Claims Department

Yesterday I bought luggage.

My daughter and I had things to return at the LLBean flagship store.  While in town we made our way to the outlet store where returns, out-of-season stock, and discontinued items are sold at reduced prices.  We always stop there because you never know what you'll find. 

I wasn't looking for luggage.  We had made our rounds of the store and were headed to the check-out from housewares.  In the middle of the aisle was a special display of soft-sided luggage.  Beside that on the floor was one bag.  There it was, the exact piece of luggage lost in January.  I wasn't going to buy another bag that big any time soon.  Closer inspection revealed that it was the entire set, which includes the carry-on I was going to eventually buy and a shoulder bag, for little more than the price of the large bag alone.  After some debate and confirmation from a clerk that I could return it and get my money back, I bought the set of luggage.  When Ken and I fly together, we will each need a carry-on; when we take a car trip we can use the larger bag.

This is the next logical step in the saga of the lost luggage.  Ken agreed with the purchase.  My daughter joked that now maybe my bag will show up.  

In mid-March I heard from United Airlines that they had done all they could to find my bag, even reached out to other air carriers, with no luck.  They sent me a check that covered the cost of most of the contents lost, though not the books and not the actual cost of the bag itself because I couldn't produce a receipt.

For days I thought about what it meant to accept that check.  Then I called the United Airlines Claims Department.  I had learned during a previous conversation that they make a note in my file every time I call. [In fact, the time I talked to Bernie he assured me that the airline wanted to find my bag as much as I did.  They do not casually pay out claims.  Bernie made a note that getting my bag back was my priority.]

This is the essence of that conversation in March:

"Claims Department.  May I help you?"
"Yes, I received a check from United Airlines to compensate for my lost luggage.  I want you to make a note in my file that I still want my bag and I will return this money if the bag shows up."
"M'am, we have no need to keep your bag."
"I know that, which is why I want it back no matter when it might be found."
"M'am, I assure you that we will get your bag to you if it is ever found."
"So cashing the check does not negate that?"
"No, m'am."

I  cashed the check and put the money away.  I think of this as acceptance and not surrender.  Physical property does not just evaporate, and things that are lost are sometimes found.  Stranger things have happened.