It's all frustrating. Last year our son flew SEA-YYZ on CO with a tight connection for a long weekend. He was forced to gate-check his rollaboard as he boarded because the overheads were allegedly already full. When he mentioned the tight connection he was told "Don't worry sir. If you make it, your bag will."

Except it didn't and he eventually had it delivered 27 hours after his arrival in Toronto. The form response he received to his complaint letter leads me to agree with Lurker's advice to you earlier, but I do understand your frustration.

Cheers,
Fredd