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Old Nov 28, 2015, 3:39 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by warakorn
The passenger intended to fly to India with his family members. He and his kid didn't have a visa.
I was under the impression that the OP had a visa, just their son didn't.


Originally Posted by warakorn
I am not so familiar with Indian visa laws and exceptions to it.
Probably a good sign to stop commenting...
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Old Nov 28, 2015, 4:23 pm
  #17  
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But I assume you are right, OP did not have valid docs, LH rebooked him and charged the fare difference instead of cancelling the reservation..
Assuming the OP lived near DFW.
Wouldnt it have been easier for OP to try to call some good relative or friend to pick up his son from DFW (so his son stays home)?

Moreover, I would be quite amazed if LH would rebook a passenger with a discounted ticket for free to a later date - right before check-in to the originally planed flight closes.
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Old Nov 28, 2015, 4:25 pm
  #18  
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I would dispute the charges if nothing was signed!
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Old Nov 28, 2015, 5:06 pm
  #19  
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There isn't going to be a recording because, in OP's own words, this was all done at the gate. If the GA and Manager had a local call between them rather than a face-to-face for some reason, that's not going to have been recorded.

The LH answer to OP seems quite reasonable. E.g., change fee waived, but fare difference collected. The Agent / Manager will have documented that in the PNR notes because someone had to justify the change fee waiver. (This is LH after all !)

OP can try the CC chargeback route, but those pretty uniformly fail, especially when LH can document, as it will, that it charged OP less than the fare rules required.
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Old Nov 28, 2015, 7:07 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
There isn't going to be a recording ..<snip> ... uniformly fail, especially when LH can document, as it will..
You do not see the the intro and the end of your statement as blatant contradictions?

The problem is that the US&A isn't really the greenhouse for consumer sanity laws and at the Indian end ... I dunno. If that went say to court in say France or the UK, the OP would have little difficulty to argue that a day change shouldn't result in doubling the discount airfare without a very clear announcement by the carrier. But of course in many places, airfares and fare buckets are regarded as real things for which some enforcement exists.

If the OP didn't sign anything, he should have disputed the charges right away, then LH would have been a lot more forthcoming with their bullet proof documentation process.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 1:07 am
  #21  
htb
 
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Originally Posted by TerryK
Be sure to hire a lawyer on contingency basis.
I'm not contesting that this is probably a good idea... or go without lawyer to a small claims court.

At this point I just don't see that continuing to go through LH customer service will change anything. So the OP can

1) Let it go
2) Create a shitstorm on social media to get the attention of someone at LH
3) Sue LH

HTB.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 5:07 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by htb
..So the OP can...
Those may be the legal options but I guess there are a plethora of political or outright criminal approaches to choose from ...
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 6:14 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Germanfflyer
I would dispute the charges if nothing was signed!
Always a good idea, especially four months later.

But I do see Eu261 being applicable, don't you agree?
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 6:27 am
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by FD1971
Always a good idea, especially four months later.
is typically not a problem. You can almost always dispute after trying for months to resolve it with the vendor. I have done so successfully.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 6:30 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by weero
You do not see the the intro and the end of your statement as blatant contradictions?

The problem is that the US&A isn't really the greenhouse for consumer sanity laws and at the Indian end ... I dunno. If that went say to court in say France or the UK, the OP would have little difficulty to argue that a day change shouldn't result in doubling the discount airfare without a very clear announcement by the carrier. But of course in many places, airfares and fare buckets are regarded as real things for which some enforcement exists.

If the OP didn't sign anything, he should have disputed the charges right away, then LH would have been a lot more forthcoming with their bullet proof documentation process.
No. I don't.

It appears that OP dealt in-person with an agent and a manager. Thus, unlikely to be a recording unless LH outfits its people with body wires.

OTOH, LH is not known for waiving fees. It is close to a certainty that the agent or manager or both, fully document the PNR notes with the facts, what they did, what they waived, what they did not, and that OP accepted the changes.

The sole question is whether OP agreed to the changes. Even the nannies of the EU grudgingly permit consumers some choice.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 9:25 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by FD1971
Always a good idea, especially four months later.
Most CC will allow 6 month back or even more - as always you are just not up to date.....


If LH can not present a signature to the CC they will reverse the charges if there is a dispute...
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 9:44 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Germanfflyer
Most CC will allow 6 month back or even more - as always you are just not up to date.....


If LH can not present a signature to the CC they will reverse the charges if there is a dispute...
Of course they will..., nothing easier than that.

It is the same with all the 261 claims.

I really wonder why the Op has all the problems, Thank God there is FT loaded with experts.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 9:51 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by FD1971
Of course they will..., nothing easier than that.

It is the same with all the 261 claims.

I really wonder why the Op has all the problems, Thank God there is FT loaded with experts.
+1 - People come here looking for help and are fed fantasies which do not come about.
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 10:34 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
..It is close to a certainty that the agent or manager or both, fully document the PNR notes with the facts, what they did, what they waived, what they did not, and that OP accepted the changes.

The sole question is whether OP agreed to the changes. Even the nannies of the EU grudgingly permit consumers some choice.
One being that dualist use of the word 'document'. I agree that it is a valid use of it but hardly a form of evidence if it doesn't convey the expressed wish of the pax to pay for an upfare. Not in the eyes of a third party.

Given that the OP and his entourage remember the agreement differently, this is a straight "2 words vs 2". Any form of mediation or trial would have to assess what the OP reasonably could have consented to here.

Much like a rape case with LH as accused...
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Old Nov 29, 2015, 10:37 am
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
+1 - People come here looking for help and are fed fantasies which do not come about.
You do realise that absolutely not one short of the self proclaimed last prophet of airline economics has asserted that this is in an shape of form a 261 case.

'Strawman' is a euphemism for this sort of triumph.
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