Dear Harry: I am not very fluent in English so please be patient with my writing. My girlfriend purchased a ticket to fly to Philadelphia from New Orleans. When she checked her bag, the attendant did not give her a receipt or attach a tag to the bag. When she asked for the receipt, he told her it wasn't necessary and that her bag would be in Philadelphia when she arrived. It was not. She went to customer service at the airport here, and she filled out a claim form. She called them numerous times after that, but they gave her a quick brush-off every time by saying they could not understand her English. They would not get her a person who understands Vietnamese. Finally, she reached a helpful lady who told her to buy new clothes, replace her laptop, and submit the receipts with a new claim form. She did this and got it notarized by the lady who helped her to fill it out. Still no reimbursement after about five months and many more phone calls. She has a record of her ticket with the date, time, etc. Isn't there something that can be done?

What Harry says: The delay is undoubtedly because she did not have that receipt for the checked bag. Hers is a case where she must go one more step. Have her contact the Federal Aviation Administration at 202-366-2220. It would be better if she could find someone with a greater facility with the language to make the call. The FAA can put the airline's toes to the fire. *

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.