linnealand
Nov 12, 2008, 05:26 PM
In January, my boyfriend and I flew from italy to miami, and then to New York to attend my father's wedding. We went through Alitalia. They lost 2 of our maximum size, maximum weight bags, which included every single item my boyfriend brought, from clothes and shoes to electronics, everything he needed for the wedding, some of my clothes, and gifts. It was horrible. We tried contacting Alitalia in every way possible for our entire week in miami, but no one ever contacted us back. In the end, it appeared that we were being directed to "false" offices, where no one really works or contacts anyone.
Our only luck came from the fact that I purchased our tickets through an American Express platinum card, and the AMEX people were extremely diligent in trying to help us in every way. We left miami without the bags, forwarded them our next address in New York, and wound up there in the middle of the freezing weather.
We were told that we would be covered once we gathered the recipets for any necessary items. Well, we bought what was needed, saved the receipts, and then sent all of that information to Alitalia via fax. The first fax was 18 pages, and we followed their requirements in every possible way. On the return home, they shredded one of my suitcases. I also sent in a claim for that one.
After two months, the bags were returned to us. The suitcases were torn to shreds. Our electronics were also missing. We filed a police report before leaving the airport (where we picked up the bags). I sent a copy of the police report, along with another letter asking what's going on with our file. Still, we didn't hear anything from anyone.
We tried calling the Alitalia office in rome, which they charge for, and we were told that they were opening up files from August at that time. We were in march, so they couldn't even tell us if our faxes went through.
I sent all information, claims and letters to the office in New York AND to the office in rome. I have tried calling the New York office about 20 times from where I am now, in italy. I'm kept on hold by a machine for more time than you can possibly imagine, and then the call is disconnected.
Now we're in NOVEMBER. No one has contacted us at all from Alitalia. I am at my wit's end. They owe us for the damaged bags, the damaged goods, the items we had to buy when we didn't have our bags, and more.
What is this about? Obviously, I would prefer it if I didn't have to pay a lawyer to handle the case. What should I be doing at this point?
Our only luck came from the fact that I purchased our tickets through an American Express platinum card, and the AMEX people were extremely diligent in trying to help us in every way. We left miami without the bags, forwarded them our next address in New York, and wound up there in the middle of the freezing weather.
We were told that we would be covered once we gathered the recipets for any necessary items. Well, we bought what was needed, saved the receipts, and then sent all of that information to Alitalia via fax. The first fax was 18 pages, and we followed their requirements in every possible way. On the return home, they shredded one of my suitcases. I also sent in a claim for that one.
After two months, the bags were returned to us. The suitcases were torn to shreds. Our electronics were also missing. We filed a police report before leaving the airport (where we picked up the bags). I sent a copy of the police report, along with another letter asking what's going on with our file. Still, we didn't hear anything from anyone.
We tried calling the Alitalia office in rome, which they charge for, and we were told that they were opening up files from August at that time. We were in march, so they couldn't even tell us if our faxes went through.
I sent all information, claims and letters to the office in New York AND to the office in rome. I have tried calling the New York office about 20 times from where I am now, in italy. I'm kept on hold by a machine for more time than you can possibly imagine, and then the call is disconnected.
Now we're in NOVEMBER. No one has contacted us at all from Alitalia. I am at my wit's end. They owe us for the damaged bags, the damaged goods, the items we had to buy when we didn't have our bags, and more.
What is this about? Obviously, I would prefer it if I didn't have to pay a lawyer to handle the case. What should I be doing at this point?