Labby88

I'm really scared - any advice would be appreciated.

I'm young and stupid and while browsing Craigslist one day I found people were selling Delta e-certs. I was planning my Honeymoon and was looking at the deals and saw I could get a great deal by buying an e-cert and using that to pay for my Honeymoon flights. The guy walked me through the process - it would work just like a gift certificate he said - and it did! I was so excited. The transaction went through so I thought everything was okay.

A few months passed, and I needed to book another flight. "I should check craigslist again," I thought to myself. And I did and got another fantastic deal.

Flash forward two months and I listen to my voicemail and there's a message from Delta security asking me to call them back because there was a problem with how I paid for my flights and it needed to be discussed. Uh oh - I should have known better. I did research online and found out that certificates are transferable but you can't buy them. I feel dumb - I really should have known better.

I haven't called them back yet because I don't know what to say.

-I would be totally okay with paying the difference of the original flights, but BOTH flights have gone up $200+ since I bought them. If they cancel and I have to re-buy, I would have to cancel one trip.
-I don't want to get anyone into trouble - myself or the people I bought from.
-Losing my Skymiles isn't a big deal. I have zero miles.

Do you think they'll let me pay the original difference? Will I be incriminating anyone?

RFDMinnesota

Yikes... Good luck! I really can't think of any words of comfort besides "Honesty is the best policy". I think that Delta, like many people, appreciate it when you are honest with them.

twoner32

First, I agree with the above poster-honestly is best.
I don't think you're in trouble-LAW wise....they might just cancel your tickets...

Call them back, be honest and face the music...let us know the outcome. I'll pray for you....

HongKonger

Just claim you didn't know, apologize, ask what you can do to fix it but cause yourself the least problem.

Next time you cruise CL stick to hookers and blow. Moving e-Certs is not for the faint of heart.

Labby88

I need to make sure this doesnt happen. If it does then I'm out all the money I spent on the tickets - both the certs and the additional I paid. Then I'm out over another grand to re-book my honeymoon. All to try to save a few hundred bucks. Stupid.

Denolloyd

Agreed.

Good luck OP!

gpez

Take a deep breath.

IANAL but there is no crime here, neither you nor the person that sold the e-certs are in legal trouble. What you did was stupid not because its against the law but rather because you found a deal too good to be true and didn't really stop to make sure it was legit.

You didn't scam Delta out of any money, nor did the person selling you the certificates. All that happened was you violated the terms and conditions of the certificates making them void. Delta found out and wants to cancel the certs. They probably will want to cancel your tickets too but they cannot simply cancel your tickets without giving you your money back (minus the now-voided certificate value, of course). They can cancel your Sky Miles account, they may even ban you from flying Delta in the future. But they simply cannot take your money.

Not to rag on you in paticular, OP, but its incredibly surprising how terrified of companies people are. These "rules" set up by Delta (or whichever company) are simply a contract between you and them for services rendered. "Delta Security" is just another department in a company like HR or accounting; they don't have any special powers or something magical like that to arrest you or take you to jail. The absolute worst they can do is refuse to do business with you.

That all being said: if you're telling the truth and really didn't know it was against the T&C to purchase the certificates then call them back to polietly ask what the problem is and what can be done to remedy it. If you make it clear that it won't happen again (and maybe drop in that these are your honeymoon flights for a bit of sympathy) you may be able to pay the cert value and be on your way. Be 100% prepared for the flights to be canceled.

nigelloring

Please don't be too hard on yourself. I am not a lawyer, but I am a frequent traveler. I would be surprised (which isn't to say it's not possible) if DL cancels all your tickets without at least refunding you the actual money you paid to DL.

I would take this one step at a time. First, see what DL has to say. Then make a decision based on that. Having said that, I do have two questions for you:

(1) How did you pay DL? Credit card, debit card, etc?
(2) Do other airlines fly the route you were planning on taking?

Trauma1

This is interesting. Delta eCertificates used to be a pretty hot commodity on eBay. I just happened to look for them last night, and I couldn't find any. I thought they might be cracking down, and it appears so.

Not that I'm advocating for this, but how does Delta know if one was put up for sale vs transferred to a family/friend/coworker/etc? Sure, the certificate number is tied to the passenger's name/account, but if they allow for transfers how does Delta know if a cash exchange did or did not occur? And what repercussions are there for the seller?

Advice to the OP: listen to what the others have posted. Be upfront and honest. It won't hurt to mention the honeymoon, and if you really don't have any SkyMiles you might want to convey the notion that you want to start building them up with Delta by repeating business with them. The absolute worst case scenario is that they cancel your reservation. Knowing that, if adjustments need to be made, "bargain up" from there. Don't be belligerent or demanding, it will only make things worse.

Please keep us updated.

Deadtail

Deny Deny Deny. They have no way of knowing or proving that you bought the certs. Even if they had the guy on the phone that you bought them from, it's still just his word against yours. They may even be calling just to verify that you didn't purchase them.

It's as simple as.

I don't know what your talking about. Like I said, I don't know what your talking about. If there isn't anything else I'm very busy today. If they threaten to do anything else tell them you will take legal action. They're going to do what they're going to do regardless of what you try and tell them. IMO a hardline is best at this point.

rwoman

Per folks I know who do a lot of business on eBay, it's illegal to sell them on there as well.

dickinson

Mind-numbingly poor advice.
Op is a young man that made a mistake. So your advice is to become a liar. Other posters on this thread had much better advice that I hope OP takes. Your shocking lack of morality is not something to spread or counsel others to emulate.

Bagels

Bad advice. Almost undoubtedly, DL's contacting the OP because it has reason(s) to believe he purchased the e-cert he ultimately redeemed. If he admits to purchasing the e-certs, but pleads ignorance and offers to reimburse DL for the value of the e-cert, there's a fair chance they'll be agreeable.

OTOH, if he plays hardline, DL will play hardline and cancel his tickets. Although the monies he paid will be reimburse, he'll now have to purchase new tickets on another airline, paying hundreds more as the fare has increased.

Threatening legal action will be fruitless.

carsonheim

not sure how you paid for the e-certs. If using a cc via paypal or something, I'd see about disputing the charge. If it was cash exchanging hands, that's a bummer. I'd still contact the seller after you chat with Delta and ask him to make you whole. Don't count on it, but if you DON'T ask, you will definitely not get the $$ back.

The seller is really the one who violated the e-cert by selling a non-saleable certificate.

BTW I know a guy named Guido if you need any help.......

Trauma1

Illegal? No.

Against policy? Yes, but it all depends on how willing they are to enforce it.

You could look one day and there would be multiple pages of listings. You could look a week later and there will only be one or two listings. Last night was the first time I witnessed zero.