eguigal

Does anyone have a contact name and address at Mileage Plus of someone who is empowered to hopefully refund money on a promotion (see below if interested) or remedy the problem in another way? If someone does not want to share this information in this forum I’m available via email for communication outside forum. (Looking for contact other then the basic customer service address)

Thanks David

Details:

I recently paid United Mileage Plus $150.00 for the following promotion Double Elite Qualifying Miles/Segments. It turns out that I received nothing for this $150. I didn’t even receive a thank-you from Sue the customer service representative, who clearly explained to me – how much of an idiot I am for signing up for the promotion that can do nothing for me in the way of helping me earn Elite status for 2005.

You must appreciate that I’m new to the world of frequent flyer statuses and although I can earn elite status in 2005 in the calendar year 2005 in 2005 I am earning elite status for 2006. So when the promotion stated - “Double Elite Qualifying miles towards 2005 Mileage Elite status on flights from October 25, 2004 to December 15, 2004”, it meant only if I qualify for 2005 Elite Status before December 31, 2004.

I expected to begin 2005, the calendar year, with the elite qualifying segments and and elite qualifying miles earn during the promotion period instead of starting off with 0 EQS and 0 EQM.

DevilBucsFlyer

Welcome to FlyerTalk. Too bad it isn't under better circumstances.

I can't help you out with a contact name, but you could try calling back a few times and talking to another agent.

Since it was your screw up and failure to understand the MileagePlus program, I think a full refund of your $150 would be awfully generous and likely more than the phone agent could do. What I would try doing is asking if you can get a $150 travel voucher good for the purchase of future United tickets. That way, United still gets your $150, but you get to spend it on something you can use. I think that's really the best you can hope for.

Another option, if you want to go there, is to dispute the charge with your credit card company (assuming you must have paid with a credit card).

magiciansampras

You might want to work on your delivery when you talk to MP. I don't understand from your post what you thought the $150 was going to get you. If you can prove that the verbiage is somehow misleading, you might be able to find a sympathetic ear.

redburgundy

Do you think the offer was confusing, or that you were defrauded?
If so, you could complain to the Federal Trade Commission, or maybe complain in your local Small Claims Court.

TJQuill

IMO, a situation like yours is better handled with a letter than a phone call. Explain in great detail what the problem is and what you believe will be an equitable resolution.

Search the forum for snail mail addresses for Mileage Plus. Give that a shot. If you don't get the result you are looking for, send a copy to United World Headquarters.

Good luck, TJ

jan_az

Personnaly I thought the offer was clear..........and it was discussed and discented ( sp) in detail here

oontiveros

I am sorry to hear of your situation...however, the requirements were clear in the small print/T&C. Please do be sure to read these details before buying anything.

That said, I would call MP CS and speak nicely explaining your situation...perhaps you'll find a nice angel who will compensate you in some way. I agree that you might want to ask for a voucher instead of cash back.

Good luck!

UA840

Details, details, details...

Annual report, read the footnotes; Legal document, read the footnotes; Lame add for cheap fares in USA Today... READ THE FOOTNOTES! It actually drives me up the wall when there is a "1" or a "***" in the big print that is not accurately detailed in the footnotes.

Anyway, it never hurts to try MP with a sob story, but as other posters have mentioned, I think the t&c were clear and, unfortunately, you are SOL. I would say that your best tact may be to concede that you mis-read the t&c but you are still willing to fly United and that you would appreciate a CS voucher in the amount of $150. I had an instance years ago where they accidentially cleared an upgrade for me, gave away my Y seat (and there was no more inventory in Y to downgrade to) so I had to buy some 500s. I wrote MP and pleaded my case and requested a refund of the $ that I paid for the 500s. No joy on the money back but they did issue me a CS voucher for the value of the 500s.

Good luck.

gitismatt

to be technical, you are still earning elite status in 2005 for 2005. as soon as you hit the mark, you start receiving benefits. BUT, i would have thought that the cutoff date of 12/31 very strongly indicated that the start of the year would not be included in anything related to this promotion.

glg

The T&C were quite clear. OP unfortunately misunderstood. This doesn't make it a court case. That's the American litigious society for you.

LHR Tim

Actually, they were quite clear and up front, and not burried in small print.

From the email:

Dear Mr LHR Tim:

Now is the time to secure your elite status for 2005. Or, if you are within reach of the next level, secure a higher elite status level in the Mileage Plus® programme next year.
Enjoy all the privileges and benefits that come with elite status by earning double Elite Qualifying Miles and Segments (EQM/EQS)*.

Including:
• Priority check-in and priority boarding
• Access to Economy Plus® seating with up to five more inches of legroom
• Star Alliance® Silver or Gold status for even more privileges worldwide

Simply register, pay USD150 and earn double EQM/EQS every time you fly between 25 October and 15 December 2004.

To register, go to www.united.com/doubleeqmeqs, enter your Mileage Plus number and pay a one-time-only fee of USD150. Double EQM/EQS will be awarded on all paid, qualifying United®, United Express® and Ted(SM) flights you take from 25 October through 15 December 2004 (excluding S/T booking classes).


BTW, the bolding was United's, not mine.

Sorry if you feel deceived, but you should have read the offer through and if you had questions, it doesn't cost a penny to phone United MP in the States.

oontiveros

Indeed on the email, however, perhaps the OP signed up via a banner on UAL.com or other methods.

DevilBucsFlyer

In (perhaps futile) defense of the OPL:

From the way I'm reading his post, I don't think he's contending that the T&C's of the $150 double EQM offer were misleading. I think the small print he would have had to read to understand things properly were the actual Mileage Plus Terms & Conditions.

It seems to me that the confusion came in because he didn't realize that any double EQM's he earned between 10/25/04 and 12/15/04 would be lost on 12/31/04. I think he fully understood that he would only earn double EQM's from 10/25 through 12/15.

The language that confused him from the promotion language was that it discussed earning double EQMs toward 2005 status. Without a full understanding of the way MileagePlus works, it is understandable how a newbie wouldn't understand that 2005 status is earned from 01/01/04 though 12/31/04. He obviously thought that he was getting a head start on his EQM earnings during 2005.

Personally, the T&C's were quite clear to me and anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the program wouldn't be confused. However, I can understand why a newbie might not completely grasp the concept.

nerd

I completely agree with you. This certainly could be confusing to a newbie.

Jim Phillips

So if the OP knew he was a newbie, then why didn't he contact UA or get clarification before just plunking down his money?

Especially when elsewhere in the T&C it says "non-refundable."

"Non-refundable" to me always means "get your **** straight before spending $."