Is this enough compensation? A $225 check for my lost luggage — you’re kidding!

Maybe we should start calling this the lost luggage column. Last week, we tried to untangle the case of a skier who lost his gear in Telluride, Colo. Today, meet Rita Rosenfeld, whose luggage was misplaced by Alitalia on a trip to Italy.

Lost luggage on Alitalia? Big shocker, I know.

But Rosenfeld feels the airline shortchanged her in a major way, offering her just a fraction of the value of the items she had to buy during her trip.

This is an older case — it happened in December 2009 — but it was just brought to my attention a few weeks ago. Rosenfeld’s luggage was lost on her outbound flight to Milan, Italy.

I was told to repurchase everything I would need to continue my week vacation because they could not get my luggage to me until Saturday, December 19. I was returning home December 20.

I was assured that I would be reimbursed as long as I kept all my itemized receipts and submitted a claim when I returned to the States. I did that, and I clearly itemized everything.

After almost 4 months, I didn’t hear from them, and when I followed up, they lied and told me that my luggage was returned to me the following day, and then denied my claim. They offered me $225, instead of the $1,465 they owe me.

Rosenfeld says she tried to watch her expenses when she bought replacement clothes, shopping at discount apparel stores and drugstores to get he bare necessities. She says she did nothing wrong, and doesn’t understand why she has to pay for Alitalia’s mistake.

Alitalia’s website is silent on the issue of maximum compensation, at least in the high-traffic areas. You have to dig deeper to find out that its liability is limited to 1131 SDRs (SDRs are a kind of composite currency.)

It appears Alitalia short-changed Rosenfeld.

I contacted the airline. Alitalia’s policy, it said, was to cover only “$75.00 per day for necessities.” And according to the airline’s records, her luggage was only lost a few days — not for the duration of the trip. But after reviewing her case, it sent her another check for $375.

I think that’s much better, but Rosenfeld is still out more than $800 for the clothing she had to buy. If Alitalia had explained to her that she was limited to $75 a day for necessities, then would she have limited herself to that amount? I’m sure she would have tried.

Rosenfeld filed disputes with American Express and asked the Better Business Bureau to intervene. Both turned her down.

Is $600 enough? I asked a similar question last week, when US Airways essentially split the difference on a new set of ski clothes with a passenger.

I’m not sure about the answer, but Rosenfeld is. She says Alitalia has repeatedly lied to her about her luggage claim, and claims it is lying now. She hasn’t received the second check yet, and isn’t holding her breath.

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  • Bamom_99

    I am Rita Rosenfeld. Please read my other responses so I dont repeat myself. The prices in Italy with the Euro conversion in 2009 were ridiculously high.  I did shop “frugally” but $600 doesnt cover half of the basic replacement clothing! It was the winter. It was snowing. I was travelling between cities AND countries. I HAD NO LUGGAGE- I had to buy LUGGAGE to put the REPLACEMENT CLOTHING, TOILETRIES, BOOTS, UNDERWEAR, IN! So many of you on this blog are so negative. WHY? I didnt lose my luggage! THEY did. I labelled it clearly! I did everything correctly (except for flying Alitalia and checking luggage)- but I had reasons for that..long story, and not pertinent to this.
    I landed in Milan and my luggage was lost. I travelled to Parma to save money. Even in a “discount” drug store, to replace JUST my makeup and toiletries, with the Euro conversion, that totalled $125!  You are all forgetting something else. I was in a foreign country on my “vacation” wasting my VACATION DAYS! LOOKING FOR CHEAP STORES TO REPLACE CLOTHING, BOOTS, TOILETRIES, MAKEUP AND LUGGAGE. I didnt speak the language. It was December- it was the holiday season- streets were crowded and it was snowing!  IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VACATION-but  IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. BUT STILL, I TRIED TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND I TRIED TO FIND THE CHEAPEST PRICES AND SOME OF YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ACCUSE ME OF TAKING ADVANTAGE? WOW. Perhaps you are Alitalia employees, because otherwise I cannot fathom how you could be so clueless and cruel.

  • Bamom_99

    This is in reply to Jerry and everyone else who doesnt seem to understand “the math” —
    Please read my previous responses as well, so I dont have to repeat myself.
    And, Just to clarify one more point-
    I couldn’t replace all of my makeup and toiletries, by the way. You must have also forgotten that when you travel, you are limited by the TSA’s 3-1-1 liquid policy amounts, so my makeup and toiletries for my  10 day trip to 2 countries was packed in my luggage, which was LOST by ALITALIA for the entire “vacation.” When I went to the “discount” drug store, they didn’t have all of the same items, obviously, and everything was double to triple the price, so  I bought only a few items and dealt with it.  IT STILL COST ME $125 FOR A FEW ITEMS I DIDN’T WANT AND I WOULDN’T HAVE PURCHASED UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.  I DIDN’T WAIT ALL YEAR FOR THIS VACATION TO TRAVEL TO ITALY TO SEARCH FOR  A DISCOUNT DRUGSTORE TO PURCHASE “CHEAP” COSTMETICS AND I CERTAINLY DIDN’T LOOK FORWARD TO PUSHING MY WAY THROUGH THE CROWDS, MISSING TRAIN CONNECTIONS, BEGGING FOR THE CORRECT DIRECTIONS TO THE H AND M STORE IN ITALY TO FIND CHEAP REPLACEMENT CLOTHES  INSTEAD OF THE BEAUTIFUL ONES I HAD CHOSEN (AND PACKED) FOR MY PLANNED VACATION! CLEAR NOW?? I WASTED ALMOST 2 DAYS OF MY VACATION BETWEEN MISSING TRAINS, BATTLING CROWDS, AND TRYING TO FIND THESE STORES AND WAITING ON LINES, AND TRYING THESE CLOTHES ON- THE SIZING WAS DIFFERENT!! AND THEN GETTING BACK TO MY HOTEL! DO YOU THINK THAT WAS HOW I PLANNED TO SPEND MY VACATION!!!??? YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY I TOOK ADVANTAGE???
    P.S In Italy, the hotels do NOT give you toiletries gratis.
    AGAIN, so many of you seem so “clear” that I spent too much. You werent there in December 2009. I was in MILAN. I travelled to Parma to save money on replacment items! (Should I pay for that train fare or should ALitalia??) THEY LOST EVERYTHING. I only had a small tote bag with me with no clothes in it! I didnt plan on Alitalia losing my luggage! But, EVEN if I had ONE change of clothing with me, WHICH I DIDNT- IT WAS DECEMBER! IT WAS SNOWING! I WAS WET! IT WAS A 10 DAY TRIP! WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO WEAR?? I COULDNT EVEN WASH OUT ANYTHING OVERNIGHT ! A) IT WOULDNT HAVE DRIED BY THE MORNING B) WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO WEAR WHILE IT WAS WET ???  I HAD TO BUY REPLACEMENT CLOTHES AND ALITALIIA TOLD ME TO DO SO – I NEEDED CLOTHING FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK!! INLCUDING BOOTS. I HAD BALLET SLIPPERS ON FOR EASE IN THE AIRPORT.  THEY WERE SOAKED -IT WAS SNOWING!!!!!!!! GOT IT NOW????

  • Bamom_99

    To the Alitalia Employees on / off this blog (especially Elizabeth Santella and Victoria Rochas):
    Hi again, it’s me, Rita Rosenfeld. You are familiar with my case as I have mailed and emailed it to you over 17 times.  You are an Italian company, so you are well aware of the prices in Italy, and you have had copies of my very clearly itemized receipts since 12/31/2009. So for you to deny my claim initially and then to lie about the amount, and THEN to offer me less is …. Well, I cannot print the words I really feel.
    But, since so many people have questions on this blog….why don’t you answer some questions, ALITALIA??   Again, for the 18th time, why did you: 1) Insist (in Italy) that there was NO reimbursement “policy”; that all I had to do was send in my itemized receipts with the PIR document/form and I would be reimbursed for everything.  (by the way, there IS NO reimbursement policy on your website either; not then and not now.  I printed all of the DATED webpages.) But then, [EUREKA!] in April 2010, Victoria’s typo letter* contained a “reimbursement policy”??  2) Why did you then ignore the claim  3) Why did you then claim you received it 2 weeks later than my CERTIFIED RETURN RECEIPT (you signed for it on 12/31/09, but still claimed otherwise!) 4) why did you then claim that you then required 90 additional days for review 5) but then STILL ignored the claim after 5 months! 6) why did you then lie about the amount of my claim when you have had at least 16 copies mailed and emailed to you since 2009!?  7) Why did you then lie about when my luggage was returned DESPITE THE FACT THAT I SENT YOU PROOF FROM THE HOTEL REGARDING THE FACT THAT IT WAS RETURNED ON THE LAST DAY OF MY TRIP- JUST IN TIME FOR ME TO RE-TAG IT TO PUT IT BACK ON THE PLANE TO TAKE IT HOME!?  8) WHY did you have Victoria send me a letter with a typo* regarding my reimbursement which you never admitted was a typo (re the amount of money) and you have ignored to this day.  –And the math in that letter NEVER ADDED UP TO THE “REIMBURSEMENT POLICY” ??  You do remember that letter, don’t you?? That is the letter where you APOLOGIZED FOR YOUR OVERSIGHT (regarding my luggage being returned on the last day of the trip)— but then you apparently made another “oversight” because you told Chris the EXACT OPPOSITE!  9) Please do let me know when I can expect my check for $27,600 because based on your last communication to me, you said you returned my luggage in December of 2010, which makes it over one year late, and based on your reimbursement policy, based on the way Victoria’s letter reads, ($50 to $75 for each day my luggage is delayed), you owe me $27,600. But I am willing to settle for the balance of my initial claim. Please confirm and remit today.

  • PaulMilan

    Alitalia lost my luggage for 2 weeks in September 2011. I gave receipts for around 800 euros, covering a business trip and a holiday, and they have just offered me 262.

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