Reader Question: Iberia Delayed Luggage Compensation?

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question about how to deal with Iberia, which tries hard not to cover all the reader’s expenses due to delayed luggage.

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You can access Iberia here.

Reader’s Message:

I’d appreciate your insight on this matter:

Flew Iberia MAD-LHR from my Qatar connection SIN-DOH-MAD; traveling on Business Class on the entire journey. Luggage was left in MAD due to transfer issues even though I had a 1.5 hours transit. I had air tags in the luggage and knew upon my arrival in LHR that my luggage was in MAD but the ground staff in London said there were no details of my luggage and I needed to file for missing luggages.

I tried promptly to follow up with a call to Iberia after submitting the form and obtaining a case number. Called within 2 hours of arrival but Iberia insisted that the luggage was not yet found even though I had the air tag location (which I tried to submit on their website to assist but their site is obviously glitchy and does not work; multiple errors each time I tried submitting the air tag location throughout the whole day).

Finally received an update at 6pm on the day of arrival after 8 hours of follow up that they have found my luggage in their hold area but I mentioned that I will be flying back after a 2 day trip and was urgently asking for the details of my luggage due to my impending return journey and also gifts that I had inside the luggage which I had brought for my business meetings.

I had also purchased some items as I did not have clothes, the airlines did not mention about claims or highlighted any possible remedy only to wait for my luggage. Fortunately I have travel insurance but I’m wondering what is the recourse from Iberia?

I had waited for more than 24 hours for the luggage to be delivered; in fact it was more than 36 hours. Iberia wants to deny “duplicated items” on my receipt of clothes. I needed my suit and business attire and had to go for meetings without my attire but they deny responsibility. What can I do?

Please see the screenshots of their response.

Reader’s Communication with Iberia:

I know that delayed luggage can be a stressful situation, and I’ve been there more than a few times.

You need to file the Property Irregularity Report at the airport with the airline who operated the last segment, regardless with whom you checked them with, and you can then usually use Worldtracer with the PIR file number and last name to see your bag(s) whereabouts.

The airlines tend to promise that the bag will be put on the next flight and delivered to your address shortly after, but this is often a lie.

I would say that even in the best-case scenario, it takes at least a day, and more often two to three days, if not longer, before you are united with the bag(s).

The reason is that these are handled manually and then handed to the delivery company at the other end, which usually sends them out for delivery once a day.

It’s usually quite fascinating to see the bag(s) coming and going and where they are stored if you happen to have AirTags on them.

Reader’s Case:

The reader was highly inconvenienced when the bag was left behind in Madrid.

My advice is always to buy what you reasonably need, like clothes and toiletries, and then claim it from the airline.

The maximum compensation for lost or delayed bags used to be 1,288 SDR, but this was increased to 1,519 SDR late last year. 1,519 SDRs is currently $2,113 or 1,862 EUR, and the reader’s claim was less than 10% of this.

It seems that Iberia was willing to pay roughly 77% of the claim amount, but did not itemize what they wouldn’t cover and why.

Iberia won’t pay for the reader’s time it took for them to chase their bag, as airlines usually always want receipts.

The reader should assess how much their time is worth.

Iberia is not part of any dispute resolution bodies in the UK, so they can open a case directly with the CAA (access their page here), which handles UK261, UK1107, and Montreal Convention cases for lost, delayed, or damaged luggage.

My Delayed Luggage & Pilferage Cases:

Compensation Clinic: Air France Delayed Luggage

Compensation Clinic: Air France Delayed Luggage HEL-CDG-HND

Compensation Clinic: Pilferage From Delayed Luggage (Avianca & Copa)

My Advice How To Deal With Delayed Luggage:

My Advice Regarding Delayed & Lost Luggage

Conclusion

Most of the misplaced or delayed luggage will eventually be reunited with its rightful owner, but this process is rarely as swift as airlines tell us, and I believe there is also a reason for this.

Also, they rarely tell what your rights are and what the maximum amount they are liable for (currently 1,519 SDR).

If my luggage is delayed and I need clothing and other items to go by, I purchase items that I would otherwise buy. I don’t buy more or less expensive items, and my claims have been much higher than the reader’s, and I have always been made whole.

What have your experiences with Iberia been with delayed luggage? Please comment below.

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