Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Dear Jet2

Rather off topic for this blog, but I wanted to try and get a message to Jet2. Apologies to the usual readers who won't get their fill of technology enlightenment this time! Jet2 have neither a non-premium phone line nor email address, so I thought they might pick this posting up.

Dear Jet2,

I recently flew Leeds to Nice return with your airline. My baggage did not appear on the baggage belt in Nice so I suffered much inconvenience during my trip. I was surprised to be advised that even if my baggage were found, I would have to return to the airport to collect it and no effort would be made to have it delivered to my hotel.

The apology letter I was given in Nice was the most insincere and patronising piece of correspondance I've ever seen. It must have been at least a 3rd generation photocopy, the company logo was printed as "file not available", no phone or email address was provided for me to follow up with and, to give just one example of the tone, had the cheek to remind me my baggage should be "appropriately robust". You lost my bag. This was not the time or the place to be lecturing me on my obligations to you. Although my bag was in no way a 'designer' one, I was surprised to see that if it had been, I would not have been recompensed for it's loss in the event of it not being found.

On my return home to the UK, I was naturally keen to follow up with you at Jet2. Your website had no phone numbers charging less than a premium rate and there was no email address so I was forced to suffer the humiliation of paying 50p per minute to ask you where my bag was (during which time I was played a unnecessarily lengthy prerecorded message). The Baggage Claims Department took all my details (with the 50p per minute clock ticking) before arrogantly telling me that they don't look for bags until 3 days after the flight and that I would have to call back the next day where they would hear my case. This is terrible customer service.

Of course, I've now starting looking through the rest of your T&Cs to see what other indignities I might suffer later on in this process. My bag contains some valuable items so I wanted to see what compensation I might recieve if it were not found. I was extremely disappointed to see that "original purchase receipts (to evidence the age and value of the item)" would need to be provided in the event of a claim. This seems grossly misfair. I don't consider it reasonable to ask for these- who keeps receipts for clothes beyond a month or so?

I would very much like you to contact me to tell me what you are doing to find my bag; demonstrate some humbleness at the error of you and/or your agents and busines partners; and tell me either how you are going to reconnect my bag to me or recompense me for my loss. I shouldn't have to chase you, pay you for the pleasure or have to prove that the items in my bag were of any value as long as that is within a reasonable range above which you could rightly expect further evidence.

Yours faithfully,