Hi this isn't so much sharing tips but looking for some. I know there is a thread on the general topic of suitcases on the forum, but my question is more specific. Last year I bought a new hard suitcase and I bought a strong padlock to go with it. For the first time ever, I locked my case as we are advised to do. Somewhere between Rio and Heathrow, my case was opened and the lock disappeared. Everything in my case was fine, but I was very annoyed about the disappearing padlock. There was no note/sticker on my case to indicate it had been searched. I was in Vietnam/Cambodia in February this year and this time around I decided to leave my case unlocked, as I didn't get a new padlock in case the same happened again. Everything was fine on the way out and on the three internal flights but when I got back to Heathrow and collected my suitcase from the carousel, I saw that it was half opened. I dragged it to one side and opened it up. Both my toilet/travel bags were open and although nothing seemed to be missing, I was extremely annoyed that my luggage had been searched again and they didn't have the courtesy to even close the travel bags up again. Creams, lotions etc could easily have spilt inside my case and ruined my clothes. Any advice for future holidays? Have I just been unlucky or should I just expect this type of treatment in future (or is it just a Heathrow issue)?
Hoping some folks can enlighten me,
Cheers,
Bob