“This situation is just an intolerable insult”

stripChrista Southworth’s husband spent part of last year embedded in Iraq as part of the Army’s Human Terrain System, a program that pairs anthropologists and other social scientists with combat brigades to help tacticians in the field understand local cultures. He booked a United Airlines flight home last spring for the birth of his second child.

Then his mission ended early, so he caught a military transport plane back to the States. And then, much to his surprise, he found himself holding a worthless ticket.

How so? Southworth explains:

After his return home, I called United Airlines to cancel the flight. We did not purchase refundable tickets, so I knew we would only be able to obtain a credit for future flights.

The person with whom I spoke stated that we would have an approximately $900 credit and that it had to be used no later than January 30, 2010, one year to the date after I booked the original ticket. He indicated that when calling to schedule flights using the credit, we only needed to give them the original flight confirmation number.

So far, so good. She shows a clear understanding of the rules, and United is handling this case by the book. But then …

Several weeks ago, my husband and I decided to schedule a flight to Las Vegas. I called United Airlines to schedule the flights and to use the credit and was told that they had no record of the credit.

I then began exchanging emails with United and was again informed that their records showed that the ticket had been used.

Since we were in a hospital in Alexandria, Va., delivering a baby the night of his flight, I can assure you that the tickets were not used.

I explained this to United in an email and they suggested we call the help line again. I have reached my limit in trying to deal with this company. We spent close to $1,000 for my husband to fly home from Iraq. He was gone for a long time while I worked, cared for our toddler, and carried another baby.

While we willingly sacrificed to help with the US war effort, this situation is just an intolerable insult.

Something was obviously wrong with United’s records, so I put Southworth in touch with the right people at the airline to see if this could be resolved. And today, it was.

I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know I followed your advice, contacted senior people at United, and was able to receive a refund. I don’t think I would have been able to do that without your assistance. Thank you very much for your help.

I’m happy that this could be fixed, but wonder what might have happened if she couldn’t reach anyone at a senior level at United? Would she have eventually have accepted a $1,000 loss?

As I pointed out in this morning’s post, which coincidentally also involved a United problem, there are other remedies at your disposal, including a credit card dispute. Southworth might have tried those before giving up.

But really, she shouldn’t have had to do anything at all — except cash in the ticket and have a good time in Vegas.

(Photo: Mr. Write On)

  • Thalassa

    I find the phrase “intolerable insult” to be rather pompous. But, my main problem here is that I don’t understand why the insulted parties never think to go to senior management before coming here!

  • Carver Farrow

    @Thalassa

    That’s easy. If you are not a seasoned traveler, you don’t necessarily know the remedies that are available to you.

  • Kelly

    It is not pompous to say that this was an intolerable insult. The company promised the customer the credit and when the customer went to go use it, poof! no record of the credit. That is an insult when a company doesn’t deliver what it is supposed to. The only thing I would have done differently in the beginning would ask for the credit statement in writing, and I don’t only to do that since I got burned in the past due to a similiar situation. But this woman may not have known to do that and accepted a statement from someone who was most likely half way around the world.

  • Bill

    I can appreciate the extraordinary service of the men and women fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it does not make anything and everything that happens to them that’s not right an “intolerable insult”. The airlines don’t discrimminate, they treat everybody this way. And it may well have been someone’s mistake or bad computer systems or something.

    I’m glad it got fixed, and I am thankful for the great sacrifices made by the men and women in uniform, but United screwing up the ticket has nothing do do with whether someone was in military service or not.

    A lot of these companies are just so screwed up, they can’t manage things.

    Some of them even break guitars!

  • Carver Farrow

    @Bill

    I think the reason why the OP brought it up was because the original flight was from Iraq where the husband was stationed as part of his military duties.

  • Lee Franks

    Thalassa – what is intolerable is the insulting comment you made related to the Southworth’s. Maybe the “insulted parties” (as you so write) were not as travel savvy as you make yourself out to be, or they did not have any idea where to turn until Chris Elliott offered to help. What is insulting is your pompous comment and what is intolerable is condescending individuals like yourself who are like vermin on these boards.

  • Christopher Elliott

    Let’s keep this civil, please.

  • Gerry

    This has not happened to me with United, but I’ve had similar experiences with other businesses. They were supposed to return money to me, or stop a recurring charge, they made promises, they gave me a case number, then later they had “no record” of the case number, my phone calls or even my letters. The CSRs could not have been more bored or less interested in doing anything. They denied that I had ever called. They denied ever getting letters, faxes and emails. Until this:

    CSR: We never got that letter.

    Me: Do you know someone named Antonio Gonzalez?

    CSR: *silence*

    Me: He works in your mail room?

    CSR: *silence*

    Me: Because he signed a return receipt for the letter you say you never got.

    CSR: Oh. I guess I do see that letter.

    And then, after eight months of stonewalling, I got my refund. And since then, when I talk to anyone at any business who might keep or take some of my money, I follow up with a letter that would stand up in court. And miraculously, I don’t have problems! In fact, the first thing I do is to make the CSR spell his or her name, ask for additional information and get the address to which I should send a follow-up letter about the conversation…and then I don’t have problems either, even if I never send the letter!

    You know, I can understand why someone would feel this kind of treatment is an intolerable insult. It’s smoothly spun every time by management as “a misunderstanding,” but when someone can’t even be bothered to make their lies credible, that is not a misunderstanding. That’s an insult. When all “misunderstandings” mean they keep your money 99% of the time, that’s not a misunderstanding. That’s a policy. An intolerable one.

    Gerry

  • Ronda

    regardless of whether her husband worked for the military, the movies, or at mc donalds, an airline who says they’ll give you a credit, then doesnt, then tries to tries to tell you that it was used on a day when it was impossible to be used on that day for whatever reason is an insult.

  • Jennifer (the other one)

    Airlines ‘losing’ credits or otherwise screwing up financially (always to their own benefit) is not at all unusual. It’s wrong, of course, and I’m glad that Chris was able to get it straightened out for the OP. I could even see calling it an ‘intolerable insult’ in itself. However, the assertion that the husband being away in Iraq while the wife is pregnant with a toddler makes it worse than if they’d done it to a single, childless person makes me less sympathetic. The OP’s personal circumstances aren’t relevant to anything, and I don’t understand why she felt the need to include them in her letter.

  • http://aol barbie45

    Thalassa is completely right and very wrong in being slandered an apology is due too by frankie lee; yes she could have contacted senior mangement but luckily she contacted Chris; anyone who makes such demeaning comments about another persons opinions should be given a one time warning; then a suspension; I WAS VERBALLY SLANDERED BY A RATHER IGNORANT PERSON ON THIS BOARD FOR STATING MY MY OWN OPINION AND FOUND IT VERY DEMORALIZING.

  • http://www.jasonsteele.com Jason

    The only thing wrong about this post is that you state that it is a coincidence that this keeps happening at United. It is a pretty well documented pattern

    http://www.jasonsteele.com/2009/07/many-lessons-of-united-breaks-guitars.html

    http://www.jasonsteele.com/2009/07/united-airlines-designed-to-fail.html

    http://www.jasonsteele.com/2008/05/united-airlines-worst-airline-ever.html

  • Kris

    I agree the situation with United is troubling, but what’s more troubling is playing the military card when you’re not even in the military. If you were in the military, you likely wouldn’t have had a chance to come home for the birth of your child. It’s people like the OP trying to use the military card that gives true heroes a bad name.

  • Thalassa

    @Lee Franks, @Carver Farrow – I don’t purport myself to be a seasoned traveler. I travel on airlines about once every two or three years. But I do know that if I have a problem with any service or product anywhere, if I cannot receive appropriate help from the initial contact, I escalate the problem up the ranks.

    I would think that was pretty much common sense.

  • David Z

    I’ve dealt with some cases of this scenario in our travel agency. Experience tells me that mostly happens because someone forgot to document that credit, so I’m figuring that’s what happened here.

    Of course, that’s inexcusable. Especially if it results in big problems, we get 30 lashes (or rather a salary deduction) for not doing so promptly and properly.

    Then again, practically every problem has problems and/or screw-ups at certain times. Depends how each one handles each case, then it depends on the customer whom to do business with afterwards.

  • David Z

    Ooops, practically every company has problems and/or screw-ups at certain times.

  • Carver Farrow

    @Thalassa

    Fine. Perhaps you are just a more sophisticated person that the OP. Different people have different levels of experience. Or perhaps the OP is really the sophisticated person given that her action in escalating this to Chris served the purpose of obtaining the desired result. I’m sure she will live with the fact that you disagreed with that decision.

  • Lisa S

    @Gerry,

    what is needed in a letter that will stand up in court? I have actually taken to recording conversations–with permission of course–because I have been lied to so many times, with each lie costing me money.

  • Tammy K

    Let’s stop the “military good” “military bad” banter – after they had a lot of stress it was topped off by an intolerable insult for the airline to act that way. It matters not why they had such stress.

    I fail to see how the repeated claims that “oh it’s commonplace” make it any less insulting. Really, it’s not the OP who’s making too much of the military reference, it’s the readers who are reading waaaay to much into it.

  • JP

    @Kris

    What “military card” did she play? Maybe you should read the post again – and remember, reading comprehension is your friend. She stated that “we willingly sacrificed to help with the US war effort.” Her husband did help with the war effort. He was embedded with troops and his job was to assist with cultural issues. As a veteran of the current wars, I can tell you that this type of assistance is very helpful. Nowhere did she state that her husband served in the military, yet he certainly did help with the US war effort. Again, if you read the post, this is what is stated.

    She stated that her husband had booked a ticket last spring to come home but that his mission ended early and he took mil transport home. Where does your comment about troops not having the same luxury as him in being able to come home to see the birth of a child come from? While deployed, unless you could schedule your R&R around the birth of your child you would not be coming home. However, nothing in the post indicates that he would have been able to come home prior to the completion of his mission. We just know that his mission ended early and he was able to take mil transport home thereby negating the need to use the tickets he purchased for travel on a later date.

    Please try to understand what you are reading before you attack the OP.

  • Tom brollini

    Come on people, give me a break!

    This is UNITED, the lowest of the low, as far as US airlines go. (lol a poet & didn’t know it)

    They screw people all the time.

    I’m just a “dum ol Marine” but the guy was in (wherever) & could have been shot, so whether in the Military or not, cut them some slack.

    United screwed them, tried to got over on them & CE helped out (as he does so well).  The lady had a right to be POd & a little hyperbole never hurt; & sometimes helps.

    I was in a war & understand not being around for critical moments & would have really liked to have had an opportunity to get home for one & am glad this guy was able to do so.