Liability for items damaged by Cabin Crew
#62
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,683
bags and shoes like these are investment pieces. Buy them, use them and then you can sell them after a couple of years at very close to the purchase price.
Case in point, there's a pair of used Louboutin shoes on eBay for £50 more that I paid for the same pair brand new 9 years ago. Similarly there are used Birkins on eBay for around £8k. I can't think of many items that would hold their value in that way, so it pays to take care of them!
So if you can afford it, why not?! hope your Birkin is repaired, OP!
Case in point, there's a pair of used Louboutin shoes on eBay for £50 more that I paid for the same pair brand new 9 years ago. Similarly there are used Birkins on eBay for around £8k. I can't think of many items that would hold their value in that way, so it pays to take care of them!
So if you can afford it, why not?! hope your Birkin is repaired, OP!
#63
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
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Could we please go back to the topic rather than discussing the worth (?) of a bag etc., whether that's £8k or £0.08?
LTN Phobia
Moderator: BA forum
LTN Phobia
Moderator: BA forum
#64
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Sorry this happened. As a fellow H lover I would be upset as well. But many people put their H items in a longchamp or similar zip bag for travel through the airport beginning with the X-ray machine because even the rolling sections can be dirty. You might look on purseforum in the H section to see what others do.
#65
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(And why would anyone buy a second-hand bag or pair of shoes if it is about the same price to buy them new???)
#66
I don't always agree with your posts, but as someone who occasionally does bring along valuable items on board that may be damaged by various circumstances, I agree that this is indeed the case. I offer the items appropriate protection.
This was learnt after a passenger spilt red wine on my bag on its first outing, knew he ruined the bag, and did not not even apologise. I took the view that I accepted the risk when I took it out in public. In a way it was liberating because I no longer worried much about the bag and I didn't feel the need to protect that particular bag any more - so I put it in more casual use and happily bumped around with it. That's one view to take that makes light of the matter (pretty much what my mother did when she dropped her Kelly and scratched it badly too).
There is damage insurance you can take out for valuables, though it doesn't cover normal wear and tear. Some household insurance policies offer accidental damage cover for specified portable items as well. I have some items covered by this policy and gives me a bit of peace of mind.
A method used by a lot of people who carry a valuable handbag etc. is to carry a waterproof protective bag into which the bag is placed, and put into the locker. That way, it's less likely to be damaged.
Aeroplane is no different from a public place. Bad things can happen to a bag pretty much anywhere, like having a coffee shop spill coffee.
It's the part and parcel of carrying an expensive stuff around with us, and there is an argument that one should not carry such an item around unless one can accept the risk of losing it or damaging it. It also worked in security screening where some airports for some reason object to the use of a tray for handbags and insist on putting it directly onto the belt, with damage likely to occur if someone puts dirty wheeled bags next to it etc. I do recommend it.
This was learnt after a passenger spilt red wine on my bag on its first outing, knew he ruined the bag, and did not not even apologise. I took the view that I accepted the risk when I took it out in public. In a way it was liberating because I no longer worried much about the bag and I didn't feel the need to protect that particular bag any more - so I put it in more casual use and happily bumped around with it. That's one view to take that makes light of the matter (pretty much what my mother did when she dropped her Kelly and scratched it badly too).
There is damage insurance you can take out for valuables, though it doesn't cover normal wear and tear. Some household insurance policies offer accidental damage cover for specified portable items as well. I have some items covered by this policy and gives me a bit of peace of mind.
A method used by a lot of people who carry a valuable handbag etc. is to carry a waterproof protective bag into which the bag is placed, and put into the locker. That way, it's less likely to be damaged.
Aeroplane is no different from a public place. Bad things can happen to a bag pretty much anywhere, like having a coffee shop spill coffee.
It's the part and parcel of carrying an expensive stuff around with us, and there is an argument that one should not carry such an item around unless one can accept the risk of losing it or damaging it. It also worked in security screening where some airports for some reason object to the use of a tray for handbags and insist on putting it directly onto the belt, with damage likely to occur if someone puts dirty wheeled bags next to it etc. I do recommend it.
#68
Moderator: Qatar Airways
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This thread has brought up a number of very interesting points though. I for one, had no idea that the maximum BA would pay out, was actually as low as it is.
Now, before I get bashed, many of us don't carry around expensive handbags. But, we might carry about an expensive laptop and/or phone. If the crew were to spill a glass of wine, for example, on my laptop, their maximum allowance would just about cover me - but anyone with an Apple laptop (other brands are available), would likely find themselves out of pocket.
M
#69
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,605
The convention seems to recognise that people may have luggage that is worth more and allows for that passengers can declare to an airline a higher value to checked baggage and the airline can charge a fee to cover the extra
Originally Posted by MC
unless the passenger has made, at the time when the checked baggage was handed over to the carrier, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination and has paid a supplementary sum if the case so requires. In that case the carrier will be liable to pay a sum not exceeding the declared sum, unless it proves that the sum is greater than the passenger’s actual interest in delivery at destination.
#70
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I had a chap in front of me en route back from NCE a few weeks back who had a Birkin; although he also had on fluffy Gucci loafers with snakes on (I thought they were cool, yet I'm not brave enough to pull that look off).
This thread has brought up a number of very interesting points though. I for one, had no idea that the maximum BA would pay out, was actually as low as it is.
Now, before I get bashed, many of us don't carry around expensive handbags. But, we might carry about an expensive laptop and/or phone. If the crew were to spill a glass of wine, for example, on my laptop, their maximum allowance would just about cover me - but anyone with an Apple laptop (other brands are available), would likely find themselves out of pocket.
M
This thread has brought up a number of very interesting points though. I for one, had no idea that the maximum BA would pay out, was actually as low as it is.
Now, before I get bashed, many of us don't carry around expensive handbags. But, we might carry about an expensive laptop and/or phone. If the crew were to spill a glass of wine, for example, on my laptop, their maximum allowance would just about cover me - but anyone with an Apple laptop (other brands are available), would likely find themselves out of pocket.
M
#72
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#73
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Scots girl in London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 257
If you're only going to get "very close to the purchase price", it doesn't sound like much of an investment. Why not just put the money away in a drawer? After a couple of years, you can take it out again, and depending on inflation, you get very close to the "original" value.
(And why would anyone buy a second-hand bag or pair of shoes if it is about the same price to buy them new???)
(And why would anyone buy a second-hand bag or pair of shoes if it is about the same price to buy them new???)
The items on eBay that I mentioned - the retail price for the same pair of shoes I bought 9 years ago has gone up by 64% between then and now (from £300 to £470), while on eBay they're on sale for £350. It'll be the same as the Birkin etc. If I sold my shoes now, i'd have had 9 years of wear and then make £50 profit, which is a 17% return. The greater the value of fashion products (and their scarcity), the greater the return.
Anyway as LTN Phobia pointed out, this isn't a thread to discuss the merits of investments or the value of bags, back on topic - is the liability £1200 per item or total?
#74
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Programs: BA GGL, FPC Plat, HH Diamond, IHG Amb
Posts: 3,372
While it seems cumbersome, claiming through your own insurance for the difference between the compensation provided by BA and your own costs (whether restoring the bag, or replacing it) is the proper avenue.
While BA may have admitted liability, your contract with BA limits that liability. So the risk of damage is spread between you. Your own insurance stands behind you to protect you against your risks. If there is some other circumstance under which BA's liability should not be limited, then your insurer is perfectly free to stand in your shoes and go after BA to recover what they've paid out to you.
While BA may have admitted liability, your contract with BA limits that liability. So the risk of damage is spread between you. Your own insurance stands behind you to protect you against your risks. If there is some other circumstance under which BA's liability should not be limited, then your insurer is perfectly free to stand in your shoes and go after BA to recover what they've paid out to you.
#75
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 7,543
Maybe I missed something but if the bag can be restored for a few hundred pounds, what's the issue? I don't think liability in any situation should cover replacement for goods that can be satisfactorily repaired.
Or is it the situation that restoration of such a bag is not returning it to original condition?
Or is it the situation that restoration of such a bag is not returning it to original condition?