On our recent trip, my mother and I were listed as stand-by passengers for a flight. We were issued boarding passes just a few minutes before the gate closed, and since we were in a hurry, we did not bother to look at the names printed on the boarding passes, but were able to get on our flight without any trouble.

It was only when we arrived home that we realized my mother had been issued a boarding pass with another person's name on it, and had been able to use it without being questioned. I just want to know if this is going to pose any sort of problem for my mother or is this a common mistake that is often committed by ground agents, and is therefore overlooked?

Thank you in advance for your reply.