airline damaged our pushchair - do I need to accept what they are offering me?

[mckenzie]

we flew back with XL airlines from our summer hols and our Maclaren Techno XT was damaged. One of the rods that holds the hood on was snapped in half and the reclining mechanism was damaged and so would not click into place on the two middle positions.
XL use Samsonite for their baggage claims and Samsonite took it away to repair. They are now saying it cannot be repaired to the standard required but as per guidelines from the airline can only offer us a Maclaren Quest as a replacement.
The MRP of the Techno is £170 and the Quest is £110. If I want to have cash instead they will only give me £70 because when i filled out the damage report at the airport I said the Techno had cost £125 (I told the guy it was a guess, how was I suppose to remember??) adn they deduct for wear and tear. They know as well as I do that the Techno costs more than £125 but they are still using that price to calculated the cash refund amount.

I don't see why I should accept a Quest (I'm sure it's a very nice pushchair but it's not as nice as the Techno) but I'm not sure of my rights and I'm concerned that if I don't accept it I'll end up with just the £70 or nothing.

Any advice gratefully received.

TIA

you could kick up a fuss and threaten to go to watchdog etc. afetr all its not your fault their baggage handlers are so careless and broke it!

i am of the accept it quietly brigade and seeth on the inside but it gets you nowhere, much better results in the shout it oud briagde.

Do you have your receipt for the techno still?

Not much help in in the Telegraph on a saturday in the travel section there is a woman who deals with complaints like yours and is really good
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?menuId=5726&menuItemId=-1&view=SUMMARY&grid=F9&targetRule=0
You could write to her.
I personally think they should reimburse the value of the chair but airline rules can be different.
The only other thing I can think of is small claims court.

According to their websiteformal claims should be accompanied by evdience of value plus estimate of repair or dmagae beyond repair. Nothing to suggest that your claim would be limited to a cheaper alternative, although can understand the wear and tear deduction. Assuming you've done what they state here I'd contest it. Do you have their terms and conditions, do they state anything else ?

thansk fo the replies. I have e mailed the Telegraph now - thanks for the link BigGitDad.
I haven't checked out the airlines terms and conditions yet Lizs as this only came about today and so far all my dealings have been with Samsonite. I can't call the airline as there customer service dept do not accept incoming calls, only letters and e mails but Samsonite have given me until just Friday to accept the offer of the Quest.
I think if I haven't heard back from XL by friday I dont really have much chance, unless the Telegraph come up with something.

I often use their Honest John column for motoring queries and have always been pleasantly surprised by the speed of the response so i might be lucky.
Thanks again all.

Wear and tear is ridiculous surely? If they damage it, they should pay what it costs to repair the item. Fair enough, you have used it a lot and you couldn't sell it as new, but the point it, you don't want to sell it....

It is irrelevant to them whether it has wear and tear or not, they should replace the original item. When you claim on insurance they don't say "well, that tv is 3 years old, lets get you the next model down instead"

This is not based on any sort of expertise, just opinion on fairness

meant replace, not repair.

Er no, I don't think it's right to deduct for wear and tear as you were quite happy to have your pushchair reach you in the same condition that it went on the plane. They couldn't manage that so it should be their tough luck.

I know the MRP is $170 - but how much is it really. Maybe you could come to an arrangement.

When BA lost our mountain buggy they paid for a temporary replacement costing around 70 pounds, and then the repair cost (which was around $100 NZ) They also refunded in full our damaged cover.

Just say NO.

IMO if they damaged a techno you should get a techno back.

I would refuse you cant buy new one with £70 and how can you assess wear and tear on a pushhair accuratly
to be honest wear and tear sounds like a shity excuse

well after taking advice from Gill at The Telegraph (thanks for that tip BigGitDad) and speaking to a very polite informative person at the airlines Customer relations department I am best off accepting the Quest
If I can show my credit card statement which the amount that i paid for the Techno (which I can) they will accept that (without a receipt in other words) but they will depreciate by 20% per year.
Because I bought it on special offer from Kiddicare I didn't pay the £170 MRP anyway and so the cash that i might get back might not even buy me a Quest.
One lesson learnt though everyone. If ever this happens to you and you need to complete a form at the airport, always always give the highest amount possible as the value/cost of your pushchair. In cases like these it just doesn't pay to be honest or to underestimate.

Watch out for the posting in the For Sale section Anyone need a brand new in box Maclaren Quest?

McKenzie, next time when you use that airline make sure you wreck something equivilent to the cost that you missed out on with your techno
That way at least justice will have been seen to be done....
Ahem... As a disclaimer, I am not advocating criminal damage