Long time lurker, first time poster here. I wanted to respond to this:
Originally Posted by
exitcontrol
“You guys gamed the system by changing your country to Denmark and misrepresenting where you live! You’re as much in the wrong as United”
Not quite. Yes people listed their address as Denmark, however this was only done to take advantage of an offer made to those using the “Danish version” of the United website. As an EU citizen Article 56 TFEU and Art. 63(2) TFEU allows citizens to offer and receive goods and services without restriction. By forcing users to use their “local” version of the United website they were restricting free movement of goods and services in contravention of Article 56 TFEU and Art. 63(2) TFEU.
If United try and dismiss claims on this basis then they open themselves up to the greater claim that they were in contravention of Article 56 TFEU and Art. 63(2) TFEU.
I can't say DEFINITIVELY that this is incorrect under EU law (which I am not familiar with), but I can say that this FORM of argument, which is often beloved by non-lawyers, almost never succeeds.
You are confusing two different things:
1. Whether or not an EU consumer has the right to utilize a particular business offer that is offered to nationals of other EU members.
2. Whether or not a business, consistent with EU law, can require that you not misrepresent your address as part of a purchase.
2 does not depend on 1. United Airlines is entitled to insist on your real address for many reasons: (a) to contact you if there is a problem with your ticket purchase, (b) to verify the credit card you use to make your purchase, (c) to comply with governmental requirements including the TSA, etc., (d) to credit FF miles correctly if there are differences in the program rules for residents of different countries (note that EU rules do not prohibit offering different terms to EU and non-EU members), etc.
So a rule that says "if you don't provide your real address, your ticket is voidable" is entirely enforceable. Furthermore, even if that rule does not appear in United's CoC, misrepresenting your address to purchase an airline ticket, if United considers your real address material to the transaction, is a form of contractual fraud. And contracts can be rescinded for fraud, both in the US and in the EU (and just about everywhere else).
What you are doing is trying to circumvent 2 with 1, by saying "in this instance, what the website was doing was offering a preferential fare to Denmark residents in violation of EU rules". That is quite true, and that and 32 Kroners can get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Copenhagen. But it's not relevant here.
Obviously one reason it isn't relevant here is because the preferential fare was a mistake. Screwing up the programming on your website is not the same as intentionally engaging in price discrimination among EU nations.
Here's a simple example of this. Suppose United just flat got the exchange rate wrong. They exchanged Kroners at 30 cents on the dollar instead of 15 cents on the dollar. As a result, people buying tickets in Kroners got a deal. Now, if United decided to HONOR those tickets, would that violate the EU rule? I can't see how it would-- United wasn't intentionally discriminating in favor of Danes; there was a technical glitch, and they made a customer service gesture. That's not what the purpose of the EU rule is.
And that's the thing about law. You can't interpret statutes and regulations while ignoring their purpose. This rule's purpose is to prohibit businesses from intentionally offering services at a cheaper rate in France than they do in Germany. It's not to punish businesses for making mistakes, or to dictate their customer service practices when they do.
But the alleged violation of the EU regulation is also not relevant for a second reason-- the remedy you seek is not available for this alleged violation. Even if we construe this as "United offering a fare to Danish residents that is not available to other EU residents", which of these two options is the legally permissible way of obtaining a remedy:
1. Complaining to the proper authorities and requesting that United be ordered to offer the mistake fare to people living throughout the EU.
2. Fraudulently misrepresenting to United that you are Danish in order to get the fare?
If you chose "1", you are correct. If you chose "2", you are making the argument that I am telling you courts almost never accept.