Have you’ve ever had to contact the airline lost and found before or you’re looking to retrieve a lost item? If so, there might be some helpful information in this post.
We’ve all been on a plane using a tablet or phone and decided to take a nap. That trusty little seat back pocket is staring you in the face so you prop your item so it’s sticking halfway out using the elastic band that goes across the top and it will be there waiting for you when you wake up. If this is you you’ve already committed a major flying mistake.
I’m a recent victim of the airplane seat back pocket. Putting something in there is a death wish for that item. While you are sleeping it will likely slide down so it’s no longer visible. When it comes time to get off the plane there’s that anxiety everyone feels getting out of their seat and row. You’re thinking to yourself ok I’ve gotta make this fast. So you put your backpack on, get into the aisle and quickly grab your carry on from the overhead. You proceed to get off the plane to head home or continue to your connecting flight.
Now if it’s your phone you are likely to notice because we don’t go anywhere or do anything without our phone in our hands especially when flying. We can’t wait to call, text, check voicemail, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. as soon as we get service, but a tablet can more easily be overlooked.
So after taking the train to a completely different terminal in Atlanta I sit down for my next flight and reach for my tablet. I’m very organized and put things in the same place so I knew it was missing. I immediately tweeted @DeltaAssist who I knew from past conversations responds quickly and I also got a flight attendant to contact my prior gate hoping someone could just go get it and bring it to me.
Within about 20 minutes the tablet had been found in the seat back right where I left it, but due to time they were not able to deliver it to my flight so it went to the lost and found in Atlanta. The pilot came back to me and said “We found your tablet and you can either pick it up here when you return or you can contact lost and found and have them send it to you.” That sounded pretty simple and since there was nothing more I could do and I knew they had it I felt pretty good about the situation. It never happens during flights to Manuel Antonio.
When I got to my destination in St. Lucia I also filled out the lost and found form on the Delta website even though my item was already found. It said they would only contact you if your item was found.
Now let’s fast forward to the end of my vacation. It’s time to go home and I haven’t heard anything from Delta. I’m international so calling cost $3/minute and we all know how long you can sit on the phone with an airline so this wasn’t a good option. I tweeted @DeltaAssist again to find out where the lost and found was in Atlanta. Come to find out you must leave the secure area and go to the main terminal where anyone would enter from the outside. This of course takes a lot of time especially at a large airport like Atlanta and since I was coming from out of the country you must first go through customs which isn’t a quick process. It was obvious I wasn’t going to have enough time to go and get it so I had to resort to plan b which was contacting the lost and found once I got home.
At my gate I asked the attendant what he thought I should do and he told me when I got to Richmond to go to my baggage area and have them call the Atlanta baggage. I did exactly what he suggested and the response from the baggage person in Richmond was that deer in the headlights look. Not the reassuring look I was hoping for. She calls the Atlanta baggage office and speaks to someone. They then transfer her to the Atlanta Lost and Found which nobody answers. They are closed for the night!
Gah! This process isn’t looking good. The Richmond baggage person gives me an 800 number to call which is for the Delta Baggage Operation Control Center. They proceed to tell me that I must call the Atlanta Lost and Found and gave me a direct number. This seemed positive until I called that number and the recording said “We no longer are accepting calls for lost and found items. Please visit delta.com/lostandfound and fill out the form. If your item is found we will contact you.” Great this again.
So clearly the run around has begun and Delta has decided to make it extremely difficult to retrieve a lost item even though it had been found. I’ve contacted Delta via phone, their baggage operations control center, the Atlanta airport, the Atlanta baggage office, the Atlanta lost and found, the Delta online lost and found form and spoken to @DeltaAssist on Twitter which continued to direct me to the local Atlanta information which I had already proven didn’t get the desired result.
Time to get serious. I start sending Direct Message tweets to the @DeltaAssist handle and they continue to apologize and tell me that they can’t do anymore than provide me with the info to the Atlanta Lost and Found and the form on their website. I told them that it’s one thing if the item was still lost, but it’s found and sitting in a room somewhere. Either put me in contact with a human being or I’m taking my issue public on Twitter which to this point I had been very respectful and kept it all private using Direct Messages. This was their response. “Again my apologies and I wish I could do more from here. The number provided is a working number and will be able to best assist you.” While I completely understand the mass amount of lost items and the number of inquiries they must get if you are going to have a lost and found and the item is found it’s your duty to provide people with an efficient method to retrieve that item and they weren’t doing that.
As I mentioned I was going to take my issue public and here is my tweet.
Now I don’t have a huge follower base (currently 1,467), but I am an active user and know that any good company who is on Twitter that has a very visible business like Delta pays attention to what people are saying about them. 22 minutes after that public tweet I got a Direct Message back from @DeltaAssist.
Five minutes after that Direct Message a real live human being from the Atlanta Lost and Found called me with their sincerest apologies and took my information and said that they would be sending it via FedEx today.
I hope this is a great example of how using social media can provide you with results that other common methods will not. When a company knows you will go on the attack and bash them publicly for something they are doing wrong it’s in their best interest to eliminate the situation as quickly as possible.
UPDATE #1: I received my tablet from FedEx just as they said, however what they didn’t say is that it was going to cost me $78 to ship! Uh WTF are you talking about Willis? I called FedEx and expressed how unacceptable this was to charge someone almost half the value of a product without even telling them what the cost would be. The agent totally agreed, but was only able to get $19.50 credited back to my account.
That still left me paying $58.50 which is still crazy for something as small as a tablet. I called American Express Platinum and filed a case with them. They will contact FedEx on my behalf and attempt to recover some of the remaining charge and report back to me. For safe travel options see Aerobell.com today.
UPDATE #2: My cased filed with American Express Platinum wasn’t successful because at the end of the day that was the price Delta paid to ship the item. They wanted to do more, but there was no wrongdoing or overcharge by Delta so this is where the story ends.
Melisa says
Glad you were able to use social media to help you. I am in the same boat with regards to a lost item…but because the person that lost the item is an employee…we can’t take it to social media. Our item was confirmed to be sent from the airport to the generic lost and found location and we have heard nothing.
donna says
omg, how did this work out for you case im dealing with the same thing
Alice Marie Burnet says
I don’t know when I have been so upset !!! I just bought an IPad 6 air 2 with a glass cover and in a great leather case !!! I left my NEW IPad in the sky lounge in the Atlanta air port . When I got to Scottsdale AZ and realized I had left it I could not get the sky lounge because they had closed I filled out the information on line but had to wait till morning to talk with someone in the lounge !. Needless to say I hardly slept at all & started calling when they were open ! They said they had found it when they were cleaning up & had sent it to lost and found . They gave me a number to call ! I called for days & when someone finally answered and I told them about leaving it they said they did not have it & that after 24 hours they sent it to another place which has no telephone and that I can only deal with them by computer ! I have done what they told me to do ….. I filled out the information on line & I have a report number but they say they can’t find it !!!! What to do ???? They have made it as hard as they can to get it back ! Does anyone have a number for someone higher up that I can talk too ??? It looks like I will be paying for a new IPad & all that goes with it !!!! Someone has my IPad & Delta has made it impossible to get it back !!!!!
Chad says
I would suggest you get on Twitter and try my method. They will respond because Delta Assist is an active handle. It’s just whether or not you get someone who is willing to go the extra mile to help you. Good luck.
Rebecca Shook says
Followed your advice for a wallet that was left on a flight to San Juan on Mar4th. We were contacted Mar 20th (at 5:30 AM} by phone from Puerto Rico saying they had the wallet with cash intact. A supervisor would be calling us to arrange it’s return. Still no word. Delta Assist insists there is nothing they can do. The number that called us in Puerto Rico is not receiving incoming calls. Sent a scathing email to the complaint department, but I guess we’re still at their mercy.
Chad says
It’s such a helpless feeling when you do everything you can and it’s still not enough.
Kiley says
Lost carry-on luggage at LGA 4/28/15 in Delta D terminal. Have called 13 numbers, spoke to TSA folk, Delta Lost and Found, filed a Lost Item claim in person and online, the Port Authorities at LGA, the Port Authority Police at LGA, and Delta has been the least helpful. At LGA airport, Delta was no help at all. Their agents did not even provide a Lost and Found desk or number. We had to get any helpful information/contact numbers from the TSAs. Not until we landed in Milwaukee, did a Delta Baggage Claim worker provide help of any sort.
Chad says
I think they deal with this so much that nobody cares enough or has the time to focus towards helping find these items. It just seems they try and make it difficult so you just give up. It’s all about getting lucky and finding a few good people who are willing to go past their job description to help. Good luck.
Mary M. says
I recently left my tablet on a flight from Venice. I realized at my connecting flight what I had done. I went back to the gate and asked the agent to check. The agent said it had already been cleaned and since it was international I couldn’t go down with her to check. She said it would have been taken down to lost and found. I went down to lost and found and they had nothing.
I filled out the lost and found online. I have called JFK airport baggage for several days and today they told me they boxed up a tablet matching mine and sent it to the lost and found center.
My question is has anyone gotten their lost items back, once sent to the lost and found center?
LauraJ says
So you are saying that if my daughter just left her hearing aid on the plane I should pretty much kiss it goodbye? My regional Delta here in Sioux falls SD was a wonderful help. unfortunately that same flight is Atlanta based- Did you ever get a direct number for the Altanta lost and found?
Chad says
Hope this can help. http://bit.ly/atlanta-lost-and-found
Dave says
I had a similar problem.. Left a tablet on a Delta flight, changed planes in Atlanta. Delta called me 2 months later saying they found it, but the person left an invalid phone number on my voicemail 4 times!!! So maddening. No one to help so had to register on the delta lost and found web site.
After 2 more months delta hands the tablet over to Atlanta lost and found. WHY did they hang onto it so long? Atlanta lost and found website is broken and won’t let me pay for shipping but at least they responded back to my email.
For everyone else: Here is ATLANTA LOST & FOUND for all airlines. Only email/call if they said they found it. You can ask for GROUND shipping to save money. My tablet cost $17 to ground ship.
[email protected]
256-999-0980
Rob F says
Thank you so much for posting this phone number. I returned to the airport three days after my Southwest flight home and filing of a lost item report. They indicated to me that an item closely resembling my camera bad had been found. It was held at the airport for two days and then shipped to Alabama. I was confident that someone had it, but finding a human to help me was impossible. My camera (with super important photos) was on its way home within ten minutes of a call to this number!! Thanks for the tip on ground shipping as well.
Joel says
I second the thanks to Dave for publishing the phone number and to Chad for the original post.
I knew about my loss immediately, so I filled out the Delta online form like Chad, but also called this number. They answered the phone (unlike the local airport lost and found that went straight to voice mail) and gave me some hints on how the process works. In addition, looking at the local airport’s website (Charlotte, NC in this case) and speaking with a couple of different Delta SkyMiles agents, I pieced together that the local airport tends to hold on to the missing items for somewhere between a couple of days and 1 week, assuming the cleaning crew finds and turns in the item, before shipping it off to some central place like Atlanta. (lostandfound.aero seems to be an industry-wide service and is apparently in Atlanta).
After learning all of this, and reading Chad’s post, my goal was to stop this transfer by finding and identifying my item while it was still in Charlotte. The Charlotte airport’s website said that lost items left on a plane were handled by the individual airline, not the airport, TSA, etc. So after a couple of phone calls to Delta SkyMiles agents, I finally got a phone number for Delta’s local Charlotte lost and found, and, sensibly, it’s just the baggage handling office. Each airline already has their own baggage handling office (for lost baggage), so that’s also where they keep the items left on the plane before sending them to Atlanta or wherever they go. I gave them a verbal description, and they taped my name and boarding pass to the item so that it would not get sent to Atlanta. This worked out well for me because I was in Charlotte anyway on business for a few days, so I just picked it up on my way back home.
Speaking with lostandfound.aero, 2 or 3 SkyMiles agents, and the person in Delta’s baggage handling office who finally gave me back my item, I never got a clear answer on how long things are held at the local airport, where they are held at the local airport, or where they go after that. I suspect that is because each airline handles it a bit differently, and probably even the same airline handles it differently at each airport. However, I would not be at all surprised if the general model I’ve described above is true for all airlines at all airports, i.e., the item left on a plane goes to the baggage handling office of that airline (always located in the baggage claim area), which makes sense because every airline already has to have such an office at each airport, and stays there for a few days before the ship it somewhere else.
I got lucky because I knew about my loss immediately and I was in Charlotte for a couple of days, plenty of time for them to find the item, but not enough time for them to ship it somewhere else. Even if Charlotte had just been a connection for me, though, I think the strategy of trying to find and identify the item while it is still at the local airport, and getting someone at that local airport to agree not to send it to a central facility, is more likely to result in getting your lost item back sooner.
Kathy Hamilton says
What number? My iPad, which I (stupidly) left on Southwest flight 127 from Las Vegas to Orange County, is somewhere in Alabama.Why? After speaking to a lovely person at a store there said my iPad was at a holding center in Scottsboro, Alabama and she gave me the e-mail address. Doesn’t work. No phone number. Nothing. Southwest has sent me two e-mails that they have not found my iPad. I was told Southwest sent it to this holding center. So, now what? they have all the info including serial number, etc. and nothing. Lousy system. Lousy service.
Norberto says
My husband lost his Prada $600 prescription eye glasses on a 497 Delta Flight, June 28, 2016 going to Santo Domingo. He filled out the online Lost and Found Report and absolutely nothing. Cannot even reach anyone to inquire or receive any status information. I believe they are keeping passengers items when lost. I also believe they have a Black Market Employees working for Delta Airlines. If you have a number please reply back. Thank You
Rena says
Thank you soooooo much for providing this phone number. I inadvertently deleted the email telling me my item was found. When I called Delta, they couldn’t tell me anything. I called this morning and paid the fee to have it delivered to me. Shame on Delta for not having this information readily available for its customer service agents.
Cindy de luise says
Rena- I saw your post. Today is a Saturday. I left a message with the Alabama lost and found site. Eight days ago (8-12-16) I left a laptop on a delta flight arriving into JFK. I tried calling delta JFK baggage claim earlier in the week and once or twice was able to speak to a live person who said it was not with them. I filled out th lost and found form and provided serial number and identifying features of the laptop. I have received two emails so far saying that they have not found it yet. It has been a week since the item was lost and I am not sure what more I can do. Should I continue to try to reach Alabama and speak to a live person? I have never felt so frustrated in my life.
Chad says
Post it on lostandfound.com.
Rob says
Left my iPad in the pocket on Aug 6, 2015. I was certain that it would not show up, but low-and-behold I got notification today Aug 18, 2015 that it was found. All I did was to provide a good description and serial number on the online form at Delta.
Crystal says
Its good to hear someone actually got their stuff returned to them! i to left my ipad in the seat pocket and am praying and hoping someone honest found it and turns it in 🙁
Walt says
I also suddenly found myself in Delta Lost and Found Purgatory.
On Oct. 6 on a Delta flight from DCA to ATL I left my laptop by my seat. I noticed that I did so when I got home in Atlanta, at about 10 pm I realized what had happened and tried to call the Lost in Found in Atlanta. After being me directed though the typical maze of options I landed at their voice-mailbox, only to hear that it was full.
But then I got lucky. The next morning there was an email message from a Mr. Ross, that my computer was is Minnesota, at their lost and found, and that I should get in touch with them and provide them with my address and a UPS account number.
I immediately set up a UPS account, and emailed Mr. Ross with the requested information. I also, called the Minnesota Lost and Found, and never got through to them. But, since I and provided the information to Mr. Ross, I assumed that all would be OK. But it wasn’t.
I did not get a reply from Mr. Ross, wrote email after email, and endlessly was calling the Minnesota Lost and Found.
Two days later I finally got through by phone, and Mr. Ross was not there. There was also no sign or record of my computer (which incidentally is used exclusively for work and is Federal Government property).
On Saturday afternoon, at 3 pm, Mr. Ross calls me that he was out for all of that time, and he thinks that the computer was sent to Atlanta, but he is not sure. I should fill out their standard Lost Item report and wait…
And so I have. It is now a week later. I did not get response from Delta. Thankfully I am careful to backup my computer, but I will have to buy a new computer if I knew for sure that Delta would sit on their butts for weeks.
I am not a social media guy so my tweets won’t mean much to them. However, after the computer was in Delta’s possession, it was technically not lost and they are legally responsible for it. After reading the horror stories on the site I am sure that all of this is run of the mill Delta incompetence. I will Delta deal with the FBI, after I report it as likely to have been stolen if I do not hear them in a few days.
Anne Drissel says
I’ve been tracking my iPad using Find My IPhone since I left it in a plane seatpocked on Nov 2. I filed both Delta.com lost baggage notice and Atlanta airport lost baggage notice. On Nov 6 the FindMyIPhone app activated and I watched the IPad via GPS travel along roads into Scottsboro, Alabama and stop at a shopping center. It has beamed location info to me and I’ve captured satellite type image photos on Google of the location. This is purportedly the location of a nondescript regional collection center for lost baggage. On Saturday Nov 7 around 5 PM the iPAD signaled it had been found and sent 3 emails confirming. I updated the Delta.com Lost Baggage form with the tracking information and left email and phone numbers again. Yet today (Monday Nov 9) the Delta.com Lost Baggage email notification says my iPad still hasn’t been found. Unfortunately when I checked FindMyIPhone, it is evident that the battery has now run down. I’m not too hopeful now.
Anne Drissel says
I should have updated my story: Late Monday November 9, I got email confirming IPad was found and would be shipped to me. (Blessedly the battery had held out long enough for me to keep pinging it with updates and notices where I was staying and phone number.) Two days later (Wednesday Nov 11) I had my iPad back. It was shipped overnight to the address where I was staying in Atlanta. Cost me $19.50. Thank goodness for the “FindMyIPhone” app!
Carolyn MacDonald says
I left my phone at the Delta baggage counter in Portland ME when I came in on a late flight Sunday and was so sick I couldn’t figure out which bag was mine. I must have left an impression, because I got an email from their baggage person that was sent about as soon as I left, saying I left it on his desk and he was leaving it at the Delta departure desk for me to pick up the next day. I drove back to the airport after work, which was an hour away. BECAUSE you can’t CALL to ask a question… When I got there, there was no phone. I managed to get the airport lost and found employee to talk to him the next day. He said someone had sent it with the lost and found out on a 4 am flight to Atlanta yesterday morning (Monday). I have been fruitlessly chasing it through the system, NO ONE will give me an answer aside from inane computer messages that infuriate rather than soothe….It has been a week without a phone. So frustrating – it wasn’t even lost, just misplaced for about 10 minutes!!!!! Since I was ill, I hadn’t even turned off airplane mode yet so I cant locate it!!
T. Walt says
Left my iphone 6 in the seat pocket of a Delta flight. I had to rush to catch a connecting Delta flight and as soon as we were taking off I realized I had left it. The minute the seat belt sign came off I asked the stewardess if she could help me and she said no. My husband then connected to Delta live chat on his tablet; I explained what happened and asked if she could help but all she did was send me a link to fill out a lost form. It was so frustrating – the first plane was still at the gate as this was only 50 mins later and no one would help. I filled out the form ASAP and sent a message to the complaint department (on-line of course – I guess Delta has a “don’t talk to customers policy!”) on how terrible their process is. It’s been over a week and no phone so obviously someone else is now enjoying it. We booked with Delta because it was cheaper then WestJet (not anymore); I won’t make that mistake again! If I had left my phone on a WestJet flight I would have had it returned.
jane moore says
my daughter lost her iphone 6 on delta flight No DL62 from London to Boston on January 15th 2016 she reported it and was told to fill lost and found claim, the following day they said they found it and sent it to Altlanta, up to this day two weeks later we have not heard anything from them. i guess people should stop using this airline.
Ursula J Harris says
I lost my pocket book and they haven’t found it yet so now I’m about to make a police report.
Sally says
Thank you for posting the direct number to the facility in Alabama that all of Delta’s lost and found gets shipped to. The lady I just spoke with was super nice and very helpful. If my lost item ends up there from the plane I left it on, I now have a contact person to actually speak with. It’s too soon to tell if my item will actually get to the facility without disappearing into someone else’s hands first, but it was nice to actually speak with someone. She said it takes about 5 days to get to their facility after being lost and will do their best to locate.
Aakifah Siddiqui says
Nothing has changed since 2013 I see. Now I’m loosing hope too. I left my Samsung S4 mini phone on a delta flight. I got it as a gift from my husband on my wedding day 2 n half years ago. And then on my birthday last month he gifted me another phone. So I took out the sim card from the old phone and put it into my new phone. I used the older phone for nursery rhymes and stuff for my 10 month old son. I hadn’t taken out any pictures or stored them into my laptop yet. All my sons pictures and vdos of him starting to sit and crawl were in it. 🙁 🙁 I’m devastated. Last week we were returning from Orlando via Atlanta to St Louis. My son was fine for the first leg of the flight. But for the second he got air sick about half an hour before the descent into stl. And was uncontrollable and was throwing up all over my husband and I. I had the phone out earlier for trying to comfort him with his favorite rhymes. And in the chaos of his throwing up it slipped from my hand and fell but I couldn’t pick it up right then coz I was busy with my baby. I thought I would pick it up before getting off and I conveniently forgot about it. We were the last people to get off the plane. The cleaning crew was already on flight, waiting for us to go out and sympathizing looking at my son’s condition saying poor baby. I remembered 2 hours after reaching home that I forgot to look for it. And I tried calling every number bUT wasn’t office hours so couldn’t get in touch with anyone. I filed a report online. But I don’t know the serial number and it doesn’t have a sim card in it . Just a memory card with all my pictures siggghhhhh. .. the mistake I made was I should have gone to the airport right then but my baby was sleeping and I dint want to disturb him after the day he had. I called the very next day and spoke to always 10 people telling me the same thing to fill out a form. I went to the airport and to the delta baggage claim. The guy there was very nice and helpful. He took a description of the phone went and checked.. I was praying the whole time…. but came back and said it wasn’t there. He also said delta’s recovery rate was very high. Since then I already received an email saying that they are still looking.. I am just praying and waiting for someone to return it back somehow.. I just want my baby’s pictures and vdos. Those are priceless. I travelled on June 2nd and today is 8th june. Is there anything else I can do?
M. Sage says
Go to the airport lost and found, where you landed as FAST as you can. Your item can sit there for up to a week! Ask to see a log. Left my laptop in the seat pocket and filled out Delta’s lost and found report. After a week, and receiving the customary “we are looking, but…” email from Delta, I went back to the airport where I arrived. A nice lady let me look at the lost and found logs. They were very poorly detailed, but I did find what I thought could be a description of my laptop. Another sheet showed where it was being shipped to : Yes, Scottsboro, AL. This is the third party lost and found facility that I just read about tonight online. Not good. After the 21 days Delta says they devote to searching, the third party lost and found can sell your “unclaimed” items at their store. Yuck. And, yes, your items may sit at the airport for up to a week, despite that an agent told me, 24 hours after I left my item, that my laptop was not there and that it had already been shipped out to “central lost and found.” I will try the number above even though it says it is for an Atlanta facility and hope for the best. I will also try tweeting if that does not work out. Thank you very much for posting this information.
nick says
Here is the phone number for the lost and found center in Scottsboro, AL
256-999-0980
Jeff Ferguson says
THANK YOU NICK!!! …for posting the number to this facility. I left my iPad in the seat pocket landing in DFW on Saturday, could not return to plane to get it, then no numbers to contact anyone…only the online lost and found report form. On day 3 emailed still not found. On day 4, the icloud notified me that my ipad was placed into lost mode which showed my cell number to call. It also stated it had been located and played sound. I signed into icloud and played sound again and again, relocated to a shopping center in Scottsboro AL and still nooone would call me. As I watched the battery life drop, I searched and searched and finally came across this site. I read through to the bottom and found the number by NICK for the lost and found center in Scottsboro, AL. I called and spoke with Ethan whom stated he heard the sound and proceeded to send me an email for payment and return.
THANK YOU ETHAN for your honesty and THANK YOU NICK for posting the number to the facility 256-999-0980!!! After reading many horror stories, I was worried my iPad would be sold to the highest bidder and never returned. Hopefully I should receive my iPad in 2 days!
Cindy de luise says
Hello – I left my Apple MacBook Pro on a delta flight from Boston to JFK on August 12. I immediately completed the delta lost and found form and also tried to contact delta baggage claim at JFK for several days hoping it would be there. I have also written a few emails to delta comments and complainants. It’s a week now and I received two emails from delta saying how hard they are trying to find it. I gave the serial number as well as a sticker I had on the cover of the laptop. Please tell me what else I can do. I had a lot of important information on the laptop.
Does it make sense to also call Boston Logan delta baggage claim in case the laptop might have take another trip to Boston before being found? How can I contact the Alabama lost and found central? Is there a number or email address? Thank you for anything you can tell me
Nancy Kosola says
My only sibling’s only child was tragically killed in a freak river boat accident outside Portland, Oregon. After flying out there from Michigan and helping her get through everything, I tried to get back home by taking a Delta flight that laid over in Salt Lake but the flight had a delaid start causing a missed connection. When I finally got home I discovered I didn’t have my nephew’s ashes. The flight attendant put my carry on overhead. When I got home his ashes were missing. THANKIFULLY, they found them. What I can’t understand is why I’m being charged for delivery of something so important that was an employee’s error.
Joann says
Assistance needed- My daughter checked her College Team bag at ATL and it went straight to el paso. She was at baggage claim when the luggage came out and her bag wasn’t there. It is a custom hanging bag with the school logo and her name on it. They show it arriving in El Paso but can’t find it. They have no idea where it is and just keep hoping to find it. It was lost on Sunday night and today they are saying they “hope” it comes in on the next flight from Atlanta. She has all of her competition clothes in the bag and really need them back.- any suggestions?
Maria says
I lost my driver’s license in the terminal at DTW when I boarded a flight for Tampa, FL.
When I exited the plane in Tampa, immediately I realized I don’t have my license. A flight attendant went back to check my seat (they didn’t let me get back on the plane) just in case it fell off my pocket (If I would have had it in the plane). So, everybody told me that it will be at lost and found Delta in Detroit. Once at the hotel, I called Delta customer service and I asked for the phone number for lost and found office in Detroit. They couldn’t provide any information and they advised me to fill a report on line. Telling me that it is the only way to communicate with the airline. I filled immediately the report. I’ve got an email informing me of the number and of the fact that they will start looking for my lost item immediately. During my first week in Florida I’ve got 2 more emails informing me that they are actively searching for my license.
Coming back from Tampa, when we checked our luggage, the Delta representative asked me my name, and asked if I lost my driver’s license at DTW. She informed me that it was found and that I shouldn’t leave the airport to go home before I recover my document from the lost and found office in McNamara terminal. I was overjoyed!
In Detroit I went immediately at the lost and found office, I identified myself with my passport (luckily I had it in my purse all the time) and I waited full of hope for the ordeal to end.
On the contrary!!! My ordeal just started! They came back and told me that they don’t have my driver’s license and told me that in 10 days I wasn’t there to claim my item. I asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor informed me that their policy is to send the unclaimed items in 24 hours to Alabama where they have more storage. I asked then “why did you still looked for it, then”? She didn’t have a valid answer. Then, I asked her name = answer Nono, no last name…I asked Nono to tell me, according to their records, when did they shipped my license to Alabama and how come the lady in Tampa told me that it is waiting for my in Detroit. The preposterous answer was that they don’t keep ANY records of the lost and found objects. They just send them to Alabama. For “security reasons” Delta doesn’t provide a phone number for Alabama lost and found center!!! Then Nono informed me that she is done with me and all my questions! She also express surprise why I am so frustrated, I can get another driver’s license easily, what’s the big deal???
Why a MI driver’s license with address in MI at 20 miles from the airport, cannot be “stored” at DTW and needs to be shipped for “SPACE REASONS” to Alabama doesn’t make any sense to me?!
Once at home I checked my email but no new information on my report!
I called customer service today I couldn’t get any positive answer. They offered a $20 voucher as a compensation.
Tomorrow I will try the Alabama number I found on your blog. I am really grateful for all your help.
Good luck to all of you Delta travelers!
DS says
OH MY GOSH!! I just found my beloved, brand new Kindle in it’s purple leather case!!
CALL THE #!! I pushed the option for DELTA L&F, and spoke to a wonderful guy who told me my kindle was sent to them and they had it on the computer. They had even matched the serial #, but they guy handling my situation had been so busy, and then was out for a sick day today, that he hadn’t gotten an email out to me. He said I would receive an email by tomorrow morning, and I will have it shipped back!
THANK YOU FOR PUBLISHING THE PHONE NUMBER. Aero is the company, they are HQ in Scottsboro, AL, and their phone # is: 256-999-0980. Listen carefully to the message, and make sure you press the number corresponding to the airline you left your item on.
GOOD LUCK!
Veronica says
Oh good GOD what is up with his debacle of losing something and knowing EXACTLY where it dropped off the rolling suitcase, AND was noted by someone on the plane yet you can’t call THAT gate specifically, or talk to anyone about it! My mother’s ski jacket that is PERFECT for me (she’s 95 now!), bought in Austria, not another one like it (perfect purple with gold interior) fell off my rolling luggage as I walked into the entrance tunnel to the plane. Long/short I filed a ‘form’ with them on-line as instructed and have been told if they don’t find it within 3 weeks the search will be stopped. WHAT? I know EXACTLY where it was!! Getting off the flight in Madison WI I implored the gate agent to call the gate at the airport I just left and she flatly said, sorry that is not possible. WHAT? I pushed as only I know how (been a professional advocate for 40 years!!) still, sorry, there’s no way we can directly connect with a gate in another airport. WHAT IS UP WITH THIS SYSTEM!! My mother’s jacket is gone, I can only hope it’s keeping SOMEONE warm and in great fashion!
Jeff M says
I wish that I had found this blog a month and a half ago. It would have saved me hundreds of dollars. I lost my phone a flight from Detroit to Washington Dulles on October 10th, 2017. My wife, who had a bit more time on her hands and is incredibly persistent tried her best to get in contact with someone who could help us. She talked to several people, but we eventually resorted to filling out the lost and found report and waiting. After the 2 weeks had elapsed, I figured I was out of luck, so I bought a replacement on eBay. Fast forward to November 29th, 50 days later, I receive a call from the lost and found clearing house. They have my phone. The person on the other end of the line was unable to give me details on when it was found. I’m wondering how long it had been there and whether I could have saved the money for the new one. I did end up paying the shipping fee to get the phone back because of personally valuable information on the phone and the 256GB memory card inside it. Live and learn…do research before giving up. Thanks for your blog, though.
Chad says
I’m sorry you had a similar experience to everyone else who has been here, but hope it helped in some way.
manfred marcus says
I lost my i-phone and my reading glasses in a leather pouch on a Delta Flight #2167 from JFK to Salt Lake City (Jan. 17), unable to retrieve it personally on my way back onJan.22; and unable to get satisfaction on their given e-mail (Delta.com/lostandfound). What can be done…other than cry?
Ken Patterson says
I found my backpack originally lost on my Delta flight 2 weeks ago through reading the earlier comments and then calling the Scottsboro , Alabama #. I received a email reply that they have my item. I paid the shipping and will be getting my backpack back soon. Thank You to all of the earlier posters that left great intel on what to do!
Chad says
Happy to hear this post helped you out, Ken.