eosphoros
Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2011
- Posts
- 293
Four months ago, I travelled on CX105 to MEL in paid J and upon arrival found by 6 week old Rimowa case with a massive dent in the side. To cut a long story short, I still have no idea when I will receive compensation for my damaged bag, which is in the possession of CX and or its agents.
I reported the damage to the baggage handler, Menzies, at the airport and was given a claim number and was told to drop the bag off at CX's repairer in Melbourne, Walkalong, for assessment and repair. I dropped the bag off at Walkalong a little less than a week later for assessment. I never heard back on assessment of damage and repair status. Instead, I was told that a replacement bag could not be sourced in Australia (despite the exact model appearing on the Hunt Leather website) and that CX had to source one from Hong Kong. I assumed based on this that the bag could not be repaired.
A few weeks later I was called by the repair agent and told that CX was unable to source one in Hong Kong. I found this extremely difficult to accept. Upon asking about the details, it appeared that 'CX sourcing one in Hong Kong' involved someone from their office here in Australia going over and purchasing one to bring back on an already scheduled trip to Hong Kong. In the event that person was unable, for want of time, to go and purchase one. Again, I found this tale of events very difficult to accept: Why would CX as such a large company require an employee to physically go and buy one from a store and take a pax replacement suitcase with them on their trip?
I was presented with two options: (1) be given an alternative bag, for which a Samsonite was suggested, or (2) produce the receipt for the bag and receive the purchase monies. I opted for the latter. I forwarded my receipt with a purchase price of HKD10780 to Walkalong 2 months ago. I never heard back and so a week later I called back to ask about progress. The response was that the CX representative in Australia (I assume Sydney) dealing with my claim was on leave and that it was decided that it was best to wait until he was back until proceeding further with my claim. Again, I waited.
About a month ago, I again called Walkalong in Melbourne -- the CX rep would clearly have been back from leave, it having been almost a month since my last contact. At that point I was given some excuse (I really can't remember what) and was told to contact CX directly. I was asked email my reference number number so he could email me back the details of the CX rep in charge of my claim. I never received a reply. I called Walkalong again a few days later again and pressed for the contact details. The guy said he would email me that evening. That never happened.
In the intervening period I had exams and so didn't have time to chase up the claim. Today I called CX's reservation office directly in Sydney. Upon explaining to them what happened, the CX rep on the phone said that all damaged baggage claims are handled directly through head office in Hong Kong. That is in direct contradiction to the repair agent in Melbourne's story that someone from CX in Australia was handling the claim. The CX rep on the phone asked for my claim number and upon looking up the claim on her system, she said there were no details on the claim.
I am at a loss as to how to proceed. This has been an extremely frustrating series of events. It has not been helped by the complete ineptitude of Walkalong to communicate with me or act as CX's agent for damaged baggage claims. It is not uncommon that I find myself travelling in CX in premium cabins and this has left a very sour taste in my mouth. I am sick of trying to get CX to pay me through their agent.
[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? I have thought about posting publicly onto CX's Facebook page as it appears increasingly clear that complaints on social media get addressed rather quickly. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? [/FONT]
I reported the damage to the baggage handler, Menzies, at the airport and was given a claim number and was told to drop the bag off at CX's repairer in Melbourne, Walkalong, for assessment and repair. I dropped the bag off at Walkalong a little less than a week later for assessment. I never heard back on assessment of damage and repair status. Instead, I was told that a replacement bag could not be sourced in Australia (despite the exact model appearing on the Hunt Leather website) and that CX had to source one from Hong Kong. I assumed based on this that the bag could not be repaired.
A few weeks later I was called by the repair agent and told that CX was unable to source one in Hong Kong. I found this extremely difficult to accept. Upon asking about the details, it appeared that 'CX sourcing one in Hong Kong' involved someone from their office here in Australia going over and purchasing one to bring back on an already scheduled trip to Hong Kong. In the event that person was unable, for want of time, to go and purchase one. Again, I found this tale of events very difficult to accept: Why would CX as such a large company require an employee to physically go and buy one from a store and take a pax replacement suitcase with them on their trip?
I was presented with two options: (1) be given an alternative bag, for which a Samsonite was suggested, or (2) produce the receipt for the bag and receive the purchase monies. I opted for the latter. I forwarded my receipt with a purchase price of HKD10780 to Walkalong 2 months ago. I never heard back and so a week later I called back to ask about progress. The response was that the CX representative in Australia (I assume Sydney) dealing with my claim was on leave and that it was decided that it was best to wait until he was back until proceeding further with my claim. Again, I waited.
About a month ago, I again called Walkalong in Melbourne -- the CX rep would clearly have been back from leave, it having been almost a month since my last contact. At that point I was given some excuse (I really can't remember what) and was told to contact CX directly. I was asked email my reference number number so he could email me back the details of the CX rep in charge of my claim. I never received a reply. I called Walkalong again a few days later again and pressed for the contact details. The guy said he would email me that evening. That never happened.
In the intervening period I had exams and so didn't have time to chase up the claim. Today I called CX's reservation office directly in Sydney. Upon explaining to them what happened, the CX rep on the phone said that all damaged baggage claims are handled directly through head office in Hong Kong. That is in direct contradiction to the repair agent in Melbourne's story that someone from CX in Australia was handling the claim. The CX rep on the phone asked for my claim number and upon looking up the claim on her system, she said there were no details on the claim.
I am at a loss as to how to proceed. This has been an extremely frustrating series of events. It has not been helped by the complete ineptitude of Walkalong to communicate with me or act as CX's agent for damaged baggage claims. It is not uncommon that I find myself travelling in CX in premium cabins and this has left a very sour taste in my mouth. I am sick of trying to get CX to pay me through their agent.
[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? I have thought about posting publicly onto CX's Facebook page as it appears increasingly clear that complaints on social media get addressed rather quickly. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? [/FONT]
