FlyingBeanCounter

I was on a UA flight into Denver. I left my coat on board (I know.... all my fault). I was good with that. I submitted a claim and they found it.

When I got it back though the mont blanc pen I got for graduating college 30 years ago was missing. It was definitely in there and it was in there solid (I carried that pen for a long time. it never falls out).

I am honestly mad - Someone stole something they should not have. How do I take this up with UA? I realize they won't do anything, but I need to try. I called and got the run around. I assume I need to email?

ani90

How long from when you lost it to when it was returned? Where exactly on board did you leave it (when it got lost)?

mduell

What do you imagine UA could or would do about this?

drewguy

Yeah, this is the problem . . .OP left his coat on board, and UA's likely (and reasonable) response is "we do everything we can to reunite passengers with items they've left behind" and they did. Who knows when the pen was taken from the coat. Passenger who found it? Cleaning crew? Someone looking through pockets for a name/identifying info? Who knows if it's UA or a contractor.

That said, sure, tell UA you had a pen and it was lost . . . perhaps it was removed by someone to ensure it didn't fall out of the coat but didn't make it into the same "lost and found ticket".

FlyingBeanCounter

A couple of things -

It was in coat storage in F. It was right behind me, but I just missed it.

The pen itself is not going anywhere. I got it 30 years ago as a college graduation gift. I am obsessive about ensuring it stays tight and NEVER moves unless I want it too.

I did ask when I got the item. They said point blank there was nothing else. No mention of stand procedure of separating items when they turned in or anything (and I asked). Basically the pen was there when I left the plane and it was gone when I got the coat back. For sure it was either theft or gross negligence (there is no way that pen falls out without a lot of help).

I opened another case for the pen. The odds of seeing it again though are very low. It was about 6 hours from loss to recovery. It wasn't like the jacket stayed anywhere for long.

Whyme

If I'd been the victim of theft, I'd file a police report.

PTahCha

Gross negligence is a high bar to cross.

Then again, there is a number of people who handled the coat, which can cause the pen to dislodge in the process, not necessarily attributing the missing item to malintent.

prestonh

Going down that path requires proof of loss. If op has evidence of the item in their possession at the time of loss and the value the it would be a possible claim.

FlyingBeanCounter

It wouldn't come out from swinging the jacket around. I was super careful with that pen.

The original jacket took exactly three hours to find. I am shocked that they haven't found the pen yet........

I did send an email into 1kvoice. I am resigned to the fact that I won't get it back. But still, if I am correct then this type of behavior has to be stamped out. Stealing from people is wrong no matter what.

Of course is any of y'all are correct I will let you know. I will happily accept my shame to get the pen back.

narvik

Not careful enough.

Sorry, but we had a thread similar to this recently, and I was skeptical there too.
I understand you believe the pen couldn't get dislodged by 'normal handling' of the coat, but you handle the coat knowing there is a [valuable to you] pen in there. Others won't.
To automatically conclude with 100% certainty that the pen was stolen is what I take issue with.
Could it have been stolen? Sure.
Could it have fallen out during its journey from the plane's cupboard to where you picked it up, by being held upside down, thrown together with other items, then yanked out again, etc? Potentially.

Hope you can get re-united with it.

cfischer

You got something back! I have never gotten anything returned from items I left on UA. Not many, but more than 1 over the years. They were all stolen by someone ... life moves on.

emcampbe

Look, you left something onboard. It happens. You got part of it back. That doesn't always (and maybe not even often) happens.

Over the years, between my wife and I, we've left a handful of things onboard. Sometimes we've gotten it back. Sometimes we haven't. There are many people who could have handled the jacket between the time you left it and got it back. Potentially the FAs on the flight before they left, cleaning crew, people who brought the jacket off the aircraft and to L+F, etc. Any one of those cold have looked through and taken it, and any one of them could have been handling when it fell out. You just don't know.

You can certainly file a claim for the pen. IME, less likely you get it back due to it 1, being smaller and likely harder to track down (if it wasn't malintent), 2, it being longer and so harder to track down, and 3, size...smaller, so probably a lot harder to actually find. Expect it won't be found, and be happy with anything greater.

Over the years, I can remember the following:

• iPod left in seat pocket of NW aircraft (yes, those are both written correctly...I still remember) - figured it out when I got to car rental counter, went back to agent, and supposedly it couldn't be found...even with exact seat number.
• wife left work laptop under her seat on US Express aircraft (yes, also that is correct) - she did get it back...probably being CVG and a small outstation helped
• De-boarded a UAX aircraft in IAD by the old, A gates, left a laptop in overhead. Realized it right when we walked into terminal...agent let us back on to get it.
• Left a laptop (see a pattern here...really, it doesn't happen that much..I swear) in T2 ORD area after boarding an AC aircraft. Literally ran out since door was still open, with GA trying to figure out why someone was running out of the aircraft so last minute (probably not that smart)....got it back.
• Left coat at CATSA security in YYZ, realized after pre-clearance and in lounge...never saw again (realized it in lounge, but there was no way I was going to be able to go through hassle of 're-entering' Canada and re-clearing and making flight.

You left the coat, and got it back. I'd call it a relative win. Like I said, probably best to consider the pen lost, and be happy if you are able to get it back.

EricH

You don't know who "found" the coat and what path it took after that. I'm willing to believe that the pen was highly unlikely to have fallen out, but where along the way was it removed? Its hard to blame this on UA.

Write off the pen (no pen pun intended). Mont Blancs stopped being a thing about 30 years ago.

Bradhattan

I feel your pain, OP. While not as costly, I had a Fisher Fountain Pen that my mom used to use. It had this fun ball that rotated around at the non-writing end. Alas, it too has disappeared. Find a replacement, and even thought its not the same, It can be identical...and its really easy to fool ourselves - wink!

StevenSeagalFan

Perhaps they were looking through the coat in an attempt to see if there’s anything that can identify you, removed the pen and either took it or just threw it out/left it somewhere. I could see there being a perfectly innocent reason the pen goes missing