So upset... TSA denied my claim!

[JodiR]

I had a CPAP machine in my luggage. I had a slip in my luggage saying it had been opened and inspected. This was in November. Today I get a letter saying the claim was denied because my luggage was never opened.

I was told that someone illegally opened it and put the notice in the suitcase. That just seems so absurd.

I had to pay $400 to replace the broken part of the machine. Do I have any other options?

I even bought flight insurance but it is probably too late to file. TSA took 5 months to make a decision.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I had a CPAP machine in my luggage. I had a slip in my luggage saying it had been opened and inspected. This was in November. Today I get a letter saying the claim was denied because my luggage was never opened.

I was told that someone illegally opened it and put the notice in the suitcase. That just seems so absurd.

I had to pay $400 to replace the broken part of the machine. Do I have any other options?

I even bought flight insurance but it is probably too late to file. TSA took 5 months to make a decision.

Did you have a TSA security lock on it? Aren't they the only ones who can supposedly open them?

 

[NotUrsula]

Did you also file a claim with the airline before you left the airport that day?

You could try to appeal with TSA, but the odds are that they will just reject the claim out of hand. $400 really isn't a lot of money in their terms, because you are unlikely to hire an attorney to pursue the claim, so it is worth it for them to just put you off until you go away.

These days the passenger is well and truly screwed when it comes to missing/damaged items inside bags. The airline will blame TSA, and TSA will blame the airline, and the circle never ends.

 

[JodiR]

I didn't notice the damage until I got home that evening. I called the airlines and TSA. Since I had a notice of inspection in my luggage, I figured they broke it. The airlines felt the same way.

I do plan on filing in small claims. I did not break this machine that cost me $400 to replace.

 

[msmayor]

Why in the world would you put a C-PAP machine in your checked luggage? Its a piece of medical equipment that does NOT count against your carry on limits. My boss travels with hers all the time and always carries it on the plane with her without any trouble.

 

[dburg30]

I didn't notice the damage until I got home that evening. I called the airlines and TSA. Since I had a notice of inspection in my luggage, I figured they broke it. The airlines felt the same way.

I do plan on filing in small claims. I did not break this machine that cost me $400 to replace.

The problem will be no one can be sure where / when the damage happened. One would guess probably while being handled or in the aircraft itself, but you cant be sure of that.

Any reason it wasnt in your carry on bag to keep track of it??

 

[Tara]

I had a CPAP machine in my luggage. I had a slip in my luggage saying it had been opened and inspected. This was in November. Today I get a letter saying the claim was denied because my luggage was never opened.

I was told that someone illegally opened it and put the notice in the suitcase. That just seems so absurd.

I had to pay $400 to replace the broken part of the machine. Do I have any other options?

I even bought flight insurance but it is probably too late to file. TSA took 5 months to make a decision.

I agree that the idea the bag was illegally opened and had a notice put in is absurd - how could they ever substantiate that?

That said, I'm not surprised they denied the claim as there's no way to tell how the damage happened and it could very well have been the result of airline luggage handling.

What's done is done, but going forward, I'd recommend you not check important medical equipment such as this.

 

[BigTigger]

You are probably out of luck as they are almost too big to fight. They dropped my daughters PC when screening it for plastic explosives and broke lots of little pieces. They agreed to pay for parts to fix the PC, but not labor as it was two years old. No amount of fighting would get them to pay the labor part.

I took the check for the parts cost and fixed it myself. I then took them to small claims court and won a judgement for the labor costs based on a Best Buy labor and parts quote to fix the PC. TSA is a quasi-government agency and the damage was caused by contract employees at the airport in question (RDU). Due to that contract status, I was able to legally sue them and win the judgement. It took eleven months and involvement by my US Congressman to get the judgement paid.

 

[pr surfer]

Contact your congresscritters about this

 

[rwdavis2]

Welcome to "government service". Just imagine what it will be like in just a few years.
BD

 

[dburg30]

Contact your congresscritters about this

Welcome to "government service". Just imagine what it will be like in just a few years.
BD

But again how do we know it's the TSA that broke it?

 

[rwdavis2]

But again how do we know it's the TSA that broke it?

True, but I think the OP said it took 5 months to deny the claim.
BD

 

[eliza61]

Contact your congresscritters about this

But again how do we know it's the TSA that broke it?

thanks Pr, that was funny. There in lies the problem it really is a "he say/she say" situation.

 

[francie57]

Unfortunately since you cannot specifically say that they are responsible for the damage they won't cover it. It probably took 5 months because they have so many claims to go through. Unfortunately for you its an expensive lesson to learn that nothing expensive should be in your checked luggage. It could easily have been damaged just by the airline tossing it under the plane. There are discussions about those devices on here all the time and the majority carry it on the plane since it is expensive.

 

[cbrfan]

True, but I think the OP said it took 5 months to deny the claim.
BD

They must have expedited the claim..

 

[DIS1130]

I thought everyone knew that once you checked your bags that TSA had the right to open any bag at anytime. As a matter of fact isn't there signs up and it on all of the websites for your airline? I guess that's what America has come to when we all want to point fingers at someone else for our mistakes. No one owes you anything! Call it a mistake and your loss...

 

[dburg30]

I thought everyone knew that once you checked your bags that TSA had the right to open any bag at anytime. As a matter of fact isn't there signs up and it on all of the websites for your airline? I guess that's what America has come to when we all want to point fingers at someone else for our mistakes. No one owes you anything! Call it a mistake and your loss...

Sure, they didnt say they couldnt open it, but they (someone) broke it. It's that 'someone' that is going to be impossible to prove.

 

[librarygal]

Maybe you need write a song and make a video about it. Even though this guy saw United baggage handlers throw his guitar United refused to compensate him until his video became a You Tube sensation.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

 

[Uncleromulus]

Sounds like a TSA thing--.
But watching the airline employees themselves toss around baggage, almost ANYTHING could happen.