Problems With Airline Tickets And Purchasing Airline Tickets

Hubline: Fifteen days, thirty-eight phone calls to the airline, fourteen calls to Mastercard, and sixteen trips to the bank later -- the hostage (my money) has been released!

For almost two weeks, I have been held hostage by an enemy I've never heard of until a few days ago. When I first heard it's name, my immediate reaction was, "Huh????"

However, before I tell you about this hostage situation, I need to give you a little background. These little travel tidbits should illustrate the fact that I'm not easily frustrated or surprised by much. First of all, I travel a lot and frequently. Among other things:

• I've touched the hairy knee of an elephant before trekking across a jungle. I only mention this one because it was a shock to me that the knee would be hairy.
• I've been jerked forward and backward on the back of a camel, as he hoisted the two of us off the ground. I only mention this one because of his need to promptly spit on my face afterwards (a signal to me about what he thought about how much I weighed).
• I've had my blouse eaten by "Bob" the donkey.
• I've had a wild ride on the back of an ostrich and caught a fly in my mouth, only because I screamed as I held on for dear life.
• I've done the Hi Ho Silver act on the back of a runaway stallion, who was more interested in being the first back to the dinner trough, than giving me a ride.
• I've flown into airports where soldiers greet you from behind sandbags.
• I've been robbed by a taxi driver who left us in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere.

Now, however, I'm going to tell you my sad tale of woe, only because I want others to not have find out the hard way, how and what to do if:

• Online airline purchases go wrong
• Online hotel arrangements go wrong
• You need a refund
• You are stranded

My recent troubles began when I booked three flights from Florida to Hong Kong. For the past few years, I've been using a local travel agency for most of our travel. Once I've thoroughly researched online consolidators, I went back to my local travel agent armed with a firm idea of options and good pricing. They were accommodating in my dictating my desired price for them to match. I like to use a travel agencies because I like to have someone to blame, if anything goes wrong besides me. Someone with a face and a place I can visit, if need be. Seriously, for me, it's a backup plan, as it can give extra clout should a traveler need help.

I originally booked these flights more than eight months ago. So, imagine my surprise, when I wasn't able to get our necessary ebookings or tickets from the travel agency upon demand. They kept putting me off. All I had was my cancelled check and a couple of emails.

Finally, two weeks before we were due to leave, I made a trip to their office. It was closed. Once open six days a week, now the sign now said they were only open a couple of days a week. Finally I caught the husband of this duo, in at the travel agency. He puts me off another day, saying his wife was away and only she knew where she filed everything.

Long story short, when confronted, they never made the reservations, just cashed my check. They gave me a replacement check as a refund. Deposited that check, and of course, it bounced. The plot thickened when, not only did the agency close down, but also the travel agents apparently left the state. Nothing new in Florida, where consumer fraud is an everyday thing.

I'm trying very hard to remember that these are also hard times for lots of businesses. I hope this wasn't deliberate, but more an act of desperation. In other words, I'm not holding my breath, that I'll every see my $3,400 back and realistic in my knowledge that pursuing this legally will be another hassle.

I've booked with online travel consolidators for years. I've purchased many airline tickets online. Online books is a great way to get discount travel, also known as cheap airfare. Seldom, have I had any real problems. So, now left on my own, and still needing to travel to Hong Kong, I leaped into action and started the online search once again. No time to dwell on the no longer in business travel agents.

At this point, we are within days of the date we needed to leave. I knew I needed to act quickly. Still, I couldn't find prices that I was willing to pay, so I resorted to calling the lowest fare airline to see if I could reduce that amount. I felt like the luckiest person on the planet, when they were so very helpful and got us on the flight, at a reasonable price. I booked the three seats, immediately, of course. However, the next day, I had a surprise.

Two of the seats were confirmed all the way. One ticket was in question. OK, one of us might be on a later flight, no big deal. I volunteered myself, as my daughter and grandchild had less time to spend in Hong Kong, due to my daughter's work schedule. I put them on the flight, thinking I'd be on a flight three days later. Everything on their flight wonderful, no problems there.

However, two days after they left, I happened to check my bank balance. The Mastercard, I used to book these flights was tied to my bank account. My account was in the negative to the tune of almost -$7,200! This could not be!

I made a mad dash to the bank and they confirmed that the airline had taken out, not the amount for three separate tickets, but the amount of six tickets! In other words, it appeared that they had double booked all three seats. Here, is where this tale of woe, took many twists and turns as:

• Frantic phone call #1 to the airline -- I was told that they were aware of the problem and it was being "corrected as we speak."
• Frantic phone call #2 to the airline -- Money is being refunded immediately, before the end of the banking day.
• Frantic phone call #3 to the airline - (Next morning) The refund department is working on it right now.
• Frantic phone call #4 to the airline - Your refund has been made. Checked with the bank, not there yet, bank manager advises to wait until morning -- may be a posting issue.
• Frantic phone call #5 to the airline - Someone must have been mistaken, we're still working on the refund. (Still no apology, or even hint of one in any of these calls. Furthermore, until this call, no explanation for what happened). This customer representative, however, volunteers and confirms that this was most likely a "double booking."

So now it's the weekend, and there was absolutely nothing I could do until Monday. Plus, I had to postpone my flight, as this was the last thing I wanted to deal with 18,000 miles from home.

• Monday morning visit to the bank -- Was advised by the bank manager that the funds have not bee returned to my account.
• Frantic phone call #6 to the airline -- Their call volume was so great, that unknowingly I was transferred to a customer service representative in the UK (who of course, could not help me).
• Frustrated phone call #7 to the airline -- This customer service representative couldn't help me, but gives me a different number to call -- for the refunds department.
• Frustrated phone call #8 to the airline refund department -- Finally, someone with a voice of authority explains that, no this wasn't a double booking, but rather a "truncate" problem. I am told that I am a victim of "truncification."

This is where, I got to the "Huh?????"

Now, I admit, I've over the age of fifty and I'm well aware that our world is changing rapidly -- but I had no clue what she is talking about. I had to ask her to explain twice, the first time, I didn't get it. The second time, I put the phone on speaker, so my husband could eavesdrop, just to be sure I wasn't misunderstanding. When I got off the phone, I went to the computer and looked up the definitions of truncate and truncification, just to be sure they were really words.

Apparently, the airline decided to change their computer system to help prevent fraud on credit card and debit card transactions. According to the airline, to truncate means:

• They were inserting alpha letters in certain parts of the consumer's credit card numbers as a means to prevent credit card fraud.

On the day they did this, thousands of customer's airline ticket transactions were duplicated and charged on their computer system. They can call the problem anything they want, but this was of zero help, when my bank account is in the negative in excess of $7,000!

Nightmare doesn't even begin to describe the problem of getting your money back once a business entity has taken it. While it only took them a few seconds to take the money, as of writing this hub, we are now on day twelve of waiting for the refund process.

In my case, with the airline, this apparently is my fault, because I believed the airline refund department and did not know what the real remedy was -- to contact your debit card MasterCard or Visa Customer Fraud Claims and Debit Dispute Department.

Here are the facts when you have this problem:

• Your bank can do nothing, except to agree that it is clearly not your fault, and that once resolved, they will reverse the overdraft fees.
• You do have some legal re-courses, however, with both Visa and Mastercard (depending on your card type).
• The quicker you get the credit/debit card company's Customer Fraud Claims and Debit Dispute Process involved, the better.

The dangers of paying by cash, check or debit card for online bookings are many, the biggest is that once they've got their money, it's a whole lot harder for you, as an individual, to get your money back.

These include:

• An unauthorized transaction on your debit card;
• An error made on a transaction on your debit card;
• Transactions that were posted twice;
• Transactions that were posted with the wrong amount
• Merchandise that was not received;
• Services that were not received;
• Paid by others means or the credit was posted as a debit;
• Cash withdrawal from an ATM dispersing the wrong amount;
• No cash received from an ATM;
• Debit posted more than once.

Once you've ascertained that your online booking problem involves one of the above, you need to have the following ready before you make your claim:

• Debit card number or bank account number
• Date of the transaction(s)
• Amount of transaction(s)
• Merchant Name(s)

Who Do You Call?

Usually,start by the number on the back of your bank card. However, if you go into your bank, they will give you a form with complete instructions that will help you keep track of your claim information. Remember, this is not the bank's problem, even if the debit/credit card came from their bank.

Generally, once you've made your initial claim over the phone, they will mail you a formal complaint form, which you absolutely must fill out and return during the time frame they have indicated. It takes them three to five business days to investigate your claim, and if they find in your favor, it will be another three days to receive your refund.

In the case of this airline, I did not follow the above advice immediately (hence the day twelve of aggravation), because I initially believed the airline had refunded the money. The airline was and still is claiming they refunded the monies, and it was just my bank that was taking their time posting that refund. Wrong!

That cute little gnome we all are familiar with, my former buddy, who I may never trust again -- well, he picked this same week and same trip, to let me down too.

My daughter and grandchild arrived in Hong Kong to find that this online booking service for cheap or discounted hotel rates, failed to make the hotel reservation. In the case of this company, one who I have booked successfully with for years, they did not stand behind their booking that they never made.

Instead, they offered to give her a room at another hotel. This alternative would have been fine, except their online agents kept offering hotels in mainland China, Lantau Island, and other such locations -- not in Hong Kong!

I will confess, in my anguish over the airline debacle that was occurring at the exact same time -- I tried to handle this too, by myself. This company has it's customer service outsourced to a location in India.

Frustrations in trying to resolve this conflict with the added barrier of conversational and spelling confusions, just added to the misery. Far worse, was once they admitted verbally, their mistake -- I was informed it would be another thirty days until they would refund my money!

This wasn't acceptable and I did immediately turn in a debit dispute claim to MasterCard. Moral of the travel tale -- my money was back in my account within 24 hours! Not thirty days!

AirTran Airways 1-866-247-2428

Mon - Fri 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Eastern

Sat & Sun 8:00 a.m - 8:00 p.m.

American Airlines 1-918-254-3777

Monday - Friday (Central Time)

8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Continental Airlines 800.932.2732, option 5

Delta 1-800-847-0578

Jet Blue 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583)

Northwest Airlines 1-612-726-2422

Singapore Airlines 213 404 0301

Southwest Airlines 214-792-4223 Mon - Fri, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm CT

United Airlines Supposedly claims can only be made via email.

US Airways 800-428-4322.

• Airline fares are not guaranteed until tickets are issued correctly within the airlines' guidelines, credit card successfully charged, and route/fare validity double-checked.
• All airline tickets are sold as non-refundable, non-changeable, and non-cancel-able. In some cases, airlines will allow a change of travel dates for a fee and a charge for any difference in fare under stringent conditions.
• Name changes are not permitted once a reservation has been confirmed. For international flights, first and last names on a ticket must match the passenger's passport. For domestic flights, the names need only match a government-issued photo ID.
• If the site fails to show a confirmation screen when you attempt a travel booking, it will be unknown if the error occurred on the user's own computer or server. Therefore, it is the customer's responsibility to contact our agency to ascertain whether the booking is confirmed.
• If the customer makes a mistake in a travel booking, he or she should not make a second booking until inquiring with the airlines support department about the status of the first booking.
• For flights to Africa, you will be contacted to an fax authorization form and photocopy of a government-issued ID before ticketing. If the customer does not wish to fax a photo ID. This is for protection against identity theft for the credit card holder.

• Charges - For many airline fares, your total price may be split into two or more charges. Sometimes there is a separate charge by an airline for each passenger.
• The online agency will not be held liable for delays or loss of fares caused by credit or debit cards failing to go through or billing addresses failing to verify electronically.
• You the customer, have probably agreed not to dispute the processing fee, airline ticket charge or airfare balances if the company and the Travel Support Center have abide by the terms and conditions of the airlines and this agreement
• If you question any charge on their credit card related to this travel purchase, or is considering disputing the charge on the card, you may be agreeing to notify the online booker or their travel support center of the disputable charge no more than 60 days after the date of the charge.
• If you do not notify the consolidator or their travel support center within sixty (60) days, you waive any right to dispute such problems or discrepancies.
• The only exception is if you obtain proof from the airline that there is something wrong with the airline tickets, that was caused by your online booking agency. In that scenario, the customer has until 30 days after the scheduled date of departure to notify the online booking of the intent to dispute.
• Justification for the above paragraph of policy is that the customer's card-issuing bank sometimes informs only the airline of a dispute in process,. This means that the booking site doesn't have insufficient opportunity to present its own side in the matter, unless informed by the customer in a timely manner.
• Since some charges for airfare are in the airline's name, you must understand that the booking website has the authority just as equal as the airline, in attempting to re-collect the disputed funds. They will do so through your bank, credit card company, courts, and collection agencies, just like they were the airline