Have You Seen This Bag?

My bag looks like the one in the middle. No one seems to know where it is. We thought the flight was bad but the real fun started when they gave us the lost baggage claim form. We were told that it would not possibly show up for 24 hours. The first information we were given was that it was never put on the plane in Houston. And no it was not a "tight" connection. We had time to eat a leisurely lunch in the Houston airport.

So we went straight to Clacton to visit Mark's 90-year old dad. We had to cut the visit a bit short because we had to go into town before the shops closed at five so we could get underwear, some clean shirts, toothpaste and toothbrushes and some cosmetics.

Our UK phone was packed in Mark's bag. This was a one-off. It's always in the carry-on - except for this time. His US phone is set up for international roaming but we've found that the Samsung doesn't work quite as well as the iPhone. It makes calls - but it doesn't do a good job of receiving them.

British Airways was supposed to phone us when they located the bags but we hadn't heard anything and it had been six hours. We weren't sure whether they had tried to call and been unsuccessful because our electronics weren't working properly. We tried calling them.

I waited on hold for an eternity and then found that I had a rough connection. I couldn't hear him particularly well, nor could he hear me. I thought for a minute that he was going to hang up, but thankfully he didn't. He told me one of our bags was in Paris and that they had requested that Air France return it but they hadn't responded. Really? It's gone from not being put on the plane in Houston to being in France. But that was only one - the other was still at large.  Nothing to do but wait.

We gave them another six hours and phoned them again. They were sticking to that same story.

I was having trouble believing them. How did one of our bags end up in Paris if it never left Houston? I called American Express Global Assist. Within an hour I had an email letting me know that both bags had been located and were on their way from Houston to London - Flight 194. That would arrive at 7:30 am on Friday. We were assured that they would be couriered to our hotel in Manchester as soon as they arrived and cleared customs. We thoroughly expected them to be waiting for us at the Church Inn. We also got a text message from BA informing us that BOTH bags were en route from London to Manchester. Later we got another text saying that one bag was with the courier. That had to be a mistake. Why would the courier only take one of the two bags? I was convinced it was a typo.

By the time we arrived in Manchester on Friday evening, Mark's bag was waiting at the hotel. I was told it arrived after 6 PM - roughly 35 hours after we arrived in London. It arrived completely soaked and some of the clothes were damp. But at least it arrived. Mine still hadn't arrived. So much for the typo. Another call to British Airways. This time they told me that my bag was still in London and would be sent to Manchester on Saturday. So much for the text message that both bags were sent to Manchester on Friday. Another call to American Express.

Around 5 PM on Saturday I got an email from American Express Global Assist telling me that British Airways had reported to them that my bag had been delivered. What great news! Problem was that there was no truth to that report.

So the pressing question was "Where is MY bag?" It's been AWOL for over over 72 hours now. British Airways stops talking to customers at 8 PM. When I phoned them at 7:45 on Saturday they assured me that the bag was in Manchester and would be delivered by 10 PM at the latest. Of course, once I asked the young man for his name, he backed off and said that he couldn't actually "guarantee" that it would be delivered. And since it didn't turn up on Saturday, I'll have to spend Sunday afternoon shopping AGAIN - cutting in to the time we wanted to spend with the grandchildren.

When I phoned British Airways on Sunday morning they informed me, in that quaint rude way they have, that my bag had been turned over to the courier in Manchester around 11 PM on Saturday (so much for being delivered before 10 PM) and that they were no longer responsible for it. Great! He did give me the number for the courier service. It seems they don't answer the phone on Sunday. Maybe they don't deliver on Sunday, either. Who knows? I don't. Because even though I asked him to spell out the name of the courier company, he had such a thick Asian accent that I couldn't understand anything past "T". Of course there's a recording on the number that suggests you track your bag online - but the web address was delivered in such a thick Glaswegian accent that I still had no idea which courier company had my bag.

I finally got through to the courier company who claims they don't have my bag. British Airways claims they do. Another call to American Express. I now know why you don't dare leave home without it.