TSA locks

[joannelg]

I am a seasoned and frequent cruiser (lucky to live in Miami) but this question regards a flight to Montreal. When I arrived in Montreal, I found a pink TSA

lock on my bag. I know the bag was opened, but there was no note inside.

 

The lock was not mine--it was a plain little pink lock with TSA written on it--and I had no way to open it. I found an American Airlines baggage rep who said she had never seen anything like it and helped by accompanying me to the customs counter where she borrowed a bolt cutter and cut the lock off.

 

Why did this happen? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

 

The pink lock was a simple little lock with a keyhole--no combination--nothing to indicate that it could have been someone's lock that was put on my bag by mistake.

 

Someone out there, please help me figure this out.

[skibozo]

For those people that use cable ties, how do you cut them off? Where do you put your instrument of choice?

 

Our instrument of choice is nail cutters. We place them in the inside pocket of the suitcase then lock the luggage with zip ties. When the luggage arrives at our cabin we then use use the complimentary pen to access the nail cutters to cut off the zip ties.

 

If there is NO complimentary pen we wear our flying clothes the rest of the cruise.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf-DGKUNffI

[Happy ks]

I am a seasoned and frequent cruiser (lucky to live in Miami) but this question regards a flight to Montreal. When I arrived in Montreal, I found a pink TSA

lock on my bag. I know the bag was opened, but there was no note inside.

 

The lock was not mine--it was a plain little pink lock with TSA written on it--and I had no way to open it. I found an American Airlines baggage rep who said she had never seen anything like it and helped by accompanying me to the customs counter where she borrowed a bolt cutter and cut the lock off.

 

Why did this happen? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

 

The pink lock was a simple little lock with a keyhole--no combination--nothing to indicate that it could have been someone's lock that was put on my bag by mistake.

 

Someone out there, please help me figure this out.

 

 

It probably came from the bag that was being searched next to it. Now we have the mystery solved as to why some peoples' locks are removed and not replaced.

 

I always use TSA locks and have never had a problem, lucky so far. It's not just for protection of my things, it's also a guarantee my zipper pulls won't unzip. I think an unsecured suitcase is more of a target for thieves than a secured case, it's rather silly to think of a locked case as advertisement for valuables. I also think that if your bag is the target, for whatever reason that may be, no lock will help, but the unlocked case is less of a hassle, even those 2-5 seconds will make a difference in choice for a thief.

 

The conspiracy theory is amusing, I love to watch spy movies as well and we all know how sneaky thugs can be.

 

It's all a matter of luck. Sometimes thieves just take the whole case. Other than very costly luggage, such as Louis Vuitton, I doubt most thieves would know the difference between Tumi and American Tourister luggage. So, if your bag just happens to be the target, you're just unlucky.

 

I have to politely disagree with most that we don't have valuables in our suitcases. We don't pack our electronics, jewelry or meds in checked cases, but those dirty clothes (hopefully just on the way home) shoes and toiletries weren't cheap.

[Katiebug430]

I've had the geniuses :rolleyes: at the TSA cut off expensive TSA locks (clearly labeled as such by the lock manufacturers), so I stopped using them. I just tip tie my luggage and haven't had issues with theft. At least in my experience if you zip tie your bags and the TSA opens them, they may re-zip tie them - go figure! It's happened to me at least three times now.

 

However my husband and I have chosen not to fly for leisure when faced with the choice of a virtual strip search or being patted down like a criminal by some former fry cook TSA screener. I fly for business when required to for my job, but that's it.

 

None of this applies once you're out of the airport. The cruise lines may call you to the naughty room if your bags are locked and they see something they don't like on the luggage scanner. TSA locks are for the TSA.

[AmysonHenry]

The last time we cruised we did not lock our luggage for the airport. When we arrived at our Vancouver hotel, I kid you not, there was a GIANT pair of women's underwear in my husband's suitcase. After getting over the shock and confusion of seeing those babies, we had a good laugh over it. Ok so I probably had more of a laugh than he did, as he was trying not to think of all the horrible cooties and such that were now touching his own clothes. We could not figure out why in the world someone would do such a thing; must have been someone's idea of a practical joke. Whether or not a pair of my husbands underwear was missing and ended up in someone else's suitcase, we will never know, as we didn't do an exact underwear count when packing, haha! This time, we are going to go with the zip ties but who knows what will happen.

[jaybird from SC]

I was wondering about the same thing!

We have used the ties and TSA locks. We have had locks opened but never cut off, and we have had our ties cut and replaced. Each time there was a note left by the agents. Guess we've always been lucky to get nice, accommodating inspectors. We carry small nail clippers to cut the ties upon arrival. Also we never put any valuable goods in our checked luggage. These locks are an effort on our part to keep someone from slipping something into our luggage while it sits around somewhere--not taking something out.

[EatPrayCruise]

We just got off the Coral to Alaska a couple of weeks ago. We used black zip ties on one piece of luggage and a TSA approved combination lock on another. The TSA locked bag was overlooked, but the one with the zip tie was opened.

 

I'm an OCD packer, so I almost knew exactly how everything was packed. The TSA folks not only put everything back pretty much how it started, but they also put a note in the bag stating that it had been searched, and they also put a clear zip tie back on the bag. (we take nail clippers in an external pocket of the bag to cut the ties).

[mapsmith]

I'm not sure about luggage, but this type of smuggling does occur with vehicles.

 

A few years ago, an elderly couple from our area had their motorhome confiscated at the border upon returning from their annual winter vacation in Florida. Someone had planted drugs on an accessible part of their vehicle, presumably with the intention of retrieving it once the RV was safely parked in the owner's driveway. I don't think they were charged with possession, but I believe they had to forfeit the vehicle.

 

Using the same logic, it would not be inconceivable for someone to plant an illegal substance in a passenger's luggage, then, once the owner had cleared customs, use an accomplice to create a disturbance just long enough to grab the bag.

 

Saw this happen frequently when I lived in Florida. However, in 99% of the cases, the Elderly Couple was in on the smuggling. It is surprising how often people on limited income can be convinced that they would not be suspects because of their age. "And we'll give you $10000 cash to do this". That is one reason why Elderly Couples with RV's frequently get the RV's searched at borders or by DEA as they are leaving Florida.

[Keith1010]

We have had great luck with TSA locks and I highly recommend them.

 

Keith