What BagBack is and is not, what each plan costs, how the pay-when-it-pays fee is worked out, the refund promise, and the law that applies.
Effective 16 October 2026.
These are the terms for using BagBack at getbagback.com. Using the site or starting a case means you accept them. If anything here is unclear, email help@getbagback.com before you pay.
BagBack is operated by Matthew Johan, New York, United States. In these terms, “BagBack”, “we” and “us” mean him.
BagBack is an information and document-preparation service for travelers whose checked baggage was lost, delayed or damaged. From what you enter, it works out which rules apply, the deadlines, and the amount to demand, prepares a written claim and an itemized list, gives you a claim address for the airline’s replies, sends messages in your name where you have approved them, and keeps track of what the airline says.
BagBack is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Using BagBack creates no attorney-client relationship. This product is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. You are the claimant. Every claim is made in your own name, on your own authority, and every dollar the airline pays goes to you. BagBack never receives or holds any amount an airline pays you; the airline pays you directly. On the pay-when-it-pays plan a fee equal to a share of that payment is invoiced to you afterwards, as set out below.
Second payers. If you have a credit-card baggage benefit or travel or home insurance, BagBack prepares a notice of claim and, after the airline pays, a claim for the balance, addressed to the benefit administrator or insurer, sent from your claim address in your name when you release them, and files their replies on your case. BagBack is not an insurance adjuster or agent, does not negotiate with insurers, and takes no share of anything an insurer or card issuer pays you; you remain the claimant throughout.
One claim: $49, flat. One claim managed from start to finish, refunded if it does not pay off (see the refund promise).
Pay when it pays: $0 now, then 25% of what the airline pays. You pay nothing when you start the case and no payment method is taken. When you sign your claim you also sign a one-paragraph service authorisation: BagBack prepares and sends the claim in your name, and you authorise BagBack to invoice you twenty-five percent of the amount the airline pays on the claim, once the airline’s payment is confirmed, due within 14 days of the invoice, and nothing if the airline pays nothing. You may save a card on your case page so the invoice is one tap to pay; that is optional and nothing is charged by saving it. (Cases started before 10 October 2026 paid $1 at the start; that $1 is credited against their fee.) The airline pays you directly. The fee is worked out from the airline’s reply, which must therefore reach your claim address. If your airline takes claims through its own web form, you enter your claim address as the contact email; if no message from the airline has reached your claim address within seven days of starting your case (or two days after signing, if later), whether sent there directly or forwarded by you from your own inbox, the plan converts to One claim, unless the 24-hour filing promise was missed on that claim, in which case it does not convert and no fee is charged. When it converts, the flat $49 is invoiced to you, no percentage applies, and the refund promise applies as it does to One claim. We warn you three days before. The fee is due when the airline’s payment is confirmed, whether or not you have recorded it: confirmation means the amount you record on your case page, an offer you accepted through your case, or the amount stated in the airline’s settlement or payment correspondence received at your claim address. Where the airline’s written figure is higher than the amount you record, the fee is calculated on the written figure unless you show that the airline in fact paid less. If the airline’s payment notice is on the case and you have not recorded an outcome within 21 days, the case closes on the airline’s stated figure and the fee is invoiced. The invoice is a payment link; you have 14 days to pay it; unpaid fees may be referred for collection. Vouchers or credits you choose to accept count at face value. The 25% applies to what the airline pays; it does not apply to anything you later recover from a card benefit or an insurer.
The 24-hour filing promise. On Pay when it pays, once you sign your claim we file it within 24 hours. Filed means: where we send your claim to the airline by email, the signed claim letter has been sent from your claim address to the airline; where your airline takes claims only through its own web form, your claim pack (the signed letter, every field of the airline’s form and the files to attach) is ready on your case page for you to submit. The 24 hours run from the time you sign. They do not start until you sign, and the time you take to submit the airline’s web form does not count. If we miss it, no fee is charged on that claim (and if you started before 10 October 2026, we refund the $1 you paid): no 25% if the airline pays, and the plan does not convert to One claim or the $49 flat fee. The promise covers our part only; it is not a promise about what the airline does or pays.
Prices are in US dollars, charged through Stripe. BagBack never sees your payment details. On the flat-fee plan there is no percentage of your recovery.
On the flat-fee plan, if you recover less than three times the fee you paid, we refund the fee. Tell us the outcome on your case page and the refund goes back to the payment method you paid with within ten business days. See the refund policy for the details.
That the airline will pay, how much, or when. The rules set what an airline must pay; whether it does depends on your evidence and on the airline. BagBack prepares and manages the claim; the outcome is not guaranteed, and the fee is not a share of it.
That every airline’s claim channel, deadline or form is current. We check them against the airlines’ own pages and show the date checked; airlines change them without notice.
Your case is reached through a private link sent to your email. Anyone with that link can see the case, so do not forward it. If you think it has been shared, email us and we will issue a new one. Membership is personal to the email you joined with and cannot be transferred.
BagBack offers a texting channel for filing evidence. When you text a photo or PDF from the phone number on your case to our number, it is filed to your case and you receive one automatic reply saying what was filed, with a link to your case. Messages are sent in reply to texts you send and, if you gave us your number on our site or turned texting on for your case, about your case: the first welcome text, when the airline replies, when a decision or a signature is needed, deadline reminders, and payment confirmations. Never marketing. Message frequency depends on how often you text us. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to opt out of replies; reply HELP, or email help@getbagback.com, for help. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Your phone number is used only to match your texts to your case and is not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes; see the privacy policy.
To the extent the law allows, BagBack’s total liability to you for anything arising from the service is limited to the fees you paid BagBack in the twelve months before the claim arose. BagBack is not liable for an airline’s decision, for a deadline missed because of dates entered incorrectly, or for messages you approved.
We may update these terms; the effective date at the top changes when we do, and a case already started keeps the terms it started under. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States. BagBack is operated by Matthew Johan, New York, United States (about him). Questions: help@getbagback.com.