Locking Cases

[Goofyish]

On the subject of leaving cases locked or unlocked and whether you are covered against any loss resulting from being instructed to leave cases unlocked; I contacted the Consumers Association (after they did a report on various types of case in the Which? magazine), and asked their opinion.

This is the reply I got from them:

"We have spoken to the Financial Ombudsman who deals with complaints about travel insurance about this issue. Its advice for travellers is for them to check with their insurer before travelling, so the insurer can confirm whether the traveller should lock their suitcase or not.

When the ombudsman reviews complaints about travel insurance claims it considers whether the insured has acted reasonably. For example, if a traveller had been specifically told by an airline to leave their luggage unlocked and had then suffered a loss, the ombudsman feels that the insurer should settle the claim. It's worth remembering however that you shouldn't carry valuables in your luggage as these normally won't be covered under your travel insurance policy and should be carried in hand luggage."

 

[Clarey]

Thanks Tim I think I will ring ours in the morning.

 

[minniemick]

We have just returned from LA & the cases were checked in front of us, they put a swab around the handles & just inside the case then put the swab on a machine if nothing shows up they put a blue tie on the case, we asked if we could put our padlocks on but they said no. I was happy that they never actually sorted through the case.

 

[Sebastian]

Just returned from Orlando Sanford, and both of our cases were locked with padlocks. When we arrived at Manchester, one of the cases had been opened and was resealed with a sort of cable tie. Inside was a note saying the case had been opened and they were not liable for any loss of locks and if I remember correctly also not liable for any subsequent loss from the case.

It would be cool if they put a note in saying why it was opened, either random check, or the 'pal mickey' looked like a bomb, but I guess this would take too much time.

Sebastian