Beachfun71

Often1

I would not second guess OP's choice as OP had to lay out the funds without knowing whether they would be recovered.

The fact remains that this is the only recoverable expense and OP is welcome to document it for AA and seek it instead of the voucher for $350. Whether $200 cash or $350 voucher is "better" and subjective.

craz

+1, but we are assuming the OP didnt pay ca$h, if the OP paid ca$h and has no proper receipt or proof that they utilized such services then AA will probably balk on the $200 payment since the voucher is funny money that doesnt cost it anything

that said I cant help but feel that the OP thought there would be a pot of gold awaiting them for what they went thru.(not down playing it in any way) just like a car accident if the MRIs and X-rays show nothing wrong no matter the trama its not gonna yield a massive payout, yet the person went thru alot its just not something thats collectable

So the OP needs to decide which works better for them a $350 voucher or $200 check, thats if AA is even willing to agree to that, could be AA will respond we have spoken and the matter is closed, then the OPs best course would be to contact one of the news shows with a consumer advocate and hope they will take up the cause of why AA refuses to refund a proven expense that they caused and cancel the more expensive voucher that was given.

Dave Noble

I can understand why the person would have contacted such a company - unless knowing someone personally who he trusted to be able to help and was available , where else would the person go

It does seem however, that the OP was oiut $200 and has been given a $350 voucher ; if the voucher is of no use, then perhaps push back for $200, but I suspect that AA will claim it is not liable for consequential losses

craz

But if AA balks and the OP gets a local news consumer advocate to take up the cause, I dont see AA telling the Advocate we arent liable unless the OP isnt willing to trade the voucher for a check, or the OP wants more then the $200 paid out.

Now if the OP wants a $350 check then AA can stand still, otherwise it wont be easy explaining why it wont refund the OP when AA caused the problem and its regarding a disable person. The bad PR alone will have AA exchanging the voucher for a $200 check as long as there is proof that indeed $200 was the amount paid, no proof then all bets are off even via an advocate

Dave Noble

I would be surprised if theere was a news outlet that would be really pushing a story that the mean AA , despite not being liable for consequential losses, gave the passenger a $350 voucher in regards to a loss by passenger of $200

There would surely need to be more to make it a story worth telling

The 1st thing though would be for the OP to tell the airline that he would like the $350 voucher replaced to $200 to compensate for costs incurred

craz

I wasnt saying the OP should run to an advocate, it should be the last thing and only if AA refuses to make the exchange. the story would be a disable person only means of transport is damaged by AA, AA gives the person $350 monopoly money, passenger doesnt want it and instead wants to be refunded the $200 they laid out to get back home and for the Carrier to keep its funny money that is useless to the person , and AA refuses to hand out anything but its funny money.

I can be wrong but that wont look to good, especially when its made known the person wants $150 less then what was given and the carrier refuses , most folks wont understand why AA wont pay out $200 instead of $350. even if AA isnt obligated to it wont be good PR. Now if the OP doesnt have any proof of the $200 payment, then AA will say we just cant payout money based on what a person says they paid, could be it didnt cost them anything or $50, had they presented a receipt we would have but the person told us a receipt doesnt exist. Most likely the advocate would have turned it down if theres no proof

HLCinCOU

I think we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. Before we get into advocates or going to the press or whatever, these simple questions seem to be in order.

OP:

1. At this point, are you looking to trade the voucher for the $200 you spent?
2. Have you asked AA if they're willing to do that?
3. If you're looking for something other than #1 , what exactly is it?

Gshumway

I don't really think the CRO step'ed up .... orders wrong transportation, takes another hour to fix it. He should also have arranged for the help at the OP's home to fetch his own scooter.

Often1

The CRO did what the CRO is supposed to do. They are not concierges, but rather employees trained to assure that AA meets its legal requirements. Finding home health aids is not part of any AA obligation, not should it be. For all you know, the CRO did request the proper transport and it did not materialize properly.

As to racing off to screech to "advocates" (paid bloggers) or the mainstream media, this is NYC. People are gunned down in the street and it doesn't make news. I don't see a headline such as "Airline breaks mobility scooter, but it's fixed by the rental company without charge" as generating much if anything.

The bottom line is that unless there is more OP is not telling, he has been offered more than required in the form of a voucher and as a regular flier that would generally be better than less as cash. But, since it isn't, he has not, as far as we know, even submitted his $200 receipt to AA for reimbursement.

But, perhaps the CRO should be telepathetic too and already know that OP wants the $200 in cash???

Gshumway

The CRO should have done what I said. This isn't "concierges", it is a stranded disabled person who needs to get home. The other option would have been to arrange another rental scooter. The CRO also should have arranged for the repair of the damaged scooter.

craz

If I was the OP and didnt have any plans to fly on a rev tkt on AA anytime soon,Id rather have the $200 refund then $350 in monopoly money. I gather must folks here fly AA enough that theyd rather have the voucher. I flew Asiana in F from JFK on the A-380, they messed up my meal (special meal, result had to go w/o eating) I never wasted my time complaining , simple reason it was on UA miles and getting any amount of Asian miles would be a total waste, Swiss sent me a voucher which would have gone to waste since I never book a LX tkt its usually a UA with a LX connection. Tried toi get the same value to use say for booking a better seat+ Denied.But I wasnt out any $$$. fwiw a UA/LX tkt was always $100s less then an all LX tkt, so sure I could have used the voucher but end up spending more then I had to

Im a LT Plat with AA but even I would be very hard pressed to put a $350 voucher to use, havent purchased a rev tkt in years or only when it was way too cheap and not worth using up my stash of miles. Had I laid out any funds I too would rather have the $$ then a voucher for alot more value. Out of the NY area way too many better choices then AA (a/k/a Spirit IMO.

could be the OP just wanted to get more out of AA and would rather have the $350, but its not a slam dunk choice by everyone

I never mentioned getting any blogger involved nor would I. But youd be surprised what the likes of say 9 On Your Side (or whatever) takes on and they usually are successful, but its a last resort and not the 1st resort. I cant help but feel if the OP asked for the $200 with proof thats what they laid out and to CX the voucher that AA will deny it. Could be the OP already asked but felt they entitled to both then voucher and refund

I think the main problem was the OP thinking/feeling they hit the jackpot over this only to see they might have had all the winning numbers but their tkt wasnt for tonights drawing but was for the previous drawing and that they were due next to nothing rather then a jackpot

HLCinCOU

Well it was only very recently that we found out OP spent $200 on the assistance. I think most posters thought it would have been a lot less than that, and/or read OP as thinking more than $350 was due (in my case, both of those things). For my own part, I would take a voucher at 175% of cash all day and twice on Sundays. But I certainly recognize that for other folks the cash may be more valuable.

I got a perfect score on the reading section of the ACT, and I really wish I could figure out what in the Sam Hill the above paragraph is supposed to mean...

Yeah, sadly that's starting to be my read of it.

Often1

What's right? Whatever the damages were to the scooter + the cost of the home health person + transport home. If the scooter had cost $1K to repair, that would have been the right number. If it cost $0 as it did, that is the right number.

AA took care of the transport and we are left with the home health person at $200. OP has $350 in voucher. Simple decision for OP. Stick with the $350 voucher or ask AA to pay it out as $200 cash.

The rest of all of this is simply hand-wringing about an unfortunate situation.

craz

I agree 100% with this, but this isnt what the OP thought. They probably thought after hearing how a person with a disability was treated that everyone would be slaming AA for offering pennies on the dollar. The op should have flown UA if a jackpot is what he wanted. Actual damages isnt what is important to the OP, but not being catered to and being delayed as AA worked things out should have been at least a full refund of his tkt. AA did take care of the time he had to wait and issued a $350 voucher, the OP probably thought it would have been alot more.

Im not gonna say they didnt pay $200, but like most others would have thought it was alot less or $0. My gut tells me theres no proper receipt if any money was paid and maybe no way the OP can find to get one for that amount that will pass other then a written up receipt on any piece of paper = not an official receipt that AA will accept.

I think we have heard the last from the OP on this matter. But if indeed it cost him $200 I hope hes able if he wants to make an exchange with AA for a check in place of cancelling out the voucher