Emirates lost baggage and refuse to pay!
 

I flown first class from BKK to HKG with the A380. What a plane and good service.

Upon Arrival in HKG, they had lost my luggage as well as my travel partner. We filed a report. No news for more than 2 months. After many contact, they said that they had lost our files. Once we ask them a payment, here is what they awnsered.:mad::mad::mad:

Most countries are signatory to either the Warsaw Convention of 1954 (hereby referred to as "Warsaw") or the Montreal Convention of 1999 (hereby referred to as MC99).

Therefore, when we stated below that Warsaw applied, and thus signifying a maximum liability of 19SDRs per kilo of loss or damage, it was due to the fact that both Thailand and China were not signatories of MC99.

As Thailand, the ticketed country of origin, is not a signatory of the Montreal Convention of 1999, this itinerary, and Emirates, is therefore bound by the limitations of liability as defined by the Warsaw-Hague Convention of 1954. This convention proscribes the limitation of liability by airline carriers to be determined by the missing weight of baggage, not the value of it's contents.

Otherwise, enclosed you will find a Claim Settlement Form (CSF). Please sign and return the enclosed CSF and a copy of your passport photo page to my attention. We will forward payment in the amount of CA$174.66 within 15 business days of our receipt of the signed CSF.

The trusth is that neither Hong Kong or Thailand are signatory of neither the Wasrhaw or Montreal Convention. According to my lawyer, they are fully responsible for the content of my luggage wich is over 7,000$CAD.

They still refuse to pay! What a SHAME. Welcome to the worl of emirates....:confused::mad::confused::mad:

Sorry.. sounds pretty normal in principle to me (not from experience fortunately.. but from reading about this stuff).... :(

That is (one reason) why I always have travel insurance...

Having said that, the figure DOES seem low.... Other examples I've read have quoted "1000 SDR's" which is IIRC the maximum liability under Montreal... (about USD$1500 at the moment??)

Sounds like you don't travel too much. All airlines that I know of limit the value of what they will cover if luggage is lost. If you need extra coverage you should pay for it, or have a supplemental insurance policy.

It's too bad that your partner was lost, as well. Have you found him or her yet? ;)

Many payouts are based on a certain dollar per kilo rate, up to the value of the item. So if you have $2000 worth of items in a 5 kilo bag, you'd only get a pittance.

First of all I am sorry that you experienced this.

Can I ask when did this happen? And what on earth was in your luggage that was worth $7000?

Did you have any travel insurance to cover these valuables?

Just upon reading the start of this I thought they literally lost your travel partner.

Back to your issue, I think you have a case if it's true about the amount your talking about, Why don't you try and contacting Emirates directly and see what could happen from there.

Did you file a claim form for your partner? I hear the going rate for lost partners is much higher per kilo than that for luggage.

You may need a new lawyer.

Hong Kong is not a "signatory" to the Montreal Convention but the People's Republic of China is. While there was an initial opt-out period for Hong Kong, the PRC has subsequently included Hong Kong in the list of territories party to the Montreal Convention effective from 15 December 2006.

Thailand was not a party to either Warsaw or Montreal Conventions but has case law that on multiple occasions defers to the limits specified in the transporting carrier's contract of carriage unless specific declaration of higher value was made prior to transportation. If you did not make such a declaration, then the Warsaw limits shall apply.

I am not a lawyer either, but have had a fair bit of experience processing claims from an airline perspective. Suggest very strongly that you seek a second opinion before relying on your lawyer's advice.

FWIW I always put a travel partner in my carry-on.

This is not unique to Emirates.

Personally I would like to see an option that when you check in you get a card that has the calculated compensation that you would receive if your baggage did go missing and offer the chance to purchase extra insurance to cover the perceived value of the luggage.

It happen in november 2010. Actually, there was only clothes in my bag. it ads up fast and I have all receipts.

I tried contacting them but mr Nicolas D. Schapira, who works for Emirtates, won't return my calls and my e-mails.

regarding the ''carrier's contract of carriage'' its not respecting the law and won't be valid to court.

I'm in quebec, Canada. Here in small claims, lawyers are not allowed. I have all proof that they are not signatory of any convention.

Seriously, wouldn't it be prudent to purchase travel insurance when traveling with luggage contents worth over CAD $7000?

And a final note. The thread title is, of course, incorrect. They're not refusing to pay, just refusing to pay what you say the stuff is worth.

I assume she is the type you can inflate ?

after reading a lot, here is what i found..

I had flown from Bangkok to Hong Kong. The airline company Emirates lost my luggage. The emirates route was from Dubai, to Bangkok, to Hong Kong, back to Dubai.

I bought my ticket in Thailand, one way from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

I was wondering if the Montreal convention applied as Hong Kong is now a signatory of the Montreal convention and emirates (Dubai) was the starting and ending destination.

If, Montreal convention does not applied because i flow from Thailand to Hong Kong and Thailand is the determined as the origin, than Warsaw-Hague convention should not apply as well because Thailand has never sign any convention.

Does that mean that Montreal convention applies or no conventions apply?

If no convention applies, what is the limitation of my claim?

If i bought it on the internet, what is my legal jurisdiction?


the confusing part is the text from the montreal convention that states the following and that gonna be determinant in my case:

For the purposes of this Convention, the expression international carriage means any carriage in which, according to the agreement between the parties, the place of departure and the place of destination, whether or not there be a break in the carriage or a transhipment, are situated either within the territories of two States Parties, or within the territory of a single State Party if there is an agreed stopping place within the territory of another State, even if that State is not a State Party. Carriage between two points within the territory of a single State Party without an agreed stopping place within the territory of another State is not international carriage for the purposes of this Convention.


Really confusing......is the place of departure the origine of the plan or the origine of my departure ?

You will find that posting the same story in multiple threads may deaden the response a bit.

That's not very unrealistic if you have some sets of quality clothing and maybe a spare pair of shoes, no?

Right, so let me get this straight, you travelled with a set of expensive clothing, shoes and partner but didn't have travel insurance?

Lost luggage happens all the time. Just make sure you have ample coverage and get on with it.

Do Emirates even manage their own baggage handling at BKK or HKG? You perhaps need to direct your anger elsewhere.

The insurance won't pay until Emirates settle. Emirates don't want to settle. I will have to take them both to court.

here is my list

Qty Items Brand Description Unit Price Total Price Date of purchase
1 Pressure measure instrument Microlife grey 123.00 $123.00 Jun-10
1 Diabete measure systeme Bayer black usb key 100.00 $100.00 Aug-10
1 Suit Case Air Canada black 249.00 $249.00 Aug-10
1 Top suit (Blazer) taylor made (joop) dark blue 250.00 $250.00 Nov-10
1 Bottom Suit (Pants) taylor made (joop) dark blue 175.00 $175.00 Nov-10
1 Top suit (Blazer) taylor made (joop) beige / lined 250.00 $250.00 Jul-10
2 Bottom Suit (Pants) taylor made (joop) beige / lined 175.00 $350.00 Jul-10
2 Shirts taylor made (joop) white 175.00 $350.00 Nov-10
1 Shirts taylor made (joop) blue and white 175.00 $175.00 Jul-10
2 Shirts Baldwin - William Oxford Shirt white 149.00 $298.00 Apr-10
1 Shirts zero + maria cornejo black 250.00 $250.00 Apr-10
2 pants J.W. Brine - Michael Pant - Stone beige 205.00 $410.00 Apr-10
1 troussers taylor made (joop) linen white 225.00 $225.00 Jul-10
1 belt Keneth Cole black 60.00 $60.00 Jul-10
1 belt Pga tour belt white 28.00 $28.00 Jul-10
1 shorts moschino beige 168.00 $168.00 Apr-10
1 shorts arc'teryx marine blue 69.00 $69.00 Nov-09
2 Jeans D&G grey 235.00 $470.00 Nov-09
2 t-shirt Velvetmen blue and grey 55.00 $110.00 Nov-09
20 underwear 3G Actualwear Navigator multi colors 35.00 $700.00 Jul-10
15 socks revolution socks black 29.00 $435.00 Jul-10
5 socks unknowed white 10.00 $50.00 Jul-10
2 bathing suit moschino dark blue 179.00 $358.00 Nov-09
1 shoes Versace leather black 240.00 $240.00 Apr-10
1 men sandals Ronaldo brown 153.00 $153.00 Apr-10
1 straightening Iron unknowed red and black 65.00 $65.00 Aug-10
2 cologne Jean paul gauthier and armani bottles ml 85.00 $170.00 Aug-10
1 toilet kit thoothbrus, combs, etc… diff. items 250.00 $250.00 Aug-10
1 shaving kit Shaver, electric razor, etc. diff. items 75.00 $75.00 Aug-10
1 lotions, cream and others nivea, clinique,etc diff. items 250.00 $250.00 Aug-10
3 Tie DKNY diff. colors 65.00 $195.00 Nov-09
Total before tax $7,051.00
TPS $352.55
TVQ $555.27
Date Total after taxes $7,958.82

Canadian small claims court requires you to sue the defendent in the jurisdiction where they operate or are registered.

In this case it appears the local office is here:

90 Sheppard Avenue E.
Suite 100 Toronto,
Ontario, M2N 3A1

So that means you'll need to file in Ontario Small Claims court if you wish to sue them.

yes and no. Since i made the purchase from Quebec, the court will accept the case in Quebec. I will have to get the jugment recognize in Ontarion after...and maybe a bailiff

Emirates will ignore the suit. The judgement will be non-binding in Ontario (I'm not a lawyer, I've just had to sue someone small claims before and did a tonne of research on it).

Have a nice VIA train ride to Toronto, then the subway and file the suit if you want to that way. Otherwise I fear you'll waste your time . . .

Wow, a $1000 worth of socks and underwear!

15 black socks and 5 white ones ... I am curious about the odd number of socks ? If you don't mind my asking ... do you only have one leg ? or some days do you pair a black sock with a white one ?

Splutter.... :D

As I have read it Emirates have have offered to settle, you have refused their offer, presume once you have settled with Emirates your insurer will make up the difference.

I couldn't agree more. I guess some OP doesn't have much time for shopping and aren't aware of the prices.

:D