This Is Outrageous, Delta!!!

OK, you claim you fly 75% of the time for work and you found NO other
opportunities earlier than December to redeem this credit? Something
isn't right there.

I book flights for my staff regularly. If you purchase a
Non-refundable ticket, all you can get back is a credit against a
future purchase. Since it's NON-REFUNDABLE, they're being generous to
do that.

You also don't list who the rep was that told you you had until the
end of the year to redeem the credit. Since you have no proof of
this, the burden of proof is on you and for all Delta knows, you're
making that up to get the credit extended.

I think Red or Tracy are in the travel industry and could clarify that
more. But bottom line, they told you there was a deadline, you missed
the deadline. You lost out on the credit.

I don't see why so many people here are blaming the poster of the
letter. If someone is busy and flies all the time, I can see how it
would be easy to forget about a credit. But since so many of you are
so insulting, I'm sure you all have impecable memories and remember
every little detail in life. Not everyone is like that. It was nice
of the Delta agent to remind him of a credit he had. However, since
she misinformed him, and told him that the credit was good till the
end of the year, Delta should have honored it as long as it was used
"by the end of the year".

You're own words "reminded me I had the $730.00 credit and that it
expired at the end of the year." This came right from you, which
proves that you knew they were expiring and you did not use them. This
is January. Your fault, not theirs IN ANY WAY. Case closed :)

Considering that there was a mistake on Delta's reps parts by giving
you an inaccurate expiration date - I really do think that they should
have done something.

However, to be fair, 730 dollars can't that big a sum of money if you
managed to forget it, can it? I understand you're outraged due to the
sum of money involved, but would you be as angry if it were a small
sum that you were willing to write off? Mistakes were made on both
sides, and it might be time to just take your lumps and move on.

An agent at Delta (or any airline) would never have said 'You have
until the end of the year to use this'.

Clear instructions as to the re-use policy, are always CLEARLY stated
by the agents.

Case in point: I do this for a living. Occasionally, I have to call
Delta for help on an exchanged ticket. Although I do this every day,
even *I* have to listen to the whole 'rules of reuse' spiel. Their
calls are recorded, and from what I've heard, they are 'written up' if
they deviate from the spiel.

This is why I don't feel he has a valid case. There is no way the
agent made that statement. No way at all.

Interesting. You say that you booked the flight for work and your
office called and changed it.
Then, the sky miles valued at $730 went to your account, and you tried
to use them for a ski VACATION.
Make sure you report this as income.
Someone better notify the IRS.

What I'm not understanding is if you travel 75% of the time, doesn't
that mean that you should have had plenty of opportunities to use the
credit? The credit expired, unless Delta kept you from using the
credit in the allotted time (which I don't get from your letter), then
they owe you nothing.

you had a voucher good for a year and it expired. I didn't read your
other letter, and I am not inspired to by what I read here. You seem
indignant over the way Delta treated you but the simple fact is a
voucher comes with an expiration date. I forgot about one 5 years ago
that was about the same amount. I sucked it up. My mistake. One
day, four days, how much leniency should be given? Move on.

I admittedly didn't read your first letter. I didn't, in any way
however, see any reason to validate your complaint.

You admit to have not booked the flight within the year. Therefore,
we can agree the forfeit of the voucher was acceptable.

I'm sure you used your own funds to book the flight for your vacation,
though. Enjoy the skiing.

The letter starts out "I and my company." Hand meet forehead.

My company and I!

Your complaint isn't any more valid than it was the first time you
posted it. I can understand that you are upset over losing the
730.00. However, it was your fault. Delta doesn't owe you anything.

In addition to the other points made, here are the rules of reuse on
unused tickets or vouchers:

The tickeholder has one year from the ORIGINAL date of issue in order
to rebook the ticket.

For example: Lets say you booked a reservation on 12/20/05 for travel
on 7/6/06 and paid 500.00 for the ticket. Something comes up and on
2/1/06, and you call Delta and cancel your ticket. They will inform
you at that time, that you now have a credit for 500.00 toward the
purchase of another ticket, and need to rebook by 12/20/06 (one year
from original date of issue). You can see by this example that the
original date of issue is the important thing. The original date of
travel, and even the date you CANCELLED it, do not matter to Delta, or
ANY airline for that matter.

What they will NOT say 'you have until the end of the year to reuse
this ticket (or voucher)'. There is absolutely NO way that this was
said, I can guarantee you that.

The reason the person couldnt locate the 730.00 credit is that on the
EXACT date of expiration, it purges from their reservation system. So
even if you called them on 12/17/06, they are going to say they can't
find it because, technically, it doesn't exist anymore.

I am sorry to inform you that in this instance, you are completely and
utterly 100 percent in the wrong.

It seems your complaint (this version, since some of dates have
changed since last wrote) is that you were told "end of the year"
(December 31) and they refused to allow you to use it on December 21.

It was wrong of them to use non-specific language, like this. "End of
year" was likely a shortcut for "some time in December." I agree,
that's wrong.

However, that doesn't erase the fact that you had a full year to use
the voucher and didn't. And once it expired, it expired.

Are you saying that you want a reinstatement of the voucher simply
because the person said "end of the year" but really meant "December
14"? Is that your argument?

Please understand, but the way, that you've also made a similar
mistake. In your original letter, which was dated in January, you
said "today." But NOW "today" means "December 21." The fact that YOU
were none-too-careful about your use of "today" shows that anyone can
make the mistake of being imprecise in language.

What matters is the rules for vouchers, which Delta is consistent
with.

Might I ask why a frequent traveler, such as yourself, didn't get to
use the voucher in the 365 days it was active?

I, like others, interpreted your first letter, which you sent during
January and which referred to an attempt to use the voucher "today",
to mean that you waited until after "the end of the year" to try to
use the voucher. You did not answer questions about that when they
were asked.

In light of this letter it seems as if perhaps you were re-sending a
letter you had already snailmailed, through PFB. Is that correct?

If it is, to which of the two letters with identical wording but sent
on different days by different methods is Barbara Allen replying? How
do you know?

Let's assume for the moment, though, that she had available to her a
record of your attempting to use the voucher during the second half of
last month.

You say you believed that you had until New Year's Eve to use the
voucher. On what do you base this? On being told that it expired "at
the end of the year." And that happened in September. If someone
told me in September that I had to use some sort of credit before "the
end of the year" I wouldn't assume automatically that I was being told
that the literal end of the calendar year was when it expired -- I'd
assume that "the end of the year" was sort of a murky period that
started earlier in December than the 31st and I would have asked for
the exact date. If I'd been given the exact date in the first place,
then I would make certain that I gave the exact date when I contacted
the company later on. So your version here sounds a little murky to
me.

In any event, I'm willing to bet that at some point Delta made the
policy on when these things expire available to you. Quite likely on
any hardcopy documentation they gave you and definitely on the
website. And you're not referring to that at all, presumably because
it very clearly does not support your current position.

So no, I don't think that Ms. Allen's letter to you, which basically
lists the relevant facts and policies and how they have been used to
arrive at the determination that they don't owe you that credit, is
"completely unprofessional and in very poor taste" or even a little
unprofessional and in questionable taste. I think it's a perfectly
reasonable response.

What's unprofessional is writing business letters that refer to
"today" when the day being discussed is not in fact the day the letter
is sent, failing to recognize and/or comprehend clear rules that
govern the voucher you were given, demanding to "speak ...
immediately" with someone via a letter as opposed to a telephone call,
and presuming to address someone by their first name when your
relationship doesn't warrant that.

By all means, appeal Ms. Allen's ruling if you don't like it. But
understand that you are asking for an exception to be made, not to be
given something to which you are entitled, and try to come off as the
sort of person whoever reviews your case will want to help.

Then I strongly urge you to re-do whatever organizing system you're
using to keep track of these things, because a frequent flyer like you
ought to be able to find a way to use an airline voucher within a year
and remembering that the voucher exists is the first step toward not
having this problem again.

http://www.planetfeedback.com/index.php?level2=blog_viewpost&topic_id=
295453

Here is the link to the OP's first letter.

Chris - can you comment further on this issue? It seems to me that
your conversation of 12-21 is relevant to your complaint, however, I
don't know why you didn't reference it in your first letter. Will you
please enlighten me?

It was expired though.

Brenda is right.

You screwed up and are now out $730. Its your fault suck it up and
deal with it lesson learned.

Your first letter was date January 16, 2007. You said you tried to use
the voucher today (1.16.07).

January is past the end of 2006.

Now you say you tried to book it on December 21?

You should get your stories straight.