Practical Travel Safety Issues - Someone else's combination padlock on my luggage! ???

Not sure at what stage of travel this happened but I recently flew from IAH to LHR and my wife and we checked 3 bags between us, 2 pullman style roller bags and a small collapsible canvas bag with some extra items we decided to take at the last minute. None of the bags was locked but when we claimed them at LHR our small canvas bag had a Master combination lock attached to one of the webbing type handles! Not locking anything shut, just locked on to the handle.

So I am trying to imagine how this got on my bag... was it just loose in a baggage trolley as they loaded the plane or on the floor of the luggage compartment and some nice handler figured I needed a heavy lock!

Not having a combination to open it or access to a hack saw I decided to just cut the webbed handle in a way that I can repair it when I get home and I disposed of the lock but this is a first for me!

Look at it this way... a parting gift from your friends in America.

It's probably one of mine.

OK, I'll bite. Why did you damage the bag if the lock was not keeping you from getting into the bag? Why didn't you just wait until you got home where you could remove the lock without damaging the bag?

My guess was a lock fell off a bag and they thought it was yours, so they put it back on the handle.

Note for future reference: Most hotels have tools (master keys, bolt cutter) to help guests deal with problematic locks. A friend recently arrived at a hotel to discover that TSA somehow reset the combination on his suitcase lock, making it impossible to open. Hotel sent up a maintenance guy with a boltcutter, which made quick work of the lock.

I would never have thought to ask a hotel for a boltcutter. Plus he may have been concerned that the heavy lock would damage the suitcase in transit.

And having just gone through trying to unlock a lock I lost the combination for it's no easy task.

Note for future reference: Most hotels have tools (master keys, bolt cutter) to help guests deal with problematic locks. A friend recently arrived at a hotel to discover that TSA somehow reset the combination on his suitcase lock, making it impossible to open. Hotel sent up a maintenance guy with a boltcutter, which made quick work of the lock.

Are you sure they reset it and didn't just put the wrong lock back on your bag? Since the TSA locks are opened with keys, and so many look alike, I think it's more likely that they had two open at once that were identical and switched them by accident.

And I've asked hotels for such items before; most notably when Avis gives me one of those horribly stupid sets of keys where it's two keys (with transponder heads!) and the Avis tag on a cable-style ring that cannot be opened. If I'll have the car for more than a day I always ask for a heavy duty cable cutter to get it off so I don't have to carry that thing around in my pocket all day.

Are you sure they reset it and didn't just put the wrong lock back on your bag? Since the TSA locks are opened with keys, and so many look alike, I think it's more likely that they had two open at once that were identical and switched them by accident.

Impossible to know. Though it was the type of lock where the combination is letters, not numbers. Those seem much less common, but it's possible that TSA happened to open two bags side-by-side with the same type/color lock.

Given the number of movements a piece of checked luggage goes through between the times it leaves the pax's hands until it is returned, it's impossible and not worth speculating who or why. Could have been at the check-in at IAH or on the last cart between the aircraft and carousel at LHR. Clearly, whoever did it wasn't certain it belonged to OP because they didn't use it to lock the bag.

Every baggage office and hotel known to mankind has a pair of bolt cutters, so no need to damage the bag,

Impossible to know. Though it was the type of lock where the combination is letters, not numbers. Those seem much less common, but it's possible that TSA happened to open two bags side-by-side with the same type/color lock.

You need to know that there is a difference between letters and numbers in order for them not to look the same ;).

... and when you opened the case you discovered that they had removed all your clothes and replaced them with someone else's...

OK, I'll bite. Why did you damage the bag if the lock was not keeping you from getting into the bag? Why didn't you just wait until you got home where you could remove the lock without damaging the bag?

My guess was a lock fell off a bag and they thought it was yours, so they put it back on the handle.

That would be my guess as well.

The TSA or baggage handler have no way of telling which suitcase the lock came from and just put it on the nearest one. I wouldn't mind it at all. Here's a list of objects that they can put in my suitcase if they want: Rolex, cash, diamonds, etc...

Yes the TSA do change lock combinations!

TSA did this to 2 of my cases on the one trip too. These were definitely my own very distinctive locks (TSA-type). Both my locks back on the suitcase, both with the combinations kindly changed by the TSA so I could not open my own bags.

Of course, it would have helped if the TSA had actually replaced the locks back onto my bags, in a way that would have actually locked the cases. Instead, they replaced the locks on one bag onto an empty side pocket. They left the main compartment of the suitcase completely without protection. On the other bag on the same check-in, they just hooked the lock through only 1 side of the zip on the main compartment leaving the zip to open freely. Thanks TSA. That was when I lost a lot of good stuff that was stolen from my secured luggage.

So far I've cancelled 3 trips that could have taken place to the USA because of this experience. A pity. Surely these problems are taking business and tourism dollars away from the USA?

That was when I lost a lot of good stuff that was stolen from my secured luggage.



There is no such thing as "secured luggage" unless you handcuffed it to your wrist.