ComplaintsforCorporate Travel Center

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased airline tickets through the Winterhawks Booster Club for travel to Canada in January of 2023, but was unable to use the tickets because of illness. The travel agent handling the tickets told me at the time that I would receive a full credit for the unused ticket, and to just call Air Canada when I was ready to rebook. That was inaccurate information. Air Canada cannot rebook the ticket or offer a credit because it was booked though a travel agency - only the travel agency can rebook and provide us with the credit. They are refusing to do so - and now refusing to return my or my wife's calls. They say the issue is the in hands of Air Canada. Air Canada says our redress is with the travel agency. I need the travel agency to rebook my ticket using my credit, but as of now they are refusing to do that. There is a lot of email communication on this that I can share, but this is the gist of the problem.

  Business response

  06/14/2023

  Hello BBB, 

  We sold group tickets to a known client, Mr. S***** **** of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club, who purchased the group of 26 tickets from us on Dec. 1, 2022 for the group to travel together on 1/5/23 from PDX to YQR and return from YQR to PDX on 1/15/2023.  The cost of each ticket was $803.32 and the invoice from Air Canada for the group payment was $20,886.32 and included terms and attrition requirements.  We passed on the invoice to Mr. S***** **** who paid for the group airfare via direct wire transfer from the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club into our business banking account. Mr. Kemp sold to the individuals as a package deal including other travel related products and event tickets.  We at Corporate Travel Center do not know what the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club package deal included nor do we know what the package deal cost was to each individual. 

  Our agent was advised two days prior to the flight (on 1/3/23) that one of the people in the group could not travel.  She split that person out and cancelled his airline reservation.  This person was Mr. John S********.  She advised the purchaser, Mr. S***** **** that we could hold on to the unused ticket and apply it toward the purchase of a new ticket minus the penalty within one year of the date it was originally issued. On May 23, 2023,  Mr. S******** contacted our agent directly to try to use his ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket for travel in August.  Our agent advised him that she would need to check with the group leader (purchaser) to see if it was ok to allow him to use the ticket.  Mr. S***** **** told our agent that since Mr. S******** in fact purchased the package deal that he was entitled to use his ticket for a future trip and go ahead and work directly with Mr. S********.  Mr. S******** had already decided upon flights that he wanted to take in August along with his wife.  He found the flights and cost on the internet and contacted our agent to 1. apply his ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for himself and 2. to purchase a ticket for his wife to accompany him.  The cost of the tickets he found on the internet for the flights he wants for he and his wife in August was $550.38 per person.  When she disclosed that the value of the original ticket was $803.32 but holds a penalty imposed by Air Canada of $200 to make a change,  Mr. S******** assumed he would have the airfare difference of $252.94 to either keep for a later date or apply towards his wife's ticket purchase.  When he was advised that the residual airfare is forfeited in the case of the new ticket being of lesser value,  he insisted that he was entitled to the difference.  This is where the problem began.  The rules of the fare of the original ticket are that it may be exchanged for a ticket of equal or greater value plus the collection of a $200 airline imposed penalty.  The penalty may not be collected from any residual, it must be paid at time of ticket exchange.  Any residual airfare value is nonrefundable and is forfeited if a ticket of lesser value is exchanged for it.  I (T*** ********, General Manager of Corporate Travel Center) stepped in at this point because the agent contacted me in tears asking me for help because she was so intimidated by the ticket holder.  During the demands that our agent be responsible for the $250 airfare difference, while she was emotionally distraught,  she blurted out that she could give him a $250 Visa Gift Card that she had received from a family member as a gift, and would that satisfy him? I stepped in and told the agent to no longer converse with Mr. S******** as I did not feel he was owed her personal gift card.  He then claimed the agent had made a "mistake" by cancelling the reservation before asking for a Transportation Credit Voucher from Air Canada.  This was information he received over the telephone by an Air Canada reservation's agent which was incorrect.  An ACTCV can still be obtained AFTER a reservation is cancelled,  it is just handled as a different process (attached) which I communicated to Mr. S******** that our agent did not make any mistakes. I also sent via email the attached information as proof.  The actual reason that an Air Canada Transportation Voucher could not be obtained is because it EXCLUDES group discount fares,  which is what Mr. S******** has from the package deal he purchased from Portland Winterhawks Booster Club. 

  As an act of courtesy,  I did try to obtain a "waiver" from our Air Canada Regional Sales Manger.  He tried to work with the Manager of the Air Canada Group Desk,  the process took a full two weeks,  only to be declined. I have also reached out to Air Canada to try to get a waiver to allow THEM to exchange his ticket and collect the $200 penalty,  which was also declined as they need the agency to handle the reissue.  I am reluctant to collect the $200 via credit card for the exchange as I fear that the charge will be denied/reversed and our agency will be stuck with a Debit Memo for reversal of charges by customer.  Mr. S******** himself is not an established client here at CTC.  

  Just on Friday June 9th at 2:52PM PST,  I received a physician's note sent to me by Mr. S********'s wife via email that indicates the doctor advised Mr. S******** not to travel in January with the group due to a severe medical condition that was active at the time.  I immediately wrote to Air Canada Customer Support requesting a refund and attached the physician's note.  I received an automated reply from Air Canada at 4:56PM PST acknowledging they received my request and assigned case # CAS-6*****3-Q4F3D6.  The acknowledgement states that they will respond as soon as possible.  I know that particular department does not work on weekends, and they received my request late on a Friday.  I followed up with a phone call on Monday to Air Canada general reservations who was in fact able to see that the request was in the system but no one had actioned as of yet.  The agent I spoke with said it usually takes about 5 to 7 WORKING days for them to respond, but that time frame is not guarantee.  I am at the mercy of waiting for Air Canada to reply,  and I am in HOPES that they refund the original ticket (perhaps minus the $200 penalty) and I can turn that money over to Mr. S******** so he can purchase a new ticket.  I also advised that they may want to purchase the wife's ticket online now if they are concerned about losing the $550 airfare that is currently still available for their flights wanted for this August. 

  Please let me know if you need any further information.  I do welcome any suggestions you may have.  I do want the S********'s to be satisfied, however,  I am not willing to take the risk in blindly charging an unestablished client's credit card, especially when they are under the impression that we owe them the fare difference of the ticket they want for August and the ticket currently being held as unused from the January group travel. 

  This response was solely written and sent by T*** ********, General Manager of Corporate Travel Center *** ******* ***** Suite B Moorpark, CA 91320. Direct dial phone ###-###-#### email tami@axtravelcenter.com  on behalf of D**** ****** whom this complaint was directed to.  

   

  Customer response

  06/15/2023

  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Much of Ms. F*******'s response is an effort to deflect and distract. There has been no "intimidation", but rather an effort to hold the agency accountable for the harm they have caused me.  Ms. F******* also contradicts herself.  For example, she has claimed in the past that her agency has no obligation or relationship to us because she dealt with the Booster Club; on the other hand, she has claimed we are bound by alleged cancellation terms in the invoice to the Booster Club.  The claim that Corporate Travel has no obligation to me is also disingenuous given that they purchased the ticket in my name, not in the name of the Booster Club.  Similarly, she has claimed that Ms. G****** is an "independent contractor," yet she has also purported to forbid Ms. G****** from keeping the promises she made to compensate for the harm she caused, promises that she made not only orally, but also in writing (see attached text exchange).  That promise was not just a "blurting out," but was memorialized in writing.
  
  Most importantly, these key facts remain undisputed:
  
       •    At the time the ticket had to be cancelled because of illness and doctor's orders, I was not told about any cancellation fees or that I would not be able to use the entire credit if my next trip cost less than the value of the credit.  To the contrary, when I asked what I would need to use the credit, I was told the following on January 23, 2023, by Wendy G******,  "You would use the same confirmation or ticket number but I’m happy to assist with the reissue when you’re ready to travel."  No mention of any of the problems that have now arisen.  Also, please note that, despite the offer to assist with reissuing the ticket, the travel agency has now refused to do so since May 20, nearly a full month.  In the meantime, I continue to be exposed to the risk of the fares rising or the flights selling out (I have already committed to a group tour, so I have to fly on specific dates).
  
           •    At the time I had to cancel the ticket because of illness and doctor's orders, I specifically asked on Jan. 5, 2023, whether I could get a refund if I got a doctor's note.  Ms. G****** said "no" on January 5, 2023, "Sadly it would not be possible unless there was a death in the family. I can send you the fare rules if you wish.  Or you could file a complaint directly with the airline, submit as much documentation as you have, close your eyes, cross your fingers and pray…. Wish I had better news…'  Given Ms. G******'s statement that a refund "would not be possible" and her assurance that I would be able to use the full credit without mentioning any limitation, I did not file any complaint at that time.  Now I am told that a refund might be possible, of which I was not even advised until June 7 or 8, 2023, more than 2-1/2 weeks after I first attempted to get a ticket issued  Now I am apparently going to have to wait another week or two to find out if I can get a refund, exacerbating the risk of a fare increase or flights selling out.
  
          •    Most egregiously, Air Canada will not allow me to exercise the credit directly because it was part of a group purchase and said I must go through the travel agency.  For nearly a month now, however, the travel agency has held our credit hostage and refused to issue a ticket, without any legitimate justification whatsoever.  (For the record, I have a nearly perfect credit history).  To date, the travel agency has, in effect, deprived me of any and all of the value of the credit.  This needs to be remedied immediately.
  
  Attachment:  Text exchange between John S******** and Wendy G******:
  John:  I answered your question.  Will you please answer mine?  I will repeat it.  If you cannot come up wit a workaround, are you going to keep your promise and our compromise agreement to pay me $253, reflecting the difference between the fare for the new flight I want to take and the $803 credit I was supposed to receive, while I would bear the cost of any change fees>
  Wendy:  Yes.
  J***:  Thank you.
  
  Regards,
  
  **** S********
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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