Briggs & Riley Reviews 3.566

I have an original Torq carry on, that despite its age and minor design flaws has served me well in light use. It’s about 10 years old. I bought a second in 2021 that has had very, very light use. A couple of times on a train and once as a carry on. Yet an internal zip pull is broken and the unprotected main outer zip stitching is seriously failing in two places.

Customer service couldn’t sort the zip pull without me sending it away to a third party service company for 5 weeks, something that Amazon sorted with a next day delivery of decent quality metal zip pulls. I didn’t even ask about the stitching, I fixed that myself with sail yarn. 5 weeks and sending a case away that is in my opinion flawed, and at my cost, just frustrated me.

But what I’m really upset about, is that such an expensive case should fail so very quickly in light use. I was a fan of Briggs and Riley, but the quality on a small case that retails at £500 is just not there anymore. I would avoid this brand. By comparison I have a black Hazard 4 Air Support Rolling Carry-on that for ten years I have taken everywhere, trains, planes and automobiles and it still looks new. It just won’t die.

Come on Briggs and Riley. Premium cost needs to be matched with premium quality and premium customer service. Cheap plastic zip pulls and exposed main outer zip stitching that rubs and fails just isn’t good enough.

I have 4 B&R bags - 2 overhead/carry-on luggage and 2 for checking in (Large & Medium Spinners). They are good overall. I also got this backpack as I needed one after many year.
The purpose is to carry my laptop/small pad/ cables/travel adapters/notepad/accessories/ water bottle/cards/keys - you get the picture. I am a consultant.
I have mine monogrammed and all-in-all it is a good bag and looks good in the London Tube.
I would rate 3.5/4

For a Technical consulting person like me, I would have wanted more mesh pockets for the accessories. I have a separate pocket folder/mesh that I have added to the middle compartment for better separation of the accessories mentioned. This was from the Nomatic Bag that I had previously. More professional that way.

One of the big things I do not like is that this bag is not waterproof. So, as our microclimates change and we get downpours - the water seeps into the top & front of the bag - this becomes an issue for the items there. Not sure why B&R could not provide a cover or have water-proof material. The other peev is that the water bottle that you can really have in the side pockets should be a small ones & not the large ones as shown in the video. They do not look good and fall out sometimes.
I would also have expected a secure RFID-proof pocket and some theft-proof features for the front of the bag.

Zips are great and my 16" Laptop fits great plus the notepad. Not good for the old back but what can you do..

I live in Queensland, Australia. I purchased my B&R bag about 20 years ago in Miami Florida. Recently I was in Italy and the extendable handle came adrift, small parts not recoverable. I 'limped' through Italy for 6 weeks, unable to find a repair centre. They don't seem to have an email address. I don't do Facebook. Why should I make an international call? The website is pathetic, inconsistent, ambiguous. I think the lifetime guarantee claim is misleading and deceptive. Empty, just a bit of advertising PR. I still can't find out where to get my bag repaired. Very disappointed. Doubt whether I will ever hear back from B&R.

I live in Europe and am currently visiting the US. I have a full set of the B&R Baseline - five pieces in total that I purchased via Amazon in Germany (because B&R doesn't distribute directly in Europe, only through third parties); and I just purchased one final piece this week. All of which is a serious investment.

B&R offers 'monogrammed patches' to put on your luggage - they're free if you buy directly on their site and order at the same time as you order the luggage - however, they take several days to prepare. When ordered separately - they cost $20 per 'patch'.

So, when I ordered the final piece over the weekend, I didn't order the 'patch' with it because I didn't want to delay my order since I'm leaving the country in a few days.

I attempted to call, and gave up after holding for about 20 minutes and decided to use the chat feature offered via Zendesk - the rep I chatted with was named Jason, and explained B&Rs policies to me; and when I requested that my request be escalated to a manager for review - he abruptly ended the chat.

I called back and left a voice mail message. A few hours later a representative named Chuck returned my call. He reiterated the company's policy to me - even though I explained why I didn't order the 'patch' with the bag, and I further explained that I couldn't order them for the other pieces purchase abroad, and the company didn't offer them gratis because they don't have a presence there.

As a consumer, I would have expected them to honor their offer because of the fact they I wasn't able to order the 'patches' with the luggage, but NO - it's not company policy...that's terribly disappointing for a brand with such good merchandise.

I have 2 large, 1 medium and 1 carry on B&R bags. They have lasted well over the years. However, a simple plastic rod inside the carry on (last panel of the garment section) broke. I thought it would be simple to replace a straight narrow plastic rod which is hidden inside the fabric. But instead, they replaced the entire panel with a different color panel so I have a (color) mismatched piece of luggage. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have kept the broken rod!

Do not trust their "lifetime warranty". I am a 2 time B&R customer and have been having a terrible time dealing with their customer service regarding them NOT HONORING their warranty. First I was told that they could not repair it and that they would send me a replacement bag, BUT the bag they offered was a lower quality bag - it was not the same aesthetically nor functionally as my original bag. They denied sending me a bag of the same quality.

Next, I spoke with a manager, Yvan, who said that they could repaid my bag but only the inside and the handle. They would not repair the outside parts (I think they ran out of the materials). The manager would not answer my questions and has been largely unhelpful. Thus, they are unable to honor their lifetime warranty and what makes it worse is that they are unhelpful and not very nice in their communication.

I would expect more from a company has been around for a while and makes a good product. Really unfortunate.

If you are considering buying a bag because of their "Lifetime Warranty" and reputation, think twice!

Buyers beware. I hope they do right in the future.

Save your money you can have 6 inexpensive roller boards for the price of one of these. In less than six months of use I returned my suitcase with a difficult to telescope handle and a wheel that did not spin. I sent suitcase in to Briggs Riley for repairs. I received suitcase back today and the same wheel still does not spin. Very disappointing.

Customer service is unresponsive, uncaring and unpleasant. They completely missed a piece of my luggage on our delivery and promised I would receive in time for my travels. I made several attempts to reach customer service via chat, email and voicemail, but never received a call back, just a promise I would have prior to my departure. I never received my piece of luggage until after departing. The product is expensive to comparable products, and the horrible customer service convinces me to go elsewhere for my needs.

Briggs and Riley claim to have lifetime guarantee. Their bag broke down quickly and they said they cannot fix. They offered a bag much smaller and not of equal value since if they will replace it’s only demo bags. They then said they can fix and the service was crap, and it tore again months later.

Recently my medium Sympatico developed a crack under the retractable handle columns after many years frequent flying. B&R collected via DHL and after assessment at the 3rd-party repair service, came back to me to saying the suitcase is beyond repair.

True to their word and the B&R lifetime warranty - they offered me a brand new suitcase as replacement.

I have to say this probably has to be the best instance of customer service that I have had the pleasure of availing. Having had several items of B&R over the years - each impeccably well-made and functionally rich, this is the first time I've made use of the lifetime warranty. Without a doubt my next luggage buy will be from Briggs & Riley.

Thanks B&R!

In my experience, Briggs & Riley's warranty is not what it claims. The customer service was terrible. I had my bag shipped for repair, and it was returned to me with no work order and in the same condition sent. Would recommend purchasing from another suitcase company and not B&R.

I have two bags in for repair at Briggs and Riley. They first try to give you credit for a new bag, (1/3 of original cost), then they cannot repair it. Hopefully in a month or two they will find a like for like discontinued "scratch and dent" model to send to me. I used to brag on how good B&R were, not now. I will find another luggage company.

A complete and utter disappointment.

My husband and I contemplated purchasing Briggs and Riley luggage for many years. At that time, the reviews were great and the warranty justified the cost. We finally decided to take the plunge, spend the money and "invest in a lifetime product." How wrong we were.
After three uses, my suitcase had a tear at the seam. I contacted my local repair person, as per the B&R website and took my bag in. I should have done this backwards and contacted my local repair person prior to the purchase.
The repair shop said B&R have been a nightmare to deal with. They will not replace any of their products, regardless of the damage. She gave me an example of a bag that had absolutely fallen apart and how B&R insisted she fix it. She said she basically had to rebuild the bag and it looked horrible when it was done. They didn't seem to care about the time it took, the cost involved or the satisfaction of the customer.
My bag is still at the repair shop. She said, in spite of the fact that she and I both know the seam will continue to separate, she must repair and not replace. I am also looking at 6-8 weeks for the repair to be completed because she has so many other B&R items to be repaired, ahead of mine. Not a good sign.
I have four B&R suitcases - you do the math. NOT CHEAP! I am very upset about this, considering the amount of money spent.
Don't do it.

My bag lost a wheel. The repair Center closed during the pandemic in my city. They charge me $15 to ship me a new wheels plus $27 shipping. I asked why do I have to pay $15 to get wheels to repair it myself when, if I sent it to them, they would have to pay to send it back OR if I went to a repair Center, they would provide the wheels for free. Their reply is that the $15 is for shipping and handling. B&R does not honour the spirit of its warranty and lets their customers down. I paid over $800 for that bag. Scam.

I've owned several of their bags and their quality isn't what they say it is. The wheels aren't any better then less expensive brands such as Samsonite and frankly, I think Samsonite is better in every way, but what you're paying for is the name. You pay 3X as much for a bag from a company with the Worst Customer Service I've ever seen. If you call them and leave a message (because they never answer), don't expect to ever hear back, because you won't. They simply don't care about you after they get your money, so please do not waste time or money with this shame of a company.

Wanted to buy a carry-on and checked suitcase from B&R. Saw Costco next offered the carry-on at a great price. Placed the order but had problems getting it through online. Called for several hours during business times, but kept getting voice mail -referring me to their website FAQ's!! Some issues cannot be resolved by your FAQ's and if you publish a customer service phone number, then customer service should answer those calls and not send them to voice mail EVERY time. I then received an email that my order was cancelled -no reason given- and continued to try to reach customer service to no avail. I then called Costco because I know customer service is important to them and they got in touch with B&R and then forwarded me the B&R response email which was full of B.S.. In the meantime I looked up B&R reviews online and most of them complain about NO ONE EVER answering the phone at customer service as well as their so called 'lifetime warranty'. They market themselves as an exclusive luggage company, but for truly high end companies customer service is an absolute must. Apparently, they don't care enough to read all these negative reviews and rectify. I'm going with a different company for my new luggage.

Order number: #142256
Order date: Oct 12 2022
Order amount: $243.00

Issue:
- Did not receive package, no refunds received.
- BR customer service hotline is a luck game. It is impossible to get in contact with any single person and the phone system hangs up on your call after letting you hold for 2:08 minutes.
- I am now doubtful of all the Briggs & Riley (BR) good reviews I read online.

17 Oct:
- Fedex & BR emailed to say that package is delivered attached with a picture of delivery.
- Emailed BR & Fedex that package was not delivered to me and the picture of delivery is not my house.
- From 17 Oct to 19 Oct: Only automated replies from Fedex were received, saying that they are investigating the case. No case number provided.

18 Oct:
- Janea Jarrell from BR replied saying that the package was delivered as per Fedex tracking info. I replied saying that the package was not delivered to my house. 20 Oct:
- I called BR customer service hotline, Darla Wood picked it up and raised a case number with Fedex because apparently my case was not logged into their system despite me raising the case on 17 Oct.
- Told me in email that Fedex will investigate and contact me. After which I will then need to call back to BR and inform them about the outcome of the investigation.
- Within 20 minutes of the email, Fedex called and told me investigation completed, my package cannot be found/retrieved and I will need to call BR myself to tell them about this status.

From 20 Oct to 24 Oct: I have sent in 3 emails, called more than 15 times, left voice messages to BR customer service hotline. None of the calls were picked up and none of the emails/voice messages replied. I just want to get back my money and never deal with this company ever again.

Updates:
24 Oct: Posted on BBB.
27 Oct: Darla Wood finally replied, but as usual, no outcome. Said that BR will file a claim with FedEx and ask that I get credited back in full.
Nov 1: Darla Wood asked me for more evidence pictures of my house to send to FedEx.
Nov 9: After sending 3 emails asking for updates, I receive a reply from Darla Wood. Darla Wood mentioned that FedEx denied the claim stating that they delivered to the right house etc. And she is in process to provide info that they didn't deliver to the right place.

Up till this point, the process is unacceptable to me. And I replied stating that once it is proven with evidence that customer did not receive the package, BR should honour the refund and process it immediately. The claims between BR and FedEx is to be taken back end and resolved by themselves. As a customer, I did not choose the shipping company, so why do I have to wait till FedEx approve the claims before I can get my refund? Did I buy my product from FedEx or BR? I'm honestly confused and frustrated. Many companies in USA just drags out the refund process in hopes that customer will eventually forget about it or just give up chasing for the refund.

My stand is, just don't trust BR's good reviews and please just steer clear of this company. There's a lot of other brands out there.

Briggs and Riley is a scam. Their guarantee is a scam. I have called them countless times and they never answer their phone. You leave a message and they never call you back. They pretend to have a great warranty but they don’t back it up. Do not buy their product.

Janea Jarrell (Briggs & Riley)

Aug 1, 2022, 11:20 AM EDT

Hi Marc,

I have placed an order to send you a new patch personalized with MJW. You will receive an email confirmation and tracking once the order ships.

If I can be of further assistance, please let me know

Hi Marc,
My sincerest apologies for the confusion, I have been advised because the item was not recently purchased (within 48hrs) with Briggs & Riley, I am not authorized to send a complimentary patch.
The personalization patches are available for purchase on BR.COM for $20.00. Each product ships free with instructions on how to install the patch on your Briggs & Riley bag

Ordered a $360 backpack, and placed the order for my complimentary patch and denied. Briggs RENEGES

I have been a Briggs customer forever because the bags are built like tanks and if something ever went wrong they always were fixed without issue.

Recently the Briggs service centre in my city closed during Covid so I no longer have a local repair shop. When the handle ripped off the bag instead of sending me a replacement (it’s a DIY fix) they told me I needed to pay $20 for a new one and another $25 to ship it to Canada. Completely unacceptable for a company that claims to have a lifetime warranty. Will look elsewhere for my next bag.