[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!!!!

[jimworcs]

AA will have a hard time justifying their behaviour towards you in court, and you might have a chance of getting someone with an ounce of common sense to review your situation. Unfortunately, it appears the airlines have trained common sense out of their employees.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

AA will have a hard time justifying their behaviour towards you in court, and you might have a chance of getting someone with an ounce of common sense to review your situation. Unfortunately, it appears the airlines have trained common sense out of their employees.

Funny, I was just about to suggest the exact same thing! For about $30 (sometimes less) you can file in small claims court. I would suggest filing in whatever small claims court has jurisdiction in Denver as it is apparent that initially your bag did not make it out of DEN. Regardless of where it went from there, the event that caused the loss and your inconvenience most likely happened at your point of embarkation.

Now here's the issue I am having when reviewing your story. Of course, if you file and AA doesn't send representation to dispute your case you will receive a summary judgement. However, you should be careful about how much you file for. The problem arises with your itinerary. As you indicated, your bag was "short-checked" to DFW, however your final destination was the Dom. Rep. Airlines have very different liabilities dollar-wise for domestic and international baggage. So what are you legally entitled to? It's a very grey area. You could argue that since the bag was checked to DFW that it should fall under domestic liability which is limited to $3000 per passenger. AA, should they decide to appear, could argue that even though the bag was initially checked to DFW, your final destination was the Dom. Rep. making it an international itinerary the liability for which is only $20 per kg. Let's assume your bag weighed 50 pounds which is the limit for transportation without an additional fee. The maximum liability in this case would only be about $450.

Finally, there is the matter of the voucher. Should AA decide to show up for the court date, they would assuredly try to mitigate any judgement by the $300 you already received in the form of this voucher. Additionally, did you sign anything when you received the voucher? If so, were you careful to read what you were signing? Unfortunately, you might have signed away any right to further recourse if you signed something to the effect that you were accepting the voucher as "payment in full" for any loss or damages.

I agree that your treatment by AA in this matter has been abominable. Fortunately, I have never experienced a lost bag but have had several delayed which were always delivered within 48 hours. In most cases the system does work, however it isn't 100% and unfortunately you have experienced this first-hand. I was on a cruise a few years ago where a fellow passenger did not get her bag before boarding the ship. It was a trans-atlantic positioning cruise and we were 5 days at say on the crossing. Her bags did not catch up to her until out third European port. Fortunately she was traveling with friends who loaned her clothing to wear but still for the entire time she worried about her belongings catching up with her in Europe. I'm sorry your vacation turned into a nightmare.

[Slspinks]

I did not recieve the $300.00 voucher because you have to supply them with reciepts and obviously I did not have them. It should be a domestic flight because I short checked the bags to Orlando. I checked them to Oralndo because we had a 12 hour layover and wanted to shower and look nice. So they never arrived. It is unfortunite with all the technology that they dont scan the bags in and out, and why would they put a barcode on the uggage if they dont scan it. I am assuming it never left Denver even though I could be wrong but its really really agrivating. I just no to never use them again.

I never thought about taking them to small claims that is a good idea. I could represent myself and as far as my ticket goes I was not asking for full airfare to be refunded. I did fly there and spent time with my husband. so if I spent $1000 on my ticket I believe I should get at least $600.00. I think that is far wouldnt you?

[airhead]

Sorry to hear about your bags too. I am asked, "why do the bag tags have bar codes if we don't scan them?" all the time. I personally don't scan them since my station is too cheap to buy the equipment. But I have heard that some places really do scan them. I have never seen this done so I take it with a grain of salt. I wonder when GPS will be added to the bag tags? Oh wait, that costs too much money, never mind.

Investing into ones interest into a company seems like a good idea except where the auto industry and airline industry are concerned for some reason.

[PHXFlyer]

I did not recieve the $300.00 voucher because you have to supply them with reciepts and obviously I did not have them.

Yet in your original post...

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.

and...

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.

So which is it? Usually when you speak to someone face-to-face and they say "I'm issuing you a voucher" they issue it on the spot.

It should be a domestic flight because I short checked the bags to Orlando.

As I said before it's not that cut and dried. Even though the bag was lost on the domestic portion of your itinerary, it was an international ticket and probably the limitation of liability would be limited due to the final destination. I would recommend going to small claims court for the maximum AA would be liable for under international treaties which, as I mentioned before, is about $450. A lower dollar amount will prove to the court you are not just trying to "stick it" to the airline and also your lawsuit will probably stay off AA's "legal radar" and increase your chances of a summary judgement.

As far as the barcoodes go, they only facilitate sorting the baggage at the airport to get it loaded to the correct aircraft. They do not scan those barcodes as the baggage is loaded/off-loaded from the planes as this would add time and labor cost. We're not talking about FedEx here.

[Etihad Representative]

I think what is being said here is, that the agent WAS going to issue the voucher as long as the guest had the reciepts, however as the guest did not have them he refused to issue the voucher, thats what I gleaned from it anyhow.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Cazzi B

I think what is being said here is, that the agent WAS going to issue the voucher as long as the guest had the reciepts, however as the guest did not have them he refused to issue the voucher, thats what I gleaned from it anyhow.

Why don't you let the original poster reply rather than speculate? I pointed out the discrepencies for a purpose. If she decides to file in small claims court she will need to have her story straight and be consistant throughout litigation. Your "speculation" means nothing.

[Etihad Representative]

WOAH! I didnt realise that this forum was to be used in a court of law!!!! I presumed that the courts would not accept forum posts as "evidence". Silly me eh?

The "original poster" could have agreed or disagreed with my comment at her leisure. It's pretty clear to see thats what was being said here, my apologies you could not see that.

I understand you are trying to help here, as was I, but a shread of politeness costs nothing! Chill out man!

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Cazzi B

WOAH! I didnt realise that this forum was to be used in a court of law!!!! I presumed that the courts would not accept forum posts as "evidence". Silly me eh?

The "original poster" could have agreed or disagreed with my comment at her leisure. It's pretty clear to see thats what was being said here, my apologies you could not see that.

I understand you are trying to help here, as was I, but a shread of politeness costs nothing! Chill out man!

Did I ever suggest that posts to this forum would/could be used in a court of law? No. Did I suggest that if the original poster wants to present a case with a plausible story and that she gets her facts straight before filing in small claims court? Absolutely.

Politeness? Did YOU suggest anything anything helpful to this person? No. Did you speculate based on YOUR interpretation of the original post? YES! I was merely saying let Slspinks respond as she knows what actually transpired. I was just suggesting that any conflict in her testimony, should she decide to pursue this in a court of law, could be grounds for dismnissal.

Why don't YOU leave matters of the law to those that have a working knowledge of it!!!

[Etihad Representative]

Difference of opinions, I dont really care about us and our differences as long as the guest gets help. not needed to be aired for all to see. Thought I still say thats what was being said

whatever dude, I still say chill a little.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Cazzi B

Difference of opinions, I dont really care about us and our differences as long as the guest gets help. not needed to be aired for all to see. Thought I still say thats what was being said

whatever dude, I still say chill a little.

not needed to be aired for all to see.

You started it!

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer

You started it!

And your nasty PM, Cazzi B, just proves my point. Shall I publish it here? With my gracious reply?

[Slspinks]

When I was in Orlando and talked to the supervisor he pretty much put a note into my claim saying that I was going to be issued a $300.00 voucher. Sorry this is to make my self more clear. He never said anything about reciepts he just said when I get back home to go to my closest airport and they will be able to issue that for me. So I never recieved the $300.00 voucher.


The barcodes should be done. If they spent money and invested in more staff and SCANNING the barcodes, the would spend less money on reimbersments and replacing lost baggage. Thats a given to me. Or completely take that barcode off that would save them alot of money. The saves printer paper as well as ink. Just a thought.