I took a flight for 10 days to Italy this summer, and when I arrived in Venice my bags were not there. While very frustrating, I understand that this can happen on occasion with checked baggage. My problem is everything that happened next.
I had checked everything except for a small carry on with my camera and tablet (lesson learned, always have 1 change of clothes) so I filed a missing baggage report in Venice which included giving them my cell phone number (I have free international minutes). The entire trip I never heard a word from them. So I wound up buying new clothes, toiletries and luggage on my trip rather than wear the same smelly outfit for ten straight days. When I finally got home at 4pm on a sunday, no one from Air Canada was in the entire airport to talk to about whether or not my bags had been found.
I call them the next day and they try to tell me that they had tried to call me a couple days into the trip but there was no answer. A clear lie because if I didn’t answer my cell it would have given them my voicemail. They then proceed to tell me that they cannot help me over the phone at all. My ONLY option is to email their baggage department. The automated response from that says it will take up to 4 weeks to respond… 5 weeks later they give me a form to fill out to submit a claim for reimbursement. I do so, and another 3 weeks go by before I hear a response. During this time I tried calling again twice and was told I can only deal with their email team.
Finally I receive a response on my claim. The verdict? They flat out refuse to reimburse anything that does not have a receipt. I had tried to save money by buying some things from street vendors instead of expensive stores. And so Air Canada believes I spend the entire trip in the same clothing I flew in, never brushed my teeth, never shaved and never used deoderant…
