My family and I have lost three out of five bags of our luggage on flight
BA085 on the way to Vancouver, Canada. On arrival, when the loss of our
baggage was discovered, BA issued us with a visa card to the value of £175,
which under the terms and conditions of use of the card (if it is used)
states as follow:
"Acceptance of this card will release British Airways and its employees
and its agents from and be in full satisfaction of any legal rights that you
may have against British Airways, its employees and its agents arising out
of the circumstances which gave rise to the issue of this card subject to
any rights that you may have under EU legislation, or in respect of lost
damaged or delayed baggage under the notices and conditions of contract
printed on your ticket.”
We think that it is scandalous for an airline to lose in excess of 100 bags on
our flight and then ask people to sign away their compensation at the rate
of £35 per person. Ian Caldwell, by email
Times Online Assistant Travel Editor, Ginny McGrath, responds: When
luggage is delayed it is the responsibility of the airline to offer “first
need” assistance to passengers - in other words to help them cover the cost
of the bare essentials they will need while their bag is lost – typically
this means toiletries, underwear and so forth.
The payment is variable depending on the needs of the passenger – for example,
families with young children may be given a larger allowance to cover the
cost of nappies, baby food and other items.
I’m not sure how you reached a figure of £35 per passenger – I assume there
were five of you, although you say that only three of the five bags were
lost. Nevertheless, £175 was clearly the amount that BA felt you needed to
tide you over while you waited to be reunited with your luggage.
The pre-paid cards allow BA customers to withdraw cash and spend it how they
want. BA use the cards for delayed and cancelled flights, for denied
boarding compensation and for emergency needs when baggage is delayed.
In the first two instances the amount awarded to passengers is governed by EU
legislation but in the case of delayed luggage, it is governed by the
Montreal Convention, which stipulates no specific payment.
The clause in the terms and conditions of use of the BA card refers to the
maximum liability stipulated by the EU. It does not stop you from making
further claims against BA with regard to delayed or lost baggage. Bear in
mind though that bags are only considered lost if they are not returned to
you within 21 days.
It’s also worth noting that both BA and travel insurers have limited liability
over the carriage of valuable items in hold luggage, so if an expensive or
fragile item has gone missing or been damaged, it may be hard to get
payment.
To make a claim for compensation contact British Airways Customer Relations online
or write to British Airways Customer Relations, EU Compensation Claims, PO
Box 5619, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2PG.
The person making the claim must be one of the passengers. Claimants must
supply their name and contact details, the names of other passengers being
claimed for and their contact details, booking reference and details of the
cancelled flight and/or relevant receipts.
Given the number of passengers affected by last month's disruptions at
Terminal 5, it's possible your claim may not longer to process than normal,
so I'd advise patience, and persistence.
I travelled through T5 on the day it opened & nearly a month on am without my bag still. Following various stories, BA have now admitted that it has no idea where my bag is. I am furious! I was away for 3 months and all my good possessions were in my case including project notes I'd been working on whilst I was away. I was given a £1500 travel bursary to do this project, & if I can't delivery on it, will have to repay the money. I have had absolutely no kind of service from the Customer Relations department and am appalled by the treatment I've received. I now believe that BA have just written the bags off from the 27th March and are hoping that people will just give up and go away.
I have demanded that they let me into the warehouse to look for my bag myself and am waiting to hear from them to see if they will allow me to do this. I will told no originally because it is too much "hassle". I think it is the least I can do.
I will never fly BA again.
Stephanie Poyntz, Macclesfield , Cheshire
Absolutely Clueless. BA is a complete and utter joke. I returned from my trip to Canada after 17 days without my belongings. Nobody in T5 had a clue to where my bag may be and would not even talk about compensation. I have never received such poor service in my life. As a business traveler I will never use them again. Bring on the Class Action suit, I will be first in line.
Al, Geneva , Switzerland
It is now over two weeks since I lost six bags in the T5 chaos. As I type this I am yet again on hold to BA baggage tracing trying to find out where my stuff is. I, and my three young children are in the middle of moving back to the UK having lived overseas for two years. I have vital documentation in there which has no fiscal value but an identity thief would love, and I cannot face the thought of losing. Couldn't fit it in my hand baggage because of the one-bag rule. I have worn the same clothes for two weeks, as have my children, and have lost car seats and a pram. My eldest daughter is starting boarding school at the weekend and all her new uniform and sports kit has also been lost which I am having to replace today as I cannot wait any longer. BA "customer relations" are for the most part unsympathetic, and mediocrity is quite clearly the standard. BA is a disgrace and I shall NEVER fly with them again. Please do not let this slip from the headlines, BA must pay for this.
EXPATMUMMY, Bratislava,
It would have been nice to have been offered some 'first needs' money by BA, we arrived in Copenhagen on the 27th of March to be told our luggage was somewhere in T5. We were told we could hang around in the baggage claim area for 2 hours until the next flight arrived but BA's handling agents didn't think that we would have any luck. Now back in the UK and still no sign of the luggage. So far we have been told it's on the way to Milan, been checked at Copenhagen, in a warehouse somewhere and now BA admit they have absolutely no idea where the bags are.
Steve Fotheringham, Edinburgh,
What a load of Bloddy Arrogant clowns BA turns out to be and a lawn to them selves it seems- for that matter they have allways been. As it was said about the old BOAC - Better On A Camel says it all about BA today.
What a way to treat customers.
Steve, London,
If somebody is going to do a report on BA's refusal to accept responsibility for anything, please include the January flight from Bangalore where the BA pilot drove his 747 into a set of steps left in plain sight on the taxi-way. BA decided that this was not their fault either, and unilaterally decided to pay no compensation, even though the pilots ineptitude led to cancellation of the flight and a two day delay in getting us back home and back to work. BA, no way!
al, weybridge, UQ
Our flight had to make an emergency landing at Shannon after a hydraulics failure. As we landed, terrified, we discovered our bags were missing. We finally made it to San Francisco around 30 hours late, minus baggage to be told we could spend $50 on 'first needs'. Forgetting that our first needs were in Shannon for the moment, you try finding toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving foam and razor in San Francisco for $50. To add insult to injury WE have to keep the receipts, fill in an expenses form and claim this back.
It is now 5 days later and I still don't have my luggage. My wife is still in the clothes she travelled in and BA haven't called me once. I don't even know whether we are covered to buy new clothes to replace what we don't have. I'm over here on business as I have just started my own consultancy, I had to do 2 meetings in jeans and a t-shirt whilst Willie Walsh just prints vacuous apologies on his website.
It's just not good enough.
Rob Newby, Winchester, UK
Getting BA to comply with any of its responsibilities is an uphill struggle. I suffered a flight cancellation because of their Terminal 5 problems, submitted my claim under EU rules and was told that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances so that no compensation was due. Unbelievable, when the problems are of BA's own making. Please Ms McGrath, investigate and report on how often BA try to pull this trick to get out of paying compensation.
Susan, London,