Lost baggage
I had travelled with my family from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi on December 26, 2014 through Jet Airways. From Bangkok to Delhi and from Delhi to Abu Dhabi, I travelled through Etihad Airways. The flight landed in Abu Dhabi on December 27.
I had checked in two pieces of baggage from Bangkok. But when I landed here, only one bag arrived. My big bag was missing. We logged a complaint at the lost baggage section of Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi airport.
After two days, I got a call from the airlines and was told that my bag was found and would be delivered to my home. The next morning, the delivery personnel arrived with a small, very different bag, and it had my baggage tag on it. This was totally surprising! How could my tag get onto someone else’s bag, when it was properly tagged in front of me in Bangkok?
I returned the bag, as it was not mine. I kept on calling the number given to me for feedback. But most of the time, it went unanswered. Finally, one day, I was called to check if my bag was in the airport. I went to the airport but did not find the bag.
I was told to wait for 21 days until the airline could trace and find my bag. They told me that if I don’t get the bag back, I can log a claim for my bag. After waiting for 21 days, when I did not get any response, I logged the claim online on Etihad Airways’ website for compensation.
I got a response on January 19, 2015, stating that they received my claim and they then asked for a couple of documents. I sent all the details and the document back, without one required item (receipts of the items). I mentioned in the mail that items lost included dresses, shoes, make up and some items I had bought in Bangkok. I didn’t have receipts for all of them. No one keeps the receipts of dresses for so long, and there is no warranty claim available anyway.
After that, I sent several reminders. On February 2, I got an email saying that the baggage team was investigating the matter and they would get back to me soon.
Since then, there has been a long silence. No one has bothered to answer or act on my claim. My total claim amount, after reasonable depreciation, is Dh7,785.
Could you please help me get the claim amount? It has been two months and I am still waiting for my money.
From Mr Pradeep Kumar Sahu
Abu Dhabi
A spokesperson from Etihad Airways responds:
Despite a thorough investigation, we have regrettably not been able to locate Mr Sahu’s bag.
We have apologised to Mr Sahu for this unfortunate occurrence and offered him compensation, which he has accepted.
Mr Sahu responds:
Thanks for the help to speed up the process. The airlines has offered me compensation and I have got the money credited to my account. Gulf News’ intervention really helped.
(Process initiation: March 3. Response from organisation: March 11. Reader confirmation: March 16.)
Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@gulfnews.com.
