leckig

hello, here is a quick version of the story:

- august 20, I arrive to USA, no luggage, I file a claim
- august 21, I am told the luggage is being delivered. No luggage shows up
- august 21, I am told it will be at least a day
- september 10, after multiple call, no luggage, I file tracing form, list items and value, over $1000
....
.....
many calls int he mean time
November 20, I am told luggage is lost and I will get call from HQ with an offer of compensation. No call

November 25, 29, early December - still no call, they are "processing" the claim

December 8 - online luggage status check now shows the luggage is found in Germany. I call. They say I will get luggage any day now.
I say - it is too late, I am not interested, I want compensation. They say,OK, understand.

Many more calls in december - they promise both the luggage and compensation.

Today -they say no compensation, only luggage plus $250 travel voucher. I say "no way". They promise to call me later today.

What do you think? Should I accept the voucher? 4 months, I had to repurchase all the items. Is it fair/realistic to ask for full compensation?

Thank you,
greg

exbayern

That story sounds familiar. I had similar experiences and was told that there is only one person who can issue/review/approve claims, and that when she is out of office on holiday etc everything stops until she returns (hence the long delays)

I have also been promised one thing verbally and received letters offering something else (much less)

In the end, I never did receive what I felt was fair, and had to fight for months to recover my costs. At this point I think that you have to decide how much longer you wish to fight, and at what point you walk away with what is offered.

I am a 1K by the way, and that seemed to make no difference in the outcome. The offer you received is more than I had, but your situation also took about 2 months longer it seems.

Good luck!

jhayes_1780

Maybe I missed it.... so it still has not been delivered?

If it has not, just file the claim.

leckig

correct, still not delivered.

What kind of claim? In september I filed the tracing form - listed content of the luggage with value of each item. I thought this was the claim?

sfogate

After 5 days your bag is considered lost. You need to file a DOT (Dept of Transportation) complaint and copy in UA.

I think you have been more than patient.

gdeluca

This happened to me several years ago and one of the reasons I don't use UA. It took a good 8 months to get compensation, about 60% of the value. It took many emails to customer relations in baggage, copies of receipts for items bought to replace. Keep at it and IMHO don't accept the measly $250 voucher.

I copy headquarters on everything. I had to submit the claim three times. I was told multiple times that the check is in the mail. I just didn't let up with them and pestered them at least twice a week until resolved. It became more a matter of principal than compensation at the end.

United Airlines
Central Baggage – INSERT RECORD LOCATER HERE (send certified mail)
P.O. Box 66140
Chicago, IL 60666

I'm not sure if this person is still there: [email protected]

Also sent to: [email protected]

headquarters fax # 847-700-5381

phone number 800-221-6903

Good luck!

astroflyer

If they're not willing to settle for something reasonable, this is absolutely a case for small claims court. I've read elsewhere of people taking airlines to court and that they almost always settle. I'm sure the cost of UA hiring a lawyer and sending them to defend the case far exceeds the value of your claim.

It's sad that this is what you have to do to escape the bureaucratic nightmare sometimes!

SFOSpiff

Seriously? In a company of... what, 40-50,000 employees, only ONE can approve claims?

Reminds of me of the time that Worldcom (the phone company) told me I couldn't contact the department that handled refunds, because they didn't have phones.

gdeluca

There is more than one person reviewing and approving claims. The problem is you get a different story when you talk/email each of them. I finally found the person I listed above and stuck with her.

In my case it was a direct flight from DEN to MKE. Utterly ridiculous!

fastair

Just out of curiosity, assume they did find your luggage in Germany. When they open it up, will the claim form be accurate as to what is inside? I've never worked in that part of CS, so I have no clue what their M.O. is, so I am of no help to advise you, just curious as to the $1000 claim, and the story that they found the bag.

Hypothetically, (not in your circumstance, but as a question that your situation made pop into my head) if you claimed $1000 worth of stuff, and they found your bag and there was $100 worth of stuff, even if it had been lost for months, do they have a claim against you for fraud, like an insurance company would have?

leckig

thank you very much for all the helpful tips. I will call them again tonight, but I am NOT looking forward to this anymore.

when I get back to the USA I will take it to the court, out of the principals.

exbayern

Are you suggesting that the passenger lied about the contents, or that an airline employee or similar removed contents?

Remember, I was told this several times by United as the reason why I had not heard back. I have no idea if it is true. I did check the correspondance I have on file and her title is 'Baggage Claim Representative' which doesn't sound like a position of power, does it? But apparently she is the one to approve or deny claims. The name is different than the one posted above and won't be very useful for the OP as I suspect that it will end in the same frustration I experienced with that individual.

notquiteaff

Hypothetically speaking, after the bag was lost for months and months, wouldn't the defense that someone (airline employee, TSA, ...) must have helped themselves to the expensive stuff be quite effective? (unless, I suppose, the bag was shrinkwrapped and sealed).

Personally, as I get ready for packing my bag for an international trip tomorrow, I would have a hard time proving what was in the suitcase and what it cost. It's generally going to be clothing and I don't keep receipts for clothing.

Akulashark

If you pay a delivery company to deliver something, and they take your money but never deilver, that is theft.

If you pay a plumber for a new sink, and they never do the job, that is theft.

If you pay an airline to ship your luggage and they don't, that is theft.

If you don't get your luggage in 5 days, just go to the airport and call the police. They have stolen from you. Also, I would just sit on one of their luggage scales until you get a person to deal with, rather than deal with automated no response systems.

If they don't want to go through the expense of hiring people, but want to reap the benefits of charging for luggage, you should get them to live up to the money they are making.

dgcpaphd

It is more likely fraud, not theft.

No, it is incompetence, it is not theft unless premeditated.

Try this and you will not be taken seriously. You might also find yourself in jail if you cause a disruption at the airport.

Although it can be aggravating to loose luggage, calling people thieves and making a scene at the airport will not be productive.
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