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What to do? Dh had clothes stolen from his suitcase on a flight


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Last week on a flight from NJ to Washington, someone stole my husband's clothes from his suitcase. It was after the bags were checked, and before he picked them up at the end.

 

He got off the flight, noticed his bag seemed lighter and opened it. He found they stole his suit, over coat, 5 dress shirts, 2 ties and a bottle of wine (a gift he received). They only left his slacks, pjs and toiletries. He reported it to the airlines before he left the airport, but the person who is in charge of these situations was on vacation, so she is supposed to call him this week. It is about $800 worth of clothes. :0( The shirts and ties were only 2 months old and worn a couple of times at most. The jacket and suit were only worn a handful of times, but were 2 years old.

 

Fortunately he has enough clothes to get him by and he has a second suit, but it is frustrating to say the least.

 

 

Anybody been through this before? Any suggestions on trying to get the airlines to replace at least a portion of them?

 

 

ETA: They ripped open the lightweight garmet bag the suit was in, and left it behind. The zippers were completely intact on the outer suitcase and the other clothes were not damaged. We really don't think it was an accidental bag opening or similar situation. There was no evidence that the wine had broken open and caused a problem.

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Airlines are typically very good about taking care of these things. The bags automatically have a certain dollar amount of insurance on them (I think $1000, but I could be wrong) in case they lose them, or if something like this happens.

 

I once had my bags delayed on business trip and had to go buy a new suit, shoes, makeup, a winter coat that was in the suitcase, even the cab rides to and from the mall, so that I make a client meeting in the morning. I submitted my receipts and the airline reimbursed me for everything very quickly with no hassle. It was quite expensive, and I got my bag the day I bought the replacements, but I needed them that morning. They didn't even blink an eye about the cost, and they were quite apologetic.

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<snip> He reported it to the airlines before he left the airport, but the person who is in charge of these situations was on vacation, so she is supposed to call him this week. It is about $800 worth of clothes. :<snip>

 

Hopefully, the person your DH "reported" this to, in the Baggage claim of that airline, gave him a claim number, copy of the report of a claim, etc. I am somewhat concerned, that the person in charge was on vacation... What airline is that, that the customers need to wait until someone returns from their vacation? And, what airline allows employees to go on vacation, during the Christmas holidays? (I am a former airline employee)

 

My personal strategy, when I call to complain about a problem, and request help from a company, is that immediately, I begin by telling the person on the other end that I am not mad at them, personally.

 

Your DH should call that airline today and try to get this moving!

 

I remember returning once to what was then my home airport (Dallas/Ft. Worth) and when my luggage arrived, I saw that my suitcase had been damaged. I went into the Baggage Claim office and listened, while an irate passenger chewed the poor clerk out. When it was my turn, I told her that i was not mad at her personally, but that I needed her help. She took care of me nicely, told me where to take my luggage for repair and they paid for the repair.

 

In the case of your DH, it is a matter of a lot of stuff.. BTW, putting liquids, like a bottle of wine, in checked luggage, is NOT a good idea.

 

Which reminds me of the time I was coming back from the U.S. Virgin Islands. My flight, from Puerto Rico, to the U.S. Mainland, was diverted to another airport and my luggage went astray. To my astonishment, the 4 or 5 bottles of booze I had checked, did arrive OK, in Los Angeles, a day or 2 later.... :-)

 

Hopefully, the airline your DH flew on will take good care of him and do it promptly! GL

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