On February 20, I have purchased from Travelocity (an internet travel agency) three Delta Airline tickets for a May 24 trip from New Orleans International Airport to Kiev, Ukraine. The tickets have been bought for two adults - Boris Odynocki, his wife, and our 8 year old child, Elizabeth Odynocki.
Travelocity confirmed the purchase on the same day by e-mailing to me "Travelocity Confirmation". It confirmed that two tickets were purchased for 2 adults for $1,804.00 ($902.00 per person) and 1 child for $793.00, that is, for $109.00 less.
Confirmation also included the names of the passengers: my wife's once, my own name, Boris Odynocki, twice, but not that of my child, Elizabeth Odynocki.
On May 24 all three of us arrived at 5 A.M. At the Delta Airline boarding stand to begin our trip. However, Delta Airline employees did not allow us to board the plane. They explained to us that their computer spitted out one boarding pass to the name of my wife, two passes to my name, Boris Odynocki, but none to the name of my child, Elizabeth Odynocki.
It appears that Travelocity transferred the child's ticket to my name, a 68 year old man.
The Delta employees refused to correct the obvious screw up, explaining that company policy forbids them to transfer tickets from one passenger to another, even though the ticket had been bought for a child, at children's discount.
A Travelocity employee, who introduced himself as Victor based in India, telephoned by me, was "extremly sorry", but refused to help. He put the blame on me because, he said, you had confirmed two tickets to your name.
He could not explain, however, why would I want to buy two tickets for myself to the same flight, to the same destination, at child's discount. I am 68 years old!
When we arrived home, I began doing legal research for my lawsuit against the company. The company's physical address was unavailable on the internet. All the telephones that I could find led to India and responded by "extrmely sorry" Indians. And yet to sue, one needs the physical address of the company, the name of its CEO, or his legal representative, and the defendants' telephone number.
Surfing the web, I discovered that Travelocity is being sued by a number of American cities for the refusal to pay local taxes on the hotel rooms they book
for their victims. I contacted the city attorney of San Antonio, TX and asked his aids for help. They released the name, the address, and the telephone number of a Travelocity legal representative, Mr. Brian S. Stagner, attorney at law.
I called his office twice and left a message on his answering machine, suggesting settling the matter, since the amount of approximately $3,200 (including the trip to and from the airport) is small. Mr. Stagner has never returned my call. But Mr. Sanford Bradshaw of Travelocity Executive Resolutions Team e-mailed me on May 29, a settlement offer.
This is what he wrote:
" We have reviewed your reservation, and unfortunately, are ubable to garant your request for a refund. Our records show this reservation was made online for Boris Odynocki, Inna Odynocki, and Boris Odynocki. A confirmation e-mail was sent... On February 20. As stated in the policies agreed to online, these tickets are nonrefudable and names changes are not permitted. You currently hold credits for Boris and Inna Odynocki in the amount of $1002.70 each toward future travel on Delta. You also hold a second credit for Boris Odynocki in the amount of $893.70... This travel must be completed by February 20... Delta will charge an administrative service charge of $250.00 per ticket, plus any fare difference."
The ferocity and arrogance with which Travelocity and Delta Airline fight for my money suggest that the name screw up was delibarate. And the idea was to bait me with the significantly lower ticket prices in February in order to force me to buy tickets at much higher prices in full season (now) or forfeit them entirely in the fall/winter season, when we can not travel at all.
I obviously will fight Travelocity in court, but I appeal to everyone, who reads this report to ask your congressmen to make a law criminalizing such practices. Travelocity and Delta Airline commit fraud against unsuspecting victims, and because of it, they must be stopped.
David N. Falcone Dictionary of American Criminal Justice, Criminology & Criminal Law defines fraud as "The knowing and unlawful deception of another with the intent to cause him or her to unwittingly surrender property, rights, emoluments, or pecuniary interest."
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