[tonic123]

On 14 jan i flew AA from LAX to DFW and ofcourse AA "delayed" my baggage. After 3 months, on April 22 i receive my baggage- torn, tattered and half my things missing. I have sent several faxes, email, letters...but i havent received a single reply.
I am an international student ...so i've had to buy all my clothes and everything because of the delayed baggage. Its cost me hundreds of dollars. In this three months i have not received even a penny from AA, no compensation, no phone calls, no emails ...nothing.
Can somebody help me? Am i entitled to get a compensation? or is it just because i am a foreigner that i am being treated this way?

[Silent Bob]

Hopefully you have kept all the receipts of your purchases, you're original ticket, the bag tags, everything that can help your case. A couple of days is one thing, but a couple of months??? You should look into getting a small claims lawyer, someone who might do it probono (one of those lawyers who will take your case because they know they will win, and this seems pretty open shut). But first try again talking to the airline, if you could make a journey to the airport and speak with baggage services. at least there you know you can speak with a person.

[complaintventures]

Did you call someone to complain? It might to late now, so I would recommend that you write a letter. It might also be too late to just write to their customer service, so opt to write to someone in the executive suite. Here are a few pointer. I've written quite a few letters in my lifetime.

1.
Write to the top dog. Worst case, his or her assistant will forward it to customer
relations… but the odds of getting a response you’ll appreciate will improve markedly if you take the time to figure out whom – not what – to write to.

2.
Demonstrate that you’re not just some whiner; establish that you’re a customer with
expectations based on a pre-existing relationship. Mention that you have flow their airline before, or at the very least that you're a very frequent flier.

3.
If you don’t have a long-term relationship with the company, speak to their reputation, their advertising, recommendations from friends… ALWAYS find a way to say “you had high expectations from them.”

4.
Don’t be concerned if your letter takes up more than one or two pages. The length of
the letter itself will send a signal that something happened that REALLY bugged you.
The reader may skip ahead… but a well-crafted long letter is likely to be taken seriously.

5.
Ask for the order. Tell them you want compensation, and what you want that
compensation to be. I would ask for new luggage in your case.

Good luck, Tonic123.

Mark
www.complainforfunandprofit.com

[tonic123]

Bob and Mario,
Thanks a lot for your suggestions... earlier i had only complained to customer reps...but this time i'll make sure i will write to the top dog... i was also unsure of the people i needed to talk to ...i'm now planning a visit to the main headquaters of AA...lets see what happens ....if this does not work then...yes i may be compelled to take some kind of legal action...

[Corbel]

just be careful, they may come back and say this about your luggage..."We are not responsible for normal wear and tear of your luggage" and also, i would contact the TSA about some of your missing articles. they look through your luggage. they also say that if your bag was overpacked or overweight and was damaged they are not responsible for that as well. good luck, i hope you get everything straightend out.

[tonic123]

A few days back i received a mail from AA. And as Corbel had stated AA came up with something unexpected.
The letter goes something like this..

"We received you letter regarding items missing from your delayed baggage. Regrettably......

WHile our computer search will remain......, the reports we have received indicate that there was a considerable delay between the time you received your luggage and the notification of items missing to any AA airport personnel of the missing article.(notice it says airport personnel)
Under the terms of our conditions of carriage, acomplaint must be initiated by the customer within 24 hrs of receiving their baggage. Since we dont have a record of your pilferage........there is no adjustment we would be willing to make for you loss.
We will contact you promptly if your belongings are found.
Sincerely,
Ms Brower
Central Baggage Service"

I'm still not sure what this letter is trying to state. How was i supposed to contact an airport personnel within 24hrs. As far as i know this kind of rule only applies at the airport when one picks up their baggage after their flight and that too only for domestic flights. I was flying on an international itenary , for which case one has upto 7 days to file a complaint.(this is also stated in AA's website). I did email and fax them within 2-3 days of receiving my baggage. THe letter also does not mention anything about compensation i should have received for the delayed baggage. It just flately rejects anything i've said- as if i'm lying or AA did a favor in getting my luggage back after 3 months. The fact is that i alone paid almost $2000 for the entire trip(round trip) and this is the treatment i get.
WHat should i do next? Can anybody help me out.