Is there any way to contact someone competent at Expedia?
Dec 24, 2014, 2:07 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1
Is there any way to contact someone competent at Expedia?
Expedia is a HORRIBLE company to do business with. It engages in false advertising and even fraud, and its customer service is both, incompetent and unwilling to assist. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
On 12/17/2014 I purchased from Expedia round trip air travel for two (2) passengers from Seattle (SEA) to Paris (CDG) on Premium Economy service. Expedia charged my credit card and emailed me itinerary confirmation. The email confirmed Premium Economy (A) for all 4 segments of the itinerary and indicated that I should confirm seats with the airlines, so I called the airlines and found out that for the domestic segments we were booked in standard Economy (Q). In order to get Premium Economy seats the airlines required additional payment to upgrade us to Premium Economy ($99 per passenger per segment). The airlines indicated that this discrepancy had to be resolved by Expedia because Expedia issued the itinerary and is the one that originally collected payment.
I have contacted Expedias customer service via phone many times already. Each time has been a frustrating 1+ hours call (mostly put on hold) with an Expedia agent that is either unprepared or unwilling to help, and in all instances has shown complete disregard for the issue at hand and the customer. The only consistency has been incompetence.
I have also contacted Expedias customer service via email (several Case IDs have been opened), but these agents are even worse than those on the phone. and have shown no intention to solve the problem. In all instances I have received replies that are cut and paste from a prepared standard response. They all say that I have to call their agents, resulting in the experience described in the previous paragraph. ALWAYS!!!
I call the airlines every day, several times a day to see if there has been any progress but they continue to inform me that our seats for the segments SEA-DTW and the JFK-SEA are NOT in Premium Economy seats. Representatives for both airlines also mention that they cant make changes and that I have to contact Expedia. They also have shared horror stories about other Expedia customers.
I continue to remind Expedia Customer Service, both verbally and in writing that advertising a product that it does not intent to sell is false advertising, and selling a product that does not intent to deliver is fraud, both illegal practices in the US. Unfortunately, Expedias negligence and customer abuse continues and is still ignoring my requests for resolution to this issue.
I have made it VERY CLEAR to Expedia (both verbally and in writing) that the ONLY acceptable outcome is for Expedia to deliver the final itinerary to match what it sold me on 12/17. That is, Premium Economy seats for all 4 segments.
On 12/17/2014 I purchased from Expedia round trip air travel for two (2) passengers from Seattle (SEA) to Paris (CDG) on Premium Economy service. Expedia charged my credit card and emailed me itinerary confirmation. The email confirmed Premium Economy (A) for all 4 segments of the itinerary and indicated that I should confirm seats with the airlines, so I called the airlines and found out that for the domestic segments we were booked in standard Economy (Q). In order to get Premium Economy seats the airlines required additional payment to upgrade us to Premium Economy ($99 per passenger per segment). The airlines indicated that this discrepancy had to be resolved by Expedia because Expedia issued the itinerary and is the one that originally collected payment.
I have contacted Expedias customer service via phone many times already. Each time has been a frustrating 1+ hours call (mostly put on hold) with an Expedia agent that is either unprepared or unwilling to help, and in all instances has shown complete disregard for the issue at hand and the customer. The only consistency has been incompetence.
I have also contacted Expedias customer service via email (several Case IDs have been opened), but these agents are even worse than those on the phone. and have shown no intention to solve the problem. In all instances I have received replies that are cut and paste from a prepared standard response. They all say that I have to call their agents, resulting in the experience described in the previous paragraph. ALWAYS!!!
I call the airlines every day, several times a day to see if there has been any progress but they continue to inform me that our seats for the segments SEA-DTW and the JFK-SEA are NOT in Premium Economy seats. Representatives for both airlines also mention that they cant make changes and that I have to contact Expedia. They also have shared horror stories about other Expedia customers.
I continue to remind Expedia Customer Service, both verbally and in writing that advertising a product that it does not intent to sell is false advertising, and selling a product that does not intent to deliver is fraud, both illegal practices in the US. Unfortunately, Expedias negligence and customer abuse continues and is still ignoring my requests for resolution to this issue.
I have made it VERY CLEAR to Expedia (both verbally and in writing) that the ONLY acceptable outcome is for Expedia to deliver the final itinerary to match what it sold me on 12/17. That is, Premium Economy seats for all 4 segments.
Dec 24, 2014, 5:32 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Have you tried using social media to gain their attention? "The Twitter" is all the rage with companies these days.
When is your flight to France?
I am imagining you're flying mostly on DL/AF?
SEA-DTW-CDG-JFK-SEA? All on DL, mixed airline as that will vary the fare codes.
When is your flight to France?
I am imagining you're flying mostly on DL/AF?
SEA-DTW-CDG-JFK-SEA? All on DL, mixed airline as that will vary the fare codes.
Dec 25, 2014, 4:44 pm
#3
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DL does not offer Premium Economy. You can only get Premium Economy on the AF operated segments.
You probably purchased a through Premium Economy fare that books into coach on segments that do not have Premium Economy cabins.
You probably purchased a through Premium Economy fare that books into coach on segments that do not have Premium Economy cabins.
Dec 26, 2014, 9:59 pm
#5
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You only hint at your exact routing (SEA-DTW, JFK-SEA, etc.) but it looks like you have run afoul of codeshare confusion. There's no PE on those routes, only first class, Economy Comfort, and regular economy.
Dec 28, 2014, 4:28 pm
#7
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Welcome to FT.
While it is possible to piece together what you are getting at, it is supposition until you provide the exact tickets (forget about itinerary) that were issued, along with the fare basis, e.g. Qxxxx for each segment.
Based on what we can figure out, e.g., that you are on DL connecting to AF because of the DTW connection on the outbound, others are correct. There is no PE on SEA-DTW because DL does not offer PE (no US carrier offers PE). Thus, you are in plain old Y for those domestic segments.
For what it is worth, the DL website does not show PE for this routing and the AF website does, but also shows that the domestic segments are in Y. That is what leads me to believe that the tickets priced properly.
Chances are that your ticket (once again, forget about itinerary) priced taking into account that PE is only available for the TATL segments. But, if you think that is wrong, go on delta.com and look or call DL and ask (not about your ticket, but in general).
Thus, what you want is not going to happen simply because the PE you want is not available.
A couple of suggestions to avoid future heartache:
1. Rarely is there an advantage in booking through opaque third-party vendors. I can't say with certainty because you don't post details, but it is unlikely that the Expedia ticket did not cost appreciably less than a DL ticket. Unless the savings are truly significant and they very rarely are, it is almost always better to book through the carrier operating the first segment (or at least the marketing carrier of a codeshare). This would not have changed anything here, but you would have had a quicker and easier answer, e.g., no such thing as PE on domestic US carriers.
2. Don't initiate multiple complaints. Not only doesn't it help, but it actually hurts. Each time, you are effectively resetting the shot clock and the entire process starts again from the beginning.
In this case. Forget it. Go on your trip and return. When you are back, deal with the issue of whether your ticket was priced correctly. Nothing else will change and likely the ticket price will not change either.
While it is possible to piece together what you are getting at, it is supposition until you provide the exact tickets (forget about itinerary) that were issued, along with the fare basis, e.g. Qxxxx for each segment.
Based on what we can figure out, e.g., that you are on DL connecting to AF because of the DTW connection on the outbound, others are correct. There is no PE on SEA-DTW because DL does not offer PE (no US carrier offers PE). Thus, you are in plain old Y for those domestic segments.
For what it is worth, the DL website does not show PE for this routing and the AF website does, but also shows that the domestic segments are in Y. That is what leads me to believe that the tickets priced properly.
Chances are that your ticket (once again, forget about itinerary) priced taking into account that PE is only available for the TATL segments. But, if you think that is wrong, go on delta.com and look or call DL and ask (not about your ticket, but in general).
Thus, what you want is not going to happen simply because the PE you want is not available.
A couple of suggestions to avoid future heartache:
1. Rarely is there an advantage in booking through opaque third-party vendors. I can't say with certainty because you don't post details, but it is unlikely that the Expedia ticket did not cost appreciably less than a DL ticket. Unless the savings are truly significant and they very rarely are, it is almost always better to book through the carrier operating the first segment (or at least the marketing carrier of a codeshare). This would not have changed anything here, but you would have had a quicker and easier answer, e.g., no such thing as PE on domestic US carriers.
2. Don't initiate multiple complaints. Not only doesn't it help, but it actually hurts. Each time, you are effectively resetting the shot clock and the entire process starts again from the beginning.
In this case. Forget it. Go on your trip and return. When you are back, deal with the issue of whether your ticket was priced correctly. Nothing else will change and likely the ticket price will not change either.
Dec 30, 2014, 6:41 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Posts: 2,378
OP - note you haven't returned.
As correctly pointed out, you can't book what doesn't exist. SEA-DTW and JFK-SEA don't have premium economy. I am suspecting, if these flights are on DL, the additional price the airline quoted was for economy comfort seats, which are not PE.
You were given very good advice by Often1. That's about the best you can do, though I suspect your ticket priced correctly. Economy comfort is an additional charge you pay DL after you first book your ticket. You can't book it though Expedia, so you certainly didn't already pay for it.
Next time, skip third party bookings. They are just a pain.
As correctly pointed out, you can't book what doesn't exist. SEA-DTW and JFK-SEA don't have premium economy. I am suspecting, if these flights are on DL, the additional price the airline quoted was for economy comfort seats, which are not PE.
You were given very good advice by Often1. That's about the best you can do, though I suspect your ticket priced correctly. Economy comfort is an additional charge you pay DL after you first book your ticket. You can't book it though Expedia, so you certainly didn't already pay for it.
Next time, skip third party bookings. They are just a pain.