'My lost luggage headache'
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7948228.stm Version 0 of 1. Airlines are not fairly compensating customers for lost bags, a report claims No-frills airlines can be among the slowest to pay up when they lose or damage passengers' luggage, a report has said. With a million bags being lost by carriers in 2007, missing luggage can prove a massive headache for travellers - and airlines are making life unduly difficult for fliers who try to claim compensation, the Air Transport Users Council study found. Alison Clark, 35, of East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, is one traveller who found herself wrapped up in red tape after her bag disappeared. I thought my business trip to Washington DC would be a great opportunity to buy Christmas presents for my friends and family. Unfortunately, it turned into a bit of a nightmare. After I missed my connecting flight from New York due to a blizzard, I ended up on a KLM service via Amsterdam the following day. My luggage, however, went ahead of me direct to Glasgow on a Continental jet. When I was reunited with my bags, I realised one holdall was missing - the one that happened to contain all my Christmas shopping. Its contents probably cost about £400. They were mostly novelties, like shot glasses and an engraved golf bag for my father-in-law. But it was also carrying a PDA for a colleague who had left it behind - I'd guess that was worth £200. I could have been seriously out of pocket Alison Clark Losing the bag was frustrating enough. So was having to do my Christmas shopping all over again. But the bureaucracy I faced was even worse. I was told by Continental that I had to claim through KLM - despite the fact they had never even seen my bag. After lots of phone calls and form-filling, KLM said I was only entitled to get back £80 under the old Warsaw Convention. It was a real pain, especially before Christmas. But I couldn't get angry with the people I spoke to at the airline - it wasn't their fault that the system was so complicated and crazy. In fact, I was very lucky. I'd taken out travel insurance and kept the receipts for most of the gifts. Otherwise, I could have been seriously out of pocket. My insurers even paid out for my colleague's PDA. So in the end I didn't lose out too much. But it was the inconvenience that was the real problem - all the bureaucracy, all the phone calls and the forms. I'd advise anyone to take out travel insurance in future if they're carrying back anything of value. Otherwise, it's not worth the risk. My bag was quite new-looking, but it wasn't all that expensive. I sometimes wonder what happened to it, though. <hr /> Has an airline ever lost your luggage? Have you been fully reimbursed for lost luggage? Send us your comments using the form below: <i>In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.</i> <a name="say"></a><form method="post" action="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiemail/newstalk/form_all.txt"> <input name="email_subject" type="hidden" value="Lost luggage 7946953"> <input name="mailto" type="hidden" value="talkingpoint@bbc.co.uk"> <input name="success" type="hidden" value="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/7465538.stm"> Name |