DC777Fan

So I just bought a Topas 73 in transit at MUC and on it's first "real" trip DCA-CHS-DCA on B6, there was significant damage around the bottom corner.

I did take it to B6 desk at the airport and they said it's wheel damage and not covered. They offered $100 voucher as a courtesy. I said I disagreed that it was wheel damage and wanted it forwarded on to the relevant corporate department. In my view, it's the corner of the case itself and if it had landed on the top corner instead of the bottom corner, the same thing could've happened and they never would've tried to claim wheel damage in that case.

So I'm waiting on a call back from B6 in the mean time, but I have several options in the event they deny to help...

1) First and foremost, I can attempt to get Rimowa to repair/replace it. The problem here is that according to the Rimowa site, I live nowhere near any authorized service center. Is it possible to ship it? At their expense?

2) I can file a purchase protection claim with Amex (purchased w Amex Plat charge). My worry here is that I paid 689 EUR for it, and the replacement cost in North America is more like $1200 after sales tax, so that's not really making me whole.

3) I can file a baggage damage claim with Chase (purchased plane tix with CSP card which offers "up to $3000" for damaged or lost baggage). Same concern here--the purchase price doesn't reflect my actual replacement cost.

Any thoughts on how you'd proceed if B6 denies compensation? Or potentially how to work with them on an agreeable solution based on living nowhere near a Rimowa service center...

deniah

welcome to rimowa topas. get used to the damage accumulation.

its not terminal damage, and doesnt warrant full replacement by either credit companies. and either way, your replacement cost is not germane to them. (its protection against the purchase, not for the replacement).

imo, take the 100$ and use it on shipping charges to rimowa for repairs.

DC777Fan

Dings and dents add character and are part of the fun. I have a Topas 56 that's dented pretty good and I love it. This is real damage...

deniah

Yes, the 56+ (i.e. checked-in) models get lots of "real" damage too.

Not only because they are literally out of your hands, but larger tends to be heavier which means higher likelihood for damage.

My 68 as of last week's flight does not shut fully and another latch lock went bye-bye

DaveNCL

As others have said, I would get used to it as it's an operational hazard of the cases. That however doesn't make the first one any easier.

By the looks of it the rivets have come away in 2 locations, actually the middle rivet looks too close to the edge and when it has come away its ripped the hole as opposed to the other which has come away clean. This could be fixed easily with a rivet gun, I'm sure you could fix locally for less than the $100. I guess it's too late to accept that as it sounds like a conditional desk offer at the time of complaint.

SkyForce6

Rimowas warranty is useless. Incredible what poor warranty they offer given their luxury status and price levels. Basically they do not cover transport damage. One might expect such a luxury company stand behind their products and offer a no questions asked life time warranty with covered shipping costs. But no, a measly 5 year warranty that only covers manufacturer defects. Mostly useless!

Here in EU though we are a little lucky though that we have a consumer rights purchase legislation covering the first 3 years and the protection is extra strong for the first 6 months since you bought anything. Basically the manufacturer have to prove the customer did something wrong to deny the claim, and that could often be tricky and difficult to do, so most of the time they just repair or send you a new product if it is a decent serious company.

You are a bit in a predicament here. Since the Airline did not cause the damage while it was on board the plane then they are not responsible. Since it was a whole product when you bought it the credit card company will not be a recourse. So the party responsible are the the company that handles the luggage at the airport and their terms are usually less generous compared to the airlines. Usually they do not cover protruding parts such as straps, handles nor wheels, they only take responsibility if the actual container is damaged to the point that your stuff falls out of it. Sometime they will opt to give you a band aid voucher as a good will measure even if it was just the wheels that good damaged. Sadly the amount is not nearly enough to cover expensive bags such as Rimowas.

In general (unless you are very rich and does not care if you have to buy a new expensive bag) I do not recommend expensive checked in luggage. Mostly because they tend to get handled extra brutally by disgruntled luggage handlers. I have read stories and seen video where they throw them extra hard or from high places and place them Rimowas at the bottom of the pile so they always get the heavy load on top during flight. Rimowas are simply high profile luggage that becomes a target for this sort of things.

If you want to get something fancy spend it on the carry on and just use cheap to mid range priced checked in bags and buy new ones more often instead. Buying new bags while on location on vacation and then leaving the old one behind at the hotel can actually be quite fun!

tsolin01

Amex Plat should cover this under accidental damage. You mentioned you paid 689 EUR and that's ~$730 USD, so not sure why you mentioned $1200 won't make you whole...

I would go ahead and make the claim with Amex as I've had good experience with their customer service. I find getting compensation from the airline is way harder for stuff like this.

DC777Fan

What I meant is that the replacement cost stateside is $1130 + tax ~ $1200. It's not like I can hop on a plane to Germany for free to buy another one at 689 EUR. So getting ~$730 USD may make me whole monetarily, but I still don't have the suitcase (and obviously I'd rather have the suitcase than $730 or I wouldn't have bought it...).

tsolin01

Oh I misunderstood then. They cover replacement costs so I would think purchasing a new one here would apply as opposed to just a refund of the original purchase price. They should also cover shipping and repair costs if they don't offer a replacement.

Unless you get a positive response from the airline, I would still call Amex and explain your situation to find out. Either way you shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket to repair that damage.

The worst part I think is the waiting especially if you have another trip planned in the near future and need to use the luggage.

GUWonder

That kind of damage seems to be what I may expect from baggage handlers' decision to use the wheels as a handle when picking up/moving the suitcase. The heavier the bag is or looks, the more likely this damage seems to hit.

If by any chance your trip is covered under the relevant Montreal Convention, complain again to Jetblue and tell them their exclusion for the damage is inapplicable under the law and that if they don't pay for the repair costs in full you will file a claim with the DOT. The U.S. DOT has previously warned airlines that their contracts of carriage and other representations don't invalidate claims under the Montreal Convention, including claims for "disallowed" "electronics" in checked luggage.

To be covered by the Convention, the domestic flight need not be on the same ticket as the international part of the trip.

Swissaire

A more realistic explanation for increased luggage damage today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/tr...s-airport.html

I'd check with the airport you arrived at and see if they would admit if this type of device is used in the baggage system.

GUWonder

I would be surprised if DCA and CHS' luggage handling machinery used by JetBlue is like that shown in the video, but I wouldn't know either way even as DCA is my local airport.

Swissaire

If one is facing a large repair or replacement cost with damaged luggage, and an airline that is more interested in excess baggage fee revenue than passenger satisfaction, than it does not hurt to enquire.

Verbally, but backed up by written documentation.

30 years ago, the majority of airlines compensated passengers $ 460. USD for lost or damaged luggage. Stating " it's just wheel damage " not covered by the airline, and here, take $100. USD as a courtesy from us, is an insult.

The intent is: Here, take a few US dollars ( so we can say we compensated the passenger, while really controlling damage claims ), go away, and get lost. When such cases go to arbitration or even court, the passengers usually wins, as the airlines rarely take the time to attend the proceedings.


Quite clearly, the device used in the video is too forceful for most luggage, not only Rimowa. And said damage happened under the care, custody, and control of the ticketing airline.

nmh1204

wow! that should be illegal, not only would it destroy baggage, it could kill someone.

I thought airports had buckets that tipped it onto the conveyor?

Starblazer

Some systems do that... others just push it off the belt with less force than that one.