Jenn is from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and lives in Pennsylvania. She held her wedding in her hometown, and eight days before the wedding, she flew down to prepare. Her wedding gown didn’t make it. Someone stole the gown out of her checked baggage.
On May 1, I traveled via US Airways to my hometown on the Outer Banks of NC for my wedding, which was May 9. I carefully folded up my wedding dress and packed it inside a suitcase, and checked it. That was an incredibly stupid move on my part. At the airport in Pittsburgh, they asked for volunteers to take the next flight out in exchange for a free round trip ticket for future use, as they had overbooked. I happily volunteered, because my layover in Charlotte was going to be 4 hours long, and I would still be on the same connecting flight. I thought it was a great deal for me.
When I arrived in New Bern, NC my luggage had somehow arrived before me, and I had to retrieve it from the baggage office. When I picked up the bag, I nearly fell over because I expected it to be about 25 pounds heavier than it was. I opened the bag in front of the desk agents and inside was the ripped open garment bag, complete with broken zipper and a broken hanger. There was no dress. My mother, who picked me up at the airport, was as calm as possible when she explained to the agent that my wedding was 8 days away, and how were they going to proceed with finding my dress. The response started with “Well, are you sure you packed it?” (Yes. It’s my WEDDING. I’m certain that I did not absentmindedly leave the dress behind.) then progressed to “Well, we didn’t lose your dress, we have nothing to do with that,”
and finally to “We can fill out a report, and you can expect a phone call tomorrow.”Tomorrow came, but there was no phone call. I called them around 3pm, and was told that they couldn’t find a file with my name or with the file number I was provided with, and it can take up to a week before the pilfered bag reports even get into their system.
Yes, Consumerist. I was told that despite the fact that my wedding was now 7 days away, it would be about 7 days before they would even BEGIN investigating my missing dress.
For those who don’t know, formal wedding gowns are very complicated. Finding one straight off of a rack is difficult, especially in a tiny town with the nearest chain bridal shop (David’s Bridal) being over 2 hours away. First, the gal finds the dress she wants. It more or less never fits perfectly, so she has to take it to be altered, which can take several weeks to complete. For my dress, it had been taken up 4 inches, the train had a bustle installed, the halter neck had to be shortened, and the torso of the dress had to be taken out a full two inches for a total cost of nearly $300. The dress itself cost nearly $700. And now, US Airways was telling me I was SOL, and I was going to have to find another dress in just a couple of days, as it was already about 4pm when I got off the phone, the following day was Sunday, and I’d need at least 2 days for alterations.
My mother, my aunt and I scoured stores for a couple of days looking for ANYTHING that would suffice as a wedding dress. We came up empty handed until Tuesday afternoon, when we found a dress at a bridal shop that was my size. It was, by no means, a dress I would have chosen in any other situation, but because of the urgency of the situation, I was forced to take whatever I could get. We found a seamstress in a neighboring town who was willing to do the necessary alterations in a huge rush for an exorbitant amount of money, and I was able to pick up the dress the morning of the wedding.
My new husband and I returned from NC yesterday. I stopped by the baggage office at the Pittsburgh airport and asked them about it, but they hadn’t heard anything about it. I called US Airways again when I got home, and there is STILL no record of anything.
I’m not sure where to go from here. I have receipts for everything. Both dresses, all alterations, both sets of shoes and undergarments, etc. Is small claims court the best route to take?
Jenn admits that putting the gown in checked luggage was a mistake. Still, that doesn’t give someone with access to luggage a license to steal her gown, and airline employees seem to have thrown up their hands. Her dress hasn’t turned up yet. What do you, the readers, suggest? Other than virtually smashing wedding cake in airline executives’ faces with an EECB.
(Photo: Corey Ann)
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Dear Mr. Fox,
Another fox in your pack ate all of my chickens. Can you please help me find out who did it?
Our airlines are scumsuckers. The people in the lost baggage department are one step up from the stuff at the bottom of the Bronx Zoo monkey cage.
I have not flown US Scareways even one time when they haven’t lost my checked luggage.
My question is, where’d they hide the wedding dress? Do they only steal stuff from luggage when it’s the end of their shift and they can make a quick getaway?
The thought of some baggage handler trying to stuff a wedding dress down their jumpsuit kind of amuses me. It’s not like it’s a digital camera.
@b.k.: yeah…i could barely hold the 2 wedding gowns during one of those crazy running of the brides events i went to last year for a friend….wedding gowns can be HEAVY
i have a stupid question…what would happen if you called he police right then and there and reported a robbery? a 700 dress is a big theft.
@Joyce Godsey: I was wondering exactly that. I’d never call 911, but it seems to me that calling the non-emergency police number should work. Although, are airports considered federal in the same way that a US post office is? Or does the TSA have some sort of jurisdiction over this? Not knowing more, I’d try the non-emergency local police number, explain the issue and see who they say should be turning this into a criminal matter. And I wouldn’t budge until some badge-owning official filed the appropriate paperwork to report a crime. [NOT blaming the OP; I wouldn't have thought to do so either, until now.] The luggage wasn’t lost. It wasn’t damaged. A theft occured. It’s a crime.
To the OP — I am SO sorry! I also had a pre-wedding catastrophe (though mine wasn’t quite as bad — it involved cutting one of my fingers very very badly and having to wear a cast on it on my wedding day and whole honeymoon), and I was just a WRECK.
I ditto those who suggest you keep an eye on Craigslist and eBay.
I am sorry to hear about your troubles, and hope you get some satisfaction.
Am I the only one that actually locks my luggage anymore?
Whenever I have had to fly, If I took anything more than just the basics, anything of value, I would make a list of everything in that bag, along with photos of each thing, and then put a nice big padlock on it.
Had a few hassles checking in, been asked to open the suitcase a few times and whatnot, But I have never once had anything stolen. Attempted theft, from the looks of some of the scratches on the keyhole of my lock, and the fact that it was moved all the way around the luggage on the zipper, but no success.
An awful experience to be sure and not at all Jenn’s fault. It had to take longer to get to the airport, go through security, wait for departure, maybe have a layover, and get out of the other airport than it would have taken to drive. My decision threshold used to be that anything over a 5 hour drive might be considered a candidate for an airline ticket; the current state of air travel has my threshold at a 10 hour drive now.
I suggest contacting Chris Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter at Elliott.org. Maybe he can make the airline cough up.
I made my own wedding dress. It took me 3 months to make it. I know I would have been heartbroken if someone had stolen it. For most bride-to-be’s, it’s not even the expense or the time put into the dress. It’s like snatching a piece of someone’s dream out from beneath them. Then for the airline to play the “blame the customer, pretend it never happened” card? Shameful! I think an EECB is in order here.
I’m not normally a fan of law suits – but really this just screams out law suit.
Airlines don’t manage their employees or internal theft well, and yet all the security is focused on passengers.
I flew to Florida a few years ago with a friend. We arrived on time and immediately headed to the hotel. When we finally got into the room, we were ready to change into beach wear. He opened is suit case that had been check to find a week’s worth of shorts and no shirts. Someone had stolen every single shirt from his luggage. When we called the airline to file a complaint, they asked us if we had remembered to pack them. I always pack things in outfits, so every ensemble was folder with socks, undies, a pair of shorts or pants, a matching shirt, and or under shirt. The airline did nothing for us and the shirts were never found. We had to make an emergency trip to a local store to buy souvenir t’s to wear that week. Fortunately, we fit right in.
We live in CA, got married in Hawaii. After her final fitting, my wife had her dress mailed to the resort where we were getting hitched. The resort (more trustworthy than the airlines) was happy to hold it for us. Shipping to Hawaii saved us 4% sales tax on the dress, too which more than covered the cost of FedEx.
If you haven’t already, take pictures of the garment bag and the luggage. Save all receipts. If you have a copy of the report you filed with the baggage people, keep a hold of that. Then, call the police either where you landed or where you took off. Also, get a lawyer (hopefully you can find one that will do it cheaper to get more publicity) and sue the airline.
Would the OP be able to file a criminal complaint? The value of the dress is beyond the petty larceny standard and she might get some attention from US Air when the gendarmes start poking around.
I’ve fallen victim to this one myself but have learned from experience that there are some things you should never pack in a checked bag:
– Car keys to the car you have parked at the airport you are flying into
– Medication you will need soon after your flight
– Wedding/funeral attire (especially wedding dresses)
– Expensive electronics
– Irreplaceable items
Hello,
I am the Customer Advocate for A frequent flyer organization called FFOCUS and I can get your issue to the Director level at US Airways. you may contact me at pineybob@msn.com and we can get a resolution. Might not be able to get you what you want but we can at least you a proper response
Best regards,
Bob
That absolutely sucks. However, a few mistakes were made. The biggest of which the bride admits to herself, so no sense belaboring it.
Nevertheless -
1) Made the mistake of assuming you need a bridal dress for a wedding. Some of the best wedding dresses I have seen were not bridal dresses. Lose the fantasy wedding dream, get real, and have a good time. That said, my wife did have a dress made, so I really can’t say much.
2) Skip US Airways, go straight to TSA and the police, file a theft report immediately. Explain it, find a nice, female TSA employee who is willing to bend someone over her knee to make things right. TSA would have cared more – this is a security and trust breach.
3) Trying to find a replacement dress. Forget it, find something nice, and don’t worry about getting a fantasy wedding dress.
That pisses me off…
Stories like this are the reason why if I’m flying somewhere and I’m staying less than two weeks, I just go with checked luggage. That’s it. Steal a wedding dress – what a shitty thing to do to a bride.
I was wondering if the OP had a lock on her suitcase when she checked it?
@SGAC: Did I say checked? I meant carry on.
Just sue them. Airlines are remarkably recalcitrant and I have had to sue them four times. Each time I prevalied, but the first time it was weeks and weeks of phone calls and letters that were pointless.
They just don’t care. Hold them to their conditions of carriage. Their total liability is limited in that contract to $3300. You can see that contract on their website. Search for Conditions of Carriage.
Remember to get your $15.00 for the checked bag fee too when you sue.
They are going to give you some song and dance about how it could be TSA, how it is not their fault. Who freaking cares. You gave them your bag, you were given a claim check, and you made the requisite report of theft. What they do with the bags after they accept responsibility for them is not your concern.
You shouldn’t have to sue everyone becuase they hire incompetent and disinterested people, but perhaps after a few thousand of these suits they will manage to keep the contents of the bags from being stolen.
If you live near Pittsburgh they have a standard setting program at the Pittsburgh Media Center (and US Air is quite prominent in Pittsburgh) The Mediation Center of East Carolina is also available. You may wish to contact the Clerk of the Court where you live to ask about court sponsored mediation that is free or very low cost. Something from these programs lets the airline know you are taking things seriously.
WestJet (a Canadian airline that runs similar to SouthWest), used to tell a story about a bride who arrived in Vancouver a day or two before her wedding to find that her wedding dress had become lost baggage. Since the airline wouldn’t be able to return it to her in time for the wedding, the customer service agent at the airport, without stopping to reconsider, grabbed a company credit card and took the bride shopping for a new dress. WestJet executives were extremely PROUD of this employee’s initiative. While they couldn’t make the situation 100% right by getting the bride her dress, the employee did the next best thing, buy her a new one.
THIS. It’s what US Airways could have done and would probably have made it on the Consumerist as an Above and Beyond story. Instead, it’s just one more reason to seek out alternatives.
wow, you’re a better person than i am, that is totally FUCKED, and i would have flipped my shit right then and there at the service desk.
Um, why would anyone trust any airline with anything important ever? seriously, fedex your belongings and insure them. These people cannot be trusted.
U.S. Airways are pigs. Especially by trying to turn it around on Jenn by asking if she was sure she packed the dress. Absolutely disgusting. I hope when U.S. Airways goes out of business someone asks them, “Are you sure you HAD a business?”
You should ship it in a hard case with a starter pistol in it. Read here for more details – [www.schneier.com]
Why didn’t they call the police? The gown was clearly stolen. The wreckage of the garment bag should have been enough evidence that something was wrong.
At this point, small claims seems to be the only recourse.
why can’t airlines keep the baggage handlers under survaliance via video camera? Nobody’s stealing stuff while the bags are on the runway or while on the little zippy trucks. Once they go behind doors there should be wall-to-wall video taping to catch whoever’s doing it. Or am I woefully naive?
I’d report this to the Transportation Security Administration as well. They may deny responsibility, but they are supposed to ensure the security of all luggage in terms of making sure nothing dangerous is INSIDE… and obviously, even if nothing was switched for your wedding dress, someone was INSIDE your luggage without your knowledge or consent.
Seems like Obama should fix the mistake back by carter and re-regulate the airline industry.
US Airways is getting has become more & more hostile to their clients/customers. This is a horrible story that will probably not have a happy ending if US Airways has anything to say about it. Is it me or have companies become calloused, greedy, and just generally rotten towards their customers?