An expedia.com booking agent booked an itinerary for me from Boston to Ålesund Norway going through Reykjavik Iceland with Iceland air and then within Norway with SAS from Oslo to Aalesund.
Aside from not having a wheelchair that I ordered as well as special meals, expedia's booking agent did not allow enough time for me to make the connection from Oslo to Ålesund
My itinerary only allowed 40 minutes for me to catch the flight to Ålesund once in Oslo and I had no idea that one had to claim their luggage and go through customs before making connecting flights within the country. I was told by the expedia agent that I was booked through to my final destination and that 40 minutes was "plenty" of time to make the flight within Norway! I also did not know when I arrived in Reykjavik Iceland that I would have to get issued a ticket at the SAS desk in Oslo (which was paid to expedia). I wondered how I would be able to do all of that in a wheelchair not knowing that I also had to claim luggage and go through customs.
The assistants who wheeled me to the SAS desk from the plane, as well as the personal behind the reservations desk told me that the booking was not "realistic" and that I would have to get the next flight out after I had already been up for 24 hours and sick. I also was concerned for my friend who was waiting for me at the other end taking time from work. My original flight was to leave at 1:05 and land at 2:00PM. She had to wait around and extra hour and a half.
On top of this I was told by Scandinavian airlines in Oslo that I would have to purchase a full priced last minute one way ticket for the 45 minute trip which came out to be $380.00 US dollars.
To make matters worse, I did not have the funds in my bank account to cover the extra cost, so my friend who was picking me up in Ålesund had to pay for the ticket using her credit card.
I paid her back 2 weeks later when there were funds auto-deposited into my account.
The SAS people who were helpful and sympathetic tried to call expedia at the time for me to try to fix the problem but there was only a menu and no humans to get help from.
When I returned from my trip I called expedia.com to report the incident and to try to get a refund for the extra money I had to spend to get to my destination as well as the other problems of not getting a wheelchair or the special meals ordered. I spoke to» Jessica" in a Pensacola office who gave me the case number and an email address to back up this case. She assured me that I would get a refund for the $380.00 extra dollars I had to pay for this trip, and she even offered to me a $100.00 gift certificate for a future flight with expedia.
I asked if I could speak to someone and was told that my case was reported and I would be contacted. When I asked when and by who, she could not give me an answer.
I wrote to the company and have been given the run around and then was told that; yes. I got a gift certificate for some very specific special vacation package offered by expedia which was not what I was told by the agent Jessica. Of course I will never use such a useless offer.
Expedia also wrote to me saying that they could not be responsible for airlines not recording special assistance or meals.
If that was the case why wasn't I told when I asked if I would definitely have a wheelchair for sure.
I told the company that it was clear that the booking agents I contacted messed up and that I had to foot the bill and had to put up with the horrible time I had physically, financially and emotionally when in Oslo. I had been up for over 27 hours and very ill by that time I reached my destination.
I wrote that I was thinking of telling the attorney's general's office in Seattle about their company practices of staying remote from their customer's complains by not having any voice contact and sending out fill-out forms that were impersonal and ignored.
The company cut me off and I have heard nothing more from them.
Of course I will never book with them again, but I do not feel these big Internet companies should be able to get away with this kind of neglect, ineptitude and dishonesty. I know after reading the multitude of complaints against this company that this is an on going injustice.
Please make my case know to the online community and the appropriate attorneys.
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