Damaged luggage

tryin · 13 November 2019 at 2:12PM

Hi

I recently flew and my suitcase came damaged. I showed it at the baggage claims desk, they confirmed it was damaged. They gave me a case number and told me to contact the airline. I just got an email:

"We would appreciate it if you could provide us with the following information, for it is part of our standard procedure, to be able to proceed with further assessment.

1. copy of your passport(s)
2. copy of the back & front side of your baggage tag(s)
3. copy of your boarding card
4. copy of your tickets
5. the size (cabin-medium-large) and dimensions of your luggage
6. the purchase receipt(s) of your luggage*if the purchasing invoice has not been kept, please provide us a statement from a repair shop that indicates the brand name , value & estimated age of the damaged baggage. The statement / form must be filled and signed by the authorized person
7. photos showing the extent of the damage
8. copy of the property irregularity report
9. We would also appreciate it if you could fill in the attached declaration form and send it to our department."

(The attached form is 3 pages long BTW)

Do they have the right to make me do all that? Its almost not worth the effort! I showed them the damage, the luggage tag, my boarding pass and my passport by the airport. Why do they need to see them again? A statement from a repair shop will take me about an hour to get (nothing anywhere near me), and will cost me also. Do they have the right to demand all this?

This is clearly a way of discouraging people from claiming. What are my legal rights?

Thanks in advance.

leylandsunaddict · 13 November 2019 at 3:44PM

Yes they do. You didn't show them to the airline, but whichever agent they use at that airport to handle damaged baggage.

You will have everything bar the damage report and the airline needs to know the extent of the damage, the age & value of the damaged luggage and presumably how much to repair it, if it can be repaired. Any payout will be based on that. The person you reported it to can't estimate that.

leviathan · 13 November 2019 at 4:04PM

When my bag had been damaged I'd claimed at the airport on arrival and obtained a new bag there and then.

Walking out with two bags, the sniffer dog went straight for the new bag. Apparently because of that "new bag" smell.

Luckily the "why do you have an empty bag sir" question was avoided as he'd just seen where I'd come from, but because of the tell from the dog, I still ended up getting the other bag searched regardless <sigh>

Long evening that was...

tryin · 13 November 2019 at 9:23PM

leylandsunaddict wrote: »

Yes they do. You didn't show them to the airline, but whichever agent they use at that airport to handle damaged baggage.

You will have everything bar the damage report and the airline needs to know the extent of the damage, the age & value of the damaged luggage and presumably how much to repair it, if it can be repaired. Any payout will be based on that. The person you reported it to can't estimate that.

So what is the point of the agent at the airport? And why can they possibly need my passport AND ticket And boarding pass AND other identifying details?

Heliflyguy · 14 November 2019 at 5:20PM

You hit the nail on the head they are making it difficult, do they define what an authorised person is?

If the case is polycarbonate and not too badly damaged £12 will buy a fibreglass repair kit from Halfords and you could repair yourself.

I prefer material type check in luggage as less prone to damage IME, polycarbonate is fine for hand luggage.

spadoosh · 14 November 2019 at 5:26PM

You dont have to fill it in. Just dont expect anything in terms of recompense.

NoodleDoodleMan · 14 November 2019 at 5:56PM

I had a protracted issue with TUI a few years back over damaged luggage which had obviously been subjected to enemy action on return flight from Egypt - the padlocks had been ripped off resulting in the interlocking eyes of the zip ends being burst.

They went through the aforementioned "please provide receipts where luggage was purchased" routine,

Eventually received £70 as 50% compensation.

I made sure to keep and file the receipts from the outlet where the replacement luggage was bought in case (no pun intended) of any future similar dramas - and would recommend the same to all.

Have stopped employing padlocks and now use plastic cable ties to keep the zip ends together.

tryin · 14 November 2019 at 8:13PM

I flew an airline which has its offices in one eurepean country, and i flew between 2 other countries. Under who's jurisdiction do they come?

Westin · 14 November 2019 at 9:48PM

tryin wrote: »

I flew an airline which has its offices in one eurepean country, and i flew between 2 other countries. Under who's jurisdiction do they come?

Can you not name the airline so we don’t have a guessing game on answers.

tryin · 14 November 2019 at 10:29PM

Bluebird airways

Westin · 15 November 2019 at 12:42AM

They are a very small airline registered in Greece. Were you flying to/from Tel Aviv and Greece?

The lose or damage of baggage will likely be covered under the Montreal Convention https://www.iata.org/policy/smarter-regulation/Pages/mc99.aspx. Your ticket will likely indicate this if you read the terms and conditions.

If travel was to/from Israel you may also have some other additional passenger rights, but I am not sure these cover damaged baggage.

I do think the airlines request is not unreasonable so if you wish to pursue a claim you will have to complete the application and provide the information and documentation requested. If not, be prepared to walk away and chalk it up to the joys of mass air travel.

The other option will be to claim on your travel insurance if you had any.

Damaged luggage

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