BEWARE United...lost clothing

[bubbleprincessmom]

As some of you may be aware, my husband left today for his language school prior to shipping out to Iraq. He flew United this morning, handing over his duffle bag (with his PT and regular uniforms as well as cilivlian clothes) to the United rep, who told him he couldn't lock the duffle. Okay, but when someone (TSA or United) went through it they did NOT relatch the hook!!!! He ended up in Texas with only about half his stuff!!! United says its TSA's problem and that it will take 35-45 days to process and investagate the claim!! Than they will NOT pay full value for the items lost!! What the ??? We're already taking a hit financially with him being deployed and now we have to go out and buy new uniforms because the airline lost them???

 

[Celluloidgal]

Bummer.

(I'd use other words, but I'm afraid they are not "family" friendly.)

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

That's terrible!! Have you thought about getting his unit involved? DH had one of his bags lost in November and that's what we did since they kept shuffling us to another person. He took military flights from overseas to Dover, but has to take a civilian flight from Baltimore to Syracuse. Some of the stuff in the bag was issued so it was military property and they found it after the 1st Sgt called. Hope it works out! Good luck to your DH and safe returns!

 

[Disfan1]

Ah, the joys of airline travel! Hope they can find them for you!

 

[powellrj]

good luck getting your stuff back. I costs enough to get them to Iraq without another added expense.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

o geez---i hope you guys get them back!

 

[poohbear1029]

I would recommend that your Dh let his commanding officer or someone else know about this. It probably is just carelessness on the part of the airline, but I know after 9/11, DH was warned that persons might be trying to steal DOD stickers off cars, military uniforms, etc. While United might have just been careless, you probably want to let someone know in the military. Also, they might be able to help him get some compensation from United to take care of covering cost of uniforms. I know firsthand that those arent cheap, plus having all the patches, name patches, etc sewn on!

You would think that United would try to be a little more sympathetic givent he fact that your DH is headed to Iraq!

What you may want to to is also call TSA. When I came back from Orlando, on my cosmetic case, which I checked, they put a preprinted note inside indicating it had been searched and THEY used some sort of TSA zip-tie to seal my bag. They may have been responsible for doing so, to ensure it was sealed.

 

[RachelEllen]

That is awful! We had hundreds of dollars of stuff stolen from our luggage back when TSA first started.

(yes, dumb to have it in there, the whole saga is somewhere back on the transportation board, but basically, they were being extremely/overly strict about carry-on, and told us in order to get on the plane, we had to check our video equipment)

We couldn't even get anyone to tell us how to file a claim. After spending, hours on the phone, the only way we got money back was through personal insurance. (Local Fox News even ended up interviewing my husband for a consumer report). Anyhow, good luck on getting reimbursed.

Rachel

 

[Disney Doll]

I'd get his CO or someone higher up involved. My guess is that United and the TSA would not be happy about the bad press it would generate that a military man going overseas to Iraq had his luggage mishandled by the airline.

 

[Sirius]

I agree with letting someone know what happened, especially if Military uniforms are among the missing items.

Side Note: I hate United. I took 9 high school students to London in March. United decided to put our luggage on the different plane and route it through Chicago. Now, did anyone from United EVER tell me they were doing this? No! So, when I arrive at Heathrow with 9 students in tow, imagine my shock and dismay at discovering we have no luggage. A United rep. takes down our information and promisses to look for our luggage in the system. He comes back 30 minutes later and tells us that a container was left off the plane in Washington DC and that our luggage will arrive on the morning flight and that they will bring it to us. So, I go back to tell my students, who at this point have been waiting for an hour. We are getting ready to leave when I see my luggage traveling the belt from the recently arrived Chicago flight. I go over and all of our luggage is there. We get our luggage and leave.

What makes me really made is that not only did they not tell me they were putting my luggage on a different flight, but also the fact that they lied to me and told me it was still in Wash. DC.

I'll never fly United again.

End of Rant...Happy Thoughts

Have a great day!

 

[tinaluis]

I'd definitely get his CO involved. I think the military would be a little concerned that uniforms are missing, no? Good luck to you on this saga. Our thoughts and prayers are with you -- hoping for a safe and speedy return for your DH.

 

[Otto's Doll]

Any updates? I would also recommend reporting this to his CO/Unit.

 

[doxdogy]

Not to sound like a broken record, but definitely get either his Captain, 1SG or CSM involved.

 

[bubbleprincessmom]

Well my husband is a Major in his unit so he is an officer and believe me he is still reaming United out today. What is so frustrating is that each is blaming the other (TSA/United). He's filling out all kinds of forms today. Hoping for some sort of resolution soon. I told United though that I would be posting to 55000 of my best friends to get the word out. They don't want you to lock the stuff they need to be extra cautious.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

The TSA policy on luggage is "leave it unlocked, in case we have to search it." What they don't tell you is that if they have to search it, and it's tightly packed, they may not always be as good at packing as you are. If they have a hard time fitting stuff back in, they'll typically let stuff "slip out" until the bag is able to be closed properly.

Not saying this is necessarily what happened to your DH's uniforms, but it's plausible.