Baggage Damage/Pilferage

[bagchucker]

Someone I know pretty well travelled recently on US Airways. The person paid for US to handle his baggage. During transit, the bag was damaged, then lost for 2 days, then pilfered from (the items taken were considerably valuable). The continued response he gets from the CBRO office is the same. " I'm sorry, we are not responsible for pilfered items or normal wear and tear damage to the bag."

Ok... so we charge our customers money to handle their bags. In the rare event that ALL things that can go wrong (lost, damaged, and pilfered), US will not pony up and reimburse, at the very least, his expense to have the bag "handled" by US?

Does this particular claim have merit to warrant reimbursement of ANY kind for ANY of the inconveniences experienced?

 

[Onestep2flt]

Someone I know pretty well travelled recently on US Airways. The person paid for US to handle his baggage. During transit, the bag was damaged, then lost for 2 days, then pilfered from (the items taken were considerably valuable). The continued response he gets from the CBRO office is the same. " I'm sorry, we are not responsible for pilfered items or normal wear and tear damage to the bag."

Ok... so we charge our customers money to handle their bags. In the rare event that ALL things that can go wrong (lost, damaged, and pilfered), US will not pony up and reimburse, at the very least, his expense to have the bag "handled" by US?

Does this particular claim have merit to warrant reimbursement of ANY kind for ANY of the inconveniences experienced?

This is one of my pet peeves with the whole fee thing. Any airline including Southwest can loose a bag or two. It just happens. The problem is I have to pay for the privilege on some domestic carriers now. Seems that for the fee the company should have more responsibility than to tell someone "I'm sorry, we are not responsible for pilfered items or normal wear and tear damage to the bag." Seems reasonable enough to me that if I pay for the privilege then the company has the privilege of being on the hook for more than just is required of them by current law.

 

[SpinDoc]

This is one of my pet peeves with the whole fee thing. Any airline including Southwest can loose a bag or two. It just happens. The problem is I have to pay for the privilege on some domestic carriers now. Seems that for the fee the company should have more responsibility than to tell someone "I'm sorry, we are not responsible for pilfered items or normal wear and tear damage to the bag." Seems reasonable enough to me that if I pay for the privilege then the company has the privilege of being on the hook for more than just is required of them by current law.

If CBRO is stating the standard boilerplate, then contact US Airways Customer Relations and advise them you will be filing a complaint with the DOT. At the very least, the baggage fees should be refunded, and your friend should get some type of compensation such as a dollar off voucher for future transportation on US Airways close to or equal to the proven amount of damage/loss. It is stated in the contract of carriage what US Airways will and will not directly reimburse customers for in cases of lost or damaged luggage, or stolen items from luggage. As an alternative, a well documented claim with your homeowners insurance may get some of the value of your pilfered items returned to you.

US Airways Customer Relations may be reached at the following links/addresses:

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/contact/customer_relations.html

Mailing address:
US Airways
Attention: Customer Relations
4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Fax: 480-693-2300

DOT may be reached at the following links/address:

http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm
202-366-2220

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590

Good luck, and don't take no for an answer if the loss can be proven.

 

[bagchucker]

Spin,

Thank you for the info, it is very helpful. I'll pass it along to my friend.

'chucker

 

[SS255]

If Fedex or UPS treated paying customers this way, they'd be out of business.

If enough people complain to the DOT about the airlines losing and damaging their bags and keeping the bag fees, eventually the government will step in and enact regulations which will make the airlines accountable.

Please also tell your friend to dispute the baggage charge with his credit card.

 

[PHL]

If Fedex or UPS treated paying customers this way, they'd be out of business.

If enough people complain to the DOT about the airlines losing and damaging their bags and keeping the bag fees, eventually the government will step in and enact regulations which will make the airlines accountable.

Please also tell your friend to dispute the baggage charge with his credit card.

FedEx and UPS have liability limits as well. If you ship something valuable, you can pay additional insurance, otherwise you're SOL. Maybe airlines should offer this option.

 

[X-U]

If Fedex or UPS treated paying customers this way, they'd be out of business.

If enough people complain to the DOT about the airlines losing and damaging their bags and keeping the bag fees, eventually the government will step in and enact regulations which will make the airlines accountable.

Please also tell your friend to dispute the baggage charge with his credit card.
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In my recent experience, the service provided by UPS has seriously declined in the past year or two. I will not use them if at all possible, and have read many comments from others indicating the same. The best way to show your displeasure with a business that continually fails to meet your needs is to stop using them.