High charges for an honest mistake -- advice?
Apr 16, 2019, 1:12 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 1
High charges for an honest mistake -- advice?
Hi all,
I'm hoping for some advice with regards to my predicament, particularly for dealing with QA customer service.
I purchased some tickets about 4 days ago. I was purchasing the tickets for my family and had to make the purchase the tickets in two separate sets (two of us are returning sooner than the other two). In the course of making the purchase, since QA doesn't have anything akin to a cart, I mistakenly chose the wrong month for the departure for one of the two sets (July 21st instead of June 21st). I only noticed the mistake today and called and QA is asking for $570 to change the two tickets to the correct date. It seems absurd since I can point to the other two tickets to show that there was an honest mistake. The representative also told me that the difference between the wrong date and the correct one is $40 per ticket, but on their own website the difference is $2.
I know picking the wrong month is my fault, but again, an honest mistake. How do I deal with QA customer service? Any advice?
I'm hoping for some advice with regards to my predicament, particularly for dealing with QA customer service.
I purchased some tickets about 4 days ago. I was purchasing the tickets for my family and had to make the purchase the tickets in two separate sets (two of us are returning sooner than the other two). In the course of making the purchase, since QA doesn't have anything akin to a cart, I mistakenly chose the wrong month for the departure for one of the two sets (July 21st instead of June 21st). I only noticed the mistake today and called and QA is asking for $570 to change the two tickets to the correct date. It seems absurd since I can point to the other two tickets to show that there was an honest mistake. The representative also told me that the difference between the wrong date and the correct one is $40 per ticket, but on their own website the difference is $2.
I know picking the wrong month is my fault, but again, an honest mistake. How do I deal with QA customer service? Any advice?
Apr 16, 2019, 6:09 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 178
You can:
pay the change fee
or
buy a new ticket and cancel the old one
or
travel on the flight as stipulated on the ticket you purchased wrongly
agents cannot override the system and change tickets against fare rules because you ‘made an honest mistake’, what’s the point of fare rules otherwise?
it doesn’t matter why you want the ticket changed, all that matters is you want them changed and according to the fare rules which you have agreed to abide to upon purchasing your tickets, any change before departure will incur a set change fee and any fare difference. It’s all embedded in Amadeus (global distribution system), when a change is initiated, a payment dialogue will prompt the agent to collect payment. Computer says no so what can you do?
pay the change fee
or
buy a new ticket and cancel the old one
or
travel on the flight as stipulated on the ticket you purchased wrongly
agents cannot override the system and change tickets against fare rules because you ‘made an honest mistake’, what’s the point of fare rules otherwise?
it doesn’t matter why you want the ticket changed, all that matters is you want them changed and according to the fare rules which you have agreed to abide to upon purchasing your tickets, any change before departure will incur a set change fee and any fare difference. It’s all embedded in Amadeus (global distribution system), when a change is initiated, a payment dialogue will prompt the agent to collect payment. Computer says no so what can you do?
Apr 16, 2019, 11:52 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: Enrich
Posts: 449
There is a third way, buy the travel insurance which cover from June until end of July. Change the ticket, and try to claim from travel insurance with some other excuse.
I'm not sure how much will be the travel insurance, you might want to check
I'm not sure how much will be the travel insurance, you might want to check
Apr 16, 2019, 11:55 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,009
Apr 18, 2019, 8:23 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,514
I can't think of any other airline which would allow you a free change just on the ground of having booked the dates by mistake where you have only noticed several days afterwards. Some airlines have a 24 hour period when they will allow a free change/refund precisely because mistakes do occur, but even then, if you haven't noticed by then you will lose everything.
The suggestion to buy travel insurance and fake an excuse to cancel is an extremely bad one. Do not do it.
The suggestion to buy travel insurance and fake an excuse to cancel is an extremely bad one. Do not do it.
Apr 18, 2019, 9:05 am
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
You do realize that you would likely to have to document that "some other reason." I am not sure what the value is of posting on FT advising people to commit fraud and senseless fraud at that.
Apr 18, 2019, 9:58 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: QR Plat
Posts: 85
I can't think of any other airline which would allow you a free change just on the ground of having booked the dates by mistake where you have only noticed several days afterwards. Some airlines have a 24 hour period when they will allow a free change/refund precisely because mistakes do occur, but even then, if you haven't noticed by then you will lose everything.
Apr 18, 2019, 10:55 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
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Posts: 30,514
Some airlines, such as Turkish, are more flexible. My mum (she's not too tech savvy) booked the wrong month. The ticket was none-changeable, but after some calls to Turkish airlines customer service they let her re-book the ticket (and without charging any fees) on the condition that the new ticket cost at least as much as the original one.
The airline life is - thankfully - full of little miracles, situations where we know we are not entitled to anything but where a particularly positive alignment of the stars, super helpful and empathetic agent combined with a very understanding supervisor means that somehow, we get a resolution that we neither expected nor were formally entitled to, but that does not constitute policies in and by itself, nor even an airline's approach or ethos.
Apr 19, 2019, 11:27 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, QRPC Silver
Posts: 518
Don't expect any help from QR they are totally inflexible and incapable of using their inisiuitive my next QR flight on April 26th will be my last apart from the return flight of course
Apr 19, 2019, 12:16 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 103
I am sorry to hear that but but you just gotta suck it up, pay the fees and move on. An honest mistake is still a mistake on your end, not the airline's. The 24-hour window after purchase could have allowed you to get it fixed but too late now I guess. This is also why I double, tripe check all the details of the ticket right after paying for them. Anyway, it won't hurt if you will try again so good luck!
Apr 19, 2019, 12:29 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 17,435
I believe the cost of "cancel for any reason" would exceed the penalties and fees involved in the OP's case.
(And even though it is called "cancel for any reason" anyone who's dealt with travel insurance must know that's not exactly true.)
Apr 19, 2019, 8:45 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Phuket Thailand
Programs: HH Diamond, BA Gold, IHG Gold, Oman Gold
Posts: 1,038
Only advice I can give is try a local ticket office. I have had issues in past and found the London ticket office to be very helpful and flexible. For example I was told £800 to change a fare. Ticket office did it for £150. Not sure how but at least saved a bit