Next to having an airline lose luggage, damaged luggage is one of the best ways to ruin a vacation.
Unfortunately, people who handle luggage are not always reliable. People have often found their luggage to be torn or smashed due to someone else’s incompetence. As a result, they’re left struggling on what to do next.
Here is what you should do if your luggage is damaged:
Inspect Everything Before The Trip
Before beginning the trip, always make a mental note to check everything that was packed. Looking over everything carefully will make it easier to identify any damage that wasn’t there before.
Make sure to bring the receipts for all of the luggage because they’ll be needed in order to receive reimbursement should any damage occur. Also, mentally prepare to negotiate with the airline because they can be rather unforgiving when it comes to empathy. A lot of airlines have a history of giving disgruntled vacationers a meager amount of reimbursement.
Report Damage Immediately
If any of the luggage is damaged, report it to the airline immediately. However, keep in mind that each airline has their own set of regulations, so be sure to read them first before reporting. Some airlines even have a time limit in regards to reporting luggage, which means that if you don’t report the damage in a certain period of time, the airline won’t provide reimbursement.
Negotiation
If the airline puts up a fight about providing reimbursement, despite following the regulations, don’t back down. Inform the staff that the problem will be escalated if something is not done. A good tactic to use to let them know that their service is used rather frequently. This can help gain an advantage over them because it wouldn’t bode well to lose such a valuable customer.
Check The Travel Insurance
In the event of damaged luggage, contacting the travel insurance company can help with acquiring a better reimbursement than arguing with the airline. However, similar to negotiating with the airline, there is a small catch. Travel insurance will only provide coverage between the price of the luggage and how much reimbursement was received from the airline.
Traveling can be stressful, but having to deal with luggage damage is a nightmare Plan ahead and if need be, take the appropriate steps to recover the cost of damages.
