Unfair bag damage compensation

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OB1NZ

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Nov 5, 2019
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Virgin Australia completely broke through my wife's as-new Delsey suitcase on a recent Sydney-Auckland flight. To do that the bag had to be dropped very hard or was intentionally broken. Virgin only want to pay 75% of the cost of the bag, leaving us $100 out of pocket.
How can we get them to pay the total cost? It should be paid on the basis of "you broke it, so you pay for it."
 
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We have had multiple cases damaged over the years. Only once did we bother doing anything about it and that was because Qantas had put a note on it saying they’d damaged it. We just kind of accept it as part of the non joys of travel. And no longer buy super expensive cases. I’d say depreciation would take care of that $100 anyway.
 
We have had multiple cases damaged over the years. Only once did we bother doing anything about it and that was because Qantas had put a note on it saying they’d damaged it. We just kind of accept it as part of the non joys of travel. And no longer buy super expensive cases. I’d say depreciation would take care of that $100 anyway.
Thanks Pushka...I would tend to agree re depreciation but in this case as you'll see in my text, it was in as-new condition.
 
It stinks that these things happen and you are entitled to be rightfully pissed off about it but yep, these things happen. If you drive a brand new car off the lot today, it depreciates by the time the rear wheels clear the dealers lot.

I would suggest social media to name and shame to pony up the extra $100 but at some point you have to value your sanity/time more and move on.

Ive seen professional & high profile muscians and athletes with very expensive equipment given the run around by airlines so I wouldnt spend too much time on this. Hope it didnt mess up your trip too much.
 
Thanks Pushka...I would tend to agree re depreciation but in this case as you'll see in my text, it was in as-new condition.
Yes it may well have been brand new and pristine but it’s like when you drive a new car out of the sales yard. Boom. Write off thousands.
 
Some depreciation will always be expected. As new could still be 20+ flights.

With the number of times the hard cases seem to break, I wonder if airlines will start charging a surcharge for them.

Remember most airports have massive automated systems and bags can travel at 20-30kph on them
 
I think that it is the airlines responsibility to make it good if it is now unusable as a result of their actions. If they are not forced to take responsibility then that very quickly evolves to no care and more luggage gets damaged.

My experience in June with Croatia Airlines as an EU carrier. They destroyed the wheels which I reported. After about two weeks got an email to say they would pay out the original cost, I had the proof of recent purchase. A few weeks later I received the international wire transfer.

I've had successful claims with Singapore Airlines and repair offers on old luggage with Qantas.

While it is a part of travel that suitcases depreciate the only way that airlines will enforce quality within the baggage network is if there is a financial incentive to do so.

Their 75% should be seen as an opening offer in the hope you accept it.

Alby
 
Wonder what the bag design was.

Im guessing wheels like pic#1 break more than wheels in pic #2 (which is the 2 wheeler that I use). Im going to jinx myself but Ive not had a broken wheel/case in the almost 20yrs we've been travelling with this wheel design.

1572911117135.png

1572911130749.png
 
I have made many claims for damaged bags over the years and have always had them replaced with new, including by VA.
Perhaps this is all part of the cost cutting.
Which reminds me - I need to follow up a claim with QF after the zip on my case was broken during the return flight from Nouméa in September.
 
Conversely surely it is up to luggage manufacturers to make luggage that is fit for purpose - ie can stand up to the rigours of plane handling. As @Denali has pointed out, these wheels are the ones causing the most grief.
Only sometimes do we bother chasing up damaged bags. We seem to have enough battles to fight in life and this ain’t one of them.
 
Conversely surely it is up to luggage manufacturers to make luggage that is fit for purpose - ie can stand up to the rigours of plane handling. As @Denali has pointed out, these wheels are the ones causing the most grief.
Only sometimes do we bother chasing up damaged bags. We seem to have enough battles to fight in life and this ain’t one of them.
Luggage manufacturers have all sorts of outs in their warranties and almost always blame the airline.
Airlines are generally willing to pay for replacement.
I happen to buy my luggage from the place which handles all the claims for the airlines here and they advised me to always claim from the airline and never rely on the manufcaturer's warranty unless you had exhausted your options with the airlines.
Sometimes you have to take the path of least resistance.
 
Luggage manufacturers have all sorts of outs in their warranties and almost always blame the airline.
Airlines are generally willing to pay for replacement.
I happen to buy my luggage from the place which handles all the claims for the airlines here and they advised me to always claim from the airline and never rely on the manufcaturer's warranty unless you had exhausted your options with the airlines.
Sometimes you have to take the path of least resistance.
Sure. I look at the warranty and wonder what it’s actually worth. Nothing really. Always an out.
We just don’t have the time to bother chasing airlines. The one time we did was when Qantas left us a note so we took it into their repair place. Then had to pick it up. It was a handle repair in carry on that had been put into hold. Next time we went to use it we filled it, zipped it up then heard this weird buzzing from within. We emptied it - nada. Then we unzipped the fabric that is between the case and the handle structure and they’d left a battery operated drill inside.
Given we had packed it for carry on, can you imagine what would have happened going through security with a damn battery drill in the case!
 
Sure. I look at the warranty and wonder what it’s actually worth. Nothing really. Always an out.
We just don’t have the time to bother chasing airlines. The one time we did was when Qantas left us a note so we took it into their repair place. Then had to pick it up. It was a handle repair in carry on that had been put into hold. Next time we went to use it we filled it, zipped it up then heard this weird buzzing from within. We emptied it - nada. Then we unzipped the fabric that is between the case and the handle structure and they’d left a battery operated drill inside.
Given we had packed it for carry on, can you imagine what would have happened going through security with a damn battery drill in the case!
They would have just confiscated it.
I have travelled with my daughter who is a doctor and they have found scalpels in her hand luggage!
They just throw them away.
 
I’ve owned a Victorinox Spectra 2.0 Carry On and a 62 L Checked Bag for quite a few years now. You want Warranty how does 1+10 years sound! Only once was a wheel broken off. Replaced free of charge without question. You want Precision even with 3 wheels it was perfectly balanced and traveled for 2 weeks. In fact I could still effortlessly wheel both cases with one hand. I still have my 40yo Victorinox Swiss Army Pocket Knife with Lifetime Warranty. Established 1897 - never enhanced - they just get better!
 
What do you mean by as-new?
OK...So let's get this in perspective!
1. The suitcase is a Delsey (which some airlines recommend all cabin crew should buy, due to their robustness).
which cost around $422 in May last year. My daughter - a flight attendant for 12 years - bought one and still has her Delsey bag intact 21 years later.
2. It has a 10-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
3. It travelled one trans-Tasman flight each way since purchase.
4. It was as close to new in every respect - before Virgin Australia split it right through the shell!
5. The split is on a corner of the case - the strongest part. It has a crease which shows it was dumped hard against a sharp right-angled corner of a hard object. The split is approx. 100mm long and in the shape of a hockey stick.
6. They offered $278. I rejected it so they increased it to $300. This still leaves us $100 out of pocket for their carelessness when we go to buy a replacement bag. Why should we accept it?
 
OK...So let's get this in perspective!
1. The suitcase is a Delsey (which some airlines recommend all cabin crew should buy, due to their robustness).
which cost around $422 in May last year. My daughter - a flight attendant for 12 years - bought one and still has her Delsey bag intact 21 years later.
2. It has a 10-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
3. It travelled one trans-Tasman flight each way since purchase.
4. It was as close to new in every respect - before Virgin Australia split it right through the shell!
5. The split is on a corner of the case - the strongest part. It has a crease which shows it was dumped hard against a sharp right-angled corner of a hard object. The split is approx. 100mm long and in the shape of a hockey stick.
6. They offered $278. I rejected it so they increased it to $300. This still leaves us $100 out of pocket for their carelessness when we go to buy a replacement bag. Why should we accept it?
20191015_021058.jpg
 
OK...So let's get this in perspective!
1. The suitcase is a Delsey (which some airlines recommend all cabin crew should buy, due to their robustness).
which cost around $422 in May last year. My daughter - a flight attendant for 12 years - bought one and still has her Delsey bag intact 21 years later.
2. It has a 10-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
3. It travelled one trans-Tasman flight each way since purchase.
4. It was as close to new in every respect - before Virgin Australia split it right through the shell!
5. The split is on a corner of the case - the strongest part. It has a crease which shows it was dumped hard against a sharp right-angled corner of a hard object. The split is approx. 100mm long and in the shape of a hockey stick.
6. They offered $278. I rejected it so they increased it to $300. This still leaves us $100 out of pocket for their carelessness when we go to buy a replacement bag. Why should we accept it?
Not sure why the conversation is about $ - I have always taken mine to their luggage repairer and they have simply been replaced at no cost to me.
 
I too have had my fair share of baggage mishaps. The most recent was a broken and lost wheel and a missing TSA lock. on a hard shell Samsonite. The TSA lock was interesting as I assumed that it had just "popped out". When I took it for repair they said is was most definitely an attempt to break in. This occurred on a QF PER>BNE>POM flight which had a 5 hour Dom>Intl transit at BNE where I assumed the lock was tampered with.
I didn't contact QF simply because I was going to be overseas for 7-8 weeks. The wheel and lock cost $70 to repair.

My wife recently had a suitcase totally wrecked by Malindo on a KUL>PER flight. They just replaced it with a comparable (but significantly heavier) hard shell suitcase.

If you really want to make every wait at the baggage carousel a game of anticipating whether your bag will look the same as when you checked in may I suggest buying an aluminium Rimowa suitcase. I love mine but oh they do get some knocks!
 
Just keep pressing them to cover the lot. All airlines under-compensate for just about everything, and then try to shut the communication down, by not responding. Patience and perseverance will be key.

And welcome to AFF ... sorry about the circumstances, hope you will stick around, @OB1NZ
 
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