVER received and most certainly not on the return journey ... no suitcases ... and I mentioned this to Easyjet but there staff  feigned no knowledge of how to get our money back. Hence I have now lodged a complaint through ABTA.

I write this 'blog' so other people know what to do if their luggage is 'lost' or 'temporarily lost' or 'delayed' more than three days. Basically get hold of the luggage handlers at the airport directly. Also, you can get compensation for your delayed luggage as long as you keep all your receipts (yes its a bit of hassle getting replacement items (toiletries, clothes (especially underwear!, etc) but it can be done). These companies are responsible for your belongings - you entrust them with them, and pay extra - and they don't appear to care a jot. You are a number, a profit item -a commodity on a conveyor belt - some items drop off but we won't worry about them ... just sweep them away.

NWUK

I have written to ABTA. It seems they are also confused and think my claim is about lost or delayed luggage. No one seems to understand that I paid for a service I never received therefore I am entitled to my money back as well as any compensation made to me for the inconvenience. Compensation is compensate - it doesn't mean to forget about the original charge. I continue to persevere.