Delta Employee Caught Stealing from Luggage, Delta Refuses Compensation
Feb 7, 2007, 2:17 pm
#31
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Would seem to me that this empty threat came after several difficult correspondences from the airline.
If I was this guy and eight months of being nice was getting me not even an apology from the airline, I might try a threat to take this to a higher level myself.
It's not even about the camera anymore - I think a lot of people misunderstand that. It's about the principle now. It's about the corporation refusing to take responsibility for what their employee did in their name while in the process of doing the job that they've done.
If putting a $250 camera in checked luggage is an unacceptable risk for most travelers, why would anyone consider sending anything of any value through Delta as cargo? Wouldn't that be unacceptable risk as well?
Delta may not necessarily be "responsible" under their Terms and Conditions - but they ought to do the right thing. Fire the employee, reward the person who was victimized by their bad seed by making amends for long term loss of property.
If I was this guy and eight months of being nice was getting me not even an apology from the airline, I might try a threat to take this to a higher level myself.
It's not even about the camera anymore - I think a lot of people misunderstand that. It's about the principle now. It's about the corporation refusing to take responsibility for what their employee did in their name while in the process of doing the job that they've done.
If putting a $250 camera in checked luggage is an unacceptable risk for most travelers, why would anyone consider sending anything of any value through Delta as cargo? Wouldn't that be unacceptable risk as well?
Delta may not necessarily be "responsible" under their Terms and Conditions - but they ought to do the right thing. Fire the employee, reward the person who was victimized by their bad seed by making amends for long term loss of property.
Feb 7, 2007, 2:52 pm
#32
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Nope, that's wrong. Under Tort Law, vicarious liability applies to the employer (here, Delta) regardless of their policy against the action taken by the employer, so long as the employee was acting within the general scope of his job duties, which he was. Delta is liable, and I believe an action by the victim here would be easily successful. Delta should just refund the damn tickets and save themselves the bad press.
Blaming the guy for putting his $250 camera in his bag, saying he was asking for it, is a little absurd. Everyone should keep in mind the chain of events here. Regardless of whether or not he put the camera in his bag, I'd bet that this particular employee was a thieving scumbag before the guy checked his bag. So I guess you're right, had the guy not checked his camera he could've avoided this situation. However, since the employee is the first link, I think it would be more prudent--and logical--to blame him. I mean, but that's just me.
Also, just because Delta says "we're not responsible for X Y Z if you fly with us" doesn't make it so. Once you point out that the actual law trumps their TOS they're more than willing to negotiate. Though, nine times out of 10 they'll not admit they were wrong and simply say they're doing it out of goodwill. They figure, again, nine people out of 10 will just go "gee whiz, you're right, I did agree to this... it must be the law." I think this guy just went about it wrong, but regardless Delta should've just vouchered him up and moved him along.
Last edited by haywiresf; Feb 7, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Feb 7, 2007, 3:11 pm
#33
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Warsaw Pact sets fixed limits on the liability that airlines have for the contents of checked bags. I seem to remember that for domestic flights, it's $500 per passenger.
Feb 7, 2007, 3:33 pm
#34
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 383
I had a cell phone battery charger taken out of my bag. My bag was an old duffle bag and the charger was wrapped up to protect it. I was wondering how it was found and taken. I thought possibly it was detected and taken by the TSA as a suspicious item. Maybe it could have been by a baggage handler. Who knows. Could the handler be carrying some kind of metal detector to find these items?
Feb 7, 2007, 3:50 pm
#35
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This is pretty entertaining. Maybe some actual lawyers can shed some light.
1) Is the Contract of Carriage in fact a contract? BTW, noting that the complainant did not comply with the COC does not equate to saying that "he deserved it." It does mean that he possibly may not be entitled to compensation.
2) If the complainant had gone to court, what were his damages? He was not a professional photographer, so there was no loss of income. He got his camera back, so there are no damages there. He got his transportation and his vacation. While he wants to be "made whole", I'm not sure what Judge Judy would have given him.
3) No matter the provocation, this type of statement is indefensible:
"I am writing to request a full refund for the cost of my trip, in the amount of $585.00, or else I will be forced to pursue other means to make me whole, such as litigation and public media exposure"...... "I have already had an offer from a columnist at the New York Metro, which averages 850,000 daily readers, to publish this story. I also have access to a blog with thousands of daily readers. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter."
Delta has thousands of employees and they of course will have some bad apples as does every large company. The guy did a service by identifying one bad apple and helping to get rid of him. If you want to make a case out of theft from luggage, I understand Miami is far and away the biggest offender there.
Should the complainant have packed his camera into his luggage - certainly not.
Should Delta have done something to make him happy - probably. For whatever reasons, the airlines are just hard-nosed beyond belief about any claim that involves the word "baggage". Fortunately I have not (yet) experienced this first-hand.
David
1) Is the Contract of Carriage in fact a contract? BTW, noting that the complainant did not comply with the COC does not equate to saying that "he deserved it." It does mean that he possibly may not be entitled to compensation.
2) If the complainant had gone to court, what were his damages? He was not a professional photographer, so there was no loss of income. He got his camera back, so there are no damages there. He got his transportation and his vacation. While he wants to be "made whole", I'm not sure what Judge Judy would have given him.
3) No matter the provocation, this type of statement is indefensible:
"I am writing to request a full refund for the cost of my trip, in the amount of $585.00, or else I will be forced to pursue other means to make me whole, such as litigation and public media exposure"...... "I have already had an offer from a columnist at the New York Metro, which averages 850,000 daily readers, to publish this story. I also have access to a blog with thousands of daily readers. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter."
Delta has thousands of employees and they of course will have some bad apples as does every large company. The guy did a service by identifying one bad apple and helping to get rid of him. If you want to make a case out of theft from luggage, I understand Miami is far and away the biggest offender there.
Should the complainant have packed his camera into his luggage - certainly not.
Should Delta have done something to make him happy - probably. For whatever reasons, the airlines are just hard-nosed beyond belief about any claim that involves the word "baggage". Fortunately I have not (yet) experienced this first-hand.
David
Feb 7, 2007, 3:50 pm
#36
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Domestic caps can exceed the Warsaw Convention limits, since the Warsaw Convention, when it comes to luggage, is primarily applicable to international travel and not domestic-only-type itineraries.
Feb 7, 2007, 4:08 pm
#37
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That tidbit was written by the author of the article and not the person that lost the camera. @:-)
IMHO, DL should offer to reimburse him the cost of one ticket as a good will gesture. The negative press that they will receive from this will cost them much more than that amount. This type of solution is what many of us would call exercising common sense.
IMHO, DL should offer to reimburse him the cost of one ticket as a good will gesture. The negative press that they will receive from this will cost them much more than that amount. This type of solution is what many of us would call exercising common sense.
Feb 7, 2007, 4:31 pm
#38
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 7,700
DL should give the guy a couple of free tickets and thank him for helping them catch the bad guy.
No other response is even reasonable.
No other response is even reasonable.
Feb 7, 2007, 4:45 pm
#39
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He does not post any previous coorespondence with DL. That letter states that he previously contacted customer service and was "told that Delta is not liable for any lost property". That was true- Point 1: the contract of carriage says not to check electronics. Point 2: up to that point, he was trying to get reimbursed by the TSA, not DL, so he hadn't presented any previous evidence to DL that they had caused the loss.
The posted article only presents one side of the story, but reading between the lines there I conclude that they guy overplayed his hand and killed his own case. If he sent a nice, non-confrontational letter on Dec. 16 '05 he might well have gotten compensation.
Note that further down, the content of the Dec. 16 2005 letter is reprinted with a Feb. 6 2007 date, making this appear to be a current story when it is really a 14 month old story.
Feb 7, 2007, 5:58 pm
#40
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,254
He was without his camera for 8 months. Many of us would have replaced the camera. I suspect Judge Judy would award him $250 and give Delta the option of getting the old camera.
2) If the complainant had gone to court, what were his damages? He was not a professional photographer, so there was no loss of income. He got his camera back, so there are no damages there. He got his transportation and his vacation. While he wants to be "made whole", I'm not sure what Judge Judy would have given him.
Feb 7, 2007, 6:18 pm
#41
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BTW, I like the way that in his letter to DL he refers to his "expensive digital camera". Sorry, but (especially since he bought it no later than summer 2005) a $250 Fuji is an inexpensive entry-level digital camera. It was around that time I bought a Nikon D2X for 20x that amount.
Just one more reason I don't consider the original story to be credible or convincing.
Just one more reason I don't consider the original story to be credible or convincing.
Feb 7, 2007, 7:54 pm
#42
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Is the CoC even valid given the criminal action on the part of a Delta employee?
In real estate there is the 6F principle: Faithless fiduciary forfeits fat fiduciary fee. The CoC might protect Delta if it had disappeared at the hands of interline baggage handlers or outsourced operations, but I think an argument can be made that the entire CoC is voidable when the other party itself engages in criminal activity. A refund of his ticket price is a reasonable request.
In real estate there is the 6F principle: Faithless fiduciary forfeits fat fiduciary fee. The CoC might protect Delta if it had disappeared at the hands of interline baggage handlers or outsourced operations, but I think an argument can be made that the entire CoC is voidable when the other party itself engages in criminal activity. A refund of his ticket price is a reasonable request.
Feb 7, 2007, 8:04 pm
#43
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I don't think DL is in debt for the refund of the ticket but a goodwill gesture would be nice.
Feb 7, 2007, 8:05 pm
#44
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Although I am sure it is not legally required.
Feb 7, 2007, 8:21 pm
#45
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 7,700
Delta could have defused the situation by giving the flyer a couple of tickets. A couple of restricted "free" tickets cost the airline essentially nothing.
Instead, it appears that Delta treated this case like an irritation to be brushed off rather than taking a look at the substance of what happened. Now they're the subject of a consumerist article; consumerist gets about as much traffic as flyertalk does.
Oops.