Travel Troubles Resolved by Guru
Ever been hosed by the airlines? Dinged at the car rental counter? Treated unfairly by customer service, or worse, can't even track down the customer service department?
CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg fielded "Early Show" viewers' complaints and explained how you can avoid the problems.
My Flight Left When?
Frequent traveler Mareya booked her Virgin America flight to Orlando through Travelocity. Except when she showed up at the airport, her flight had already departed, an hour earlier. She was forced to pay out-of-pocket for a new one-way ticket and reroute through a different city.
According to Virgin America, that flight had a schedule change that was made a month before the departure date. Standard practice is to contact all passengers directly who booked through Virgin America, either by phone or e-mail, and to alert all third-party online ticket agents, like Travelocity, who then contact their own customers.
When Mareya contacted Virgin America's guest relations department, she was told that Travelocity was, in fact, alerted to the change via e-mail, and no refund could be provided. Travelocity, however, told her they had never received such an e-mail from Virgin America. Unfortunately, she was the one paying the price.
After we contacted them, both Virgin America and Travelocity admitted there was a "highly unusual" breakdown in communications in this case. Both parties have offered their apologies. Travelocity has offered Mareya a refund of $279.40, plus additional expenses of $150, plus a $250 promo code for future booking.
The lesson? Always confirm your flight at least 24 hours prior to departure. All the major airlines have flight status options on their websites, and FlightStats.com enables you to check flights by route, airport and flight number.
Dude, Who Damaged My Rental Car?
Elaine rented a car from Alamo and, after dropping it off at the facility, left for an extended vacation. Upon her return, several months later, she discovered two letters from Alamo charging her for more than $1,700 for damage to the vehicle. She tried contacting Alamo, but by that point. the situation had already been turned over to a collections agency, which was now indicating a claim amount of more than $3,000.
After much back-and-forth, she finally solicited her insurance company to deal with the collections agency. Ultimately, the case was dropped and Alamo issued an apology for causing any inconvenience.
However, the questions still remain: How do rental-car agencies determine damage to a car after it's been returned, and what can travelers do to protect themselves from being hit by a major bill?
According to Alamo, unless limited by state law, Alamo holds the renter responsible for damage to, loss or theft of, the vehicle, including any part of optional accessory, regardless of fault or negligence. Translation: The renter is still responsible even if the damage was caused by someone else and without their knowledge.
In addition to repair fees, renters are also responsible for additional costs, such as loss of use, administrative fees, diminishment of value, towing, storage and/or impound fees, and other costs to recover the vehicle and establish damages.
Rental transactions aren't complete until the vehicle has been inspected, which may happen after the customer has departed the premises. In Elaine's case, the car was inspected while she was on site, but according to the collections agency, the alleged damage was to the "struts and cradle," which wouldn't have been noticeable upon inspection.
Customers can appeal during the return process, or when contacted by the Damage Recovery unit. However, since Elaine was out of town for several months after returning the car, the situation escalated to the point of involving the collections agency.
There are still a few mysteries in this situation, including why Alamo ultimately dropped the case, but there are a few things that can be done to prevent a similar situation from happening:
Be proactive. Bring a camera to take pictures of the entire car before you leave the lot. Although it may not have helped in this scenario (since the alleged damage was not visible), in many cases, that visual documentation can prevent a lot of hassle.
Rental-car coverage, such as loss damage waivers and collision damage waivers, can be helpful in this situation, but be sure that you're not paying for something that's already covered by your existing auto insurance or credit card.
If you're traveling for extended periods, instead of having your mail held at the post office, consider having it temporarily forwarded to someone else or to a PO box that someone monitors. That way, important documents can be spotted before it's too late.
Playing the Mileage Game
Customer Dave responded to an e-mail from Delta Air Lines advertising 50 percent bonus miles when making a mileage transfer to another account. He transferred 13,000 miles to his wife's Delta account, with the understanding that there was a $30 transfer fee. Some time later, he was surprised to see a charge for $160 on his credit card bill for the transaction.
What happened?
Dave committed a very common error: He didn't read the fine print. Yes, there was a $30 processing fee, but according to Delta's offer, there is also a fee of $.01 per mile. For 13,000 miles, that works to $130. There was no charge on the bonus miles, so Dave actually got a good deal here. The lesson here? If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always, always read the fine print before handing over your credit card.
Hindsight is 20/20 When it Comes to Travel Insurance
A couple booked a travel package with Seabourn Cruises through a travel agent, including flight, cruise and hotel, for a total of about $14,000. However, the week before the scheduled trip, the husband suffered a ruptured appendix, which led to a body-wide infection. Unfortunately, the couple hadn't purchased travel insurance, which made obtaining a refund nearly impossible at that late date.
They were frustrated. Although the couple accepted the loss of the cruise portion, they were informed by the airline that the airfare had been returned to Seabourn. Why were they not entitled to receive a refund of the unused airfare and hotel portion of the trip?
After a long period of negotiating between the couple, their travel agent, and the cruise line, they were ultimately refunded the airfare, totaling about a $6,000, minus a cancellation fee of $750 that the airline levied on the cruise line. After further negotiation, they were refunded that fee, as well.
Had they purchased travel insurance, this would have been a different conversation altogether. A comprehensive plan would have covered them in the case of trip cancellation or interruption due to a medical emergency.
Why, when spending $14,000 on a trip, wouldn't the couple purchase travel insurance?
It's a common error. When their agent initially presented the travel insurance option, the only concern that crossed their minds was that one of their elderly parents might get sick, forcing them to cancel the trip. But in order for that to be covered, they would have had purchase "cancel anytime, for any reason" insurance, which is a pricey option. Of course, neither one of them was anticipating landing in the hospital, so traditional trip cancellation and interruption insurance didn't seem necessary.
So, they took a gamble, and lost.
According to Seabourn, the cruise line would have been entirely within its rights to keep all their money. If a cancellation occurs within 30 days or less of the trip, the penalty is 100 percent of the full fare, "including cruise, airfare, and land arrangements."
Seabourn's materials go on to say, "We strongly recommend that all guests purchase comprehensive Trip Cancellation/Interruption Protection for the full purchase price of the cruise as well as air and/or land program costs."
Our advice? Don't purchase a travel insurance policy directly from the cruise line. In many cases, if the cruise line goes belly up, so does the policy. But the bottom line is if it's money you can't afford to lose, insure it.
Talk to the Automated Hand
United customer Susan purchased the airline's premium flight service for $49, which included checking two bags for free. After a long delay due to mechanical problems, the flight was canceled, and she was rebooked on a US Airways flight. There, she was charged $60 to check her bags. Susan contacted United to get a refund, and after a couple of back-and-forth e-mails, her issue was ultimately resolved.
Her main gripe? The only way to contact customer service is online; the concept of picking up the phone and talking to a human being seems to have gone the way of the dodo. For those travelers who do not have easy access to e-mail or aren't computer savvy, this poses a real problem.
Susan's issue of the refund was solved, but we contacted United to learn more about the process of filing complaints. According to United, the airline eliminated its phone customer service last year. However, customers using the online form can request a phone call and a representative will be in touch. For those with limited computer access, complaints can be mailed to:
United Customer Relations
P.O. Box 66100
Chicago, IL 60666
or
United Airlines Refunds
PO Box 66282
Chicago, IL 60666
As an apology for Susan's experience overall, United also issued her a $250 electronic certificate to use on future travel.
United also points out that most of the major airlines have eliminated their customer service numbers. After some digging, we found that Southwest Airlines has a phone number to call (214-792-4223), but most others, including American, Continental and Delta, have only an online form and a physical address to write to with complaints.
Customers can also send their complaints to the Department of Transportation. Issues related to lost or mishandled bags, delays, mishandled animals, and voluntary or involuntary bumping can go to:
DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD)
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
202-366-2220, http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm
For more travel tips and news you can use, visit PeterGreenberg.com.
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