[Resolved]  Sheikh Jamil Ahmad — Damage of my new travel bag

Address:

Ernakulam, Kerala

Hi, I am Ajitkumar Pillai.
I booked an airticket from Mumbai to Kochi electronically through Yatra.com with PNR No. H94TN.
and ticket no.[protected]. The carrier was Air India A681.The travel date was 11-Sep-2011.
I had only a red color American Tourister bag as baggage, weighing 11-12 Kgs. It had some food items and clothes in it. The bag was tagged (carrier tag no.[protected]. It was a bag that was gifted by my company colleagues in Mumbai, from where I was transferred to Kochi in May ’11.
Reaching Kochi Airport, I understood that the bag was misplaced by Air India officials and had not reached the Kochi Airport on 11-sep-2011. Hence, I lodged a complaint with the Duty officer at the AI counter at Kochi Airport. She told me that in 1 hour, they would call me and update the status. After an hour, I called them at the mobile no given by her i.e. [protected]. The officer Mr. Srinivasan told me, that they were enquiring with Mumbai Airport for the status of the bag.
On 12-Sep-2011, I called on the same mobile no @10 am and was told by the AI officer, that the bag was tracked and would be delivered during the day. Later at 1.30pm, on calling them was told that a Kochi bound flight has refused to pick the bag and hence another flight or any AI flight would deliver it. Then on calling @7 pm, I was told that the bag has landed and was dispatched @6.50 pm by taxi.
He also did not have the driver’s contact no. Since, my residence was 1 hour drive from the Airport and keeping the possible traffic jam in mind, I waited till 8.30 pm and checked again. Later, I lost my cool and shouted at the officer on duty, as they were not picking my calls and threatened to take serious action, the officer on duty one Mr. Vijay finally relented and called me back and provided the Driver’s name and details.
The bag was finally delivered to me @10 pm. It was in a bad shape, as the Airline had dumped the bag and rats had damaged my bag. It is in a very bad shape. (As shown in the pictures attached). More than the cost of the bag, it was the emotional attachment to this gifted bag that has caused grievous pain to me. The food items were damaged and a lot of clothes are also in bad condition.
The driver wanted me to acknowledge receipt in the copy that was given to me. He was surprised to note that my bag was just 4 months old. Such is the condition of my bag. After refusing to part with it, he went back to get plain paper and returned with his copy. I acknowledged receipt after writing a complaint in the reverse side of the copy and have asked AI for suitable reimbursement.
As a customer, do I have any measures to retrieve any compensation from AI? I am totally helpless and feel dejected and wonder how an Airline, which charges you has got away scot-free. They never called me to tell me the status. It was case o[censored]tter disregard for the Customer.

Regards
Ajitkumar Pillai
[protected]