My wife, Rachel, is an Irish citizen. Our daughter, Holly, was born in Ireland and has dual citizenship since I is a US citizen. We purchased airline tickets in July through Priceline's website to visit our family in Ireland over the Christmas holidays. Shortly after the purchase, we realized that Holly's Irish passport will expire in October meaning Holly will need a US Passport to be able to travel. Before Holly can get a U. S passport, We have to file documents with the US government showing that Holly was born abroad which takes 6-12 months to process. After those documents are processed, the next step is to file for a social security number which could take another few months to process! After the social security number is issued, THEN we can apply for Holly's US passport.
Our tickets totaled $2,500 a small amount to a large company such as Priceline but a significant amount to hard-working folks like us! Because they cannot be sure that the proper documentation will be in place by Christmas for our daughter, we would like to cancel the tickets and get a refund. If we cannot obtain a refund, the tickets cannot be used and 3 seats on that flight will be empty. I would think that under the circumstances (and considering they are giving 4 month's notice), Priceline could refund the money but simply won't because they've got the power to do just that. Can you afford to just toss away $2,500? Not me!
We thought about changing the dates of the flight but were told that to do THAT, it would cost us another $2,500 DOUBLE the price of the original tickets!
It is my understanding that Priceline has a no refund/no change policy. However, someone from Priceline led Rachel to believe that considering her circumstances, an exception could be made. See her email below to Priceline management:
Rachel to priceline:
(Names have been Removed)
Please understand that I do not want a call from someone other than one of these people.
I have sent multiple emails and made many calls about my issue and for some reason, people who have no power to make changes or decisions keep calling me, so I need someone in a position of power to call me.
Last night on one of my many phone calls I was informed that this reservation "considering my circumstances" COULD in fact be changed and I have witnesses to the fact that the rep informed me of this. WHY can this be changed and not cancelled???
I need someone to help me. There is going to be no one on that flight in regards to this reservation. I made an error in not paying attention when these were initially bought and as you will see, there are 15 other requests as I was trying to get the best deal.
Besides that my daughter's passport is the issue and I cannot get around it. I am asking you person to person to PLEASE help me out. I work very hard for my money and I cannot afford to burn $2500 which is literally what I would be doing.
Thank you
When Rachel did not receive a response, Brian sent an email
BRIAN TO PRICELINE:
Comments: (Names have Been Removed)
Please understand that I do not want a call from someone other than one of these people.
For some reason, that I do not understand, no one at Priceline.com can dial a phone. My daughter's passport will not let her travel. This is a government issue that I cannot get around. We are aware of the contract because you are a broken record about it. To a large scale company like Priceline, $2500 is a small amount. For a family like ours that is a substantial amount. It can pay for the exact reason that keeps our daughter from being able to travel.
You talk about your partners but all airlines I know can cancel flight reservations so why can Priceline not when the seats can be sold to people who can actually travel.
Again, we do not want another email. I want to speak with a human being. Preferably one with a soul. XXX-XXX-XXXX is my work number.
FINALLY, a response from Priceline:
Date: Fri, Aug 1 at 9:33 AM
Subject: Executive Offices
To: Rachel
Dear Ms.,
Thank you for contacting us regarding your concerns and feedback regarding your airline reservation for Request Number XXXXXXXXXXX.
We have previously advised you of our policies regarding your reservation.
We wish we could provide the answers you are looking for; however, these policies are directly tied to contractual agreements with our travel partners. This in turn allows us to continue to offer competitive pricing and subsequent savings to our customers.
We are truly unable to assist you further in this matter. Please do not expect a response to further correspondence on this issue.
Sincerely,
Executive Offices
The tone of the final email just feels so loving and personal. We called them 60 seconds after the purchase was made. At one stage we were trying to see if they could change my wife's last name on her ticket. The ticket is in her married name but her passport is in her maiden name. After the second supervisor we were told the name could be changed, that they would help us out. As with the airlines we understood that there would be a a fee. The supervisor asked how we would pay so naturally our question is "how much?" The answer we got back was $1,200. Now I ask you, how is that helping out when to change part of a name on a ticket cost more than the ticket itself?
Looking online I found that the only time Priceline has refunded tickets was either due to natural disaster in the location or flight canceled and not being able to find a flight leaving the same day. As I have said it is government reasons that we cannot travel on our specified day.in the few conversations that we have had with Priceline makes me feel that if a medical emergency had come up and i was hospitalized, we would still have to pay for the tickets.
All I have to say is this If you are going to use Priceline for your travels, be prepared to be on the flight or pay for it any way.
Brian
Ft. Worth, Texas
U.S.A.
0 comments