UKC

Does anyone here have experience with EasyJet lost baggage?

Returned from Milan a month ago, we checked in 3 bags and only two came out when we arrived back in London (LGW). Obviously the one that is lost contained all of my sports climbing gear, ie 60m rope, 14 qd, belay devices, slings, screwgates, boots, harnesses , helmet, belay glasses etc .

I have logged the bag with EasyJet on their baggage portal and raised a claim on a separate portal, but I have had no communication with them aside from automated emails/VR. Tried phoning but its impossible to talk to a human or get a status update. Used the "live chat" where I was told they could not help with a baggage enquiry (despite the phone system saying that the most efficient way to get in touch is via Live Chat) - clearly its designed to be circular and obfuscating. They did however tell me that a bag is considered irrevocably lost after 45 days, and this could mean that I hear nothing for 45 days. I have sent messages and left voicemails but I have had no response at all.

I have travel insurance and I have notified them but it appears that I am stuck in an impasse with Easyjet until the 45 days are up I think.

I do have a trad rack but already had to go and buy a new harness so I could climb routes, I can cobble together most of a rack for sports but missing some key components, obviously I am loathe to but more new kit unnecessarily (if I get my bag back) but would happily do so if I knew the bag was not coming home.

What to do? All friends who have lost bags say theirs came back within a week. The frustrating part is being unable to get any info out of EasyJet at all.

Does anyone have recent baggage issues with EJ?

Anyone know if I have any rights over time frame/response for this type of thing? Are there any consumer protection services/bodies that would be relevant? 

Does anyone know if the Small Claims Court is applicable in this situation? I think that between 0 and 45 days, they say the bag is "delayed", its not officially missing or lost.

If its 45 days before they declare it lost, I would assume it would be another 45 days to process/settle any kind of claim - we may be into winter before I get on another sport route!

You mention travel insurance. This normally has limited cover for delayed baggage, obviously targeted at outward travel delays but might be worth seeing if it will cover replacing essential bits like your harness.

I'm sorry that happened. That really sucks.

Not had this with Easyjet - but Air Canada damaged my suitcase and the Osprey pack within it (obviously suspect this was the baggage handlers). Still haven't heard back from the Airline (it's been almost 45 days) and my insurers - BMC - have ignored repeated emails asking for advice on submitting a claim, after replying to my first email, trying to dissuade me from claiming (have to claim by post it seems, and have access to a printer to do so, annoyingly).

Afraid I don't have any advice other than to just send in a claim quickly; it seems that by actually trying to speak to BMC insurers for advice on one element of mine, they've been able to avoid doing anything (I haven't yet tried calling as difficult to do during working hours) - so that's the only lesson I can offer from experience. (I have complained about this to the BMC.)

Good luck. 

Oh no, sorry to hear that the BMC experience is as bad as ej.

Maybe there is an anti Osprey conspiracy going on as mine was an Osprey porter! I have notified the insurer but I seem to be stuck in limbo as ej have not officially admitted any kind of liability and officially the bag is not lost, its delayed. A nice technicality to hide behind for 45 days.

It's been  a while since I've done this, but both times it's worked out (once at LGW and once at LHR).  It tales some faffing, but get to speak to the baggage handling desk at the terminal.  Arrange to visit - you need to go though security in revers and be accompanied  First time it was in a big pile next to a carousel.  The second, I showed a photo of it to someone who went to look (it was distinctive, deliberately so) and he came back half an hour later with it.  They'd obviously run out of storage a long time previously, because it was soaking

Ah that does suck. I did once get a suitcase back after it turned out another passenger had taken mine, which looked a lot like hers - but we solved this by contacting one another rather than via the airline. Fingers crossed it all works out for you.  

No experience of this myself but a friend of a friend recently had a bag of their's lost by an airline and they did something I thought was clever. They looked at all the flights departing around the same time as their's from the airport, and then called those airports up to see if their bag had arrived there by accident. Luckily for them the bag had been delivered to Bristol instead of Birmingham (I couldn't believe it didn't go to any other random country in the world!) and they just drove down and picked it up. Don't think they got reimbursed for the petrol! But might be something you could try.

Ugh, disappointing to hear about your current experience with BMC, just about to book a trip and was going to insure with them (as per previous trips, but never had to claim).

Does anyone have any recommendations for climbing travel insurers that won't muck you about if you need to claim?

“Does anyone have any recommendations for climbing travel insurers that won't muck you about if you need to claim?”

None 😕

All insurance is a form gambling and stacked in favour of the house, and we all know the house does not like losing

I had heard that the BMC were good at helping if you actually had a climbing accident emergency (can't verify that, mind), and I haven't actually submitted a claim or tried calling them - so all of these things might work fine. But disappointed they pick and choose when to reply to emails.

Basically no experience to suggest they're worse than others. So def take others' experiences of them as well! 

Do we think that the bag is still in Milan or back at Gatwick, or shipped to a random destination by mistake?

When trying to make a claim with BMC I was distinctly underwhelmed. As someone above mentioned, all the forms had to be downloaded and printed, then posted. My claim was refused in a very offhand way, and when I queried this the person swiftly became rather rude. For my next trip I insured elsewhere.

https://www.ceoemail.com/index.php

Enter easyjet in the search

No help in this instance, however for high value luggage I’ve taken to packing an Apple AirTag with the contents. It will usually give you a guide as to whether it’s still in an airport, in transit or somewhere unexpected. 

You will find that when selling insurance, the BMC is part of our community, when it is claim time, they are just the broker, please speak with the underwriter.

Then they should pass all enquiries on to the appropriate person. Not be offhand and then rude.

When I had to be rescued by helicopter in Switzerland, the insurance company used by my BMC policy was spectacularly incompetent, eventually getting to the point where I was doing the work for them, while simultaneously being threatened by debt collection companies for not paying for my rescue. Never, ever again will I use BMC insurance.

Interesting to hear these experiences, thank you. I had always used BMC as I'd heard they were good with climbing accidents! I guess every experience may vary but I may consider going elsewhere in future. I'm not actually even sure if I can claim with them given I've also claimed with my airline, but given that both at ignoring me, I guess it's moot. 

Hope the OP gets resolution anyway. 

Interesting to hear these experiences, thank you, as I was hoping they were better with actual accidents. I guess every experience may vary but I may consider going elsewhere in future. 

Hope the OP gets resolution anyway. 

Interesting to hear that. I was airlifted from the Matterhorn in 2003 and the BMC insurance dealt with everything very efficiently. All I had to do was send them the invoices and they paid Air Zermatt directly. They were also very good when I was unwell at altitude in a guided trip in Nepal around October 2010. I guess the underwriters may have changed since.