Kirsten Houten

Hi,

Quick question. My dad booked and paid 800$ for a ticket on AA for his 'girlfriend' She turned out to be a scammer. Is there ANY way he can get a voucher? Or does the worth of the unused ticket always goes to person whose name is on the ticket?

I feel so sorry for him and it's a lot of money. He is devastated.

Thanks!

UpgradeMe

A: This question belongs in the AA forum. A moderator has been notified.

B: He will need to ask AA to make an exception to its refund policies. It can be done, but it is entirely up to AA to make the exception.

rbAA

If it's a refundable ticket, then it would go back to the CC used, so he would not have gotten screwed for the screwing... well you know the rest.

FirstInFlight

If your father booked the ticket and has the prn he can cancel the ticket - but if it's been more than 24 hours and the ticket is not a refundable class, then the scammer would be issued a credit for the residual value. In other words, the question is whether the ticket is or is not refundable.

If it is then it refunds back to the card. If not then the passenger gains some amount as a future credit. If that is the case you would need to plead with AA to help you out. If the scammer has done other things (stolen money, stolen identity, etc) then file a police report - AA might take that as evidence of legitimacy.

MSPeconomist

There might be an intermediate path in which father would not get a refund or credit in any way, but the "girlfriend" would not benefit either. Father might want to explore such possibilities with AA. It could be harder to do this if the scammer knows all the details, such as the PNR and ticket number. [One possibility that comes to mind might be to change the ticket to a flight departing very soon (of course without telling the girlfriend) and then fail to cancel it before departure. Under some fare rules, this would mean that the ticket has no residual value. Unfortunately, under this scenario, father would not get a refund or credit, but the fake girlfriend wouldn't be able to profit from the ticket either.

beckoa

Welcome to Flyertalk Kirsten Houten.

Please follow the redirect as we send this to the AA forum.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

Dave Noble

The ticker belongs to the passenger.

If the ticket is refundable/refundable with penalty , the refund on cancellation would do to the original form of payment

If it is a non refundable ticket that allows changes / changes for a fee, then the ticket value can be changed for use by that passenger only

If it is a non changeable/non refundable ticket, then it has to be used or wasted

The owner of the ticket is the passenger, not the purchaser

What type of ticket is it and what is the route. Generally only full fare tickets for donestic USA travel allow for refunds with cheaper ones allowing changes only for the named passenger

If this is an international ticket, it could be different

If there is actually a fraudulent activity, then perhaps inform the police and it will be able to address the issue

nrr

When I purchase a ticket through a travel agency (Citi thankyou points agency, AA Vacations, American Express Travel, Harrah's Passport Travel) do I "own" the ticket? On AA.COM AA always refers me to the "agency" for any changes (which I assume(?)incudes cancellations.)
[In the case of Harrah's Travel, they are paying for the ticket, if I'm a no-show I am peanalized with a charge on my cc.]

Dave Noble

If you are the passenger , then you have ownership - depending on which agent it was purchased from, you need to go to that agency for changes/refunds

Purchasing a ticket doesn't make you the owner of the ticket unless you are the person named on the ticket; for refunds for tickets made by credit cards, then the refund will go back to the purchaser

mhpkev

Tell your father to open a police report (start with local law enforcement and see if they will take a report). Once he has a police report, he will have a report ID or case ID. This will help him when he speaks to AA. With that info, AA should take it very seriously.

pauleeepaul

Usual stupidity here. The owner is the purchaser. It may be an asset with no value. Pray for rain or a schedule change.

3Cforme

Do you want to expand on that a bit, with citations of AA policy?

(Weather cancellation or significant schedule change can allow a refund to the original form of payment.)

C17PSGR

And ... there might be a difference between how AA treats this if it involves a girlfriend who changes her mind and ghosts versus a criminal scammer taking advantage of a senior. I suspect you'll need documentation about the scammer aspect of it.

sukn

A good agent should be able to make an exception and issue a paper voucher minus the change fee so that the 'dad' can use it for himself or anyone else for future travel.

Unless the gf knows that she is the 'owner' of the ticket, she may not even realize there is a credit sitting in the AA system for her to use. So it is possible the ticket could go unused by the scammer -- and while not the ideal solution, at least she doesn't profit in this scenario.

JonNYC

Agree