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Sadly, the agent was wrong. You can still be put on a standby list for no fee. That they let the plane go out with empty seats and didn't clear you on to it is a shame and is not what should have happened. If at all possible while you are still there, get the name of the GA so the specifics can be reported accurately to the Customer Care group. Try calling 800-we-care-2 and see if they actually pretend to care about the situation. If they don't, send a PM here on FlyerTalk to CO Insider with the details and that should get the attention it deserves.

S.