Was involuntarily bumped on a AA flight this weekend. They tried to get three "volunteers" but nobody was interested. So American picked three "volunteers" - their words, "volunteers" to remove from the flight. I was one of the three. They offered a $250 voucher, but I informed them that I would not volunteer and requsted Denied Boarding Compensation. The agent responded that I was being compensated through the voucher. I had him print out the Contract of Carriage and every time I mentioned cash, he said AA was within its rights to pay in script, not cash (U.S. Dollars is what is listed in the CoC).

I met all the terms of the contract, I checked in an hour early, had a seat assignment, etc etc. Not that it matters but am elite level in AAdvantage, and the the one way portion of this ticket was over $400. I was not able to get to my destination until well over 4 hours from the original scheduled arrival, and it took four flight segments on full planes to do it. Textbook bumped from a flight where AA is at fault but refused to pay compensation in any manner other than in their script. The agent decided that since the CoC said I could to elect to take script it was then decreed that I HAD to take their script. When I pointed this out I was told AA script is the same as U.S. Dollars. Perhaps I should have taken the voucher, and sent it in to pay a portion of my taxes, because according to this agent it is the same as cash.

As I mentioned there were three of us, and the agent was able to what I consider "bully" one of the other passengers into agreeing to "volunteer" before he would rebook her on another flight. The other passenger also refused to be considered a "volunteer".

So my question is who do I go to get my cash compensation? Does DOT, or is there another agency that oversees the airline? I know I could take civil action against American but would rather get this resolved than going through the hassles of taking them to court, even though I know I would win. I also am not real excited about dealing with the droids at AA in getting this resolved, unless someone knows of a specific person in authority who can get what should be a simple matter resolved in a timely manner.

And yes I do have proof all of this transpired, as a business associate was on the same flight and witnessed the discussions I had with the agent and their refusual to pay any compensation in anything other than AA script. Also do have the printed CoC the agent gave me along with his name. Also have original boarding passes, etc. My passenger receipt on the re route lists it as an "Invol Reroute" with the referenced flight I was bumped. I also refused to sign anything which were continually presented to me that had the words "volunteer" on it.

Needless to say this is more of a principle issue, it just annoys me that AA can get away with this kind of crap, and most people go along with it because they are not aware of the rules, or the agents have the morals of some car salesmen and stretch the truth. I'm not trying to bash American here but this situation could only be described as sleazy where American knew they had the upper hand on the customer and tried to play it, but picked the wrong customer.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.