No comeback for reader's wallet lost in transit

YOUR CONSUMER QUERIES ANSWERED:Last October, Barbara, a reader, flew by Aer Lingus to Madrid. Unfortunately, she left her wallet on board.

“I only realised this after I had arrived into the city. I got in touch with Aer Lingus the next morning to see if it had been handed in. It hadn’t.”

She checked again the next day and was told it hadn’t being found. “On my way home I checked at Madrid airport’s lost and found office and with Servisport. My wallet was not there.”

On the flight home she recognised one of the Aer Lingus flight attendants from her outbound flight and so she asked her did she remember a wallet being found. She did, as the wallet had been handed to her by another passenger.

She had looked in the wallet and saw that there was cash and an ID in it and she gave it to a “redcap” on the ground and told him to make an announcement as the passenger had only just disembarked.

According to Barbara, the flight attendant seemed very surprised that the wallet had disappeared and “she told me she would log the incident”.

“I checked again with Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport and I phoned Madrid airport several times but my wallet has not been found. Madrid told me there is no PA system in baggage reclaim at the airport, and said that the wallet should not have been given to staff there as they would have had no way of contacting me. They also said that as it was found on the plane and not in the airport, it should have remained with Aer Lingus.”

She also says that if someone had checked her booking, they would have seen that she was returning to Dublin on October 8th, or her place of work could have been contacted.

“I found it very disappointing there has been no follow-up from Aer Lingus. When I wrote to customer service, I received a reply saying that it was not their responsibility and that I should claim it through my insurance, but the excess on my policy makes that option pointless.

“I would have thought that Aer Lingus has a duty of care towards its passengers and their belongings. This has being a huge inconvenience as I had to cancel all my cards and there was €80 cash and a €100 gift card for Dundrum Town Centre in my wallet.”

Barbara wants to know if Aer Lingus is responsible as it found and then lost the wallet, or is it just tough luck? We suspect it is the latter although the airline has not covered itself in glory.

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