Delta CS on Change Fee / Difference in fare
 

I have a customer service complaint with Delta from a few months back, and am not satisfied with their resolution. I called, emailed, and sent in a letter, but have gotten the same canned response saying that they apologize for the inconvenience…but they can not issue a refund blah blah.

Here is the issue:

I lost my Passport while on a trip to Istanbul. I went to the airport the day of my originally scheduled flight to reschedule for the next day, giving me time to get to the consulate to get an emergency passport. I understood that I would need to pay the change fee, which is $150 on international flights, plus any change in fare to leave on the same flight the next day. The ticket agent quoted me $1400 for the new ticket the next day. OUCH, since my original RT ticket was around $800. I asked the Delta rep how much a new one way ticket would be to purchase. It was $900. So essentially, it was cheaper for me to buy a new ticket on the same flight then to pay the change fee and absorb the “difference in fare”. When I asked how the difference in fare could add up to $1400, when they had seats available for $900, the agent explained to me that the change in fare was based on RT ticket I had purchased, and basically said “it is what it is”. Of course I opted to purchase the new ticket, but am very frustrated that I could pay the penalty and the difference in fare (for the $900 ticket.) Do I have any recourse?

Thanks!

Not really. you lost the passport (your fault) and had to take a flight the next day, for which you did not have a ticket for. It sucks, and I think Delta could have handled it better, (although they didn't have to, especially if you're not a medallion).

But Delta, while it could have handled it better, didn't do anything wrong, so you're not entitled to any compensation.

What you should have done was purchase the new one-way ticket, and then get a voucher (less the $150 change fee) for the remaining value of the unused portion of the r/t ticket.

I think you may still be able to do that, but I am not sure.

I did purchase the new ticket for $900. And yes, 100% my fault I lost my passport (well, actually it wasnt since it was stolen, but, willing to take responsability for that regardless!)

I was prepared to pay a change fee and difference in fare, I was dissppointed that Delta did not charge me $150 and the difference from my original ticket - $800, and the new ticket I purchased, $900. According to their own terms and conditions, it should have cost me $250 ($150 change fee, $100 change in fare.) But they calculated the change fee based on a RT ticket, since that was what I purchased, which is how they came up with the $1400.

Same seat, same flight - I could pay $900 or $1400, so of course I opted for the $900 new ticket versus the $1400 "change fee: ticket. It just doesnt seem fair!

And I am Medallion (just silver though)

I'm not sure I'm following, but was your original ticket $800 for a RT ticket? If so, then the assumed value would be $400 each way, right? (provided you had the same fare class in both directions). So, if the new one way on the new date is $900, I think you should have to pay the $150 change fee and the $500 difference in the $900 fare and 1/2 value of your original $800 RT (so $400) Your total cost being $650. I might be completely off base and not understanding. Either way I think DL owes you something, which as BMW303 pointed out you might be able to get the residual value from the original ticket less change fee which would be $250 (and if you add that $250 credit to my estimated $650 out of pocket it equals the $900 you paid for the additional ticket, so it seems logical to me).

Kim

Sorry – I realize I was not being very clear. Here are the details again:

I purchased an original RT ticket to Istanbul for $825.92

I had to make a change to the return ticket, so I went to the airport on my originally scheduled departure date to reschedule my flight to leave the following day. (Same flight time, same route, just a day later.)

The “change fee” and “difference in fare” they were going to charge me to fly on the same flight the next day was $1400.

A NEW ticket on that exact same flight the next day was $876.48.

I purchased a new one way ticket for the $876.48 instead of paying the $1400 “change fee”. There was no credit on the unused portion of my original ticket since it was non refundable.

I just think it was crappy, and do not understand why the “difference in fare” wasn’t calculated off of the $876.48. (A new one way ticket home from Istanbul $876.48 - $825.92 the cost of my original ticket = $50.56) I would expect to pay $50.56 + the $150 change fee.

The agent said that the change fee was calculated off of a RT ticket, since that is what I had originally booked.

At any rate, I have contacted Delta and have had no success, but was looking to see if anyone knew of a direct route to get to a Customer Service supervisor or someone who might be able to refund me some of the money I was forced to pay (I think unfairly, and not in accordance with their terms and conditions).

Bolding mine. (not sure how to quote only a portion of a post).

I'm seeing it differently. The $825 fare was a round trip fare. The The $876 fare was a one way fare. The residual perceived value from your original ticket would only be half what you paid (you used the first half of the ticket, correct?) so about $412. The new applicable fare is $876 for a walk up ticket. You'd have to pay the difference between the new value and the remaining value of your original ticket, plus any change fees, the way I see it. I do think you have something coming and that you shouldn't have to pay the full $876 or should have some remaining value to your original ticket less applicable change fees. I think where they've got you, is that you had a low fare bucket when you purchased originally, at the last minute those same fares are not going to be available. How they came up with the $1400 figure I can't understand, and why on earth would they think anyone would pay that when they could by the one way for under $900? I hope someone can help you with a more direct line to customer service where someone might be able to understand the situation more clearly and actually hear you out rather than giving a canned response.

Kim

Just FYI the international change fee is $250, not $150.

Also take a look at another thread where a FlyerTalker lost passport and did not have to pay refares or change fees:

Thanks everyone!

MikeMpls - I couldnt access that link but will do a search in the forum to see if I can find it.

It just doesnt seem fair, or should I say "fare" :) either way I add it up. Even with the international change fees. And yeah, I would have hoped they would have waived the fee given the situation, but I understand they dont HAVE to. I thought what they did have to do, was calculate a change fee based on a current ticket price. I just feel like they really took advantage and I would love to speak with someone who could remedy the situation. Unfortunately, I can not get a response other than a canned email, that does not address the specific claims about WHY it was going to cost $1400.

I had hoped a written letter mailed in would do the trick, but they just responded to me via email. I dont think I have any further recourse.

Sounds to me like your original RT tkt was a fare that was not combineable with the remaining inventory the next day...So, you had to "buy up to the higher fare" plus the change fee.....Or you could opt to buy the new 1wy tkt at the going fare....either way....Had I gotten the call, I would have worked something out...did you call, or just deal with the Airport staff??
Travel doc's are the responsibility of the psgr, however...something could have been done...If you PM me, I can give you a nbr to ctc.. doubt you will get refunded the entire tkt, but they might throw you a voucher or something as a token of good will.....Not really sure what to expect with the new guys calling the shots!!

I do think DL (or their agents) misapplied the fare rules. Whether or not that would have made a major difference in the amount you needed to pay is difficult to determine without more information.

The reissue rules of a typical international restricted coach fare JFK-IST are (probably very similar to your fare):
The rules specify that the flown segments should *not* be repriced and that agents are to use historical fares for the available booking class for the new flight.
The difference could very well have been less than $900.
The change fee, though, is usually $250.

If I were in your shoes I would file a complaint with the DOT (link in my signature). The DOT won't take action based on one complaint, but it will ensure that a manager at DL will review your complaint.

Be very specific--that you believe DL misapplied the fare rules with respect to refaring the return portion of a roundtrip ticket, quoting you ca. $1400 (based on repricing the entire ticket, including the portion already flown) and thus making it more economical for you to purchase a one-way ticket.

In the future, I would suggest that you might need to escalate at the airport and try to call DL reservations on the phone.

Unless the orig fare had a Maximum stay and changing the return exceeded that max...In that case, the entire tkt must be requalified...and the same applies if the orig tkt is not combineable with the fare that was available on the return...There are too many factors to apply a fare ruie without accessing that particular historical fare....So, the short answer is.....Contact Customer Care..but sometimes, like it or not...The correct answer might be no....

Fare applicability/combinability aside, it's also possible that the outbound portion of the ticket was in a higher fare class and therefore accounted for more than half of the original ticket price (aka outbound in K, return in T).

True. It would be helpful to see the fare calculation line from the original ticket (and the newly purchased ticket).

Even if that were the case there is no way the change fee + re-fare could equal $1400. Even if the outbound was $700 and the return only $100, there is no real way to arrive at $1400 for the new flight...that means the return was priced out at about $1150. And surely there were some funds available in the return, even if not the full 50%, which would bring the $1150 fare down even more.