Manufacturers warranty cover theft?

[MarvinMartian]

My son's Samsung Intensity II was (allegedly) stolen out of his luggage by some American Airlines employee.  (We'll never fly AA again.) I am inquiring with my credit card company to see if they can cover the loss.

The credit card company will double the manufacturer's warranty, but the question is - does the manufacturer's warranty cover theft? I doubt it, but figure it's worth a query.

We bought his phone last August (2010).

[vereyezuhn]

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MarvinMartian wrote:

My son's Samsung Intensity II was (allegedly) stolen out of his luggage by some American Airlines employee.  (We'll never fly AA again.) I am inquiring with my credit card company to see if they can cover the loss.

The credit card company will double the manufacturer's warranty, but the question is - does the manufacturer's warranty cover theft? I doubt it, but figure it's worth a query.

We bought his phone last August (2010).

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No, the manufacturer's warranty does not cover theft, but insurance might if you have it. There will be a deductible though.

Not to be rude or assume anything, but are you sure an AA employee stole it? Did you check wherever you were at before the flight to see if your son left it there? I'm just asking because I've never heard of an airline employee stealing anything out of someone's luggage, and find it hard to believe they would steal a Samsung Intensity II, out of all things.

Please don't be offended by that statement, I just had to ask.

[MarvinMartian]

I am not offended. You make a valid point. I was perhaps too rash in stating it was an AA employee. I don't know for sure - It is my suscpicion. There were other earlier problems with his AA flights on this trip, so I added this incident to it as the final straw.

In this incident, he arrived from an international AA flight to DFW. Before going through customs, he took his phone out of his carry-on to try it, but the battery was dead. He then needed his passport, so to free his hands to get the passport, he zipped his phone, an empty wallet and some papers into a side compartment of his checked bag. The checked bag was not inspected in customs. He then took his bag and checked it to his destination. When he arrived at his destination, the pocket was empty.

You tell me how it could have been anyone other than an airline employee. I guess it could have been TSA - maybe more likely. I suspect whoever it was saw a phone and a wallet and stole it. I am sure they were disappointed to find it was not a smart phone and the wallet empty, but that's the only explanation I can come up with.

[budone]

Were any calls made AFTER the phone was stolen. If not, I doubt it was stolen.

[acraftylady]

Is it possible he didn't zip the compartmemt and it fell out?    Mary

[deepaknet]

Sorry to hear that your mobile phone was lost in your travel.

AFAIK worldwide for mobile phones the warranty excludes theft and also voids itself when confronted with interference from non-authorised sources.

However since your phone got lost in an airline your airline may be able to reimburse it or your credit card. If you are covered by an insurance plan for the mobile that should help you too.

[vereyezuhn]

This is a tough one. It almost sounds as if he didn't zip up the pocket all the way, and everything came out in-flight or while moving the luggage. Or, as you said, someone saw a wallet and phone, and figured there was money. Have you checked your usage to see if anyone's made phone calls or texts on it since? They'd obviously have to have a compatible charger for it since its battery was dead. I would call the airline and speak to them about it. My brother's an artist, and he lost one of his bags on a flight that was filled with a bunch of his drawings that were in national art shows, and he was never able to get them back, sadly. Dealt with the airline for months looking for his bag.

[acraftylady]

I have about $3,000 in camera equipment and my husband has a rider, ryder? on our home owners insurance in case of theft but I guess that is not something you would do for a cell phone.  Will be curious to see if any calls where made and tracked.   Mary

[DaisyP_VZW]

Thank you to all the community members who have replied.

OP/ I know what an inconvenience it can be having your phone lost or stolen.  If you haven't already, I would highly recommend to report your phone lost or stolen and suspended it if you currently don't have another phone in its place in that particular line. You can suspend your line by dialing *611 from a VZW handset using our automatic system or simply login to My Verizon. From My Verizon you can also check if there was usage on your device. The manufacturer's warranty does not cover lost or stolen devices but if you have insurance on your device you can file an insurance claim and with a deductible the insurance will replace your handset. 

[MarvinMartian]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

To answer some questions/comments - he definitely zipped the compartment, so it didn't just fall out. Also, the battery was dead, and we suspended coverage on the phone a day or so after it was stolen, so there have not been any additional calls made.

He was finally able to speak in person to an AA employee, so we are still pursuing the possibility of some compensation from them.