avianflyer

Hello everyone,

I am writing for some advice on a recent experience I had with Delta regarding an eCredit and error on Delta's part.

In 2021 I purchased a round trip flight from the US to Germany for about $600. I took the outbound flight in October 2021, with a return date in January 2022.

I ended up staying longer in Germany than anticipated, and having booked a main cabin ticket, I cancelled the return portion of my trip for an eCredit. At the time of cancellation, Delta told me it would not be possible to determine how much value was exactly left on my eCredit until I booked a new flight using the eCredit, because the value depended on my itinerary. So my flight was cancelled, and I had an eCredit with a value of what I assumed to be about $300.

Flash forward to November 2022. I tried to use the eCredit to book another flight, this time a round trip from Germany to the US. My outbound flight left Germany on December 20th 2022, with the return flight scheduled for July 2023. When I tried to book online by myself, I kept getting an error message telling me to contact Delta for assistance. I figured it was something with the eCredit. I ended up working out the itinerary with an agent, who was able to apply the eCredit. The flight was about $550. When the agent applied the eCredit, it turned out it was worth more than the itinerary, and there was even some leftover (~$20). I asked the agent how this was possible, and they told me "I am not sure." I asked if everything was okay and if it all went through, and the agent confirmed and I had my ticket. I was a little bit confused, albiet rather excited that my eCredit had that much value left. I was a little bit skeptical at first, as it seemed too good to be true, but I figured I must have just gotten lucky with the right fare codes or routing or something. Regardless, I had the ticket confirmed and everything was squared away. I took the flight in December to the US, no problems whatsoever.

Flash forward to last week. I get a notification from Delta that the departure time on my return flight in July from SLC to AMS has been changed, and I was going to miss my connection in AMS. They tell me to contact Delta to rebook on to a different flight.

I reach out to Delta, and I work with an agent for a few minutes who changes me to a flight with a proper connection time, and I think everything is squared away again.

Then, about 5 minutes later, I get a message from the agent (I had been using the iMessage chat to talk to them) telling me:

"The ticket was flown on 12/20/2022 BER-SLC there is no value in this ticket. The outbound was flown on 10/10/2021. We had to cancel that ticket as it has no value"

And just like that, they had cancelled my return ticket.

I pressed them for more details, and as I figured, my original ticket was too good to be true. According to the agents I talked too, the agent who booked my ticket originally "made an error" and applied too much eCredit to my booking.

I asked the new agent what I could do now, and he told me that my only option would be to book a new one way ticket (now priced well over $1,000). He said there was absolutely nothing else they could do on their end, and "humans make mistakes."



I understand that it was a mistake on Delta's part, and they never should have sold me the ticket like they did in the first place. I guess in hindsight I should have known that it was too good to be true. But then again how am I supposed to tell a Delta agent that they are wrong? Overall it feels pretty lame that I am on the hook for their mistake. And it wasn't that they caught the mistake a week or even a month after I purchased the ticket. It has been well over six months since I purchased the ticket. I have already flown the outbound part of the flight. I have made arrangments and non-cancellable travel plans in Germany for the summer.

Anyways, the whole situation is completely new to me, and all Delta has directed me to do is to fill out a complaint form online. I understand that "humans make mistakes" but usually if airlines make mistakes, especially one this large, they will do something to make it right.

What do you all recommend I do? Anyone have a similar experience? I just don't know what is reasonable for me to expect or to request. I appreciate any insight or ideas you have.

Thanks!