British Airways refusing reimbursement after claiming my checked bag reached the baggage carousel. Do I have any options?
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some advice on a dispute with British Airways over a missing checked bag.
A family member (a senior citizen) travelled on an international BA flight into Heathrow. One checked suitcase never arrived at baggage reclaim. We reported it immediately at the baggage services desk before leaving the airport and were issued with a Property Irregularity Report (PIR).
Over the following weeks, BA repeatedly advised us to retain receipts for essential purchases and informed us that we could submit a reimbursement claim if the baggage remained missing after 28 days.
After several weeks of waiting and repeated follow-ups, BA changed its position. They now say the bag was delivered to the baggage carousel at Heathrow and therefore their responsibility ended at that point. On that basis, they have refused to reimburse any of the essential expenses we incurred.
I challenged this and asked for documentary evidence. BA has since stated that the bag was delivered to the carousel at a specific time and has provided the baggage container reference, but they have not shared the actual baggage scan history or handling records I requested.
At this point, BA says the matter is closed and they will not reimburse our expenses.
I'm now considering escalating the matter to CEDR before pursuing a claim through our travel insurance.
My questions are:
Can BA simply refuse reimbursement because they say the bag reached the carousel?
Has anyone successfully challenged a similar decision through CEDR?
I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences from people who have been through something similar.
Thank you.