I'd still like to know what transpired at the counter, and that information does not appear to be forthcoming.

As to UA employees posting in this thread, I do recall one posting recently that it would not be beneficial to post negative things, being that they could be identified. Maybe best for employees stay out of this thread so any comments do not come back to bite them. You wouldn't want your screen name appearing in a newspaper if someone picks up this story, and we know that frequently happens with threads that start across all the forums here, and having your comments attributed to a "United employee" would probably not be a good career move, particularly if the information about fraud detection is something the airline does not want discussed publicly.

Now, if the OP was a UGS, I wonder if the outcome would have been the same. Maybe lack of status works against you in this situation. The OP does not indicate what, if any, status he has with UA Mileage Plus. Maybe they figure those with no status are more apt to sell award tickets.