What started out as a happy trip for a couple with a tot went haywire when the child felt queasy on the long-haul flight. Adding to the complication was a fellow passenger’s £ 900 Louis Vuitton handbag that the nauseous kid happened to splatter on.
The apologetic parents quickly cleared up the mess, however, the woman owning the LV bag seated behind them was not happy. After enquiring about the kid, she also clearly expressed her displeasure about her pricey tote getting dirty. The parents’ apology was not enough, as the woman said that her very expensive handbag was messed up and they need to get their insurance to pay for the LV to be repaired/cleaned. It is interesting to note that the woman had kept her prized £ 900 LV bag on the aircraft’s floor, something the child’s mother finds questionable.
Not knowing how to handle the complex situation, the anxious mother took to parenting website Mumsnet to share her dilemma. She mentioned that before contacting their travel insurance, she wanted to get a sense of what others opinions on this situation are.
As user incognitoforonenight, she said that the flight’s extreme turbulence caused her child to get sick. She goes on to explain how the LV bag owner asked for a replacement because Louis Vuitton said they would not be able repair the bag and rid it of the ‘ingrained’ smell of vomit – which she explained to the parents over an email at a later time.
The mother however took pictures of the bag to prove it was all cleaned up and there was no evident damage.
The post about this mother’s confusion about how to handle the bag owner’s demands have been viewed over 20,000 times, and close to 500 people have given their opinions and offered advice.
The responses are mixed – some feel the family should make good the so-called damage while others say they need not bother. Those in favour of the LV bag owner said the family should cover the expenses to replace the bag by using their travel insurance. Those supporting the family say that the unreasonable request should be ignored, and some supporters even said the family shouldn’t have given the woman their email address to begin with.
Here’s what the former group of people had to say:
Amandahugandkisses – So she wiped the vomit off but the bag still smells. I can see her point kind of. I would pay for the bag to be cleaned professionally.
RestlessTraveller – I think you’re liable. It’s no-one’s fault really but at the end of the day your child has ruined her bag.
Madbengalmum – Sooo, why does the value matter? Your kid puked on it, so it’s only fair that you sort it out.
The group of people who empathize with the family said:
katienana – I think she should go via the airline. That’s the risk you take if you put your luxury bag on the floor.
BusterGonad – I would insist on paper work from LV specifying the problem and why they can’t ‘fix’ it.
Appalachianwalzing – I wouldn’t have given her my details in the first place. Your son is a child, if it’s anyone’s responsibility it’s hers or the airlines.
This is a classic Catch-22 – While it is true that travelling with kids is a challenge and people need to be empathetic, it also happens that when one shells out a whopping £ 900 on a designer handbag, being fiercely possessive is only natural.
The final outcome on what happened is yet to be revealed.
[Via:Thesun]
