If you’re an airline apologist, you’ll probably answer Angelina Bellamy’s question reflexively, if not dismissively.
I almost did (and I’m no airline apologist). But this one’s interesting, and not as easy to fix as it looks.
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Noreen Ismail seemed to have an airtight case against Spirit Airlines. Its transgressions against her, her husband, and 11-month old included overcharging her for her carry-on luggage abandoning her in Boston and making promises it never intended to keep.
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Question: I need your help with a vacation to St. Kitts that was missing a key component: our airline tickets. I had paid Expedia $2,521 for the package, which was supposed to include airfare from Cleveland.
But when I arrived at the airport, I discovered that our tickets hadn’t been issued. I had received an email from Expedia the day before, confirming our reservations.
I called Expedia’s customer service department, which asked me to buy new tickets. Expedia agreed to reimburse me the difference between the package price and the tickets, which came to $871.
Three months later, I still had no credit. I called again, only to find out that because they had no documentation that we had purchased new tickets, they could not issue a credit. I faxed them a copy of the receipt for the tickets.
Shortly after that, I received an email from Expedia denying my request for a refund. They did offer a voucher for $100 to be used when booking another Expedia trip. I don’t understand why my refund request was denied. I did everything they asked. I even bought Expedia’s trip insurance. Can you help? — Linda Foy, Cleveland
Answer: Expedia should have booked your flights, of course. When it didn’t, it should have bought your replacement tickets — not asked you to buy them.
And the three-month delay, followed by a “no” on your refund request? Let’s just say it wasn’t in line with its vaunted Expedia “Promise” that guarantees, among other things, that, “the travel you booked with Expedia will meet the descriptions on our site and in your itinerary.” Here’s the full text of its warranty.
Maybe they don’t want to leave a trail of evidence. Maybe it’s the threat of having the entire exchange posted on a blog like this one.
But for whatever reason, more companies seem to be asking their customers to pick up the phone when they have a grievance — particularly if it’s a serious problem.
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Last summer, Jennifer Patronis’ father suffered a massive aneurysm and stroke. She immediately booked a round-trip ticket from Athens to Cleveland on Delta Air Lines to be with him. Three months later, he died, leaving her with an unexpected problem: How to get back to Greece, where she lived.
Despite a verbal promise that it would waive its ticket change fee, Delta wanted another $700 for her return flight. That’s over and above the $1,000 she spent on the roundtrip ticket.
Far be it from me to argue with an an airline when it comes to change fees and fare differentials. But a promise is a promise, right?
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