Originally Posted by FemaleFlyer
I'm not sure that I did sign a voluntary bump voucher. I was involuntarily bumped (I got to the gate, there were not enough seats, and I did not have a seat assignment, despite trying to get one via online check-in the day before, trying to get a seat when checking my bag several hours before the flight, and then waiting at the gate for a GA to show up - unfortunately, no GA even showed up to the gate until 20 mins before takeoff because they were trying to reboard a flight to Cleveland that had an engine fire on the tarmac - this was in Richmond, June or July of this year). Myself and one other pax were denied boarding because there were not enough seats and we did not have a confirmed seat (thanks to my companys' travel service that doesn't seem to be able to confirm seats).
I did sign something that entitled me to the $300 flight credit and a FC flight the following day. I then actually had to go back to the TA (according to the GA) to get a meal and a hotel accomodation
It took me forever to convince the TA that they had to provide this, then it was not initially satisfactory - they wanted to give me a meal credit, then tried to put me in a hotel (actually more like a motel) that served no meals! After confirming with the shuttle bus driver for that "accomodation" that there was no meal service, I had to go back and wait in line at the ticket counter to explain that I had no transportation and was not going to be put in a place where I could not have dinner (and a glass of wine, after this ordeal), so they actually found a place for me that had a restaurant (it was a Holiday Inn, so it wasn't great, but it had a restaurant).
I was obviously involuntarily bumped from the flight, because they could not find anyone willing to give up his or her seat. However, it seems as if I might have done the wrong (perhaps naive) thing in this situation by signing something. I would like to know how you would have handled it differently so that I can learn from my mistakes.
Sorry to hear about your ordeal. It looks bad for an airline to involuntarily bump passengers, so agents often do things to encourage people to sign those "voluntary" forms. The form they had you sign to get the $300 cert was the volunteer form, so you were technically voluntarily denied boarding.
There are specific FAA rules about involuntary bumps. You must get paid in cash either your one-way fare or double your one-way fare (to a max amount) if they cannot get you to your final destination within a specified amount of time. There is no negotiation. The only negotiation would be perhaps if they offered you more in vouchers to get you to volunteer. If they owed me $400 in cash, I may sign the form if they gave me $800 in vouchers instead.
That's what it sounds like happened to you, although it may not have been presented in that way, or it may not have even been as much as you would've otherwise been entitled to in cash. "Sign this so I can give you a $300 voucher" to someone who doesn't know that they're entitled to 2x their one-way fare (up to $400) in cash may sound like they have no choice. Further, by signing the form, your incident got logged as a voluntary one to the FAA.