November 30th 2009, I rode an Amtrak train back to New York from North Carolina. I checked 2 bags. One bag arrived in New York and was quickly found in baggage claim. The other bag only went as far as New Jersey and was put on a train to New York upon discovery. When I received the missing bag, my brand new $300 camera and warranty had been stolen. I did not realize this until I got home. I returned to file a claim about a week later (I am a student so I could not get back to the station as promptly as I hoped and I made numerous calls to attempt to make the claim over the phone).
After several phone calls, Amtrak representatives claimed they are NOT responsible for the theft of my camera despite it being in their possession and stolen by either one of THEIR customers or employees. They said things like cameras and laptops are not covered and they only would've refunded me up to $100 anyway. I don't recall ever being informed of this policy and even when looking to see if they covered it, I couldn't find this information neither printed on the brochure nor the website (perhaps it was my own oversight, but I never found it).
I did not put insurance on the camera because I didn't know if Amtrak had any and I've never had baggage issues with them before. I feel as though an employee stole it because that was the only person who was informed about the camera and would've been there to get the camera out of the bag before I returned to pick it up in the morning. I understand why they don't want to pay for it, but I have been a loyal customer and have no reason to lie about this theft, I even have a copy of the receipt that shows the camera was purchased only a couple days prior.
I don't want to have to take legal actions because, like I said, I am a student at NYU on a full scholarship and don't have much time to try for a case - I don't even know if I have a case. I need help because it's not fair for me to have to pay $300 for a camera I cannot use, it was for my photography class and has cost me more than I could afford. That's $300 of my scholarship money that is going down the drain, I cannot afford to replace it. What can I do?
After several phone calls, Amtrak representatives claimed they are NOT responsible for the theft of my camera despite it being in their possession and stolen by either one of THEIR customers or employees. They said things like cameras and laptops are not covered and they only would've refunded me up to $100 anyway. I don't recall ever being informed of this policy and even when looking to see if they covered it, I couldn't find this information neither printed on the brochure nor the website (perhaps it was my own oversight, but I never found it).
I did not put insurance on the camera because I didn't know if Amtrak had any and I've never had baggage issues with them before. I feel as though an employee stole it because that was the only person who was informed about the camera and would've been there to get the camera out of the bag before I returned to pick it up in the morning. I understand why they don't want to pay for it, but I have been a loyal customer and have no reason to lie about this theft, I even have a copy of the receipt that shows the camera was purchased only a couple days prior.
I don't want to have to take legal actions because, like I said, I am a student at NYU on a full scholarship and don't have much time to try for a case - I don't even know if I have a case. I need help because it's not fair for me to have to pay $300 for a camera I cannot use, it was for my photography class and has cost me more than I could afford. That's $300 of my scholarship money that is going down the drain, I cannot afford to replace it. What can I do?
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