Mick Wright

Anyone ever have to deal with a baggage claim? I'm looking for advice.

A couple of weeks ago, I flew Dallas to Miami (via American) and Miami to Madrid (via Iberia). When I got to Madrid, I was told my bags had missed the flight and would be there the next day (this is the standard line of B.S. when an airline has no idea where your bags are). I created a missing baggage case at the Iberia customer service counter, and they promised to call when they located the bags. Long story short, a week later they still had not contacted me, and their automated systems were still saying they didn't know where the bags were. So I had a lawyer friend go by the airport (I was staying far from Madrid), and they gave him the bags which they had been holding for six days. I got them from him a couple of days later, and found that one of the bags had all the name brand clothing and cologne and some gifts stolen from it (about $250 worth of stuff). I tried filing a claim in Madrid, but was given a US number to call. I just tried calling the US number. I was asked (by a very rude woman who I could barely understand her English was so bad) if my bags had been damaged. I told her no, that the bag was ok, it just had several items stolen from it. She said they were not liable and I would not be compensated any way.

Is this true? I find that unacceptable. I was hoping someone could send some advice my way on how to get reimbursed for my stolen items, or possibly let me know what my rights are in this case. I've looked around online, and I haven't found much (many complaints about Iberia though).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

"What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes."

KurtEP

Re: Anyone ever have to deal with a baggage claim? I'm looking for advice.

I know people who have been compensated for lost items on domestic flights, but have no experience with international lost items. I seem to remember that they used to have some limitations listed on the old paper tickets talking about international treaty limits that seemed absurdly low to me. You might want to check the airline's website for baggage liability.

Also, it never hurts to complain, especially toward the top of the ladder at the airline. I got some limited compensation out of an airline years ago after complaining about a bunch of delays, rudeness and lost baggage. I wrote directly (a real letter, not an email) to the VP of customer service. Of course, your mileage may vary, I held elite status on that airline and was spending about $20k per year on airfare at the time.