SHARON GOLDSTEIN
14 AV JEAN MOULIN
34290 ABEILHAN
FRANCE
33 4 6737 2468
sharongoldstein@yahoo.com
October 13, 2008
LOST BAG: MRSLH13893
REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST
My Lufthansa luggage experiences began in Newark on 1 October.
We had four large bags to check. Three of them were overweight. The agent explained where we had to go to pay the overage charges. I asked if we needed to come back to show her we had paid and she said no, she could see us walk over there. After we paid, I did return to the counter, to find the agent we had dealt with had gone to lunch (or on a break) and discovered one of our bags was still standing there. I asked another agent to put it on the conveyor belt. I believe she did.
When we arrived in Düsseldorf, we went to a Lufthansa service desk to confirm that our bags had been transferred to our flight to Marseille. The agent assured us there was no problem.
We arrive in Marseille and discover, one of our bags is missing – the same one the agent in Newark had left standing there. We filed paper work. Through out October 2, no one could tell us where our bag was. Finally we got a call around 10am asking me to verify contents of a bag they had found in Munich
*.
I verified the contents, which according to the agent included a digital camera and two pairs of black shoes, and the agent said I would receive my bag on October 3. She suggested I call back in the morning after 10am to try to get a better estimate of time.
Finally on October 3, I was able to reach Marseille, where they confirmed they had the bag and said it would arrive in Montpellier at 6pm. I said we would pick it up because I was in a hurry for the contents. We get to the airport and Air France tells us that the bag is not there. No one could tell us where the bag was. Marseille was not answering the phone (a frequent occurrence) and customer service had no idea where anything was or what was going on except to tell me my bag was not lost since they were still looking for it.
I finally reached Marseille and they told me it would not be in until tomorrow morning and my bag was in Lyon! I just received a call from Air France confirming that the bag was expected tomorrow.
I would like to understand the following:
How could the agent in Newark just leave one bag standing there and go off on a break?
How could the agent in Düsseldorf, not check all the tags to make sure everything had made it on to the other plane to Marseille.
The bag ended up in Munich – so why did it go from Munich to Düsseldorf to Marseille to Lyon on its’ way to Montpellier. Lufthansa and Air France could not come up with a more direct route?
Why was Luftnansa unable to return my bag within 24 hours once they located it?
I would request a refund of my entire ticket price so I can make alternative plans for my return to the United States since I never intend on flying Lufthansa again. I would be afraid to check luggage. In Marseille when I asked how could you lose a bag – they proudly assured me that they average one bag per plane that lands every day! One has to be nuts to check luggage on your airline and with all the restrictions on carry-ons, what choice does one have.
*- When she was trying to identify whether the bag was mine, she mentioned two specific items – a digital camera and pairs of black shoes. The bag arrived on Saturday and guess what items were missing – the digital camera and the two pairs of black shoes.
The camera was less than a year old. It was a Canon PowerShot S5 IS $349.99. I had two pairs of black shoes in the bag. – Manufacturer: Taryn Rose – average cost per pair; $300 – one pair was new and the other was three years old.
By this letter, I requested from Lufthansa the reimbursement of the cost of the following items:
- Camera - $349.99
- 2 pairs of shoes - $600
- Hair products I had to buy when my bag was lost - $60
When in a week I had not received a reply, I tried to call Customer Service. There is only a fax number listed! I was told that no one at Lufthansa has a telephone number for these folks. When I asked to talk to the Chairman of the company, I was told that they are not allowed to contact customers to his line.