Involuntary Downgrade, scammed by EY
I had an award ticket issued by AA for an EY flight DEL-AUH-SFO; the ticket was booked several months ago, all the way in F with seats confirmed.
Upon reaching the airport in DEL, I was informed that there was a change of aircraft and F was no longer offered on the DEL-AUH sector. They gave me a MCO (Miscellaneous Charges Order) for about INR 20,000 for the downgrade along with a letter of apology saying that the MCO was "cashable". The airport manager in DEL promised that I could exchange the MCO for cash at the EY counter in SFO.
After reachin SFO, the local manager there says that the MCO is only good for further transportation (i.e. buying a ticket on EY, which I have neither the need for nor the desire to do).
So what does one do in such a situation?