LatinPass/GlobalPass - POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AT LATIN PASS!

I am waiting on 2 KL flights to post, out of 4 only 2 posted.

I am also waiting on 2 rentals to post. My wife is waiting on 1 car rental to post.

THIS WOULD FINISH ME FOR 1M MILES, AND MY WIFE FOR 500K.

Only one problem, LATIN PASS LOSSED THE RENTAL AGREEMENTS WE SENT 4 MONTHS AGO BY COURIER!

I can't beleive the poor attitude of the staff there, they challenge me on there loss of the rental receipts. Yet the receipts were sent with a number of other receipts by courier, all other receipts were credited, and I enclosed a letter to Jessie stating the contents, so she could have contacted me before if the receipts were not in the package!

Everytime I call I'm told I have to speak with Eileen, who is always either out of the office, or in a meeting.

This really sucks! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Has anything like this happened to others, lets see if we can work together to demand that our accounts be properly credited!

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. Have you tried getting duplicate receipts from the rental car companies? My wife recently got a duplicate from National after she lost the original and needed one for reimbursement. Wouldn't LP accept a photocopy, given the circumstances?

You can also call the credit card company, and have them give you the rental aggreement number then call the car rental customer service desk and have them resubmitt the rental to LatinPass.

LP people have been excellent given the circumstances. It'll work out!

Didn't you keep copies of the receipts when you sent the originals to LP?

Djlawman

One of the rentals was in Toronto, so I can get it real easy, however the other was in Trinidad & Tobago, so I'm not sure how easy it will be.

I know the dates as I wrote them on the letter I included, and I am sure I will eventually get this sorted out. The only problem is the double work I'm doing due to LP's error!

Rentals in Trinidad and Tobago?
Are you sure that the franchise in these places gives Latin Pass points for the rentals? It is my understanding that locations outside of US and possibly Canada have the option of giving/not giving Latin Pass credits. The rules of the Latin Pass promotion state specifically that it must be a rental eligible for LP credits. Latin Pass has no control over the individual franchise decision on what optional bonus programs that they will participate with. As per previous posts, I encourage people to call the partner directly and try to find out what the problem is. I do not think that it is reasonable to expect Latin Pass to do all the leg work with the partners.
It is entirely possible that you can get it straightned out with a call to the partner, instead of expecting Latin Pass to do it for you.

Wait are you saying that LP can loose the receipts I sent and I should be the one to do all the leg work???

As for if The rental agency offers the points or not, when I sent these receipts to Jessie, she went through them and said everything is O.K. so now if they try and back out, After the promotions done we've got a big problem!

I never said that. If that is what you understood you are reading it into the message. If you are averse to calling the car rental agency of your choice, instead of Latin Pass, then you are in a frame of mind that I don't understand.
I was in the same situation, but called the rental agency a week after the rental to verify that things were in order. They weren't. The call gave me the opportunity to deal directly with the rental agency, and the problem was resolved.

I have followed posts on this board since June, and I am of the impression that most people believe the partners are at fault for not giving electronic crediting. It certainly was for me for 2 hotel stays, 2 car rentals and 4 partner airline segments (I verified the situation by calling the partner directly ie: the rental/flight was eligible, but the partner did not do the electronic crediting). The people at Latin Pass have had to handle each missing credit individually, when the partner was usually at fault for not crediting electronically. They have never complained on the phone to me about how much extra work it has made for them. Their willingness to help resolve the partners deficiencies is admirable.

My post was intended to try and help you resolve the problem, not to bash you, LP or the partners. If the information is of value to you-Great.

That's ok - Canadian doesn't appreciate Brasilians so what should you expect. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

You Know Dr Travels, you can always go live in Brazil! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

My finace and I have also had NUMEROUS problems with Latin Pass. We completed (by June 30)all the requirements for the 1M Miles, yet we have only received credit for half of our travels. We followed all the requirements to the tee, photocopied our documents, and had them couriered to LatinPass.

We have called at least 10-15 times over the last 4 months inquiring as to why our miles are not yet credited. Some of the excuses we have received include:

- "I'll have Aileen look into it, but you can't talk to her now because she's in a meeting." NOTE: she is ALWAYS in a meeting!

- " We can't find the documents you sent in." NOTE: I have resubmitted the documents again (since I had photocopies, but still they lose these as well).

- " We can't give any guarantee on when the miles will be credited." NOTE: They advertised the miles would be credited within 60 days if all required documentation was turned in.

- " We've had a computer malfunction." NOTE: they were still able to provide me with other information in the computer, but were AMAZINGLY not able to credit any miles!

- " We are just behind in crediting people's miles since so many people did the program."

- " We are waiting for the electronic verifications from the airlines and car rental agencies. They're the reason your miles are not credited yet." NOTE: To contradict themselves the next day, they used:
- "We can credit your miles as soon as we go get your file."

I am beginning to question the validity of the 1M Miles Bonus. If there is anyone who actually received their 1M Miles, please e-mail me so I can talk to you.

If there are others who have heard these same excuses, please also respond. Thank you.

I have gotten a million miles, and I have already cashed in some for a few tickets.

I think that poeple will run into similar problems getting credit with other airlines, too-- I've waited months for partner credit on Northwest and Continental. My guess is that since so much is at stake, people's nerves are running high. Believe me, slow and indifferent service is nothing new with the "major" airlines.

I think a key is to work with LatinPass, not against them. One disadvantage of LatinPass itself is that they do not run an airline-- they are like a 3rd party that has to work with other airlines, and as such, they are subject to the partners' delays. Things done in-house work fast: once all postings were in my account, the bonus was posted literally within 2 days. I have also had occasion to request award tickets at the office in Miami when I happened to be in town, and they issued the tickets while I waited.

In my calls, I've found that Jesse is very knowledgable and willing to help-- but again, I try to be flexible and work with her, not demand X, Y, and Z knowing that things must be cleared by the airlines themselves.

The LatinPass people are not out to screw us over. I can send you Argentina trinkets to prove that the bonus is real, and the miles do exist. Please be nice to the LatinPass people-- realizing that this past year has surely been crazy for them.

I realize that some of you did get the Million Miles but I'm with Nurse 1.

I called this morning and spoke with Jessie who was really very cold to me. The reason is that they lost my receipts for car rental. However when I was collecting receipts, SHE WAS THE ONE WHO WOULD TELL ME "Everythings O.K." Now she's getting .....y with me because I'm holding them responsible for giving me what they promised me and my wife!

I did get Eileen today and it looks like I will get my Million Miles (in a few months probably) but god only knows if my wife will get it.

Frankly I am weighing the possibility of taking them to Small Claims Court here in Canada! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Canadian:

I can really understand why you get the cold response from LP given your prejudiced responses towards ALL people in countries you don't care for. I also went on the million mile promotion and encountered some delays and frustrations but I knew this was a Latin American based operation and expected things to proceed differently from other countries (although much better than some US based companies IMHO). I received my million miles and while frustrated at times, I understand the value of treating people with respect in order to receive respect. Perhaps this is your problem in Brasil, Venezuela, France, heck I can't remember all the countries you've made an outlandish generalization about.

Lighten up, give them a chance, be pleasant and you'll see results. It might even work in Brasil and you'll see a huge difference.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/000794.html

Canadian:

You have every right to be upset with LP. But I agree with others that you're approach may need a little softening. I got my million miles only with frequent, polite follow-up calls and emails to LP, USAIR (who were clueless), Marriott, and Hilton. You need to work it from all angles until you get what's coming to you. You are right that all this shouldn't be necessary, but you are cutting off your nose to spite your face (as my mother used to say). You could start practicing a softer approach by laying off the CAPS LOCK in your topic headings and posts. The Flyertalk community is trying help you, so why are you YELLING at us?

DHACKER, i never knew you could yell on a computer, (well unless you have net phone, which i don't).

also i have been very respectfull to lp, the problem is that they told me one thing when i called during the promo, and now the same person dosen't like to be reminded of this!

tell me what would you do?

I would start by joining the private LP discussion, if you haven't already. Then send photocopies of the missing receipts to LP. Then call the partners whose credits haven't posted and speak to a supervisor and get duplicate receipts and a commitment from them to send the miles to LP. Then I would send a letter to Bobby Booth and Guy Booth at LP explaining your situation. I would also call LP every few days to check the status and would end each call by asking when you should check back. When you call back, say "I'm calling because Jessie told me to call back and check on the staus of my account and bonus miles". It worked for me. You have alot riding on this, so the extra work should be worth the trouble.

About the yelling, the use of all caps is considered yelling or shouting on Internet bulletin boards and emailing lists.

Just to put things a little into perspective:

I completed my MM run at the end of April.
After the normal wait of 6 - 8 weeks several flights and 2 hotels had not posted.
I sent in the original receipt in a bound folder with an overview cover sheet. It explained in detail all contents of the folder. Each original receipt was placed in a plastic sheet protector - sealed at the top opening from accidentially sliding out.
Sent by fedex receipt was aknowledged by LP about 4 days later.

I followed up POLITELY every 1 - 2 weeks.
The miles finally posted in September.

Total time elapsed travel to posting: almost 5 months. Given this experience somebody completing the run in late June should be prepared to get the bonus towards X-mas.

By comparision I am still waiting for car rental (Avis) & hotels stays (Hilton) from January to post in my UA account - despite submitted receipts, follow-up requests etc.

Of course waiting for the BIG bonus reqire even more patience.

THERE THEY GO AGAIN....

A FT TALKER,CANADIAN IS CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING LP TO GIVE WHAT WAS PROMISED.
Now comes drtravel and who knows else with the predjudice bogey man.

Folks ,it is obvious customer service is not a strong point with LatinPass. Let's try to help FTers'rather than stab 'em.Praise the Lord!

Well, I am concerned with other people and prejudice and if you think this is a "bogeyman" than so be it.

I happen to have my miles and plan on using them to benefit children of developing countries so they won't be required to serve pompous as*****s 80 hours a week only to be at the will of an employer that would fire them because they happened not to smile at guest. Think of me what you may but the prejudices exists and people suffer as a result. Be part of the problem or the solution - you can't ride the fence.

I made an effort to tell Canadian to say how I was able to obtain them and even suggested he email me if he wanted.

Yes - I have a concern about abused people in this world and if I can post I'll continue to state MY opinion and work to fix it.

[This message has been edited by drtravels (edited 10-28-2000).]

[This message has been edited by drtravels (edited 10-28-2000).]

[This message has been edited by drtravels (edited 10-29-2000).]

Going back to Jan.of this year ,the LP threads have brought out the best of the worst in some persons...drtravels your ideals are indeed interesting, so to keep people listening avoid labels.
This way, more persons can get on board to help the people in this world.
Focus on the situation, not the person.

Canadian,

I sympathies with your predicament because I find myself in a very similar boat. Neither my wife, nor I have yet to receive the bonuses promised? Like you we have heard the stories of the computer system being down, for more than a month! The flood damage, the mountains of paper work, and numerous other excuses, have not made us feel any better, or put us any closer utilizing the miles we have earned. It is certainly not your fault that Latin Pass lost the paper work. They only have two car rental partners and I am certain, they must have someone that can verify a rental at each company.

I have been told that they are finishing up the documents submitted in the last week of July right now. The only problem with that statement is I have heard the exact same excuse for five weeks, and I submitted my documents in the third week of July. I am certain they could by now have found ways to streamline the process, but instead of a streamlining of the verification process, it has seemingly become more complicated.

I speak to a representative once a week and am always calm and polite, yet I am probably no closer than you to getting my miles. Last I was told: they just have not gotten to our documentation yet. Yes they have it, and have had it for four-months, no they have not looked at it yet. We are missing the TWA partner segments only. These are flights we took in mid April! I have spoken to TWA at length and they are willing to post the miles to our account, but must have a request from LP to post the miles in Latin Pass. Latin Pass has the original boarding passes and the receipts; they just need to make a phone call. I am as disturbed at Latin Pass as much as anyone.

One thing you must remember is, the people you speak with on the phone, are not the same ones that set the policy. It seems as if it is impossible to talk to anyone in authority at Latin Pass. I am certain that you did not really intend any racial slurs with your remarks. I am sure they were just made out of frustration and not hatred. You may have to be little more careful with your choice of words and the tone of your statements; your frustration is being interpreted as something it may not be at all.

Many of us on this particular board have worked together for the past ten months to wrangle thru this offer. Some of us have met on the road, and many of us exchange E-mail about various Latin Pass matters. You may have every right to scream; I know I have wished I were not in my office after many conversations with Latin Pass. You do not however have the right to make disparaging remarks about other members of the group. The people at this group are sincere and trying to help each other.

If we all keep our oars in the water and row in the same direction we can get what we want from Latin Pass. We cannot fight amongst ourselves, we must bargain from a position of strength. That is the only way we will get what we want. Good luck and I hope to see your posting, that you received the bonus in the very near future.


[This message has been edited by cy-gone (edited 10-29-2000).]

I think SeeYou had the right message, we need to help each other on this board and not stab each other in the back.

One thing I noticed when others critisized me in this and other threads. They were always the ones not affected by what I was complaining about.

Look at a thread I put in Air Canada as "no upgrade awards" ALL the people who atacked me in the end stated they allways get upgraded by AC.

The people who are attacking me on this thread all have received there Million Miles.
I'm sure if Jessie told them "Everythings O.K." and they were without miles, with missing documents they would be complaining also.

And for the record, I have never said anything racial, or slanderious on this or any other thread. Saying you dislike a certain city or country is an acceptable form of free speach.

Originally posted by drtravels:
Canadian:

I can really understand why you get the cold response from LP given your prejudiced responses towards ALL people in countries you don't care for. I also went on the million mile promotion and encountered some delays and frustrations but I knew this was a Latin American based operation and expected things to proceed differently from other countries (although much better than some US based companies IMHO). I received my million miles and while frustrated at times, I understand the value of treating people with respect in order to receive respect. Perhaps this is your problem in Brasil, Venezuela, France, heck I can't remember all the countries you've made an outlandish generalization about.

Lighten up, give them a chance, be pleasant and you'll see results. It might even work in Brasil and you'll see a huge difference.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/000794.html



Amen Doc!

Mark Schneider

I beg to differ that I have made "Generalizations" about Brazil and Venezuela.

I've been to Brazil twice, and to Venezuela 5 times. I am not comparing them to Canada, or the U.S. Rather I am comparing them to other Latin American Countries such as Panama, Colombia, Equador, and Mexico!

Have you been to Venezuela often, or Brazil often? When you went were you on your own, in a guided tour, or taken in by wealth friends? this can have quite a bearing on impressions of a country.

Look I will say this for the record. I feel you can tell quite a lot about a society from dealing with everyday people such as Clerks, Bank Tellers, and other front end staff.

Also a countries infrastructure can say lot's, such as a working ATM Machine at the Airport, (which in Caracas you won't find) or a ATM machine hooked to PLUS or CIRRUS which Brazil has only just pluged into in the last 18 months!

If you feel Venezuelas a great place, great visit them often, and enjoy. I would much rather go to Colombia and enjoy the beauties that this country has to offer, not to mention it's a much safer place.

Also I would love for you to explain to me and the others here how does my dislike of two Latin American Countries effect the poor service I've received from Latin Pass.

Do you feel that because I dislike Venezuela I would be rude to a woman working for Latin Pass in MIA?

Frankly speaking I think you and someothers are far more guilty of Generalizing than I am! I spoke from first hand experiance you on the otherhand just assume and critisize without any knowledge whatsoever!

It has been 4 months since we turned in all the required documentation, but my fiance and I have finally recievied our Million Miles!
Although we have finally received our Miles, I still have to empathize with those of you who are still dealing with the endless excuses from the agents at Latin Pass.
I believe we wouldn't have received our miles without the constant, persistent phone calls we had to make, as well as meticulous record-keeping. Latin Pass claimed to have lost many of our documents, even though they were neatly packaged, labeled and couriered to their office. We had to send our photocopied travel documents at home into them again.
There were so many other mistakes made by Latin Pass regarding our documents, travel dates,and hotel stays that I can't even begin to list them all!
I'm sure the program had good intentions, but it turned out to be more than they can handle.
They definitely need to hire more help. In the 4 months that I've called them I have spoken with the same 4 people. I wonder how many staff members they actually have?
Anyway, to those who are still waiting for miles- don't give up! Make sure you document every phone call you make and every response given by Latin Pass agents.Take responsibility for your Miles being awarded because Latin Pass may overlook you if you don't. Good luck!

I too went thru all the hassles till the MIL posted. But I never felt that I was getting the run around,I do feel that LP bit off more than they could chew,but little by little they are improving.(they say AT&T is a buy at these prices but not to expect great returns for at least 12 months if then,so too here nothing will change over-night but improvements will be coming).

Yes i still hear,"try calling back tomorrow maybe we will have an answer",yes I'd like to get my comfirmation so that I can go ahead & make all the arrangements I need to,but I feel they are giving it to me straight,and trying the best they can.

I'm not one to hold back anything but I haven't yelled at them,and have only the best to say about Jessie and the others. I read every day in thev papers about another dot-com or 2 going under for promising and being able to deliever. I'm not gonna say we all aren't entitled to what we deemed was to occur but keep in mind it will hopefully eventually get all posted and improved service will follow.It sure beats picking up the paper to read LP is no more. Just my 2 cents,and it took 3 months for my miles to post so I understand what you all are going thru.

I LOVE LP!!

did the trip, sent in documentation, 2 phone calls and its done! Sure it took 16 weeks but I can live with that. No Worries!

Settle back and think of Curacao, Havanna, Cuzco, Rio, Aruba, Costa Rica and Quito.

Dave Stevenson

Sorry to give you the bad news Dave,BUT no Havana.I tried everything but NG! Since LP is a US company they must uphold any US law.I even tried by going via Canada but they said they can't do it.I tried a flight that goes to SAL via Havana and figured if I took only carry-ons I'd just skip the flight but was told that any fight that stops in Cuba even though its not the final destination CAN NOT be ticketed.

The only thing is to fly down to the cheapest place where one can buy a tkt r/t to Cuba.

Craz, transfer some miles to Distancia and get a Toronto to Havanna ticket on TACA.

Shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding Cuba, it amazes me that U.S. Companies do not even know the Helms Burton Law, yet just blindly think they can't do anything with Cuba.

First off for you guys to understand, the law prohibits U.S. Citizens & Residents from traveling to Cuba and SPENDING MONEY. It also prohibits trade with Cuba (except for food and medicine).

When the Pope went to Cuba 1-2 yrs ago a Catholic group wanted to charter a ship to provide the Transportation, accomodation, and food for the U.S. Residents and stay within the law.

Latin Pass can book a person on any flight making a stop over in Cuba, since that person is not (officialy) disembarking in Cuba.

It can do this as long as the carrier it does it on is not Cuban. This is because the booking of a U.S. Passenger on a Costa Rican, or Salvadorian carrier is not trading with Cuba.

Furthermore Latin Pass is violating Canadian law which defends Canada's right to do business with Cuba and makes it illegal for any company in Canada to refuse business with Cuba based on the Helms Burton law.

I'm not a liar(lawyer), but if LP is a US company then it seems that US law will prevail and not Canadian law.IMHO

Great idea about moving the miles to Dis,will they include a flight on US Air or TW as part of the tkt,it seems not.So if ones not from the North got to see how much a tkt to YYZ will be against the cost of a tkt once down in Central Am. But THANKS for the idea.

Sorry for the dup

[This message has been edited by craz (edited 11-09-2000).]

Good point Craz. I am often in Toronto so I never thought about that (TWA, US AIR connection). However, Montreal is now a TACA destination so it may be of use to Quebecers as well.

CRAZ.

The point is that U.S. law IS NOT being broken by puting you on a TA flight YYZ/YUL-SAL.

Where are you doing business with the Cubans?
Is Castro getting royalties from you flying on that flight?

Unless your buying that ticket through a Cuban Travel Agent U.S. law IS NOT BROKEN.!

On the other hand TA is opperating from Canada and is subject to Canadian law in regards to flights that begin/end in Canada.
Taca is a member of LP and LP could be called to task for this!

I sent a request to LP for a TWA flight to Europe for new fall. They received it on 11/13. I did pay for expiditing my request since I had other arrangements dependent on the booking. I checked with LP today and though they were not able to procur seats in First Class, they were able to book me all the way through in coach.

Sounds like good service to me! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Everyone will experiance different service with different requests.

If they had lost your TW paperwork (as they did my car rental paperwork) that big grin you posted would be upside down now wouldn't it! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Canadian - I am sorry that you have had innumerable problems with LP. If I were in your place, I, too, would be extremely upset.

However, except for the continually changing rules, my experiences with LP have always been good ones. Yes, it did take longer than it should have for my bonus to post, but it did post quite a while back. Since then, I have had miles moved to hotels around 4 times and the TW flights mentioned above. All pleasant experiences. So, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Hopefully, your future experiences will be much happier ones.

What about a new topic:
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AT LATIN PASS

I agree with everyone that it has taken longer than most of us would like to get the bonus and some have had trouble getting award seats. This is not the staff's fault. If anyone is to blame it is management, and not the people answering the phones.

I for one, think Jesse is doing an excellent job and aplaud her for her excellent customer service skills. I would have no hesitation in hiring someone of her caliber for my company.

I agree with lotsofmiles. I've never been put on hold for more than 15 seconds. You can make three calls to LP in the hold time you typically have with other carriers.

DR

I agree that LP answers it's phone promptly, but I must question what good is a prompt phone call if the substance of that call is flawed. For the majority of the promo, and afterwards I experianced 2 typical answers:

A. "Everything is O.K. Don't worry" (for 6 months) then now I get "sorry we never got your car rental paperwork"

B. "Sorry all the supervisors are in a meeting (or out to lunch)" No matter what time you call, and they never tell you when they are comming back!

While Latin Pass seems to have handled some of the people with good service they have failed misserably in attending to those of us with problems.

And in my case they have failed to take responsibility for either loosing paperwork once received, or verifying paperwork never received! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

When bashing LP, consider some of the partners they have to deal with.

LP has been great in sending miles over to Hilton or Marriott each Monday. Good service from LP.

Hilton has them posted generally within a week. Good service from Hilton.

Marriott says they will be posted in 4-6 weeks! Why? Good service from Marriott? I don't think so!

I agree that LP has to deal with some pretty poor partners such as Aeropostal, & Saeta.

However It took a lot of us 3-4 months to get hotels to post, and in my case it was not a LP Partner that lost the paperwork for the rental car, it was LP it's self!

Bobarb,
I'm not sure everyone's experiences have been similar to yours. For example, my wife and I have had a lot of trouble/delays with transfers to Hilton. I'm not sure if the
problems are Hilton or LatinPass. For example, only 1/2 of my 1st transfer showed up at Hilton and it took over a month to fix it and LP was resistant to finding the problem. Many our other transfers have been
much slower than yours (3-4 weeks or more
(i.e. still waiting) ) for some transfers.
Some transfers required a resend from LP.

I remembering reading your comment about the 1/2 posting. In that case, I guess so far I have just been lucky. Heres hop'ing it stays that way.

Hopefully, you were able to get everything straightened away. Of course, I must admit, I have had similar horror stories with miles going from one airline to a partner and these were the big guys, too!

What can I say? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif