I Now Hate easyJet
Added:04.04.08 - Updated:04.04.08|
OK... I'll start by saying that 2007 was a VERY tough year for me... It's up there with the beginning of 2005 which was also hell... anyways I don't want to go into those details. But It WAS tough... and a company pissing me off on top of everything is... well not on. Well I'm digressing here. I booked a flight to go over and see my mum for my Birthday... I unfortunately couldn't get Christmas off from work, so this was the best I could do. My flight over was fine and my break was as good as could be expected. So the time flew by and it was time to come back home. I checked my luggage in on 13th of December 2007, flew my flight and finally picked up my luggage on the belt on the other end. I then arrived home and started to unpack. I opened my case to find that everything was upside down and back to front... I then realised that some members of staff (I picked it straight off the belt so no chance it was another passenger...) had deliberately opened the boxes for five games and removed the discs. WTF!? So that's bad and all, but I called the police, got a crime reference, called easyJet to report it. I then contacted their customer service as below: "I am writing as I am extremely annoyed and disappointed that on my return to the UK I arrived home to find that my luggage had obviously been interfered with and additionally to that 5 Nintendo Wii games discs have been stolen from their boxes! That is over £150 worth of games! Excite Truck, Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock, Link's Crossbow Training, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Paper Mario. Obviously this is unacceptable for passengers, including myself to have to experience as, once the bags are checked in we are trusting the airline and its' staff to handle our luggage with care and respect, something that EasyJet has managed to ensure in previous flights. I hope EasyJet will, at the very least, investigate this issue and take the appropriate action on the staff responsible. I had considered EasyJet to be an airline with respectable staff, clearly this is not the case. I would like to know what steps EasyJet plans to make in terms of a resolution to this matter. Additionally, if the games discs are not able to be recovered in a respectable state, I do believe I should be compensated since I have put my trust in EasyJet to get me, my luggage and their entire contents from Malaga to Glasgow in one piece. I certainly wasn't expecting a member of EasyJet's baggage handlers to help themselves to my case's contents. Sincerely Annoyed, Kevin Winfield-Pantoja" To which their response was: "Dear Mr Winfield-Pantoja, Thank you for contacting us. I am concerned that you lost your Nintendo games whilst you were travelling with us and even more so that you feel it was taken from your luggage. A copy of your email was forwarded to our Ground Handlers in Glasgow for their immediate attention. My best advice would be to contact your local police so that they can conduct an investigation if they feel this is appropriate. Alternatively, if you think there may be a chance your games were mislaid before your flight, I would advise that you contact your travel insurers who may be able to help. We realise that you have had a negative experience on this occasion and we hope that this will not deter you from using our services again in the future. Thank you for taking the time to contact us Mr Winfield-Pantoja. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again via the contact us section of the easyJet web site. Yours sincerely Kim Diaz Customer Services Representative" Obviously that response didn't cut the mustard with me so... "Hi I'm writing in followup to to my original email, on the date of my flight, returning to Glasgow on the 13th of Decemeber. As I mentioned previously; I am extremely annoyed about what has happened. As stated £170 (A conservative estimate to the price of 5 Wii games) is a lot of money to me and I really do believe this is your problem, as a company, to rectify since this definitely happened between checking the bags in at the EasyJet desk in Malaga and collecting my case on the belt in Glasgow. It's an invasion of privacy, that someone has been through my belongings without my consent and also a breach of trust. In addition I have contacted the police and have been issued with a crime number: KB02241207 I do not expect anyone to hold up their hands and say "It was me" but I would like to see some acceptance of the problem in hand by EasyJet." So they replied: "Dear Mr. Winfield Pantoja, Thank you for your letter in connection with the problems you experienced during your recent journey with easyJet. May I offer my sincere apologies for the inconvenience you were caused by this incident. Despite our very best efforts to avoid this type of occurrence, where there is a mixture of manual and mechanical labour unfortunately such incidents can happen, although only to a small percentage of the baggage carried on our flights. Under the terms of the General Conditions of Carriage, I am afraid an airline is not liable for loss of or damage to jewellery, items of value, money, keys, perishable items, electronic equipment, fragile items, metals, silverware, business documents, securities, medications, medical documents, passports and other identification documents or samples. If you had any private insurance cover for the journey, I would recommend that you submit your claim to the insurers for their consideration. I am truly sorry that we are unable to assist you further in this matter and hope we have the pleasure of welcoming you onboard in the near future. Yours sincerely, Agne Migauskaite Baggage Claims Department" By now... I was practically FOAMING at the mouth... "Dear Agne Migauskaite, With all due respect, if a member of easyJet staff helps themselves to the contents of my case, then I fail to see how the airline is not liable... It is not a case of something falling out of my luggage, nor a case of misplaced possessions. Game discs were deliberately removed from their DVD boxes whilst my bags were checked in and entrusted to easyJet as a company. I understand that it's not your fault personally, but professionally your company has been misrepresented by whichever employee(s) that did this. I can understand that it's difficult to prove one way or the other that the games were stolen, but I'm not making outlandish claims. Several of the 5 games were bought for my Birthday and Christmas presents and I have been greatly saddened by their absence, more so since I went to Spain for an "Early Christmas" since I knew I would be working through the actual Christmas season. I find it difficult to believe that there is nothing more that you can do and very disappointing. If no gesture for this inconvenience is made, then I'm afraid I will have to terminate any future custom with easyJet since it would be then against my principles to do so. Your Sincerely, Kevin Winfield-Pantoja" Their final reply was late (They are supposed to reply within 14 days...) "Dear Mr. Winfield Pantoja, Thank you for your letter dated 8th Febraury, the contents of which have been noted. I regret to learn that you strongly believe that your items were stolen whilst in the care of easyJet. However, may I respectfully advise that there is no specific evidence confirming the theft of your DVDs. May I further explain that, easyJet is not complacent with regards to accusations of lost/pilfered baggage and all our baggage handlers are regularly scrutinised by various means to ensure that this unacceptable behaviour is eradicated. Increased security and the introduction of C.C.T.V at most international airports has also resulted in a decrease of baggage claims. Furthermore, I am sure you will appreciate that no matter how vigilant or security conscience the passengers, staff and the company are, anyone intending on undertaking such activities will find a way to achieve their purpose regardless. The elimination of such actions, is a never-ending battle, one of which our senior management is well aware. I can only assure you that we are continually looking into ways to increase our security. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write to us. Yours sincerely, Agne Migauskaite Baggage Claims Department" So there is the disappointing end to this story. I can't think of anyway I can actually prove that their staff stole my games... The police didn't dust my case for prints, despite the police station being a literal minute's walk away... I won't be flying with easyJet again, and I would strongly advise you to think about using another airline also. |
Note: To contact me please use this address: pokeparadox (AT) gmail (DOT) com .
It is thought that 71 game discs are needed to be stolen, to use as ammunition to fight off the angry mobs from their HQ, who are rioting because of having their discs stolen... vicious circle.
