Virgin Australia damaged my bags

[luckyjohn888]

Can anyone offer some advice as to how I should handle a bagage damage claim against Virgin Australia. Earlier last year I flew on Virgin from Gold Coast to Sydney on the way to pick up a cruise and when I got to Sydney and collected my bag I could not believe the condition it was in. It was a near new good quality bag I had purchased in the US and it had obviously been run over and dragged some distance. It had torn get rips in the materiel and almost totally worn away. 1 wheel and its mounting was worn right through as well as the material in some places where it was obviously dragged on the tarmac.
I reported the damaged bag immediately and they gave me temporary bags after offering me a smaller used bag in compensation and asked me to present the bag to them when I returned to Coolangatta. This I did some 3 weeks later on my returm flight and there was some discussion about they might repair the bag which totally astounded me given its damage. In the end they suppied a new bag.
Anyway I flew back from NZ to Coolangatta again in Dec on Virgin and this time I had another new bag (second use) a Samsonite which I had purchased in the US a couple of months earlier. This time when I collected my bag it was again damaged but not as bad this time. It was worn through on the edge piping in a number of places as well as one of the wheels and its mounting obviously worn down from rubbing on a rough service that again appeared to be the tarmac. This time when I presented my bag the young man at the Virgin baggage counter virtually scoffed at me and said "thats fair wear and tear and we will do nothing about it" "Do you have insurance why don't you try them" Well I do but I pointed out to him that I thought that was a bit disingenuous given that I, like all people I know have an excess on my insurance that would exceed the bag value. I insisted that the bag was as new and that it was not "fair wear and tear " and made him fill out a baggage claim form anyway but where do I go from here. I feel angry that this is not the first time my bags have been carelessly handled in my last 2 flights with Virgin and this bag was only on its second use its first having been after I purchased it in the US last year and Qantas semed to be able to transport it back to Australia for me without dragging it along the tarmac on the way. I travel 5 -6 mths of the year with at least 4 international trips involved and many flights and this is the worst baggage handling I have come across. Needless to say I avoid Virgin flights like the plague now and have since booked on alternative airlines which have been available. Has anyone any ideas on how I can get some redress from Virgin?
I know accidents do happen but it is how it is then handled by the airline that matters. Thanks in advance.

 

[anat0l]

Without seeing the bag in the second case, it's hard to see how bad a condition it was in.

Generally a bag is designed to hold and protect the contents inside - that's it. Damage to the external like scuffs, chipped edging or handles generally won't be covered, but some baggage offices will be more forgiving (especially when operated by the host airline).

Did Virgin give you a DMR number that is used for the purposes of tracking an item that has been damaged? Usually you would take this number to the authorised repairer who would then charge the cost of the bag repair / replacement back to the airline.

If you have no DMR or other kind of authorisation from VA to have your bag repaired, call VA and/or go back to the baggage service desk and state your case firmly. If you can get a DMR then you should be able to go from there.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Try Airline customer advocate, but do not expect much from them
Do you have the receipt for the bag purchase and a record of the trips the bag has been on?
Have you chased VA about your baggage claim?

 

[Daver6]

Take a picture of the damage and post it on Twitter to Virgin. Suspect that might spur them into action.

 

[Kef]

Take a picture of the damage and post it on Twitter to Virgin. Suspect that might spur them into action.

Why? would it spur them on? Anyone can take a photo and claim, "such and such airline damaged my suitcase and did nothing about it".

Unfortunately luckyjohn888 has not been so lucky with his luggage and he needs to go through all the channels correctly with his receipts and records to claim damages.

 

[Sdtravel]

QF damaged by brand new Rimowa suitcase on the way back to SYD early this month. Lodged a damage report via email and got a response back today saying to take it to one of a few listed luggage companies to be reviewed and repaired or compensated. Or take it to the airport and they will get someone to cough it / take it to a luggage shop.

My point is the even if the guy at the airport says no you can still lodge a claim by other means. QF has to be done within 3 days. So it may be a bit late to contact virgin if your flight was a while ago.
I would go with the airline advocate as pointed out above given the age of the claim! But maybe see if virgin have an online or email damage report option

 

[JohnK]

It sounds like you are going through a rough patch with luggage. I went through similar for ~18 months a few years back.

Personally I believe damage to a new bag is unacceptable. I have had my golf bag dragged across the airport. I have had my bag dragged across the airport.

I think you should send in feedback to Virgin and ask for either the bag to be repaired to it's original condition or to be supplied with a new bag.

 

[boomy]

Take a photo of the luggage with the tag sill attached to it. Make sure to highlight the damaged area and send an email to Virgin explaining what happened.
That's exactly what I did when Qantas damaged my luggage last month and I got reply the next day with a few addresses for me to choose where to it for repair.

 

[Quickstatus]

Whenever you get broken luggage, report it immediately to your airline's customer care/luggage counter. They will more than likely send you to Sydney Luggage centre Mascot if you are in Sydney. Had mine fixed easily some years back.