Originally Posted by
gruimed
So, my bag was broken on a KLM flight. It is pretty obvious from the picture it cannot be repaired - the hard shell is broken. Normally, all airlines I’ve dealt with just provide a replacement. KLM ask me to go to a shop to get a certificate of non-rapairability!
This is just a rant I guess, but beware.
I'm not sure that's so unusual... I had the same request from Alitalia and Swiss a few years back, I sent a photo to a local shop who sells this bag and they gave me a letter, once I got the refund from the airline I went ahead and bought a new one at their store so it's a win-win, and also basic customer service
Originally Posted by
CosmicGirl
Beware where they send you. This happened to me a few years ago, and the shop they sent me to refused to provide a certificate. The owner would only provide this (and repair the other one, which was repairable) if I bought a new suitcase from him to replace it, and of course, he valued the damaged one far below its value. I refused and contacted KLM again to explain but the agent handling it didn't understand and closed the case! So basically, I was screwed and left with two broken suitcases but KLM didn't care.
Why is that an issue? If he can provide the certificate and the airline then refunds the cost of the new suitcase or the original value of the damaged one (assuming you can show the purchase receipt) who cares about the value of the damaged one (I would value it at 0, it's broken and can't be used anymore...)