Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ignore This One Readers - It's For My Friends at Delta Airlines That Ignored My Official Complaint


Dear Delta,

My husband and I had an appalling experience on your airline August 12, 2012.  We purchased a direct flight from Cincinnati to Richmond.  This flight was delayed for 5 hours before ultimately being cancelled due to a mechanical issue.  It was a perfectly clear day, and no other flights were delayed.  I had been advised not to find an alternate route, and to wait until this flight – which never flew – took off.

No replacement flight was ever scheduled.  We were told we could make it back to Richmond at 5 pm on August 13, a full 25.5 hours later.  This was unacceptable for us.  We instead re-routed ourselves to DC, finally arriving at home in Richmond after midnight.  Despite all the hours of waiting, we were on edge waiting for updates the whole time, as well as negotiating with a gate agent about how to get home.  So despite the $6 meal vouchers, at 4 months pregnant I had to skip dinner.

Below is a breakdown of our financial loss, as well as our time loss.

Financial

We paid $677.80 for our two round trip tickets.  Our outbound flight was fine, so we consider the loss to be the return flight that never happened, totaling $338.90.  This, of course, does not take into account the fact that we chose a more expensive flight for the benefit of a direct return home.

We rented a car from Avis, including a one-way drop off charge.  The total cost was $215.33.

Our gas to drive from DC to Richmond was $14.52.

We added a night to our doggy daycare, which totaled $30.

Our extra 24 hours of airport parking was $12.

Total financial loss = $610.75

Time Loss

We departed from Cincinnati 6.5 hours late.

Total time to rent a car, and then drive to Richmond was 3 hours.

Time to return rental car the following day was 1.25 hours.

Time to submit this complaint equals 1 hour.

Total time loss = 11.75 hours

I would like to be refunded $610.75 in full.  I was insulted by the arrogant offer to get $50 off my next Delta purchase by the gate agent.  A voucher will not suffice; I need to recoup my financial loss here.  Obviously this amount does not include compensation for significant time loss or frustration.

This is my first attempt to be refunded.  If this does not work, I will turn to social media – I bet this story and thorough breakdown of injustice would be popular.  My third action will be contacting the Better Business Bureau.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Allison & Andrew Oxenreiter
aldonahue@gmail.com 

2 comments:

  1. Never mess with a pregnant woman! Actually my reaction is a loud cheer for you and I have all my fingers crossed that you might actually get some satisfaction. What a nightmare! Good luck.

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  2. That's right Barbara! And, even worse, I had to stray from the main theme of my blog - oh the levels to which Delta has hurt me. Sorry you had to read this rant!

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