shape
carat
color
clarity

Lost luggage

justginger

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
3,712
Just having a whinge, but...

:angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire:

I went to the States last time with just a backpack. I have been overseas enough to have developed quite a distaste for overpacking. No checked luggage, makes navigating around quick and easy.

However, on the way back, my parents had given me the Lora Zombie original watercolor I had purchased back in October. The one I'm crazy in love with. I checked it, all the way from AL to Perth, with the caveat that I would have to collect it to go through customs in Melbs. It was well marked - name, address, phone number.

Melbourne landing, no package on the carousel. Or oversized ramp either. Started the 'investigation' there, with baggage services. A brief summary of what has happened since.

They said they'd call in 24 hours.
I called them 3 days later, left a message.
Called back later that day, left a message.
Called the next day, left 2 messages.
Called domestic baggage service the next day, who not only managed to answer the phone, but tracked down a rep for international.
He said he was 'getting around to' calling me back. No info. Will call me tomorrow.
No call, I called. Same guy, said none of the ports I travelled have answered his emails, so he'll call them and call me tomorrow.
No call. I call. Get a girl. She says there are no notes in the system that suggest he called. She says she will, and will call back.
No call. I call Virgin customer help, woman is on the phone with me and her manager for 2 hours, trying to see what's happening.
Nothing figured out. Bag is still missing, no tracking of any kind in their system. No answers from Delta, their partner I flew domestic with.

12 days later, I get a call back. Still nothing. No one knows jack all. I don't understand how this happens. The bag is electronically tagged, it has to be scanned. If that tag got ripped off, my name, address, and phone number are plastered all over it. It's sitting in some random back room and the bottom line is that the employees there don't give a crap enough to pick up the phone and let someone, like me!, know.

Even if they compensate me the full cost of the painting, it's irreplaceable. I can't ever have another one. A work of art, gone. :nono: ;(

Has anyone else had a nightmare time with lost luggage? Did you ever get it back?
 

pinkjewel

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
2,362
Oh, wow- I really hope you get your painting back!! And yes, I had a similar experience with American Airlines. My husband and I were travelling to the Caribbean with a change of planes in Miami. Getting off the plane in Miami my husband herniated a disc in his back and was unable to walk! We got the airline to get us on the next plane home and the agent sent a message to baggage to pull our bags for the new flight. Well, needless to say the bags didn't make it back home with us. Of course, the airline kept saying they would call us with info- I always called them- no baggage. Almost 4 weeks later- we got a call- they had found our bags!! Guess where they were- sitting at the St. Thomas airport the whole time! Sheesh- wouldn't that have been the first place to look? Anyway- hopefully yours will turn up soon. People just seem to be too lazy or they are just too short staffed to look for lost luggage.
 

AprilBaby

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
12,660
Only once was my luggage lost; for my dad's funeral. It arrived the day after.
 

gregchang35

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
3,404
SOrry Ginger that you are experiencing this.

I have lost luggage items 3x. On 2 occasions it turned up later. The other was an iphone, which has never been recovered.

dust sending your way for the art to return to you.
 

minousbijoux

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
12,688
Dust for sure. Your story takes the cake, for sure. What happened to employees actually trying to find bags? I don't understand - is it sheer volume that prevents them? Bad communication that prevents them from even knowing they're missing? Complete idiocy and disinterest on the part of the staff (can't believe this last one would actually work long term, but hey)?

I am sorry that you lost something as special as an art piece. :(sad
 

asscher_girl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
1,155
And this is why hubby and I don't check our luggage. We pack as light as possible. However these days, our trips are 7-8 days max so it's easy to get away with a carry on. Once we have more free time and longer trips, I'm sure we'll have to do some checked bags but I'd like to avoid it if possible. I hope your painting turns up soon Ginger!!! Sending dust your way!!!
 

JewelFreak

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
7,768
What a headache! I'm sorry it happened with something you liked so much. Clothes are replaceable, artwork not.

When I traveled internationally all the time for work, my luggage got lost a couple of times -- less than one would expect for all the flying I did. We lived in Amsterdam & I came back to the States for meetings & to stay w/my mother. No luggage. My husband called that night & laughed -- "Guess what was just delivered to our door? Your suitcase!" It was checked from A'dam to Roch NY & those knuckleheads sent it straight back from the A'dam airport back to our house 5 miles away!

Have you tried going to the airport to look for it? Judging from the apathy you describe, I wouldn't be surprised if it's sitting right there. "If you want something done right, do it yourself" applies here! Hope it turns up, good luck.

--- Laurie
 

iluvshinythings

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
894
What a nightmare! I hope you get your painting back!!!

I flew from the US to Madrid and then onto Barcelona for a cruise. My bags did not arrive in Madrid (or at least they weren't on the carousel). Luckily I had a carry on with a change of clothes, swimsuit and a pair of flip flops. After filing a report (in a language I'm far from proficient with), I was told to call the airline in a couple of hours. I did and they didn't know anything. I called back the next morning. They still didn't know anything. I finally talked to someone with the cruise line and they managed to track down my luggage. It was still in Madrid. On the third night of the cruise I finally got my luggage. I guess I was lucky that they finally found it and there wasn't anything missing.

I hope you find it soon! I know it's maddening.
 

ame

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
10,794
justginger|1392597899|3616629 said:
Just having a whinge, but...

:angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire:

I went to the States last time with just a backpack. I have been overseas enough to have developed quite a distaste for overpacking. No checked luggage, makes navigating around quick and easy.

However, on the way back, my parents had given me the Lora Zombie original watercolor I had purchased back in October. The one I'm crazy in love with. I checked it, all the way from AL to Perth, with the caveat that I would have to collect it to go through customs in Melbs. It was well marked - name, address, phone number.

Melbourne landing, no package on the carousel. Or oversized ramp either. Started the 'investigation' there, with baggage services. A brief summary of what has happened since.

They said they'd call in 24 hours.
I called them 3 days later, left a message.
Called back later that day, left a message.
Called the next day, left 2 messages.
Called domestic baggage service the next day, who not only managed to answer the phone, but tracked down a rep for international.
He said he was 'getting around to' calling me back. No info. Will call me tomorrow.
No call, I called. Same guy, said none of the ports I travelled have answered his emails, so he'll call them and call me tomorrow.
No call. I call. Get a girl. She says there are no notes in the system that suggest he called. She says she will, and will call back.
No call. I call Virgin customer help, woman is on the phone with me and her manager for 2 hours, trying to see what's happening.
Nothing figured out. Bag is still missing, no tracking of any kind in their system. No answers from Delta, their partner I flew domestic with.

12 days later, I get a call back. Still nothing. No one knows jack all. I don't understand how this happens. The bag is electronically tagged, it has to be scanned. If that tag got ripped off, my name, address, and phone number are plastered all over it. It's sitting in some random back room and the bottom line is that the employees there don't give a crap enough to pick up the phone and let someone, like me!, know.

Even if they compensate me the full cost of the painting, it's irreplaceable. I can't ever have another one. A work of art, gone. :nono: ;(

Has anyone else had a nightmare time with lost luggage? Did you ever get it back?
Oh my god. That's horrible. I hope they find it.

My brother's girlfriend's bag got lost and half of her things were stolen out of it on their recent trip. She's filed her theft report on it, but now they wait for the claim to be paid. These are the reasons I seriously never check bags. I'll ship things ahead or back home.
 

monarch64

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
18,394
I accidentally left my makeup bag at security in SLC last year. If it had been a bag full of cheap makeup I wouldn't have been too upset, but all my good brushes and NOT CHEAP makeup was inside, so I really wanted to get it back. I found it online on the airport's lost and found section, described exactly as I would have. When I called the number provided to retrieve it, I could only leave a voicemail. I was prompted to give my address and phone number, I think. No one ever called me back, but 3 days later I received my bag, all contents included, at my house. So yes, there is hope for you.

I never check luggage if I can help it, either. This was a fluke situation because I had forgotten and left a bottle of water in my tote bag so they pulled both my bags and searched everything manually. :rolleyes:
 

lyra

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Messages
5,242
Oh no! I hope you do get your package.

My husband travels a lot. Usually he only takes a carry-on. On a recent trip, because of these snowstorms, he had to reroute flights, and he had checked luggage. OMG. He raised major hell at the airport getting his checked luggage back into his possession. The airline was going to send it on to a different city that he was never going to because they rerouted. He would not leave the counter. I'm surprised he wasn't put on a no-fly list right then and there. LOL. He made them jump through hoops to get his bag out of wherever they put it and back in his hands. I think you have to do that right at the time, to get better service and answers. And go as high up the ladder as possible and keep it up. Good luck. Your painting is not replaceable, you're right.
 

justginger

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
3,712
Thank you, everyone, for the commiserations and dust. I am still painting-less and information-less. My airline subcontracts out all of their baggage handling, so it's not their fault or responsibility -- but in turn, the baggage subcontractor really has no motivation to keep me happy, you know? It's not like I can get on their FB page and raise hell, or threaten to fly with someone else.

I have to start the claims process today, for fear they'll just refuse to pay. They claim that they continue to look for the item for 21 data. That's about 344 days too little, in my opinion!
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top