Finding your suitcase ripped open or with a broken handle on the luggage conveyor belt is never pleasant, especially as your suitcase becomes unusable. So what can we do to repair the damage?
The formalities
To be done right away
As soon as you have retrieved your baggage and noticed the damage, go to the baggage service of your airline at the airport of arrival or to the general baggage service (when it is a small airport, only one service takes care of claims for all airlines) and make sure that your baggage is damaged. A baggage irregularity report is then drawn up and a file number is given to you. It is important to keep this document in a safe place for tracking your application.
If you've already left the airport..
Sometimes you don't notice right away that your luggage has been damaged because you are tired from the trip or simply in a hurry. If this is the case and you don't notice the problems on your luggage until you get home, don't panic! You still have 7 days from receipt of your baggage to make a claim for compensation via the claim form on your airline's website or by mail by sending it to the customer service department in your country of residence.
To be provided in all cases
For your claim file to be complete, you will need to provide your boarding pass, baggage tags, proof of any expenses incurred to have the baggage repaired (or the report of impossibility to have it repaired
). Who reimburses
?
The airline is responsible for any damage to your baggage unless it can prove that the damage was caused by misuse of the suitcase (e.g. overloading), or if a handle has been ripped off or a zipper has been broken. Most companies refuse to compensate their customers in these cases because they consider it to be due to wear and tear on the luggage, but with a little insistence, you can usually win. The company then reimburses you for the price of the suitcase (you may be asked for an invoice) or gives you a voucher to buy a new one from approved suppliers. However, the voucher may be much less than the value of your original suitcase, so you will have to make a new claim in order to get a refund of the actual price of your broken suitcase, but this does not always work. It all depends on the company... At Alitalia, the lump sum for reimbursement of a broken suitcase, or the voucher, is only 35 euros, even if you want to replace a suitcase worth 200 euros. Then it's up to you to fight for the full refund of your property.
The case of suitcases with guaranteeThe
big brands of suitcases, such as Samsonite or Delsey for example, which are relatively expensive but a priori very solid, are generally sold with a guarantee of 5, 10 years and sometimes they are even guaranteed for life. However, beware! If your luggage arrives damaged at the end of a flight, the brand of suitcase will wash its hands of it and send you back to the airline company considered responsible for the damage and you will not be reimbursed, even if the airline company only reimburses part of the price of your suitcase... It's quite annoying yes!
After researching, we have found that in reality you can almost never play this suitcase guarantee! If for example you break the handle, they consider that it is due to a misuse of the suitcase so it is your fault... This is one of the most frequent cases of claims. The only cases considered admissible are in fact manufacturing defects, but this is a case that almost never occurs
