Delta advised me that until a week had elapsed I couldn't put in a claim, but once a week had gone by, I could. One of the Delta baggage information staff at Las Vegas told me in an unguarded moment that after about 10 days they stop even looking for it - if it should turn up they would get it back to me, but they aren't actually searching any more.
Once back in the UK,I followed the instructions on their website, downloaded the claim form, completed it honestly and posted it to Delta's Atlanta HQ, along with (as they had requested) the counterfoil of the tag and the irregularity report form I was given in Vegas.
Everything then went totally silent.
I emailed the baggage support using the email contact on their website. After a week I got what I suspect is an automated reply which read
Thank you for your e-mail describing the problem you experienced. This will acknowledge receipt of your e-mail; results of our investigation are forthcoming. We are working diligently to address all claims as expeditiously You will be hearing from one of our claims managers in the next 30 days. Again, thank you for writing. We appreciate your selection of Delta and will always welcome the opportunity to be of service. Sincerely, Customer Care Baggage
Two weeks later and I telephoned the Baggage Helpline, which in the US is a 1-800 toll free number, but of course is not free from the UK. One annoying part of this process is that you have to go through an automated system, which takes ages, before you get to actually speak to anyone.
When I finally did speak to someone, I was told that they had no record of my claim. I then faxed the copy document I had kept, and also e-mailed scanned copies of them. A week later I received what -again - is probably an automated reply which read:
This will acknowledge receipt of your baggage claim; results of our investigation are forthcoming. We are working diligently to address all claims as expeditiously as possible. You will be hearing from one of our claims managers in the next sixty days. We appreciate your support and trust your future flights will be entirely satisfactory.
I emailed again, about 10 days later, asking them to update me , and if possible, confirm that they accept responsibility for the loss. Again, a week passed then I got another( automated?) reply:
Thank you for expressing your concerns. We are currently running behind claims handling. We are working diligently to expedite processing of your claim. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay has caused. Please accept our apology for the unfavorable impression you received in this instance. We appreciate your selection of Delta and will always consider it a privilege to be of service.
It is now almost 7 weeks since my bag went awol. I today found that their website has a "chat live with a representative" function, which I tried, and guess what? That representative is unable to deal with lost baggage queries, and I was told to ring the 1-800 number in Atlanta again. When I said that I was unwilling to pay for a lengthy transatlantic call, eventually the chat representative told me to ring their reservations 0845 number here in the UK and ask to be put though to the baggage department. When I tried that, the representative told me that they were "unable" to do so.
Where do I go from here? DO I just sit back and wait until Delta eventually do something? Is there any way I can bring more pressure on them?
