The disaster hits

On April 29th, I was travelling from Amsterdam Schiphol to Gdańsk via Munich. Upon collecting my suitcase I realised it was missing a wheel. It was my first experience of this type as usually I fly only with a hand luggage. Without thinking much of it I went to report it. Then, I experienced my first hiccups. 

Reporting the damage was easy, nobody questioned its validity and I managed to quickly get a signed form. However, since my flight back was in 9 days I was informed that there were no chances of getting it repaired or replaced in that time, so I would have to deal with a damaged one, or find a suiting solution on my own. When I asked for a substitute, the agent almost choked with laughter. I realised I would have to endure an inconvenient trip back including transfers and nobody cared the least. Yet, since it was just a wheel, and being happy to be back home, I did not care too much.

The damage

Two days later I used an online form to report damage to Lufthansa. I got quickly a reply about processing and a day later a formal reply accepting the claim. Not knowing why, a customer satisfaction survey followed immediately, as if Lufthansa considered the matter closed. Furthermore I was a bit puzzled by a part of their email, which read: 

We would be happy to assist you in this matter. We do require an independent assessment for all damaged items. You are welcome to contact our recommended repairers, Dolfi1920 who will repair or replace your suitcase with a similar model as applicable and then invoice us directly so you are not required to make any payment. We have provided further contact details below.

Please notice that in this polite text Lufthansa forces me to deal with a third party company, something I did not agree to, nor expected. Yet, I was unaware at this point that my claim has been sold to the lowest bidder (of course this is still only a hunch, Lufthansa never commented on why and how my case has changed "ownership").

To start arranging a repair, still in good faith and without prejudice, I waited until my return to the Netherlands. Of course I had to fill yet another online form, asking the plenty of details about the suitcase. I managed to do so on May 9th and awaited a reply.