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Boston, a Bargain Travel Guide
Made famous by Revolutionary events, infamous by cold winters, and both by the World-Series winning Red Sox, Boston has its fair share of reasons to visit. With such a reputation, however, comes high prices, and it has become increasingly difficult...
Make a “Black Cab” Driver Your Guide to London
Drivers of the classic Black Cab spend most of their daily lives trundling through the streets of London. They are a rare breed and the cars they drive are just as full of character and personality as the cabbies who drive them. Taking the sage...
Portugal - Lisbon, Algarve and Lagos
On the southwestern tip of continental Europe, Portugal is an old school country. In this article, we take a look at Lisbon, Lagos and the Algarve.
Lisbon
Lisbon is the biggest city in Portugal and is located on the Atlantic coast in middle of...
SENSIBLE WAYS OF AVOIDING CAR ACCIDENTS
Most car accidents are caused by impulsive teenage drivers who treat the road as their own race tracks. The simple logical reason for this is that teenagers have lesser driving experience and therefore are most likely to commit traffic violations...
Tahiti, mon amour
Every time I write of Tahiti I find myself using the cliche - Tahiti, Mon Amour. But Tahiti is my love. A place that I have returned to more times that I can count. A place to which I shall return again and again.
We had landed at Faaa airport in...
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Fliers Beware! Did You Let Airlines Damage Your Property?
If you travel with small children, you no doubt have taken a
stroller, car seat or some other essential on board an aircraft.
These days, with full flights, you'll most likely have to gate
check the item. This means leaving your item at the end of the
jet way as you board, and picking it up after your flight in the
same place, or at baggage claim. We have found that this is a
fairly convenient strategy.
In the rush of boarding and keeping track of kids and your
belongings, you were probably asked to sign a tag which was then
attached to your stroller. Like us, you probably didn't bother
reading the fine print. But after a recent flight on Northwest
Airlines, we did, and we were surprised to learn what the
airline's legal department is up to...
The set up... When you sign that tag, you are absolving the
airline of responsibility for any damage to your stroller, car
seat, etc. How? By stating that your item was already damaged
when it was given to the agent at the gate. Of course you never
said this - but it is what the fine print you signed contains.
Here is the text of what is on Northwest Airlines' Gate Luggage
Claim Check:
"In consideration of carrier(s) transporting my property which
has been damaged previously, I hereby release carrier(s) from
liability resulting solely from such pre-existing damage."
Below this text is a line to enter a description of the damage,
and one for your signature. You can see a picture of an actual
Gate Luggage Claim Check by searching for 'check tag' at
http://images.google.com/. Look for the pink tag.
So what's the big deal? By signing the tag, you are
acknowledging that the item is already damaged! The airline is
saying they won't be responsible for this damage. That seems
fair, but, here's the kicker: it is hard to prove when damage
occurs. So they're covered if they ruin your stroller, because
you said it was already
damaged, and that gets them off the hook.
In our scenario, we checked a brand new stroller, purchased just
for this trip. If it was returned to us at our destination
damaged, the airline would no doubt say that the damage occurred
before we handed it over to them, and the tag that we signed is
their proof that we acknowledged previous damage. Pretty sneaky!
Again, on the surface the wording seems reasonable, as airlines
can't be responsible for damage that really does occur before
they take possession. And it isn't saying that they aren't
responsible if they damage the item. But because it is hard to
prove when damage occurred, and since you signed the tag saying
it was damaged previously, the airline is in the clear for any
damage that they cause.
The form does have a legitimate use, as I'm sure airlines do get
strollers and car seats with existing damage. But the form
should be rewritten so that the gate agent must identify
existing damage in order to absolve the airline of
responsibility.
So what do I do? The next time you're asked to sign a gate check
tag, make sure you print 'NO PREVIOUS DAMAGE' clearly, above
your signature. You can use the damage description line for this
purpose. By doing this, you are establishing the fact that your
item was not damaged when handed over to the airline. So if it
comes back to you all mangled, it is clear that the airline must
have caused the damage, for which they are then responsible.
About the author:
David Goldschmidt invites you to visit GreatFamilyRentals.com, a
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