Originally Posted by
bealine
That is exactly what you need to do. BA has a contract with a replacement case supplier (when my daughter's was damaged last year, ity was Antler) and they are instructed to replace "like for like as near as dammit."
If the replacement is not a reasonable likeness, which it clearly isn't, then let the supplier know (if the delivery note contains instructions how to call them) or contact British Airways and the replacement will be replaced.
I had the same thing happen. In my case, I was promised a replacement bag that was larger than the one they broke, but what arrived was a significantly smaller one. When I complained, I was told it was the biggest one they had. They agreed in the end to reimburse me with the same amount I had paid for the bag, although I have to say that it took an unnecessary amount of time on my part. Above all, it involved making arrangements to stay at home two days, first for receiving the replacement bag and then for their courier to collect the one I had rejected. I was mighty annoyed that they refused to pre-arrange for a limited time window for this, especially as they changed their offer from instant reimbursement to reimbursement after the bag had been collected.