Fly BMI? You must be joking

Here is a warning to anyone who thinks that flying with BMI is a good idea.

 

I took a flight with them from Heathrow to Manchester on 11th September, 2007 and checked in with a bag weighing just 24 kg. That suitcase contained all of my business shirts, a suit with two pairs of trousers, a blazer, a pair of shoes ... plus loads of other things that someone having just been on a three week trip might need. Total value around £1,800.

 

The bag didn't arrive in Manchester. More than that, the bag still hasn't arrived.

 

So, you might say, calm down, lost luggage is a fact of life: I agree, it is. However, what is not a fact of life is the abuse that I am now suffering.

 

Firstly, their representative LIED to me by saying that after 24 hours of the delay I could claim £25 for essential items such as toothpaste and toothbrush, shaving tackle ... I went to their site anf found that I was entitled to £50. So I told them that and they said, OK, spend £50 then. I have claimed for this with receipts but so far have had not so much as an acknowledgement from them. I sent the letter recorded delivery and know they received it.

 

Secondly, as per BMI's rules, I submitted my claim to BMI's luggage loss adjuster's organisation THREE WEEKS AGO. Again, no acknowledgement that they have so much as received my claim. Nothing. They don't give out a phone number either so the only way to talk to them is by mail or by fax. That loss adjuster's offices is near London so I can't just pop in to see them either.

 

I faxed them after a while and said, please help as I am about to go on another trip so could they pay me an interim amount so that I could buy some shirts ... THEY FAILED TO RESPOND.

 

I then sent a fax to BMI's head office: to their Chairman, CEO, CFO and COO and have heard NOTHING from them. I sent a copy of my claim to them and said that I was going on a trip shortly and need some shirts, a suit, shoes etc.

 

I have only ever used one no frills airline before and that experience with easyJet was fine. BMI, however, is a different story. They take your money and offer a dreadful level of service. I am writing this as a warning to you all and to help you to appreciate one of the ways in which their service is no frills:

 

they lie about your allowances

they can't wait to charge you excess amounts for services they will not provide

they don't deliver your luggage

they don't help you in any way when you submit a claim except that their representative in the baggage hall at Manchester was very helpful

they don't compensate you in a reasonable time

they provide no follow up service in any way

 

Fly BMI ... never again! NEVER.

 

Duncan Williamson