Damaged Baggage

[Steve-P]

I recently went on holiday with a perfectly robust case and handed it over at the airport check in, when I picked it up from the airport carousel, my case was split and dented in numerous locations. I reported it and received the a reference number and was told to contact the airline when I returned to England, which I did. May I add that the only method I could contact them was by a registered post letter. I have received their reply and they have refused to compensate me and advised me to claim through my travel insurance, due to the fact that I couldn't supply a receipt as proof of purchase. The case is a very durable and was one of a set of three which cost me £150 in a sale approximately two years ago. I am only requesting £50 compensation for the case which I think is fair.
My questions are:
1. Can they refuse my claim considering they ruined my case?
2. Is the lack of receipt an easy cop out of their responsibility?
3. Can I pursue this matter in the small claims court?
I realise it's only £50, however this airline shouldn't treat their paying customers like this.
Thanks for reading this and for any help you can suggest.
Steve-P

[jno]

I don't think it's any of their business where you got it from or how much it cost; it's how much it was worth that matters.

Some advice here

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/the-airline-has-lost-or-damaged-my-bag-what-can-i-do

[SirOracle]

Answers as follows

1 NO

2 NO

3 Pursue the airline vigorously ,and point out that you do not have travel insurance and that this is not compulsory.

Go on line and get the value of the case which has been damaged,telling them that you have lost the receipt. They are using delaying tactics in the hope that you get fed up and drop pursuing your claim.

As a matter of interest which airline is involved here.?

[bednobs]

it seems you are wanting the same price you paid for a 2 year old (presumably) used case? I think that might be your problem, and if you get anything, you'll probably find it's rather less than what you paid

[Steve-P]

Hi guys, thanks for your response, I've looked at the link and have found some good information, thanks for both for your contributions, the airline is Jet2.com. Cheers :-)

[chrissa1]

But, Steve-P will have to shell out much more than that to replace the damaged suitcase, bednobs. Why should he be out of pocket by the careless handling of his baggage by the airline handlers?

[bednobs]

because he can't get more money in compensation that what he paid i would have thought. If he wanted to buy a 2 year old used case i would imagine he wouldn't pay £50 for it

[Maydup]

But he doesn't want to buy a second hand case, he wants to replace the one he had. I think £50 is a very reasonable ask.

[bednobs]

But he bought his case for (nominally) £50 and now it's 2 years old. If he had insurance, they would put him in the same position he was befoe the loss

[SirOracle]

Yes bednobs you are correct - you do not get new lamps for old as you are governed by "indemnity".

However it would be quite normal for a two year old case to have only been used on perhaps a couple of occasions therefor depreciation would be minimal and probably offset completely by the increased price over the price paid two years ago.

Keep at the airline as they are using their standard procedures to endeavour to avoid their liability. Their next ploy may well be to move the responsibility on to the baggage handling company.

Please let us know of your progress in this matter.

[lcg]

use a copy of your bank statements to show proof of purchase - if you bank online you can easily find the last 7 years of statements and print them out from your computer. but no - you do not have to put up with their response, they damaged your property and have insurance themselves to cover this type of thing.

[Steve-P]

Hi everyone; Thank you all for your informative and good advice regarding this matter, after receiving the unwelcoming letter saying that I wasn't entitled to claim for my damaged case. I promptly contacted Customer Services and told them exactly what had happened, someone within this department responded with an email and was very apologetic and agreed to replace my case and requested I was to forward the make and dimensions. I guess this may be the case (sorry for the pun) that probably more than one person may need to be notified and not to rely on just one persons point of view. I'm just waiting now for their reply to establish when my new case will be delivered. Thank you all once again for your input, it's comforting to know someone shares my point of view. Cheers :-)

[jno]

glad to hear it's working out properly. It was their fault so it's their responsibility to sort it out.