Cigarettes Stolen From Checked-In Bag

thebigbiffo

Hey All

Just back at the weekend from a holiday at Lake Balaton in Hungary (fantastic place BTW) and I bought a few cartons of smokes as they're much cheaper over there. I had 3 cartons in the checked-in bag coming back with Ryanair and somewhere between Budapest and Dublin they went missing.

I'm wondering if anyone has had an experience of having stuff stolen from their bags like this? Who should I complain to and do I have any chance of being compensated for the theft? I'm fairly pissed off as that's €276 worth of smokes!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

yenom

It was proberbly taken out there, at their customs, that would mean that it would be a case against their customs. I'd say it's not even worth your while going after. It does happen, that's why alot of people put locks on their bags.

tatli_lokma

Happened to me before - bought ciggies for a neighbour and they were nicked out of the bag in Malta. I complained to the baggage handlers in both Malta and Dublin (servis air) but they didn't give a stuff.

Top tip - don't bother with combination or padlocks. They can all be easily opened with a swift whack in the right spot. Instead, buy a keyring with a strong sturdy ring that is a bit stiff to open. Then thread this through the links on the zips (the same way as you would thread a key onto the keyring). Much more fiddly to open, and even with the most brutal of baggage handling, the ring itself won't get broken (you can always take the decorative part of the keyring off if you wish). Granted, if the thieves have a bolt cutters then it won't make any difference - but it will deter opportunistic thieves.

This tip was given to me by a mate who travels far and wide, and in his life has had his suitcase rummaged through many times. Since using the keyring he has never had another 'break-in'!

But a word to the wise, don't put the bloody thing on until you are certain you have everything you need out of it, cos they are a bugger to get off again, especially when you are in the check in queue and loads of people are humph-ing and groaning behind you! lol

BuffyBot

thebigbiffo wrote: »

Hey All

Just back at the weekend from a holiday at Lake Balaton in Hungary (fantastic place BTW) and I bought a few cartons of smokes as they're much cheaper over there. I had 3 cartons in the checked-in bag coming back with Ryanair and somewhere between Budapest and Dublin they went missing.

I'm wondering if anyone has had an experience of having stuff stolen from their bags like this? Who should I complain to and do I have any chance of being compensated for the theft? I'm fairly pissed off as that's €276 worth of smokes!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

A) you would have needed to speak to the baggage claim people at the airport before leaviing
never check anything of value. Too likely to go missing and you have little recourse.

thebigbiffo

Ok, thanks for the responses folks. Sounds like there's no point in my following up at this stage. Just one thing though - if it was customs, surely they either need my permission or would have to let me know if they checked my bag?

tatli_lokma

if it was customs be glad they just took them rather than let you know, because you could have faced a fine AND your lost ciggies

thebigbiffo

Little Ted wrote: »

if it was customs be glad they just took them rather than let you know, because you could have faced a fine AND your lost ciggies

I was traveling with my wife and 2 kids. Are we not entitled to bring x amount in? Although Hungary are in the EU they're not in the Eurozone - does this change things? Anyone clarify the policy on this?

tatli_lokma

but it was checked in and not declared - that would be the problem first off. And your kids aren't entitled to a cigarette allowance! lol

Doesn't make a difference regarding Eurozone - they are EU.

revenue.ie wrote:

(ii) Alcohol and Tobacco Products

In the case of alcohol and tobacco products:

they must be for your personal use,
you must retain your receipts as proof that you have paid duty and taxes, and
you must personally transport and accompany the goods on arrival.
Where your purchases of the specific products listed below are equivalent to, or less than, the quantities shown in the table they will, generally speaking, be regarded as for personal use.

taken from here

How many were in the carton? I don't smoke so I'm not sure - I'm assuming standard 200 cig cartons, which means you would be under the limit, but you would still be expected to 'transport' them yourself.

But this is by-the-by - I doubt very much it was customs. More likely some opportunistic baggage handler. And it could have equally have happened here as in Hungary.

You won't get any compo or reimbursement, but it might still be worth lodging a complaint, if for no other reason than for it to go against the DAA service level agreement performace.

schemingbohemia

Customs wouldn't have hit you with a fine - Hungarian Customs couldn't care less what you're taking out of the country and Irish Customs don't get near your bag until you've taken it out through customs after picking it up from the carousel, plus you were within the limits (not that there are any limits if tax has been paid on the items in question - Revenue may give a guideline amount of 800 cigs but that's not applicable if you can prove they are for personal use, so keep them all the same brand and you'll be fine).

Fratton Fred

There was a spate of this a few years back. Hopefully it isn't atarting up again.

http://www.4ie.ie/irish_news.asp?id=98091