Well there's always this difference between de jure and de facto.

The part which rings really true to me is OP getting sloughed off by the FA onto the GA, who has no interest in or knowledge of what transpired onboard. At that point, you've lost all of your rights (de facto) and you're just another nuisance. Not right, not fair, but it rings true.

Most of us have to live in the real world, and plan accordingly.

Very very good advice about bag-in-a-bag.