TSA opened my checked luggage and something is missing
 

I opened my luggage, locked by a TSA approved lock and found one of those "we opened your luggage" things. One of my adapters for my tripod is now missing. Do I have any recourse?

You are not the first person to experience this. I will say that after purchasing TSA locks and/or lockable bags I haven't had anything come up missing. Generally its your word against their's but having the locks does assign some for of accountability. I seriously doubt anyone will just happen to remember STEALING it. Of course, it could be an honest mistake but I wouldn't count on it. You can go through the motions of filing a complaint. With a little luck you *MIGHT* receive some type of compensation. Then again, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one either. If TSA doesn't want to claim responsibility, you can always complain to the airline and/or airport management. They tend to frown upon security ripping off their paying customers. You will also get a lot further if you can produce a receipt for the gear.

Are you sure you even packed it? Sounds like an odd thing for a screener to steal. They seem to prefer prescription drugs, gift cards, ipods, etc.

Probably not stolen, but dropped.

TSA Forms Site
 

Probably stolen by the goons....either out of spite (they hate their jobs) or to hock it...(they claim they are underpaid).

Idiots and Morons.

I don't hate my job or claim that I'm underpaid. And I would never consider stealing anything from anyone. Could you maybe consider using something other than narrow-minded, general terms to describe us. We're not goons and we're not all idiots or morons.

I could easily generalize frequent travelers or give you examples of when the first class line is longer than the normal line, but the people at the end of the "elite" line wouldn't think of expediting their screening process by using the same line everyone else does because it might mean giving up their perceived status in front on their friends.

There are some in every bunch....

The TSA is, as a group, acts like a bunch of goons. Individual employees may be honest, but when they represent a dishonest and incompetent organization they become agents of those of goons. IME theft and loss of baggage contents by friends and coworkers (nothing major, thankfully) is responded to with indifference or hostility.

I would venture a guess that, if you people stopped opening our luggage out of our presence and stealing from us, this would go a long way to eliminating the need for generalizations.

No you cannot, and therein lies the problem. Exactly how can you generalize or degrade your paying customers? There is only one answer and that is that you are a government employee and thus safe from the corrections of a free market.

I believe you that as an individual you are honest and don't dislike your job. However, having been a victim of checked-baggage-content theft myself (a set of small iPod speakers...clearly something that would be attractive to someone inspecting my luggage - and don't tell me it was the airline baggage folks because there was no reason they would have opened my generic black 26" roller), the problem you have is that there ARE more than a few "of you" who hate their jobs and feel underpaid and take luggage inspection as an opportunity to get some "just desserts". DON'T DENY THAT THIS HAPPENS, because you KNOW that it does. YOU DO.

The result of your few "bad apples" is that like it or not, we will generalize and tag you all as dishonest thieves. As individuals I'm sure that 90% of you are good, honest, hard-working folks who maybe (maybe) think you're making a difference; OR, maybe you're good, honest, hard-working folks who are just doing what the rest of us do: "just workin' a job" and taking care of your families. The problem is, thanks to the other 10%, the dishonest, officious, offensive 10%, I HATE YOU ALL and everything you stand for. I view EVERY ONE of you with DISDAIN and CONTEMPT every time I pass through a checkpoint.

Don't like it, tmspa? Thank your 10% co-workers.

And therein is part of the problem: we are really not seen as "customers" by the TSA. They'll have their job no matter what, and we have no choice of vendor nor price.

That was my thought, also.

I have had my locks opened and have "lost" items in my bags on occasion. But in most cases, because of the item, I just assumed it was forgotten and didn't think twice. One of the times, I had some merchandise that was for a convention, each item was marked carefully and I had written on the top what was in each bubble wrap and how many. Each item was opened and one item from each package went "missing". I don't find that accidental. I filed a claim with TSA and of course it was denied even though I could provide receipts for the missing items. It was quite frustrating.

Ship it as cargo. It is WAY more expensive, but I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be screened :p