I was headed to NYC to for a few days at the end of '09. A businesstrip and to be with friends as the ball dropped.in checking flightsonly a week and a half in advance, I came across a fairly good dealfrom Expedia: 332.00 rt, but with a flight only $200 coupon to apply tomy next flight booked with them. I have a trip to LA coming up in acouple of weeks, so I called Expedia to confirm those terms. Not onlywere they confirmed, but the rep also forwarded me a link (no longerworking) that showed this to be a flight only coupon. I was told thatthe coupon would be held in reference to my account. I need do is callto book the flight. The Expedia ticket was a little more expensive thansome others, but I'd save $150.00 in the long run so I went ahead andbooked.
This morning, at about 8:30AM EST on Jan. 13th, I got an email alerttelling me that the coupon had been deposited to my account. When Ichecked the details, it turns out they have deposited a coupon thatrefunds $200.00, but only with a contingent 5 night stay in a hotel (booked through them) at that location. Bastards. Seeing the classicbait-and-switch, I called to have the terms changed back to ouroriginal agreement. Magically, they can find no evidence of an originalagreement, but have extended this new coupon to me for being a "holidaycustomer." They also claim that they could give me nothing, and Ishould be happy about what I've gotten. After 1.5 hours on the phonetrying to get someone who speaks legit English (Please note that I'vehad some excellent customer service experiences with caring operatorsin India, but one could not carry on a conversation with these Latinoperators because they simply didn't speak the language beyond theirmemorized scripts.), I'm forced to move on. Can't spend my life chasing after $200.00. But even thought they got away with it, they're still crooks.
I wanted others to know, however, about this latest twist in Expedia'slong history of bait-and-switch practices (http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/unfair-fares-5-secrets-for-avoiding-the-bait-and-switch/). To me, this sort of thing is criminal. Expedia's decision to shuffleus off to communicative parts unknown when filing complaints is alsopart of their business model. I will never use them again, and I saythis on principle in the hope that others, if they have similarexperiences, will follow suit.
Btw it's interesting model because what they've done is sucker me into buying a more expensive ticket, then made it cost prohibitive after the fact to use their coupon. I should note that the guy who booked my first flight said that it "might be a good idea for me to book then next flight soon." I took that as an upsale at the time, but maybe he knew something about them that I didn't. Just an fyi to everyone out there.
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