bocastephen

Why not focus on a small claims case? You can make a valid claim that since the ticket was purchased in the USA, and departed from Seattle, the King County small claims court should have jurisdiction. I can only comment on Southern California, so you'll need to research the King County small claims court rules on service of process, but it may be possible to serve a supervisor at the airport counter at SEA by a process server, or even yourself, and for it to be good service depending on the King County rules. You can do so in many California jurisdictions, a small claims case does not necessarily need to be served to a legal department or headquarters, but to a manager or responsible adult at the defendant's place of business.

If no one from AC attends the court date, you can ask for a default judgement.

Question - while in YVR, did you attempt to escalate to a supervisor or manager and point out where this lab certification was? I am a little flummoxed as to why they were unable to accept that it was there if in fact it was there, but then again, many AC agents are not exactly the brightest lightbulbs in the chandelier.

flyerCO

If had been denied at SEA, small claims might work. However the incident giving rise to suit happened in Canada. Also as this involves international travel, certain treaties/agreements come into play.

Contrary to popular belief, you can't just hand papers to an employee (even a manager) and company be considered served.

Again, poster needs consult with a lawyer. Filing in wrong court can in some cases effect ability to refine in correct court.

bocastephen

I've actually sued in small claims on more than one occasion, and yes in California, you can serve an employee at a defendant's place of business provided you record their name and position on the service of process form. You should find the most senior person available for the service of process. This assume you've consulted the state registrar of businesses and did not find an authorized agent for service of process.

Perhaps King County WA has different rules, as this is why I advised the OP to consult the King County small claims website or their help line. Because the lawsuit is about a product they purchased (an air ticket) and were denied the use of, and the purchase occurred in Seattle, and the travel originated in Seattle, and the plaintiff resides in King County, and the defendant has a place of business in King County where they were served, the plaintiff can make a valid claim for the venue to be in King County, not Vancouver.

Of course Air Canada can object, but since they cannot send an attorney to represent them, and it will just be a manager or other authorized person, and they may not even show up, or even file the correct 'authorization to appear' paperwork, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgement if AC does not show up. It's worth a shot for $50.

The Macker

I have has a lot of success writing a nice letter along with supporting documents and send it to the CEO of Air Canada's office. Now he will not respond directly, but it will move down the corporation and somebody will respond. In my experience, I have gotten resolutions worth $100,000's of work by doing this. Way easier and more likely to get a responsible response. You are well written in outlying you problem, I would assume you have copies of the test, tickets and what every else you have to support your arguments. I would suspect you would get an Air Canada gift card for what you are asking.

Adam Smith

@nikkijoie, welcome to FT. You've laid out your situation in detail, but said nothing about your attempts, if any, to resolve this directly with AC.

Have you made any attempts to contact AC's customer service department? If so, what have they said?

I'm with @The Macker that there's a good chance you will be able to resolve this quicker, cheaper, and with less hassle directly with AC than trying to go to small claims court. But you've given us nothing to work with on that front. In the beginning of the paragraph, you admit you're not familiar with the laws where the OP resides. How is that by the end of the paragraph, you state that she can make a valid claim as to venue? Whether or not the venue is valid depends on the law that you've admitted you don't know.

bocastephen

Because most west coast USA small claims procedures are similar, therefore the expectations and procedures should be the same or similar. The OP can confirm such with the King County Small Claims Court Clerk's Office, or by consulting an attorney who advises on small claims cases for a small fee. The rest of the post is my opinion, which I believe is true and correct based on my own experience. These things are not that difficult to figure out - RCW 4.28.090, 4.28.180 and 4.28.185 all touch upon what counts as correct service of process for a defendant without an officer in WA to accept service, and to establish jurisdiction as RCW 4.28.185 1 (a) The transaction of any business within this state. The purchase of an air ticket, and the departure from SEA on that air ticket are obvious acts of "transacting business within this state."

I know writing a letter may be the polite Canadian thing to do, and the OP can certainly try that route if they choose, but should prepare for court nonetheless. I've had my own entanglements with Air Canada over the past year, and found "politely reaching out" to be a complete waste of time, while initiating charge-backs with supporting evidence always prevailed regardless of Air Canada's mindless thrashing around with excuses. No one has an affirmative responsibility to treat a corporation with respect or deference. The OP should use any and all means at their disposal to recover their losses - a credit card chargeback for the original ticket may be another route to try since per their post, they can document that Air Canada made an obvious error in denying the use of the air ticket for which they paid.

Dave510

Right, but sending an e-mail is probably the path of least resistance for the OP right now. Worst case scenario: it disappears into the ether (or Air Canada tells him to pound sand); he would still have all his evidence and documents lined up for his small claims case.

bocastephen

I don't disagree - my point is the OP should prepare for multiple channels of action aside from writing a complaint letter because on my own experience, they are rarely taken seriously. If they react favorably to this one and refund the OP for their costs (not a gift card, but the cash they deserve), then color me surprised.

Adam Smith

You have completely misrepresented what I said, which was that I thought the OP would "be able to resolve this quicker, cheaper, and with less hassle directly with AC than trying to go to small claims court". I said nothing about politeness, respect, or deference, nor did I suggest the OP should not pursue any particular course of action.

OP came to FT asking for suggestions and assistance. You're obviously a firm believer in a very litigious approach, but many of us have been able to resolve disputes directly with AC or other airlines without going to court - the fact that you haven't had success doesn't mean no one can. OP may already have had extensive discussions with AC and hit a brick wall, but the fact her post was otherwise so detailed yet contained zero information on obtaining compensation from AC leads one to wonder whether she has made any attempts at all. I, and I'm sure others, would suggest that making at least some attempt to engage with AC before going to court, as it might result in a faster and more satisfactory resolution.

nikkijoie

@Adam Smith, thank you for your question.
Yes, I was in contact with Air Canada immediately on June 19th, when I returned to Seattle on a US$270 Alaska Airline that the helpful Canadian Immigration officer helped me to find or I would have had to be quarantined in Canada for 14 days. I was dealing with an Air Canada Customer Care, Mr S, Executive Centre, Customer Relations via email after I filed a complaint at their website on June 19th. After my multiple emails to Mr S asking Air Canada to reimburse me for all my out-of-pocket costs because it was their mistake, Mr S was only willing to reimburse me CAN$270 for the COVID-19 test plus some travel vouchers for the future, which I do not want since I have a bad taste in my mouth with this experience. Further, Mr S specifically refused to reimburse the US$270 Air Alaska ticket plus all other out-of-pocket costs. Hence, I'm filing my Small Claims case against Air Canada in Seattle, which is acceptable because I bought my ticket in Seattle and my originating flight took off in Seattle.

nikkijoie

Adam Smith

Unfortunate that AC was not more helpful. You may also want to consider @The Macker's suggestion of going through senior executives before filing your claim, which was also successful for my mother some time ago (and for her, it generated the cash refund she was looking for plus some goodwill compensation on top of that).

If you choose to go to court without going down that road, so be it, although I would second @flyerCO's advice to talk to a real lawyer first. The pseudo-legal advice you get on the Internet is often worth what you pay for it, or even less.

songsc

+1 on getting a lawyer. Although filing in small claim court can generally done without consulting a lawyer, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are familiar with both the applicable laws and the process in your jurisdiction.

nikkijoie

While I was stopped at VYR by Air Canada staff from boarding my connecting flight, I was told by one of the ground staff of Air Canada to call the testing laboratory, which I did promptly did but had to stay connected on hold to listen to their hold music because the line was busy. I was on hold for over an hour until my flight departed without me. I could not talk to anyone higher up because I was on hold on the telephone with the XpresCheck laboratory in Seattle. Just before my flight was about to take off, I informed the Air Canada staff who had asked me to call the lab that I'm still on hold and my flight was about to take off. He simply informed me that my baggage was removed from the flight and I cannot continue. No apology at all but was told to collect my baggage at the arrival baggage carousel. I believe I did everything possible to help myself to mitigate the bad situation and to minimize out-of-pocket expenses in every way possible so what I'm asking for reimbursement is already my minimized expenses but Air Canada refused and only willing to reimburse me CAN$270 pus some vouchers that I did not want so now I have filed my complaint with the Small Claims courts in King County, Washington, USA. I have my court case number today and I am waiting for the court papers to serve to Air Canada but was wondering how to make sure I will effectively serve Air Canada so I stopped by here to ask what or where I should serve the legal papers to Air Canada. Thanks.

nikkijoie

Nitehawk

​​​​​​Bolding mine. Just a minor correction...the IATA code for Vancouver is YVR.

Bartolo

Whichever route (routes) you choose to pursue to resolve the situation, document everything carefully while the details are clear to you. This will be invaluable and can help lead to a quicker resolution. Keep it factual, include names, dates and time of call or whatever. When I had an issue and could provide day/time of call with AC, my issue was resolved within 24 hrs.