20 hours after making travel arrangements, I had to cancel. I had insurance. Expedia's website wouldn't allow me to do it online.
32 hours later, several phone calls, much frustration, I finally got through to have flights canceled, but the reimbursement is not guaranteed.
Phone calls began around 7 pm and ended about 11 p.m. First off, the cancellation on the website came up with the fact there were technical difficulties and to call a 1-800 #. Sure. No problem. The first woman I talked to could not be heard. She turned up the volume but the accent was thick and it was very difficult to hear her. So, she sent me to a supervisor. This was fine, until that woman started to get angry and hung up on me. I was asking for clarification, because I got insurance and I needed to know what to do. Nope. Had to call back. And call back again. And call back again.
I went through the series over and over, and eventually was given to what the woman claimed to be corporate office. The guy was kind, but explained that they book flights, but don't insure cancellations. I explained the fact that I tried to cancel on Expedia, but was given the 1-800 numbers (you know what that is like). In the second go-around I had him. He walked me through how to make a claim 48 hours after booking a flight, which I did, but the website for the insurance company they use wouldn't allow me to complete the entry, so he suggested I try another browser. So I tried one. Then I tried two. Then I tried three. No luck. He advised me to call the 1-800 number.
So, I did. She laughed. She was like, "You can't cancel the flights with us. You have to call Expedia back."
I simply wanted the flights cancelled. I got insurance in case this would happen. The Expedia employees explained they were a 3rd party and had to go through the airlines. Insurance is another party and we can't make decisions for them. Etc. Etc.
It was 48 hours after the original booking. I got insurance just in case something had to be cancelled (because that chance was there). Expedia didn't do it and sent me to the insurance company. Their insurance company laughed and told me to call Expedia again. What a cycle.
So, I did. Same story. This person leads to this person leads to this person. Eventually, I got the flights cancelled. It should be noted that they offered me $100 vouchers to apologize and I simply said, "I don't want vouchers. I want to cancel the flight and move on with my life. I want them to do the right thing. That's why I got insurance."
The right thing? I don't know, because I now have to call a 1-800 number in the morning. 48 hours later. A passenger can't travel because of illness. It should be something simple. Instead, I lost an entire evening and a morning.
I am in absolute awe that any company would work this way. Up until this point of time, I've had little to no problem with Expedia. It's the first time, however, I was smart enough to get insurance just in case, because we knew medical issues might be an issue.
Their insurance company took all my information but said they couldn't make a claim because they didn't cancel the flight. So, we called back. Now I await until people are at work in the morning.
Life happens. What an unbelievable night! I'm just one person, making arrangements for another to travel and it didn't work out. 48 hours later, this is the reality.
I have learned my lesson. Normally, I don't air such grievances on my Blog and in my writing, but I've never experienced anything this unprofessional in my life.
And here we are...another day.
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