By Matt Gephardt
Produced by Michelle Poe

(KUTV) It was meant to be a fabulous, month long summer vacation for Laura Oscarson-Wilde last July: a trip to Germany. But the trip began with a speed bump.

"The luggage I had checked through didn't arrive,” Laura said.

It was a month’s worth of clothing and other supplies, but not to worry, Delta Airlines told Laura they had found her bag, safe and sound in Paris.

"[Delta] gave me a number and says it should arrive on another plane,” Laura said.

Laura says she called Delta every day that she was in Europe and she was repeatedly assured the bag was coming.

"It hasn't shown up yet,” Laura said.

Laura is now home and has been without her bag for six months. Now she says she wants reimbursed but she says Delta told her they would not pay her unless Laura provided a receipt for every single item in the suitcase.

“I've repeatedly asked to speak to a supervisor,” Laura said. “[Delta] tells me they have no supervisors. You just cannot penetrate that first level of response which doesn't give you any information."

So after six months, Laura decided to Get Gephardt to try and reach someone higher up the Delta ladder to pay attention to her claim.

2News began investigating, first with the U.S. Department of Transportation which has declared that if an airline loses your bag, the airline legally must reimburse you up to $3,300 per passenger.

2News also found that Delta Airlines has been in trouble for not paying in accordance with D.O.T. rules before. The carrier was fined $100,000 in 2010 for violations of the department's domestic baggage liability rule.

2News called Delta Airlines several times and left several messages with the P.R. Department in Atlanta but they never bother calling back to answer any questions. However Laura finally heard something back from Delta.

A few days after our calls, Laura says she got a check in the mail from Delta for $1,734. It is money that she can finally use to replace her lost belongings.

(Copyright 2012 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)
Woman Waits Months for Lost Luggage Compensation