Travel plans become a disaster because of airline

[bltfam]

Hi everyone
I need some help and really dont know what to do next! thought maybe i would reach out and see if any one else had similar experiences and what they did. Well I will try to make this to the point and brief. We booked our 09 spring break vacation to Cancun in Feb . I started looking for flights as soon as i had the condo. Last year when we went to PV we signed up for a Frontier card to earn Miles They told us at the time that we could combine our points and have one ticket as soon as we get our cards Well going during spring break i ask about black out dates no we were told we could use them even this week which was Holy week. When i transfered my points to my husbands card they charged us which then never told us. We had them transferred and started using the card it for everything. In July I found good prices on fares so before i booked them I spoke to a rep and ask her the best way to buy two tickets get one with points and told her we almost had enough for two free ones She suggested to wait to we had enough for both the free tickets and when we booked the ones now to make sure we had a parent and child together in case they would have to take another flight I ask if i could pay for all them now she said that i wouldn't get reimbursed. I ask again about booking them later with our miles i was told no problem
About three weeks ago my husband tried to book the tickets they said he couldn't. When i found this out i called Frontier for the next week I talked to everyone person after person no one would help me
Finally a spoke to one supervisor who said he couldn't give them to me with bonus miles but since i had purchased two already he would allow me to purchase the other two for the same price, He wasnt sure how to do it but another supervisor would call me tomorrow to help me tomorrow came and went the following day i called the women who i was told was calling me
Well she called me a liar and said that wasnt what they had discussed
I was getting nervous so i ask her to connect me to his office she refused so i called back and got his voice mail and left a frantic message to call me he never did the next day i called again finally he called me back and said that there was nothing they could do but give me my money back and our agreement of buying the tickers at the same price was rescinded. i was so angry I ask how they could lie and lie again make agreements and break them If the rep would have been up front in the first place I would have bought all four. When i got them the price was three something with taxes
$ 477 now they are over $800 plus taxes . they are refusing to help me and i have contacted BBB, Attorney General office several consumer help lines
the FAA a few attorneys i don't know where else to look for help. Right now everything is booked but only half our family is going .
I called the corporate offices and ask to speak to the CEO's they never connect me I did look up the info on the board members but all the phone numbers are corporate numbers and i just get the operator
The personnel from the master card lied to us then the representative from Frontier then a supervisor. If we just get a refund for what we purchased them for we still need to go and find decent airline tickets If i would book now I would be paying $3900. i ask them to refund the tickets at the cost they are now they wont do that so if they refund my two tickets they would double the profit when they resold them So i really don't know what to do now. If any one has any suggestions let me know The way things look right now we will be canceling our Spring vacation to Mexico.
Thanks for any input!!!
Lynda

[Talent312]

Idea #1 -- You've done your best to annoy these folks into giving you what you want and it didn't work, so its time to move onto plan "B." Do some comparative shopping to see if using any other airline could get you there for less money. Save your points for some other use down the road.

Idea #2 -- Accept that you're screwed. Cancel your reservations in Cancun. Cancel your flights. Rebook later for someplace less expensive (paying the change-fee, if need be).

[Carolinian]

It looks like to me that some reps told you things at the beginning that they should not.

Maybe you should try posting your experience at every travel site you can think of, starting with www.flyertalk.com

[x3 skier]

If you are really annoyed, try Small Claims Court. You probably will get your money back for the other parts of your vacation if you still go and your ticket money as well (not clear from your post if you have already gotten that part of the expense reimbursed).

You might even get on The Peoples Court, Judge Judy or some other TV program.

If you for go that route, just make sure you have good records of all the various discussions.

I also have had good results by mailing a certified letter to the CEO with signature confirmation required. The CEO never sees it but it does get to a highly placed Admin Assistant who usually makes things happen faster and more satisfactorily that the complaints dept.

Cheers

[dougp26364]

Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of flying where the rules are not the same today as they were last week.

The reps you talked with previously may have given you good information for that time but, things change and, since Frontier is in bankruptcy, things can change significantly and quickly. Things have changed enough with them that right now, I'm not even certain how many miles it will take me to get from point A to point B. I have 10,000 points that can be converted to FF miles with Diners Club and, I was going to convert them to Frontier miles to go with the 8,000 mile I have on hand right now. With the recent changes they've made I'm not sure that's my best move anymore.

As I see it, you have two choices. Bite the bullet and buy the additional tickets on Frontier or, take their refund offer and buy the tickets on another airline. All of which will undoubtedly cost you more money that what you had planned on in the first place.

Of course there is the third option of getting your refund and canceling your reservation. At this point this appears that it may be your best option if you can't afford the addtional tickets.

The moral of the story is don't trust what your told over the phone, having something in writing is better. Without something in writing good luck in small claims court as previously suggested. I really think that would be wasting your time and throwing good money after bad.

I know it's annoying when you've been told something that is not true or, maybe was true at the time but the rules have changed and it's no longer true. It frustrates the heck out of me when I fall for it. Fortunately the more I was burned in the early years of traveling the less it happens now. My rule is, if I see what is a good price for me, I take it. I don't wait until I have enough ff miles and, if I have to rely on ff miles to get there I don't book the vacation unless I can cancel without penalty.

[Dave M]

I think Doug has summarized the situation and your realistic options very well.

I know it hurts that you can't do what you were led to believe you could, but the rules change very rapidly in the current wacky airline industry. Most airlines are trying to figure out how to stay out of bankruptcy and keep flying. Thus, all airlines are changing their rules, fares and available frequent flyer tickets too often to keep up with.

Next time, if a free ticket is available for a trip you know you want to take, grab it.

[bltfam]

Thanks everyone for your input. hind sight is 20/20. I should have just booked all 4 tickets that day and I guess I'm just irritated thats putting it mildly that to buy two more tickets at double the cost just seems wrong and i wouldn't use Frontier thats for sure! so when you could have had all the tickets bought for 2000 then you have to start all over and will pay 4000 thats hard to digest. Ya I know I'm screwed but i think its about winning now!!! Oh good idea about the certified letter Actually did that 3 days ago but instead of sending it to the corporate office i sent it to him home Of course i apologized for doing so and begged him to help me. Its just the principle of it how a company can lie then you talk with a supervisor thinking that they will help you and you get so excited when they tell you that they will be fair and sell me two more tickets for the same price and then they rescind It infuriates me to think they want to just refund my money and resale the tickets for twice the amount Whatever happened to customer service and going the right thing Sorry I'm ranting again
I'll let you all know if i get a response from the CEO.
I do like the small claim court idea would i file here in Kansas or would i have to go to Denver where the headquarters are?

Thanks

[Dave M]

As Doug suggested, small claims court would almost certainly be a waste of time. You have nothing in writing from them, so it's your word against theirs, especially regarding whether what they told you on one date would forever be valid. That just doesn't happen in the airline industry. Thus, you wouldn't be able to prove your case.

I know you are angry, but you'll come out ahead by figuring out how to get past this and move on.

[gmarine]

I dont see you getting anywhere with complaints. Unfortunately you didnt buy the tickets together and got some bad info from airline reps. It happens.

Unless you can prove what was said on the phone, small claims court is a waste of time. I would move on and look for other ticket options.

[Talent312]

MHO, filing a lawsuit (even if only small claims) is a singularly bad idea.
1. There was no contract for carriage between the parties,
and so there is [no] specific performance agreement to be enforced.
B. Its doubtful that the OP could show economic damage incurred due to a
misrepresentation that is (a) definite-enuff to be relied upon or (b) provable.
iii. The complainant could be held liable for costs for filing a frivolous case.

[x3 skier]

Originally Posted by Talent312

MHO, filing a lawsuit (even if only small claims) is a singularly bad idea.
1. There was no contract for carriage between the parties,
and so there is specific performance agreement to be enforced.
B. The complainant has not actually suffered any economic damage
as a result of any provable misrepresentation.
iii. The complainant could be held liable for costs+attorney's fees for
filing a frivolous case.

While I agree the likelihood of success is small to non existent, there are no attorney's fees in Small Claims Court although there are filing costs, at least in most jurisdictions.

Cheers

[LisaRex]

Use it as a learning point and move on with your life. Sending certified letters to someone's home is over the top. If I received such a letter I would not be in any mood to help you.

In the future, if you are able to snag an award ticket and/or a good fare, don't wait. Snag them!

[pianodinosaur]

Frontier is not the only airline with confusing rules concerning frequent flyer miles. I recently had some minor problems with Continental when booking flights for Barcelona. Once I understood the rules, I was better off just buying coach tickets. On the other hand, two years ago we had did a Continental ff redemption and had roundtrip tickets for two going to Puerto Rico and back.

Talent312 has given you excellent advice in my opinion. The aggravation you would go through when weighed against your potential gain is just not worh it. You might consider paying off your Frontier credit card and then destroying it. This is about a much revenge as I would suggest.

[Rhody51]

Take a deep breath and chill out alittle. A lesson learned the hard way.
Start looking at new fares, I heard prices are coming down with gas prices,
maybe you will find another deal.

[AKE]

I don't understand the basis of your complaint - you were told something verbally which is subject to interpretation by both sides and possibly neither side understood the other. You talked to a person - there was nothing in writing. People make mistakes, don't understand the rules themselves, etc .etc and as such, the person you were talking to may not have had the authority to even promise you what he did... the only valid complaint you would have was if they had sent you, what you talked about, in writing and even then there is the 'reasonability test (not sure of the proper name for it)' (e.g. As a sales rep I tell you that you can get a ticket for $100 when you and I both know that the ticket costs $1000 and no other airline is selling it at $100 either. As such, your expectation of only paying $100 for it is not realistic and would not hold up in court, regardless of what you were told.)

[bltfam]

I guess its about the company misrepresenting itself and when i called i was told that there would be no problem getting the tickets using the miles so i only purchased two tickets I even asked if i could get all four in case something happened and I was told that i wouldnt be able to get reimbursed to use my miles then after all that i called and talked with a supervisor who then promised i could buy the additional two tickets for what i paid for the other two then after two days of making that agreement he rescinded Its about the company lying to me several times and now if i want to get tickets its gonna be double the cost

[Talent312]

Originally Posted by AKE

I don't understand the basis of your complaint...

Understanding is not required. The fact is that she's not going to get any satisfaction beating this dead horse, so her best bet is to undo her entanglement with Frontier and consider alternatives.