Originally Posted by
HongKonger
Ok so if he wasn't entitled to sit in F, then certainly he was at least entitled to sit in Y. Since Y was oversold, DL could have bumped people up to F if space was available. Rather than finding a way to sit OP in Y, or bumping him (or anyone) up to F to fit him on the plane, he was left off the plane. That's an IDB.
Sounds like he did not have confirmed space in Y, and his confirmed space in F required an add/collect. He declined to pay the add/collect, had no confirmed space in Y, and thus wasn't IDB'd. I'm sure if it was a simple matter of upgrading an elite from Y to F and letting him sit in Y, they would have done it, which makes it sound like either the flight was oversold by a few or OP declined that option. I'd be furious at UA and the DL rep who changed from F to A for not making sure everything was all set, but I don't think this is an IDB.