Young golfer's family calls Air Canada's handling of stolen clubs 'below par'

Sydney Lia had planned to work on her golf swing with her coach once she took a flight home to Timmins, Ont., for the holidays, but her $5,000 custom clubs never made it to baggage claim.

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"It wasn't much of a vacation," said the freshman at Queen's University of Charlotte in North Carolina.

What Lia didn't know was that her clubs had already been posted for sale on Kijiji. Police then got involved and ended up charging a 38-year-old man with theft.

It all started when Lia, who is attending the school on a golf scholarship, was taking an Air Canada flight to her parents' home on Dec. 15.

Before her connecting flight from Toronto, the airline told her the clubs couldn't go on the plane because the flight was overweight, and assured her they would be on the next one, then the next one.

"After hearing that excuse a couple times, we started to think something was a little fishy," Lia said.

Her concerned parents called Air Canada's baggage services hotline and sat through endless loops of automated voices to no avail.

On Jan. 2, Lia's 20th birthday, the young golfer was surprised when her father spotted the missing clubs for sale in a Kijiji ad based out of London, Ont. The ad was dated Dec. 16, the day after Lia travelled home.

"We were getting ready to head out to dinner and my husband says, 'I found the clubs,'" recalled Lia's mother, Shelly Lia, who said Air Canada's response to the case has been "below par." 

The seller was asking $1,000 for the customized clubs. The posting boasted they would make a "great Christmas gift."

"Honestly, I felt a little sick to my stomach," said Shelly Lia. "I was in shock. How did these clubs get there?"

The Lias reported the theft to Peel Regional Police, since Pearson International Airport falls under the force's jurisdiction.

Police called the phone number on the posting and set up a meeting with the seller on Jan. 10.

Honestly, I felt a little sick to my stomach.- Shelly Lia

"The seller produced the golf clubs and they're easily identifiable because the victim did provide us with serial numbers," Const. Harbinder Sohi told CBC Toronto.

Police arrested the seller during the meeting just outside the Greater Toronto Area.

The seller is from London, Ont., and has been charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

Sohi confirmed the would-be seller does not work for any airline or at Pearson Airport, and was a passenger travelling through the airport at the time the golf clubs were there. 

"As far as our investigation is concerned, it does not appear to be a large-scale theft ring that's involved here. It's an isolated incident," he said.

Lia's clubs are being held as evidence. Sohi said they will likely be returned next week.

In the meantime, Lia has been using an old set for her golf competitions.

"Golf is a very mental game," Lia said. "Not having my clubs made me lose a lot of confidence in what I was trying to do and what I was trying to fix."

The Lias recently forked out thousands to buy new customized clubs.

CBC Toronto received the following statement from Air Canada via email on Wednesday: "We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and we have offered the customer $2,030 as a goodwill gesture, which they will be able to keep even once the clubs are returned."

But on the back of the cheque the Lias received from the airline is this statement: "In consideration of my claim filed against Air Canada, by cashing or endorsing this cheque I hereby give full and final release and discharge of this claim to Air Canada."

Air passenger rights activist Gabor Lukacs isn't impressed.

"They basically wanted to trick the passengers into depositing a cheque for $2,000, therefore giving up their claims," he told CBC Toronto.

He said the airline's "act of goodwill" is required by law once items are lost for more than 21 days, and Lukacs, founder of Facebook Group AirPassengerRights (Canada), is pushing Air Canada to compensate the Lias for the full $5,000.

He explained the standard liability amount for a lost bag is around $2,000, but under the Montreal Convention, which governs the liability of airlines for damage, delay, and loss of baggage on international itineraries, there is an exception if crime is involved.

"Stealing a passenger's belongings, or allowing the theft to happen in an area that is not exposed to the public, surely falls under willful misconduct," he said.

It is not clear exactly from where the clubs were stolen. 

Air Canada said it cannot comment on this specific case, as it's before the courts. But when CBC Toronto asked general questions about its storage and security protocols and how the public could get access to checked baggage, the airline did not respond.

"Canada is the land of no consequences for the airlines and this must change," Lukacs said.