Hoc

We flew into London yesterday from Vancouver. Traveled in F. BA misplaced our luggage, and as of today (going on 48 hours), it can't be found.

Meanwhile, we have had to buy underwear, a change of clothes, some soap and shampoo, looks like we are also going to need jackets. We got an amenity kit, but it's running out now, and we are probably going to need some more toiletries and clothes again for tomorrow.

We asked at the luggage desk, and she did not know the policy or limits on reimbursement of purchases. She gave me a number, but it got me into pushbutton hell and a 35-minute hold before I finally gave up.

Does anyone know the reimbursement policy or where I can find it? Thanks.

spanishflea

The policy is a good one. Buy everything you need that was in your checked bags and once the bag is returned to you send a copy of all the receipts back to BA and they will reimburse.

It is a very quick and painless process and there is no in depth audit of what you have purchased. As long as you are reasonable and can back up why you needed to purchase something then you'll be fine. But certainly don't let the fact that a bag has been lost disrupt your trip and certainly do use it as an excuse for some worry free shopping.

GUWonder

1000 SDR-equivalent is what BA has paid me quite a few times for misplacing items that I needed to purchase (on arrival when not at home) because my luggage did not make it on time to my destination -- anything from two days to two weeks to never making it. On top of the amount they reimburse per receipts submitted to them for purchases made in the period before being reunited with the bag (if ever), BA is known to sometimes also give miles as additional compensation for such circumstances.

GUWonder

Yes, usually that is how it goes with BA -- but my suggestion is to stay within 1000 SDR equivalent in spending for travel subject to Montreal rules.

HIDDY

You should have been given a pre-loaded cash card with at least £200 on it from the BA agent.

TPJ

Yes. they should have given you something like a credit card (they call it something like CompCard), but is is more or less a simple Visa Electron - you can pay with it or withdraw the money (charges might apply - this decreases the value of the card

I was given a similar card last year in Chicago - worked fine!

If you have not been given one, please don't forget to collect all your receipts!

Hoc

Thank you all. What is SDR? Singapore Dollars? Is that per person?

It was cold last night, so we probably need some kind of coats, and now it's sunny, so we will get some sunblock, and my girlfriend is going crazy without her cosmetics. I'm not particularly worried about it ruining my vacation, because I usually take drawbacks in stride. Thank you for your help.

We did not get a prepaid card, but we are saving the receipts. If we don't get the bags by Friday, when we have to go from London to Paris, we will also need to buy a new suitcase to carry our new stuff. But I'm thinking a cheap duffle bag will do it.

The real bummer of this is that we have to fly Ryanair from Paris to Barcelona in a week and a half, and if they find our bags after we bought all this stuff, we will be significantly overweight. I suspect that, if that is the case, we can ask them to transport the extra stuff back to our home without charge. Anyone have this happen?

Hoc

OK, I was able to look up SDR on the internet, and now I know what it is. As of today about 1.6 SDR to the US Dollar. Now, if anyone can tell me, is that per person, or is it supposed to cover both of us?

Any links to the Montreal Convention so that I can look it up myself?

Thanks

Aerotec

On a trip to SFO in January my bags were 2 days late arriving.

I had to buy various items of clothing, toiletries and eventually a suit/shoes/shirt combo that I needed for a function.

We had a delay to making the travel claim due to a BA staff fraud at SFO which delayed the insurance claim but when I complained to BA about this they were great and awarded us 10k BA Miles each and ended up fully settling the £970 I had spent between my Sister and I. We just had to fax over receipts to show what we had bought.

I only complained to get some BA Miles comp but the full settlement was great as the travel insurance would only have paid out £450.

The chap I spoke to at Customer Relations let slip that they will cover up to £810 per person as we have travelled in F! Should have bought a BOSS suit!! ^^

meeshi

xxxxx

serfty

SDR's/XDR's or Special Drawing Rights are virtually a currecy of their own and do fluctuate.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi

Hoc

It's kind of a bummer to have this happen in London, which is one of the most expensive shopping cities in the world. Each time I buy something, I cringe, because I know that I can get it for half as much in the USA. An example made itself very clear to me when I saw a suitcase on sale for £269. The full US retail price was listed on the tag - $299. I know it would have been on sale somewhere for about $250 or less.

My girlfriend bought a pair of pants at the Gap for £24, which she said had been selling for $25 at the U.S. Gap stores.

Also, I should probably not have told her about the limits. She was running around yesterday, trying to get up to the £810 mark. When I looked in her eyes, I could have sworn that I saw spirals, kind of like the cartoon characters possessed by a force controlling them. In any event, her suitcase arrived last night, after she had spent about £650, and mine just arrived a few minutes ago, after I spent £857 (going to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant tonight, so I had to buy a pair of dress shoes -- the webpage says no athletic shoes, and that added £305 to my purchases).

But the overage is not an issue, since I do have luggage delay insurance that will cover the extra £47 -- will actually cover $200 a day for the first three days, which I might wind up using.

Thank you all for your help. Now the only problem is figuring out how to get through this trip without being overweight on Ryanair. The left baggage facility at Heathrow is much too expensive. I might try asking BA to transport the extra stuff home.

mike turnbull

Fine...but what about the guys...and I'm assuming here...travel insurance ? Surely delayed/lost baggage is not an excuse to go out on a shopping spree ?

HIDDY

Well I wouldn't go out on a mad shopping spree unless I had it down in writing from a BA member of staff.

Too scared they might not give me my money back!!

chipsodg

My luggage was delayed 24 hours because our connecting flight didn't have enough time to transfer our luggage, we sent in receipt for $800 for the both of us, didn't think they would pay but gave it a try, BA sent me an email telling me a cheque was on its way and that 10,000 miles to be given to my husband's BA account and 10,000 miles to my account - great result.

we were flying in F on Amex 241