JamieABZ

I know I mentioned this issue in another thread but it's got to the stage where I am getting angry with all the brush-offs and total silence from Iberia when I asked them to investigate the fact that when I checked in the night before for my flight MAD/MIA a couple of weeks ago about 1700 Euros of clothes (and razor blades strangely) had been stolen. I only noticed once I got to the hotel in MIA and was heading off on a cruise the next morning. I Tweeted IB asking for advice about my next steps and after two days they gave me contact details. I was well into my cruise by then so messaged Customer Services as soon as I returned home. My complaint was completely rejected because without a PIR completed at MIA they would not entertain me. I have since replied that I only noticed after I had left the airport and was heading off on a cruise etc. They are completely ignoring me now and obviously want me to go away, but I'm getting angrier by the day at the fact that their staff can steal my goods, break my new'ish case and get away with it without a care. I know, First World Problems etc, but has anyone else had any experience of this and any advice as to how to proceed? I could claim from my travel insurance but I don't want to - with medical conditions it's hard to get cover anyway, never mind with a claim on my record. I just feel Iberia need to be accountable. Any advice gratefully received!

tobsw

I think it's a lost case. You said your luggage was/is broken? Why didn't you fill a report at MIA on arrival?

Anyway, for an airline to cover your contents etc,, you should have insured the content itself ($$$).

Lesson learnt! Don't take expensive stuff with you! or put it in your hand luggage!

EDIT: you're probably better off dealing with your personal insurance, or you swallow the loss.

JamieABZ

Yes, I'm thinking it's a lost cause but it angers me that I get ignored and they are not interested that they have thieves working for them.
I never noticed that the case had been broken into until I got to my hotel - the lock was broken but it was not obvious. They know what they are doing these people.
I can't carry all my clothes in my hand baggage - that's why I check it in. It was various items of designer clothes and belts etc - they didn't steal my cheap t-shirts sadly!
I don't like to see people get away with things like this - I don't want compensation really, I want justice but if that's the way Iberia works then I will just avoid them in the future. I know these things happen anywhere but I've been travelling for almost 50 years extensively and this is a first. I don't need Iberia and their thieving staff, I have plenty options to get to where I need to be without them. Plus the whole Iberia Business Class experience was pretty poor anyway.
Definitely lesson learnt!

schrodingerdog

How do you know that it was Iberia / MAD staff the ones who stole your clothes and not MIA staff?

You can contact the Spanish National Police office in MAD Airport at +34913010900, and you should be able to present a formal complaint by phone (they should speak decent English)

Security personnel - Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas - Aena.es

JamieABZ

Thank you, I will call - futile as it may be. My bag came out with the rest of them in MIA so there really wasn't time there for them to snap open the lock with a tool and go through everything and choose what they wanted. Everything points to the 16 hours the bag was in the system in MAD. It really is lesson learned and getting completely dismissed by IB on Twitter / Customer Services shows they really couldn't give a damn - like most of the IB staff I encountered on my trip to be honest.

Often1

Plain and simple, if you had reported this in a timely manner, you would have been able to claim under the Montreal Convention for the fair market value of the items up to a maximum of approximately EUR 1,100. Note that FMV is not replacement cost, but what the item is worth less its "wear and tear" (depreciation). Thus, a $200 shirt worn 5 times isn't worth nearly $200.

Once you have missed IB's deadline, your claim is with your travel insurance and that will cover what it covers under its terms.

While it all seems harsh, the fact is that fraud is rampant. Not suggesting that you are lying, but once you've left the airport, who is to say that it wasn't the bell staff at your hotel?

JamieABZ

I reported it as soon as I could, the Twitter team say I was still within time but customer services says no. Never mind, they win.

Often1

I am not sure why you are relying on asking someone on the end of a Twitter feed when the rules are spelled out in the contract you already agreed to. This is all on the IB website.

Complaints on baggage: If the baggage is damaged, delayed, lost or destroyed, the passenger must write and complain to the air carrier as soon as possible. In the case of damage to checked baggage, the passenger must write and complain within seven days, and in the case of delay within 21 days, in both cases from the date on which the baggage was placed at the passenger's disposal.