TSA damaged my designer handbag in a random inspection
I'm moving to another state, and after a grueling 4 days of packing and moving, we flew to our destination this morning (AUS -> SJC).
I took extra care and careful planning to pack all of my valuables and important personal items in such a way where they would be as safe as possible on the short flight. More specifically, and most relevant to this post, I ensured that there would be NO liquids in the luggage containing my designer handbags.
I checked my bags at the airport front desk, successfully arrived at my destination, and upon opening the luggage containing my handbags, I found a note which informed me that my luggage had been selected for a "random" inspection. Immediately I got nervous as many of my expensive personal items were in this suitcase, and that's when I discovered a stain on the protective cloth bag of my favorite handbag.
Both the handbag and its protective cloth are stained, and some of the ink from the suede dye had soaked into the protective cover. The liquid was not water because it made the cloth stiff where it dried up, but I can't tell what the liquid is by smell.
For those who are curious, this is the handbag which was damaged:
https://www.balenciaga.com/en-us/rodeo-handbag-mini-
black-8437122ACKO1000.html
S
My partner purchased this handbag for me as a gift and it's my favorite bag- it was no small purchase for us either. I only own 3 purses in total and this was by far the most expensive. I want to cry. I already submitted a complaint (email) to TSA but I wanted to post here because I doubt TSA will do anything about it or pay for a new bag because I just don't have the proof that TSA were the ones who damaged it. No one else touched my luggage (it was locked) between me packing the luggage and then unpacking it upon arrival other than TSA. I never check luggage with valuable or beloved items because I don't trust that they will be handled properly, and of course the one time I do check a bag, my items get damaged.
To any Austin Bergstrom TSA agents reading this post, if you know any coworkers who would intentionally choose to damage a designer handbag, perhaps out of spite (????but why??? Edit because people are getting really attached to the word "spite" so I'm regretting even adding this note to the post---And yes I too doubt that it was out of spite, but I know Balenciaga is a controversial brand in general, so there's not a 0% chance that someone did it out of hate), please please reach out to me. I'm not rich but maybe a spiteful TSA agent thought I was given that all of my most expensive valuables were in this luggage.