[Slspinks]

My husband and me were traveling to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Denver was our departure city. We checked in 2 bags and had them short checked to Orlando. A good friend of mine lives there and we had a 12-hour layover so we were going to go hang out and spend sometime there since we had plenty of time to do so. When we arrived in Orlando my husbands bag came out on the carousel but mine did not.

We immediately went to baggage claim and let them know the situation. The person behind the counter was oblivious to what was going on. He did not know what information to take or give. I gave him the hotel information and let him know that I was not going to have my cell phone there since it was international my phone would not work. We were told that it was probably stuck in Dallas since we had a layover in Dallas and that’s where almost all the luggage gets lost (that’s good to know). The next flight from Dallas was at 9 am our flight left At 10 am, so in effort to get my bag I went again to the baggage claim another representative was there and said that 98% chance my bag was going to be coming of the flight. I t never showed up. We had to rush to our gate barely making our flight.

We arrived in Punta Cana and thankfully my husbands bag arrived. We got to our hotel and let them know updated information on my bag. They allowed me to use their phone to call the airport and check on my luggage. I called at least 3 times a day trying to figure out if my bag was going to be delivered. Every time I spoke with someone they said they had no updated information and to call back later. We were there for 6 days and I never received my bag.

While in Punta Cana, I had no clothes except the ones I wore there. I was at a resort that had no shops and no ATM’s. However they did have a flea market style shop on the beach. I paid $40 USD for a used swimsuit! I was so upset I couldn’t even wear it for the fear of getting a disease. So I wore the top and my husbands swim trunks to the beach. They did not sell underwear or bras so I had to hand wash the pair I had every day in the sink with soap. I did get some shirts to wear and spent the rest of our vacation money on something else to wear. We couldn’t do the things we wanted because we didn’t have any left over money. We weren’t allowed to dine at any of the nice restaurants because beachwear was not permitted and all I have was a tank top, jeans, and flip-flops.

By the end of our trip I was very angry to say the least. When we arrived back in Orlando we went back to baggage claim to see if there was an update on my bag. I spoke with a supervisor and he said he was issuing me a voucher for $300 USD. This made me a little relieved since I had no money left from my trip. He told use to check the untagged rooms at each airport in case my bags just happened to fall off my bag during my flights. I did in Orlando, Dallas, and Denver. Let me tell you it was no picnic either. Trying to get them to help you was like giving them a root canal. You couldn’t figure anything out unless you begged. None of the airports had information.

When I got back home to Denver I called and they said to bring my receipts to the nearest airport to get my reimbursement. I told them that I had no receipts and explained my situation about being in Punta Cana and not having receipts. Again it was like a flea market they do not have registers and they definitely don’t have receipts. I don’t speak Spanish and they barely speak English, they wouldn’t have even known what a receipt was. They said that was the rules and they weren’t able to do anything about it. I explained that it would have been helpful if I was told that now I was at the airport spending my time dealing and arguing with these people. Five days passed since my luggage was lost and they require a document sheet that has everything you owned in that bag then that goes off to further investigation to help find your bag. I did that as soon as I could because I really wanted my bag it valued over $900 and my favorite clothes, swimsuits, and shoes were in that bag.

I called and called about my bag and no information everyone was very rude and I said I wanted to speak with a manger well turns out that is not allowed you are only allowed to speak with customer service through email, fax, or regular mail. So I did that I typed up a letter explaining my situation and that I was not only seeking for my contents of my bag to be replaced but my airfare and trip as well. I paid a lot of money to travel and go on vacation and I wasn’t able to have the time I wanted because I had to deal with my missing luggage and no clothes my entire trip. About 2 weeks later I received a response saying well I am showing you have a $300 reimbursement in your notes just send your receipts over and we will get that started for you. I politely responded back that they obviously did not read my letter and it explained why I did not have receipts. This in my opinion is unacceptable.

I am still very frustrated with the incompetence in job understanding that I received. Customer service is horrible. I still have not received my bag it has been close to 7 weeks and still no reimbursements and no information on my bag. I do believe that I should be compensated for my trip I believe that if they hired extra hands they would spend less on reimbursements and lost luggage fees.


DO NOT CHECK YOUR BAGS IN AMERICAN AIRLINES IS #1 IN MISHANDLED BAGS AND #6 IN LOST BAGS!!!!