avianflyer

Hello everyone,

I am writing for some advice on a recent experience I had with Delta regarding an eCredit and error on Delta's part.

In 2021 I purchased a round trip flight from the US to Germany for about $600. I took the outbound flight in October 2021, with a return date in January 2022.

I ended up staying longer in Germany than anticipated, and having booked a main cabin ticket, I cancelled the return portion of my trip for an eCredit. At the time of cancellation, Delta told me it would not be possible to determine how much value was exactly left on my eCredit until I booked a new flight using the eCredit, because the value depended on my itinerary. So my flight was cancelled, and I had an eCredit with a value of what I assumed to be about $300.

Flash forward to November 2022. I tried to use the eCredit to book another flight, this time a round trip from Germany to the US. My outbound flight left Germany on December 20th 2022, with the return flight scheduled for July 2023. When I tried to book online by myself, I kept getting an error message telling me to contact Delta for assistance. I figured it was something with the eCredit. I ended up working out the itinerary with an agent, who was able to apply the eCredit. The flight was about $550. When the agent applied the eCredit, it turned out it was worth more than the itinerary, and there was even some leftover (~$20). I asked the agent how this was possible, and they told me "I am not sure." I asked if everything was okay and if it all went through, and the agent confirmed and I had my ticket. I was a little bit confused, albiet rather excited that my eCredit had that much value left. I was a little bit skeptical at first, as it seemed too good to be true, but I figured I must have just gotten lucky with the right fare codes or routing or something. Regardless, I had the ticket confirmed and everything was squared away. I took the flight in December to the US, no problems whatsoever.

Flash forward to last week. I get a notification from Delta that the departure time on my return flight in July from SLC to AMS has been changed, and I was going to miss my connection in AMS. They tell me to contact Delta to rebook on to a different flight.

I reach out to Delta, and I work with an agent for a few minutes who changes me to a flight with a proper connection time, and I think everything is squared away again.

Then, about 5 minutes later, I get a message from the agent (I had been using the iMessage chat to talk to them) telling me:

"The ticket was flown on 12/20/2022 BER-SLC there is no value in this ticket. The outbound was flown on 10/10/2021. We had to cancel that ticket as it has no value"

And just like that, they had cancelled my return ticket.

I pressed them for more details, and as I figured, my original ticket was too good to be true. According to the agents I talked too, the agent who booked my ticket originally "made an error" and applied too much eCredit to my booking.

I asked the new agent what I could do now, and he told me that my only option would be to book a new one way ticket (now priced well over $1,000). He said there was absolutely nothing else they could do on their end, and "humans make mistakes."



I understand that it was a mistake on Delta's part, and they never should have sold me the ticket like they did in the first place. I guess in hindsight I should have known that it was too good to be true. But then again how am I supposed to tell a Delta agent that they are wrong? Overall it feels pretty lame that I am on the hook for their mistake. And it wasn't that they caught the mistake a week or even a month after I purchased the ticket. It has been well over six months since I purchased the ticket. I have already flown the outbound part of the flight. I have made arrangments and non-cancellable travel plans in Germany for the summer.

Anyways, the whole situation is completely new to me, and all Delta has directed me to do is to fill out a complaint form online. I understand that "humans make mistakes" but usually if airlines make mistakes, especially one this large, they will do something to make it right.

What do you all recommend I do? Anyone have a similar experience? I just don't know what is reasonable for me to expect or to request. I appreciate any insight or ideas you have.

Thanks!

erik123

Did you speak with a supervisor? I would escalate. Also use the form so you have a reply in writing. I would also look for return options that are more cost effective - e.g. a roundtrip, different carrier, miles ticket.

avianflyer

I chatted with a “supervisor” through the messaging service. They weren’t any help. They kept giving me the line that “humans make mistakes” and that if I was unhappy with the service I should submit a formal complaint. I will try calling first thing on Monday. I seem to have better luck when speaking to agents during the week than I do on weekends.

Thanks for the advice for looking at other flight options. Always amazes me how one-way tickets to Europe can be more expensive than round trips!

Singleflyer

Don't use chat for complicated issues. Always call and aske for a supervisor. While many call agents are poorly trained and inexperienced, chat agents are even worse.

avianflyer

Good advice, thank you.

When I do call, any advice on what is reasonable to ask for? I always assume that the agents will do what they can to make it right, but I feel like sometimes you have to push them a bit for it. I guess I just don’t know what to push for in this situation.

erik123

I would ask them to reinstate the flight. Keep it simple - explain you had a ticketed flight that was valid.

GagaPilot

Never ever use the chat feature. Sounds to me like it was the chat agent who screwed up and tried to blame it on the previous agent. I would escalate via phone to a supervisor to get the previous ticket reinstated. Even if the previous agent had indeed made a mistake when rebooking, a supervisor can honor the ticket and force it through making it an “even exchange” because it was an error on their end. It will be complicated to make this right, but it can be done.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

I would contact Delta and push for the original flight and cost to reinstated without the credit. If they can not resolve the credit, pay for that flight, then fight over what the actual credit should be later.

Failing that buy a ticket, pay for it and file a complaint asking for cost difference once the flight is flown.

slowly

What a lame excuse. Humans do make mistakes at work but their employers (not customers) are liable for the damages.

indufan

Sadly, in my opinion, courts have often not ruled that way in cases regarding mistaken pricing.

guv1976

Don't know if this is applicable to the OP's particular situation, but the U.S. DOT says:

"Can an airline increase the price of my ticket after I complete the booking process?"After a ticket is fully purchased – with either money or points – and the transaction is completed, the airline is prohibited from increasing the price of the ticket or requiring the passenger to pay additional money unless the airline provided notice to the consumer of the potential for an increase in a government imposed tax or fee and obtained the consumer’s consent."

Source:

https://www.transportation.gov/indiv...a%20government

seattlebruce

I sometimes use chat if I want documentation because I think there might be a question in the future about what was promised. I realize that it's best to get the issue resolved rather than dispute it later, and if a phone call can accomplish that, it's a good suggestion. But sometimes you want a promise to be documented (this is not limited to air travel), and a chat can be helpful for that.

It's not easy to sue an airline, but if OP does, having "humans make mistakes" in the chat could be helpful evidence.

seattlebruce

That's a good suggestion but the OP has to weigh that against risk that the complaint will fail and they will be stuck with the price of the new ticket on DL, when another airline might be much cheaper (but harder to get reimbursed later by DL).

VX_VS_DL

Reinstating the flight is 100% doable, it just takes a competent (phone) agent to do it.

As others have said, avoid chat agents for complex issues. Most of them don't even work for Delta.

avianflyer

Update:

I called Delta first thing this morning, and the first agent I talked to was able to help me. Didn’t even need to escalate. It took some time, but in the end he was able to get everything sorted out and reinstated my flight. He said that it was an error on their end, and there actually was no value in the ticket, but he said that because it was their error, they would honor the ticket.

Seems like there is a pretty big disconnect, as some have suggested, between the agents on the chat and those over the phone. The agent I talked to today even sounded a bit annoyed that they had cancelled my ticket.

Thank you everyone for your responses and suggestions!