sepandee

My mom just informed me that two weeks ago, when she was coming to Canada on a TK international flight, her luggage's wheels were damaged when she picked up her bag. She's wondering whether she can claim the damage. I told her I don't know, but that I'm pretty sure TK would refuse her claim simply based on the amount of time passed between her flight and now.

Any ideas? Thanks.

cagcag

TK would probably consider this to be ordinary "wear and tear."
In any case, damage or loss of property needs to be reported upon arrival at the airport where the loss/damage was discovered, and usually within hours/days.

"Time Limitation On Claims And Actions

Notice Of Claims

No action shall lie in the case of damage to checked baggage unless the person entitled to delivery complains to Carrier forthwith after the discovery of the damage, and at the latest, within seven days from the date of receipt; and in the case of delay, unless the complaint is made at the latest within 21 days from the date on which the baggage has been placed at his on her disposal. Every complaint must be made in writing and dispatched within the times aforesaid."

sepandee

That's what I thought. Thanks!

cmdsea

Did your mum buy travel insurance..?

Almost all airlines will try and minimise/wriggle out of luggage damage claims and TK are nowhere near the North American airlines levels of customer service when it comes to their compensation culture. As per the previous poster, I think it would be a lost cause trying to get any restitution from the airline at this stage.

However most travel insurance policies are usually more generous and if she has cover, it would be worth checking the policy. Its possible that a photo of the damage plus a copy of the receipt for purchase or a quotation for the repair might still have a successful outcome

Bozzie4

I had a bag once that left the luggage claim area inexplicably covered in honey after riding on a Turkish air flight a few months back. This was after I was delayed for 5 hours on a sunny day. When I say covered, I mean it looked like someone had taken a milk jug full of honey, and poured it all over my relatively nice cloth-covered baggage. I took my bag over to the baggage claim area at Sabiha. The kind man there took several pictures and, after about 45 minutes of filling out forms and calling folks, gave me an address where I could send a drycleaning bill. I tried to debate with him, but it really was no use and threw the bag out.

nacho

TK smashed all my Hey's suitcases. The wheel part damage is really depend on whether it affect the functionality.

I was at KL from IST with TK, one of the wheels on my Heys almost fell off. Then I got a PIR report and they promised to fix it. Due to CNY no one was working, so my bag wasn't fixed, so when we were checking in at KUL, I talked to the TK guy there and he offered me $30 USD for the damage. I told him no, so he said he would forward the case to CPH where I was heading to.

Got to CPH, the wheel was gone - well it was definitely legit for compensation, went to the baggage service, and was told that since there is a PIR they can't add more things to it.

So I went online filled in the form, submit the documents they need. I found out that a receipt is very important when they process the claims, so make sure that you have one or credit statement will do (I didn't have the receipt but I scanned a copy of my CC statement with the purchase). 2 days later, a guy from CPH contacted me and reimbursed me the full amount!

I have travel insurance - but they won't cover anything that an airline is responsible for and in my case they are 100% responsible for this.

flyalways

I have never seen check-in agents checking for condition of the bag when
they accept the baggage. So all this sounds very one sided. I am not saying
that your case was not genuine but what if the wheel was already damaged
when checking in. How do they know ? That is one of the reasons airlines
probably say "NO" first and see your persistence in pushing it. There are
obviously very clear situations where there is a big visible damage that
would have been noticed at check-in but many times it is not...

F.A.

arcinaut

I've had a hell of a time with Turkish Airlines. They didn't load my suitcase in Istanbul, I filed a claim, they found it the next day, and they lost my baggage again somewhere between Istanbul and Amsterdam. It took an entire month, countless phone calls and emails, even posting repeatedly on their Facebook page to get a response. Finally, I am sent an email from their compensation department saying that they will only compensate me less than half the valued amount of my bag and suitcase. There is no explanation on their breakdown or reason, just a "sign this letter of acquittance and we'll pay you this amount". I understood I wouldn't get the full amount of the value, but the amount is so low I would only be able to replace maybe 15% of my belongings! What can I do?

andy2016

That's a ...... situation. Did you have any type of travel insurance? Purchased directly or via credit card?

airoli

AFAIK compensation for baggage lost by airlines is governed by some convention, and goes by the weight of the bag only. Does the amount TK offer you correspond to that convention's guidelines? If yes, that's what you get and the rest is on your private insurance(s). If no, you should go back to TK and outline their obligations.

arcinaut

Huh, interesting. I didn't know they based it on weight. They never mentioned going by a convention, just "here's the amount, sign this". I'm waiting on an explanation from them because I want to know how they came to this number, even if it is based on rules, I want to know them.

starflyergold

Most airline liability is covered by the Warsaw convention and baggage liability goes strictly by weight. It doesn't matter what the value of the items inside is. http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-in...ity-for-damage

IMHO it always pays to have travel insurance.

airoli

That was it! @:-) I had my Warsaw, Montréal, Paris all mixed up...

Bozzie4

ask for reimbursement in francs

GREAKLY

I am in the same shoes. Turkish damaged my luggage to the point where it cannot be repaired. I filed a claim and they just got back to me with 50% value offer. Shall I take it or do I have any other options?