So I flew LHR-SFO and collected my suitcase to take through customs. All was well. Checked it back in at United. I arrive at my final destination, EUG, and the telescoping handle, the one you pull out to pull the suitcase, has been ripped off. I mean just pulled clean out of the suitcase and it's gone.
So it's 1:00 in the morning and I spend a long time tramping all over the tiny airport looking for anyone. None of the desks have anyone at them. I finally find a security guard who turns up a weary young United agent. I show her the suitcase. "Nothing to do with us," she says. "You could have started out with it that way." "Oh, come on," I say. "Call 1-800-UNITED1 then," she says. "It's nothing we deal with here at the airport."
So I lug the suitcase home -- hard to maneuver it without being able to wheel it! -- and call the premier number. (I'm premier silver.) The woman says, "What is your damage claim number?" I say I have no damage claim number. She says, "You should have gotten that at the airport." I say the agent at the airport told me to call United. "No," she says, "you have to deal with it at the airport." I say, "Since the agent wouldn't deal with it, who do I talk to now?' She gives me a number, after looking for a long time, and I read it back to her to make sure it's correct. When I phone it I find that it's the Delaware County Fair.
So I call 1-800-UNITED1. After finally making the system give me an agent, the agent tells me to call "the TSA." "The TSA?" I say. "Is this a United number?" She says yes. She tells me the number and I read it back to her to make sure it's correct. Then I phone it and it is a number that is out of service.
At this point I am getting pretty fed up. Any suggestions?
So it's 1:00 in the morning and I spend a long time tramping all over the tiny airport looking for anyone. None of the desks have anyone at them. I finally find a security guard who turns up a weary young United agent. I show her the suitcase. "Nothing to do with us," she says. "You could have started out with it that way." "Oh, come on," I say. "Call 1-800-UNITED1 then," she says. "It's nothing we deal with here at the airport."
So I lug the suitcase home -- hard to maneuver it without being able to wheel it! -- and call the premier number. (I'm premier silver.) The woman says, "What is your damage claim number?" I say I have no damage claim number. She says, "You should have gotten that at the airport." I say the agent at the airport told me to call United. "No," she says, "you have to deal with it at the airport." I say, "Since the agent wouldn't deal with it, who do I talk to now?' She gives me a number, after looking for a long time, and I read it back to her to make sure it's correct. When I phone it I find that it's the Delaware County Fair.
So I call 1-800-UNITED1. After finally making the system give me an agent, the agent tells me to call "the TSA." "The TSA?" I say. "Is this a United number?" She says yes. She tells me the number and I read it back to her to make sure it's correct. Then I phone it and it is a number that is out of service.
At this point I am getting pretty fed up. Any suggestions?