British Airways review: BA - still waiting for my delayed baggage! 12

I traveled with British airways on 17th December to Paris and our bags didn't arrive with us. I keep calling up and at one time was kept on hold for 3 hours before I gave up. I called today to be told that they have no idea where it is but are still tracing it. I have yet to receive anything so you are not alone at all. Its very frustrating.

Hello,

Sub: case reference is:5017653
Ref no: ORDBA35625 My baggage was damaged when i received from you

I have sent so many email to British airways regarding my baggage damage claim.I got response as below.
From: "BA Customer Relations"
To:
Subject: Your Response from BA Customer Relations
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:54:44 -0000
Dear Mr Jerina,

I am sorry to learn about the difficulties with your luggage. Thank you for your email.

We go to great lengths to look after our customers' belongings at British Airways, and this certainly includes getting every single piece of luggage to the right place at the right time. This is small comfort, I know, for the situation we put you in after your own flight. Unfortunately, with an assortment of bags on the move I am afraid there can also be the occasional problem.

So that I can deal quickly with your claim, please could you send me the following documents/document. I have ticked the ones/one I need to see. You're welcome to send either the originals or good quality photocopies.

( ) Your baggage claim tag
(x) The Property Irregularity Report
(x) A detailed description of the damage to your luggage
( ) Receipts to support the expenses you are claiming
(x) Receipts, card slips, insurance valuations, quotations or other documents to support the value of your missing property
( ) The Cabin Service report completed during your flight
(x) Your BA Executive Club number (if you're a member)

The address you need is:

British Airways
Attn Baggage Claims
75-20 Astoria Blvd
Jackson Heights, NY 11370
I should add that airlines have only limited liability when it comes to compensation in a situation like this. So if you had travel insurance, can I suggest you also inform your insurance company about what's happened.
Sincerely,
Nicole Carnesi
British Airways Customer Relations
Your case reference is:5017653

For the above response, I have sent all my original papers to British airways thru post. For which I didn’t get any response so far.

Thanks to help me for my complaint!

I had traveled by BA 0217 from London to Washington on 18th may'07. At Washington i found my check in baggage was damaged. I showed to lady on duty there. She told to post a complaint either on mail or go to office. I am really surprised how your esteemed company representative behaves with customers. My strolly is totally damaged. It had cosed me Rs 3500/ INR. Please let me know how to process my claim.

On May 3, 2007 I flew with British Airways from O’hare (ORD)/Chicago, USA to Gatwick (LGR)/London, England, flight BA 296, and then from Heathrow (LHR)/ London to Vilnius Airport (VNO)/Vilnius, Lithuania flight TE 453, on May 4, 2007.

One of my suitcases did not arrive in London for the transfer to Heathrow airport from Gatwick airport and subsequently did not arrive in Vilnius. After several days of calling LITCARGUS in Vilnius, which is the currier service available in Vilnius and the company to which my bag would be sent to by British Airways, it was discovered that my bag was in Frankfurt but was not being delivered further on to Vilnius.

Only after I myself called British Airways in London from Vilnius, Lithuania did British Airways staff discover that my bag in fact had never left London. Then, only after several days did my bag finally arrive in Vilnius on May 11, 2007, leaving me without proper attire for my business, toiletries, and other items essential to my work.

Without the phone call I made it may have never been discovered that my bag was never sent from London. Furthermore, the phone call to London from Lithuania was quite expensive, requiring prepaid time on my mobile phone and a long distance calling card.

I realize that British Airways might attempt to consider that the damage suffered by my property to be either not their responsibility or not beyond the normal amount of stress that cargo endures. Yet the question of whether this damage may have occurred regardless of the circumstances of its loss is quite moot. There can be no doubt that my baggage was handled irresponsibly. Furthermore, in all my years of traveling my baggage has never been lost or damaged and is therefore a logical conclusion that the mishandling of my baggage is directly related to the damage it suffered. I hold British Airways fully responsible for the mishandling of my baggage and the damage that resulted and I do believe I have presented the evidence to support that claim. The amount I am asking is but a fraction of the price I paid for my ticket but if British Airways should protest making payment, you can be quite sure that I will pursue further legal action.

In closing, I would like to state that I feel my personal property, which consisted of some quite valuable items, was treated irresponsibly. Worse is that British Airways lost the opportunity to redeem themselves by delivering my baggage promptly after it had been lost. And since I had asked British Airways staff in Heathrow direct questions regarding my baggage and was given reassurances, my only conclusion is that I was treated in a condescending, patronizing, and inhumane fashion. Thus, in the future, unless exceptional circumstances present themselves, I shall no longer fly with British Airways.

I canceled my flight from Washington, DC to London and was told I will get a refund in 4 weeks time. That was May 3rd. On June 18th I spoke to someone else in Online Support and was assured that I will receive a refund in 2 weeks. As of June 30th I have still not received a refund. When I spoke to online support they were not helpful and said all they can do is request the refund. If anyone knows of a number I can call, please email me.

Do people realize that after 45 days British Airway are allowed to either destroy or auction your baggage? Can somebody tell me whether this is legal? My bag is missing too and it is proving impossible to make any progress.

Their online claim system won't function and attempting to contact them by telephone is futile. Airlines are limited to about £820 compensation if nothing ever turns up.

Has anybody taken these matters further in court?

In late July 2007, we flew on British Airways from Heathrow to Oslo. Our baggage did not arrive with us and one bag (with our clothing) arrived back in the States only after our trip had ended. The BA baggage handler at the Oslo airport (serviair) would not answer phones and there was no way to leave a message. We left dozens of emails on the BA website and have to this day not heard anything from BA. At the airport, BA employees were of no help. And because we were on business, we had to purchase clothing (in Norway) and now again after submitting receipts to BA, no one at BA can tell us anything about the status of the claim. There is no claim number, no phone number to call, no website. I've never seen a firewall quite like this one. It’s scandalous. I would never fly BA again and I will do everything possible to avoid Heathrow. Surely, someone in the British government would find this situation appalling. Or perhaps not! Any advice smb?

How in the hell do you complain to British Airways on line because i cant find an on line address. or would it be to difficult to make it obvious.

I just want to share my (terrible) experiences with British Airways. I was booked on a flight from JFK to Calcutta with a connection at Heathrow. Due to some security alert, the Heathrow terminal was closed down for like 4 hours and all flights (which includes mine) at that time were cancelled. Leave alone arranging for food or accommodation, they didn't even have a customer service counter. We were given a toll-free phone no. where we should call and get ourselves re-booked. We had to dial like 30 times to get through (not kidding) and after getting the line had to listen to music for another 10 minutes. Anyway, finally we got ourselves re-booked on a flight to Mumbai (not Calcutta) for the next day. We spent the night at the terminal (like refugees). Next day morning they asked us to vacate the terminal and go to the parking lot. They said they would announce our flight. But when there was no announcement and it was almost time, we went to the terminal. At the terminal, no two BA representative was saying the same thing. One said that the flight was canceled, another said that it was overbooked and hence we will not be able to board it while a third guy asked us to check-in. At the check-in counter we were told that out of the five of us, only three could board because the names of the rest were "not on the system". This is despite the fact that ALL of us were "re-booked". Anyway, I being one of the lucky three, could board.

That's not the end of my sad story. While returning from Calcutta, our flight was delayed for like 4 hours, and as a result we missed our connection to JFK. Luckily there was a flight in 30 minutes to JFK and they re-booked us on that. They told us though that our luggage would be reaching by the next flight and they will be Fedex-ed to us. Believing their sweet words, we boarded the flight to JFK. One of our three bags reached two days later, and the other two are still missing. It's more than two months, and they are still "tracing" it.

I was charged £150 for my second bag of 8Kg. I was within the permitted limit! BA offers a £75 travel voucher to fly with them again. I ripped it up and threw it in the bin. I feel ripped off twice. I shall never fly this thing again!

I Hope never to Fly with Ba Again .they lost my Case From London To Manchester & i Waited 4 days to get My Case Back .Plus the number of Phone Calls i made & all i got when i phoned was sorry we are too busy Phone Back . You Pay a bit extra to Fly with BA & What do you get for it .Late to arrive & Lost Luggage & No One wants to know .Its not just the Fact that your Luggage has been Lost ,Its how BA Treat you .You Might as well Travel with the Cheaper Companys . & its easier to accept when you Have a problem .But what makes it all worse is they dont want to know .When i sent them a Mail all i got back was I am sorry to Learn about your Difficults with your luggage & Thanks for your Mail. I Went to Australia & The only Problem was Hear in uk with Ba. It is a very Frustrating ,But Where is the Customer Relations Dept .Do they want to know . From a very very unhappy Customer . Manba79009. I Dont want to know them Ever again. They dont even bother to Contact you to see if they can even Compensate You .Oh No They get your Money & That is all. Like a lot of Companys you are only a Number. So Never let me hear that they Care about there Customers. Because they sure Dont No Way do they care. From Mr & Mrs Faulkner .

We had a bad experience on Mumbai airport on 04/Apr/2011, which never experienced before in our more then 46 years of travelling.
We were 2 passengers of BA, Ana Catulo and husband Luis Catulo, 73 and 77 years of age, booked on BA198 BOM/LON. We were the first to check-in at about 10 a.m, but as we wished to pack our 3 suitcases we were asked first to pack and then to come back to the check in counter, although our seats were marked on our request.When we came back with the suitcases packed, the queu was quite big and when our turn came we were sent to the counter nº.132, we paid the 3rd suitcase Rs 2905, 00 for which we had come prepared for and when we asked for 2 tags for our hand luggage, the clerk said the suitcases should go back and see if they fitted in the cage, we explained to him that these were the same suitcases with which we travelled from LIS/LON, LON/BOM, BOM/GOI and GOI/BOM and also that the same were used on our earlier trip a year before, also on BA on 31st Dec, 2009 LIS/LON, LON/BOM, BOM/GOI, GOI/BOM, BOM/LON, LON/LIS.We explained to him that nobody informed us that these suitcases were not suitable for our trips, it was an unpleasant surprise to us, to what he said " Its the rule, if they dont fit in the cage you will have to pay both the suitcases, which meant 40 + 40 pounds and that the rules go on changing EVERY WEEK. " We took the suitcases to the cage and they did not enter completely because the 2 suitcases had small wheels which would not let them in, just for 2 inches they would not get in.We went back to him and he said we had to pay, we then asked him we wanted to speak to the superviser, he said ok and asked to wait aside, we waited, no superviser came, all the passengers watching the scene, then another passenger came with the same type of suitcase, the clerk informed the passenger the same, then the superviser came, spoke to the passenger, his luggage was accepted, then I approached(Ana Catulo) the superviser to what the superviser told me to stay aside that he would attend me when my turn came, my husband tired of waiting went to sit outside and I was also very tired and sat on the cart, it was then getting late and close to the closing of the counter, the superviser looked at me and said he would come back and see to my case, finally the clerk approaches me and asked where my husband was and asked me to bring the luggage and despatched it, well I was almost on the verge to cry, hungry etc, we had requested a wheel chair because my husband had a fractured leg and could not walk the long corridors in London, I reminded them "what about the wheel chair" then they sent a clerk with the wheel chair and there we went through the security etc, then the things were easier.CONCLUSION! Was the clerk fulfilling his duty? If so why were we not informed earlier that these suitcases were not fit to travel? Or was he waiting that we shoud BRIBE him? Some passengers commented with us "What they want is money", if so I am ashamed because me and my husband have never bribed anyone in our lives, for me this clerk was spoiling the name of BRITISH AIRWAYS and if that is true of bribing, I hope BA does something in order that this doesnt happen to other passengers in the future, I would appreciate to know the result of this my complaint.
For your information, I, Ana Catulo, have worked for the Air Lines during 43 years, since 1960 till 2003 the year I retired, and am proud to know I have always tried to serve my company the best possible and my husband worked on the control tower over 35 years also giving good service.
Thank you and all the best