“We feel pressured to refund the ticket costs”

When a company does one of its customers wrong, the last person to feel bad for it is usually me. But this CheapOair case has left me deeply conflicted. It involves William Bensinger’s flight from Seattle to Antalya, Turkey — a flight that didn’t happen for reasons beyond his control. And beyond the control of his online travel agency.

The biggest problem started when Delta 232 had an eight-hour mechanical delay in Seattle.

I called CheapOair to ask what to do since we would miss out flight in Amsterdam on SunExpress 103 to Antalya. Since the ticket was issued by Turkish Airlines, CheapOair agents assured me that when I arrived in Amsterdam, Turkish Air would rebook me on one of their flights.

This information was totally incorrect.

In fact, he says, Turkish Air wouldn’t rebook him and he ended up spending the night in Amsterdam and paying another $505 for two one-way tickets to Turkey.

My question is after more than a day delay of my trip and my extra out-of-pocket expenses for the new air ticket, who owes me? CheapoAir,
Delta or Turkish Air? And how much ?

Excellent question. I suggested that he start with his travel agent, CheapOair. You know the drill — brief, polite email.

A little background about CheapOair before I continue. Not so long ago, I was overrun with complaints about this site. But then I got to know some of the folks at CheapOair, talked with them, and was left with the impression that they really wanted to offer great customer service. After this interview appeared on my site, the number of complaints dwindled to just a few, and those were quickly resolved.

I asked CheapOair about Bensinger’s case. A representative responded promptly. Turns out there were a few missing details.

Mr. Bensinger was offered reprotection by the airlines on 5/20 to fly out to Antalya, Turkey, on 5/21. They put him up in a hotel as well.

He declined their reprotection and according to him had the people sponsoring his seminar offered to pay for his tickets. He flew on 5/21 the same day the airline had offered to exchange his original ticket for.

He wants the money back to pay these other people back according to him. We have copies of the new flights. In our review based on the facts, he chose to pay for the new flights even after the airline offered him new flights.

I have reviewed Mr. Bensinger’s e mail exchanges and we feel pressured to refund the ticket costs. We shall ask the customer to submit us his ticket costs and we will reimburse him the cost of tickets as a gesture of goodwill and our exceptional customer service.

Hmm. If Bensinger had been offered an alternate flight, but declined it, then shouldn’t he be responsible for any alternate arrangements? I was bothered by CheapOair’s answer, and emailed the company back, saying that they shouldn’t be refunding the customer on my account.

Please do not think at all that we felt pressured since you forwarded to us the customer’s concern. I wanted to thank you for bringing it up to our attention.

I mentioned the word “pressure” since I saw there was e mail exchanges by the customer. Since we care for our name and reputation, it has been our intention to resolve all customer issues to best of customer satisfaction. This reimbursement of payment will therefore be for customer satisfaction.

Well, it’s nice to know that CheapOair cares for its customers enough to offer a refund where none is due. And I’m happy for Bensinger, who won’t have to pay for two extra tickets.

Still, I’m troubled by the way this one turned out. Bensinger could have taken another flight, but chose not to — a detail I wasn’t aware of until later in the grievance process.

Had I known about it, would I have contacted CheapOair on his behalf? Probably not.

Update: (2 p.m.) Bensinger responds:

Neither CheapOair nor KLM offered to rebook me on 5/20 or 5/21. I spent more than an hour with CheapOair long distance from AMS without any such offer. I went to KLM on 5/20 and they could not rebook me as they said all the flights were full. The best they could offer was standby which I found unacceptable.

There’s obviously more to this story.

(Photo: Casual Perspective/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Meredith P

    Yeah, there are customers that seem to want to take advantage of a companies goodwill. I used to work the escalation desk for a hotel’s call center. There were times I wanted to strangle the agent that messed up, other times the caller. I didn’t mind bending a rule here or there to make sure the customer was situated. I didn’t mind blowing up my stats (and my bonuses) in order to salvage a major client…

    But then you get the ones like this one.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    First, since Turkish Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, I would have booked flights on airlines within the Star Alliance ‘family’ so if there was a problem with connections (arriving on one airline and departing on another airline) there is a better chance of reaccommodations on other flights especially if you have status with an Star Alliance airline.

    Second, I would have purchased travel insurance with a trip interruption benefit regardless of which airlines that I made the reservations with to protect myself against an event like a mechanical delay.

  • John

    I would be willing to bet that the passeger asked for a refund from Cheapoair NOT to reimburse the company that paid the extra money for those last minute tickets but instaed, asked for a refund so that he could pocket the money. He’s a thief. How typical of Americans.

  • http://pragueapartmentsonline.com Martin Smith

    Well, that is one instance. In every dealing I have ever had with CheopoAir they have proven over and over again that they have one objective and only one – take your money! In my experience they are the worst of the worst. I even wrote to you about them canceling an entire RT itinerary from Europe to Argentina based on the first flight in the itinerary being missed because of a traffic accident. Even then they were notified well before the plane actually took off. They promptly cancelled the entire ticket, kept the money, and wouldn’t even answer emails or letters. How you can cozy up to these people is completely beyond me. They are at best marginal operators and at worst they are likely part of an organized criminal conspiracy. Please do your self a favor and don’t believe the fictions they invent.

  • Heather

    Maybe you should start agreeing to help someone ONLY after you get both
    sides of the story. Not so find out if there are conflicts between the versions
    per say, but to make sure the customer, who has come to you, has conveniently
    left out any details.

    Pretty gall-ish for a customer to do this….do they not think they will be found out in the end????

    If you make known of your policy of verifying facts with the other party before
    agreeing to step in, the number of times this occurs will drop dramatically!

  • Daggmar

    Sorry folks but I tend to use consolidators like CheapO-Air for simple domestic flights and services. If it gets complicated or there is a stayover before the round trip is completed, I go to a registered travel agent. I would not ever put my overseas trip in the hands of somebody I cannot see face-to-face. Last year I traveled to Traverse City Michigan for 4 days and then to Chicago for 10 days before returning home. None of the consolidators could produce a flight itinerary for me so I went to a travel agent. Did I pay more? Maybe. Maybe not. But then, I was able to get where I needed to go without missing flights or having other issues.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    “I was bothered by CheapOair’s answer, and emailed the company back, saying that they shouldn’t be refunding the customer on my account.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - –
    Chris, you have clout. You are not just a blogger. You are a consumer advocate and a journalist. You are National Geographic’s ombudsman. Your columns appear on MSNBC, CNN, Washington Post and 50 other newspapers and sites.

    I don’t think that you will ever say “listen you give him a refund\discount\etc. or I’m going to write bad things about your company” to a travel provider. However, given your ‘credentials’ , that’s got to have an impact on the hotel\car rental agency\cruise line\whatever without ever having to explicitly say if you don’t cooperate you’re going to look really bad in my article.

    Chris, you have done some good stuff on real issues and real problems in the travel industry like helping people that really needed it – car rentals where the rental agency claims damage but there was none; promised refunds that don’t appear; things that according to rules should be refundable; etc.

    However, when you championed individuals like Mr. Cox, Mr. Moore, etc. it is disappointing. As I and several others have posted our comments to your various articles, it is disappointing when you championed these individuals because we think that it makes you look like a ‘bully’ or ‘shakedown artist’ (these words are what other have called you in their comments\posts on this site and Consumer Traveler not me) instead of an advocate and we think that it will take away from your credibility among the travel providers leading to fewer satisfactory resolutions in the future for people that are genuinely wronged.

    Based upon my experiences of managing large groups of individuals, I have found that there are always two sides of the stories and/or not all of the facts are disclosed depending upon the individual’s agenda. In the past, I have made comments to some of your articles that you should research the matter (i.e. like looking at the company website, looking at the frequent flyer statement, etc.) before assuming that the travel provider is wrong\bad\evil\etc. and picking up the sword to champion individuals like Mr. Bensinger, Mr. Cox, etc.

  • Carver

    @John

    You made up facts then use those made of up facts to demonize all Americans. The only information conveyed by your post is your anti-american prejudice

    @Martin

    Chris did not cozy up to these people. He gave them an opportunity to respond to allegations made against them. He then reviewied the e-mail exchange to verify their story. Regardless of what these people did in the past, everyone is entitled to be treated fairly.

  • David Z

    At any rate, Mr. Bensinger can’t really say CheapoAir did him “completely” wrong if he ever claims that.

  • http://www.limetreebayresort.com Pet Friendly Hotel

    In such case they should refund customer money instead creating so much of trouble for the customer

  • Thalassa

    @ John – I agree that Mr. Bensinger was attempting to pad his pockets, but for you to characterize all Americans as theives? Well, this American completely disagrees.

  • PauletteB

    @Thalassa: Couldn’t agree with you more. Mr. Bensinger is definitely getting something he doesn’t deserve, but it sounds like John is projecting his own less-than-ethical mindset on others.

  • Sice

    Mr. Bensinger should have done his homework a little more prior to all this. If booking across multiple carriers then BUY TRIP INSURANCE! If all flights had been on Delta then Delta would have made adjustments to compensate for their mechanical failure. Delta had no responsibility to get Mr. Bensinger to his connecting flight on a different airline, they only had responsibility to get him to AMS. There IS NO WAY that anyone is responsible for anything other than Delta getting him to AMS. It’s certainly not CheapOAir’s fault. Mr. Bensinger should eat the cost of both paid trips; I would NEVER expect more for my trips and neither should he. Chris, shame on you for not recommending to CheapOAir to withhold their refund and shame on CheapOAir for giving a refund.

    @John…saying that all Americans are thieves is like saying that there are no thieves wherever you’re from. Sheesh!

  • Josh

    Chris — were you able to get a response from Mr. Bensinger? I’d give him a chance to rebut before we condemn him here. It’s certainly possible he’s trying to pull a fast one (get the sponsors to pay for the new tickets then pocket the refund), but it’s also possible that he wasn’t really offered the “reprotection” claimed at the time. It’s not unheard of for an airline to do one thing then claim later that they told the customer another. Perhaps, for instance, they could only put him on standby for the next day’s flight, and he had to purchase a ticket to guarantee a seat.

    There are really 3 sides to this story when you include this rebuttal, and it would be nice to get to the bottom of it. The story is fishy on both sides…

  • Sean

    This site still amazes me. The issue here isn’t anything to do with Trip Insurance (I’m starting to think the only people that post must work for companies that sell Trip Insurance) but rather to me, someone who was rather disingenuous with the facts presented to Mr. Elliott. If Turkish Air offered another flight, PLUS putting him up in a hotel, and he declined, he’s on his own and he should eat the cost. If he had to be present the same day, and he booked a flight at his expense, then I’d say he deserves a refund, but this wasn’t the case. This is a guy that’s basically stealing from whom ever he can find, and the fact that he asked Chris to help, is disgusting.
    As for Chris cozying up to CheapOAir, you must have never heard the adage “you can attract more ants with honey then vinegar”,something everyone that travels should remember. You’ll get a lot further in life being friendly with those you deal with, not threatening and screaming every time you don’t get your way. Notice when Chris tells people to contact the company he always stresses, “be polite and concise”, not “threaten that you’ll sue them.” It amazes me that when I’ve had to deal with missed flights due to airline delays, the number of people that start yelling and screaming at the agents trying to help them. They usually get little additional help, where someone that is kind and polite usually gets assistance with a room and better bookings. So is the way of life and Chris builds RELATIONSHIPS with those in the travel industry so when he does champion a cause, those on the other side are more willing to assist.

  • Steve Horwitz

    For those who think Chris occasionally takes advantage of his public profile to “bully” or “shakedown” travel providers simply because he owns a very bright searchlight, you might want to consider that the stories he chooses to put on the site are here for a reason, and represent, I have reason to believe, a fraction of the cases in which he gets involved, and a still smaller fraction of the cases that land in his mailbox.
    In the case of Mr. Bensinger, he is showing us that he can get gulled and end up advocating for someone who misrepresented his circumstances.
    His purpose, as this story makes clear, is not to pickpocket airlines, hotels and all the rest but to amplify individuals’ relatively small voice. Bensinger, it appears, did strong arm Cheapoair, not Chris.
    I’m hardly shy when I think I’ve been wronged, but when dealing with overstretched, misincentized corporate representatives, there is only so much you can do. Chris, when he does get involved, can present his suppliants’ stories to people who are better positioned to recognize that something unjust has occurred and are able to do something about it. I also readily recognize that companies often would rather pay off a claim, regardless of its merits, than have Chris trot out the details. I doubt that Chris ever has knowingly pushed a claim when he did not think the claimant had been treated unfairly—which is the point of this particular posting. Had he known the full story, I doubt we would know about Mr. Bensinger.

    PS: To John, who thinks that conning people out of their money is somehow characteristic of Americans, stuff it.

  • william bensinger

    I would respond to this story in a similar fashion if it were true; howver, the story is not completely accurate.

    Neither CheapoAir nor KLM offered to rebook us to Antalya on 5/21. The best KLM could do was offer us standby which I felt was unacceptable. I spent more than 1 hour on 5/20 with Cheapoair long distance from Amsterdam (my dime) with no resolution and no offer to rebook me.

    We were going to return to Seattle on 5/21, but the meeting organizers found flight on Pegasus Air that got us there 30 hours after our expected arrival. They bought the tickets but I had to reimburse them.

    Does anyone still think I am trying to rip off Cheapo Air??

  • Mike

    @ Arizona Road Warrior, Chris isn’t obligated to post every single situation he helps with. I am sure that he posted this one mainly because he was taken advantage of, or at least he feels that way AND he felt that in this instance the airline went above and beyond what he normally sees on a daily basis.

    Do I believe that he has clout within the industry? Yes I do, but it would have been very easy for him to tell the airlines not to worry because he won’t be printing the story. I think that Chris showing us all what types of people contact him and what some companies do go through in order to maintain a given rep has its merits and gets the discussion going.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Sean – “This site still amazes me. The issue here isn’t anything to do with Trip Insurance (I’m starting to think the only people that post must work for companies that sell Trip Insurance) but rather to me, someone who was rather disingenuous with the facts presented to Mr. Elliott.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –
    I don’t work in the travel industry nor do I work for a company or companies that sell travel insurance insurance, trip insurance, etc.

    As a person that travels for work on a weekly basis, I see four issues with three issues being related to travel planning:

    The first issue is booking an itinerary with connections on multiple airlines especially when they are not in even in the same airline alliance. Here is a link, http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/beware-booking-connections-with-multiple-airlines/, to a good article written by Janice Hough on Consumer Traveler (Chris’s other website) about the pitfalls of booking connections with multiple airlines.

    The second issue is booking an international ticket with a consolidator. I have only heard the bad stories about booking international tickets with consolidators. The fare from SEA to AYT on Turkish Airlines is $ 2,736 (Source: Orbitz – departing 6/21 and returning 6/23). I am sure that there are some people that never had problems with international tickets from a consolidator. I am wondering how much Mr. Bensinger paid for his tickets from CheapOair? If he paid less, did he really save any money given what he went through?

    The third issue is booking an international ticket without purchasing travel insurance especially when you are traveling on multiple airlines. Things can go wrong. My philosophy is to plan for the worst and expect the best.

    The fourth issue is someone (Mr. Bensigner or CheapOair) was rather disingenuous with the facts presented to Mr. Elliott. You can see the comments that Mr. Bensigner has posted to the story with a different story than what CheapOair has presented to Mr. Elliott.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ William Bensinger – “Neither CheapoAir nor KLM offered to rebook us to Antalya on 5/21. The best KLM could do was offer us standby which I felt was unacceptable.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
    What was your itinerary for this trip? The reason why I was asking is that you mentioned KLM; however, the story only mentioned Delta and Turkish Air.

  • Carver

    @Arizona

    I have to respectfully disagree with your analysis. You wouldn’t take the cases that Chris takes. From your perspective that makes sense. However, many of us have a very different take. I don’t have nearly the faith in travel insurance that you do.

    More importantly, I believe that just because someone is a newbie, or makes a mistake, we shouldn’t through them to the sharks. I see Chris as being an advocate who brings compassion to the travel industry.

    Its also not true that all companies just fold over because Chris is well known. Chris once tried to resolve a situation with a hotel on my behalf and they didn’t budge. Not an inch.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Carver

    Chris has done some good stuff on real issues and real problems in the travel industry like helping people that really needed it – car rentals where the rental agency claims damage but there was none; promised refunds that don’t appear; things that according to rules should be refundable; etc.

    However, there are some cases he shouldn’t get involved with because the traveler provider did no wrong. IMHO, it takes away from Chris’s reputation and etc.

  • Joe Farrell

    Chris – if you at ANY TIME discover a set of facts where the complainant acts this guy, you need to:

    1. Tell Cheapoair – thank you for contacting me – I am no longer interested in assisting this customer’
    2. Dear customer, after reviewing the email I decline to further pursue the matter – you have contacted the appropriate parties and I wish you the best of luck.

    YOUR reputation is also at stake here Chris – when people take advantage of you by telling half truths you devalue your brand and your clout as an ombudsman.

  • Carver

    @Arizona

    “…because the travel provider did no wrong”
    —————————————————————————-

    That’s my point. Not every bad situation has a villain. That doesn’t mean that something shouldn’t be done. Chris gets attention and attention allows someone in power to review a situation and make an exception or better determination as warranted. That compassion is what I perceive is sorely lacking in many of the posts that I see here.

    If Chris were to limit himself to just righting those wrongs, he could easily be replaced by any semi-competent attorney with experience in contract law.

  • http://www.cockam.com ajaynejr

    >>> The best they could offer was standby which I found unacceptable

    If he had accepted the standby arrangement and that failed to get him to his destination (no empty seat), then the refund would be genuinely due.

  • barbie45

    Glad I saw the update. I thought CheapOair’s offer to refund with a little bit of suspicion. I to would not want just a stanbye guarantee especially if I were traveling with a specific objective.

  • Chicky

    With nearly 18 years at a newspaper under my belt, I can tell you that rarely is anything ever as cut and dried as it first appears. There are always at least three sides to every story (yours, mine and the truth), and sometimes more, depending on what’s going on.
    I don’t know whether Mr. B. was trying to hoodwink Chris or not, but I can tell you as a leisure traveler who doesn’t have elite status for anything, I would never book a multiple-carrier trip with a ticket consolidator. For an overseas trip with that kind of itinerary, I’d have trotted myself right to the travel agent up the street and booked it.
    Ticket consolidators, IMHO, are fine for uncomplicated, domestic itineraries on one carrier. You buy the ticket on CheapCheap Air for a flight from Podunk,Anywhere, to Seattle, on AA, changing planes at DFW. Same trip back. No problem. That’s a straightforward, plain jane itinerary. But these multi-stop, multi-country, multi-airline jaunts? On a consolidator? Not in this universe, and I’m hardly what you would call a really “experienced” traveler. I just happen to have that commodity called “common sense” in tolerable quanities. Oh, and for a group? I don’t think so. Bad enough for one person, but to do that tap dance for a group? Um, no. Not this century. Thanks for playing.
    In the end, the folks at Cheapo came out looking pretty good in this, so it’s probably worth it to them for the good publicity.