Yellowjj

This is a question but i'll just give a backstory to make the events clear...

So in a nutshell, my mom travelled from Nassau to Lagos via Heathrow last October for a church seminar and her luggage was lost on the LHR-LOS leg of the trip. After three months of emails back and forth, BA has finally admitted they cant find the bag and sought out receipts for compensation. The problem now arises in that most of the items in the luggage were purchased on a trip to the U.S 3 days before the trip to Nigeria started. However as per our customs law, we are required to declare all goods bought and hand over our receipts upon arrival back into our home country. So I have literally only 2 receipts that she has left. This was during the ending of the Ebola heightened epidemic, so she purchased everything she needed from the trip in the U.S because she feared shopping in Nigeria. I know the Montreal convention applies but they are going to reduce it by 50% according to the email they sent me.

We're talking over $2500 worth of stuff and the most I might get maybe $700 or so out of the max possible $1693. I realize and understand why they require receipts but was hoping they also used logic in some cases. I've sent them pictures of the 2 receipts I have as well as one of the US stamp entry and returning stamp in her passport so they can see the dates, as well as a detailed explanation. My question is now, do I have any other actions I can take or is this pretty much a done deal.

Apologies for the long paragraphs.

bealine

Did you buy the items using a credit card? If so, the credit card statements might not itemise each item, but they would serve to show evidence of a shopping spree in the USA a few days before your Nassau trip.

If you can remember the names of the stores where you purchased the goods, and you know the dates within a day or two, you could also try emailing the stores to ask for proof of purchase.

flatlander

Unfortunately this will not help you in this case, but for anyone else who happens on this thread, I strongly suggest photographing the receipts with your phone before giving them up to anyone, ever. Most people will accept a good photo as a "scanned copy" of a receipt.

Yellowjj

No. I used cash. Our credit cards still incur a foreign transaction fee so i basically only use it where needed. Hotels/Tickets/Car Rentals.

I do know the names of the stores but I don't think they would be able to help without the receipt #. We're talking big chain stores like Macy's, J.C Penney etc. There's no way with the hundreds of sales they ring up every day they would agree to look for a receipt just by date.

I realize that now. I do intend to do that on all future trips and upload the pics to dropbox or email for safekeeping. Until i'm sure I no longer need them. Lesson learned.

I do wonder however. What happens when they lose luggage but the items are purchases from years ago. I mean nobody keeps receipts for everything they ever bought indefinitely.

cristo

Are you sure you need receipts for items that BA have admitted are lost (i.e. not just items you are claiming reimbursement for as essential items)? I went through this, albeit with US (since they were the last carrier on a oneworld itinerary that started with BA), and didn't actually get to submitting the claim since they found my bag after a while, but I did fill in the form and itemize items. Their policy was that any item with value over $100 needed a receipt, but under $100 you would be fine. Of course, maybe your mum had expensive clothes, but it might be worth pushing on this...

edit: googling random oneworld airlines, AA has $150, AY 150 eur,...

simons1

I lost my bag between Dubai and Muscat last year and claimed £1600 on my travel insurance. Far easier than dealing with the airline - I'm sure in this case BA will make it as difficult as possible for you.

Seems to me you are in a catch 22 - no receipts so no proof. When I was researching it I read that airlines typically pay out an average of £14 per kilo where there is no evidence so the figs you have are not miles out.

Have you checked with your insurer?

Globaliser

If something is years old, it's probably got near-zero current market value. If that's the basis on which the airline is paying compensation, then the absence of receipts probably makes little difference.

If you want new-for-old cover, travel insurance is often a much better route.

Yellowjj

According to BA yes. I'm also not claiming for any essentials during the time she was away because of the same fact. Whatever she bought in london during her layover she either threw away the receipt or passed it on to customs upon her return.

This claim is strictly for the contents of the luggage lost.

This is one of the receipts I still have. Macy's church clothing is expensive. This was just a dress. The Skirt/Jacket combo's were more. She bought several.




There was no insurer. She purchased the ticket herself and didn't tell anyone until months after the fact. At that time getting trip insurance for her didn't even register in my mind since I was just stunned that she wanted to go to Africa with a group of women all middle-aged. Didn't seem safe to me, and then the Ebola epidemic happened so that became the focus.

Gotcha. Lesson Learned from this.

hillrider

What insurance company does this? The typical certificate tells you that they will pay you "the lesser of: (a) the cash value (original cash value less depreciation) as determined by the Company or (b) the cost of replacement."

Most travel insurance (over)sells the product with flowery language that leaves to the reader's imagination, but the fine print is what you get. Plus the fact that at least 60% of your premium goes to profits, selling commissions, and other non-insurance benefits items.


OP: if your mom paid for the ticket by credit card, you should check with the issuer if she was insured, but don't expect replacement value from it either.

OP: can you get a copy of the submitted receipts from the customs entity, under a freedom of information or access to personal data framework request? Also, does the receipt you got from customs itemize the value of the declared items? That could be the proof you need.

Globaliser

My home contents insurance does this, so even if my travel insurance didn't (I haven't got access to the documents to check) the home contents policy would pay on this basis.