Problems with United.....
So my friend just visited from the UK, his passport had been through the washing machine before he traveled and was looking a little tatty. He traveled to the US with it just fine. The problem came when he was leaving and the airline said that his passport was in too poor condition. That would have been fine, but instead of refusing travel they made him buy an extra ticket for the first plane. He had 2 seats on the same flight and paid $500 for it.......Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before? I could understand them saying he was a security risk and making him pay for a different flight but it was the exact same plane! Also the TSA told him that his passport was fine, as did people at other airline desks.
He's gonna try to get his money back but we shall see..... |
Re: Problems with United.....
Was the extra ticket for the passport? :blink::confused:
|
Re: Problems with United.....
Originally Posted by AmerLisa
(Post 9556985)
Was the extra ticket for the passport? :blink::confused:
|
Re: Problems with United.....
Is your friend a particularly large person - you know, kinda roomy?
|
Re: Problems with United.....
How bizarre. Could the money have been some kind of insurance for the airline, in case they got into trouble at the other end for carrying him with an illegibile passport?
I hate United. Good luck getting your money back from them. They once offered me the chance to pay for an upgrade to a seat I had already purchased. |
Re: Problems with United.....
I'm not fond of United as well... But we're getting ready to go on a long trip starting Tuesday, and we will be flying with several :rolleyes: different carriers. Fingers crossed that we don't come up against any ridiculous issues while we're away....:fingerscrossed:
And you're kind of caught if they're pressuring you to buy something and you just want to get out of there and home. I hope your friend gets compensation!! |
Re: Problems with United.....
Originally Posted by Awesome Welles
(Post 9557050)
Is your friend a particularly large person - you know, kinda roomy?
|
Re: Problems with United.....
I would complain to United and ask for the money back. Never heard of that before and it could well have been breach of contract.
If it was paid by credit card I would also ask the credit card company to charge the cost back because no service was provided. |
Re: Problems with United.....
Yup - complain, do it through a local news channel, play on the fact he's in the military - go for the bad PR angle....!!!
This just sounds like gouging to me... b@stards! HTS |
Re: Problems with United.....
He paid with his debit card and the bank told him that he can dispute the charge after 30 days. He told them that he had to get back to the UK because he needs to be back at camp for training, they said that because he didn't have any orders with him then it didn't matter. He did show them his military ID but they said that wasn't enough. I might send an email to the local paper to see if they want to pick up the story, our airport is small and expensive to fly out of as it is. There is no reason to make it worse!
|
Re: Problems with United.....
What I don't understand is if the passport was not good enough for the airline to allow him onto the plane how does buying another seat on the same flight make the rejected passport acceptable?
Suppose he didn't bother asking for a supervisor, did he? |
Re: Problems with United.....
Originally Posted by Rete
(Post 9557285)
What I don't understand is if the passport was not good enough for the airline to allow him onto the plane how does buying another seat on the same flight make the rejected passport acceptable?
Suppose he didn't bother asking for a supervisor, did he? |
Re: Problems with United.....
Originally Posted by Ja5on
(Post 9556947)
So my friend just visited from the UK, his passport had been through the washing machine before he traveled and was looking a little tatty. He traveled to the US with it just fine. The problem came when he was leaving and the airline said that his passport was in too poor condition. That would have been fine, but instead of refusing travel they made him buy an extra ticket for the first plane. He had 2 seats on the same flight and paid $500 for it.......Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before? I could understand them saying he was a security risk and making him pay for a different flight but it was the exact same plane! Also the TSA told him that his passport was fine, as did people at other airline desks.
He's gonna try to get his money back but we shall see..... However, everything about it sounds a little bit wrong and I would certainly be disputing it. As a UK citizen of course, he would be allowed entry eventually. Maybe United were covering the possibility that he wasn't a UK citizen and the passport was not in good enough condition to be verified (by them) as valid. |
Re: Problems with United.....
It seems rather strange. You first go through checkin with the airline, and then you get to the TSA with your BP and carryon.
How would he know whether the TSA is going to or not accept his ID ? Actually TSA just looks at your photo ID, tattered or not. People carry frayed drivers license as photo ID and folded printout of e-ticket for TSA security check :) |
Re: Problems with United.....
Originally Posted by Rete
(Post 9557285)
What I don't understand is if the passport was not good enough for the airline to allow him onto the plane how does buying another seat on the same flight make the rejected passport acceptable?
Suppose he didn't bother asking for a supervisor, did he? |
All times are GMT. The time now is 10:31 am. |
Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.