Staff error - where do I stand?

Ok, so you may or may not know - I've only recently decided to switch to VS as my preferred airline (prev BA). I've taken a few VS flights over the years but BA has been the main airline amongst others.

Anyway.....I recently booked a PE return to JFK in Sept. The plan was to fly into JFK, attend a friends wedding then fly down to MCO for holiday. My friend decided not to get married in NY and instead Florida, so I called and switched the flights to MCO return in PE.

I decided to upgrade the outbound to UC, so called UC line and booked, no problems.

Feeling I would feel bad on the way home, I later called to upgrade the return to UC. A lovely lady on the UC line helped me out, upgraded the seats and advised me that nothing was due. Now this was very suprising so i asked her how nothing was due. She advised that she had gone through the system and worked out the amount I had already paid and nothing was due. I asked her to double check, she spent 45 minutes checking with 3 colleagues and a supervisor and came back to me to confirm all ok, allowed me to select my seats and confirmed I would receive a new e-ticket within 24 hours.

48 hours passed, no e-ticket, so I called to check. UC line advised it's still in the queue and no problems. Called again the next day as nothing received and told the same thing, but as it was after 5pm, they could not call through to ticketing to double check.

Called back yesterday at 9:30 and spoke to a guy who called through to check, adv no issues, will be issuing within 24 hours.

Still not received today so I called back.....then spoke to a guy who advised that I now hadn't paid enough and need to pay for the upgrade.

I don't expect something for free, however, when i've spent 45 minutes on the phone making sure its correct and all the follow up calls, I don't think it's fair I should now have to pay for their error.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you experienced the same?

Phew - that's a tricky one.

My thoughts, FWIW, are:-

You were presumably prepared to pay originally if the quoted upgrade price for the trn leg was reasonable.

During the original call, the VS system appears to have produced a figure that was checked by multiple people multiple times and was quoted to you - and you accepted in good faith.

My feeling is that VS have a duty of care to honour that original quote, but you COULD offer to compremise with them, realising that they have made an error, and that perhaps you can split the difference with them? Offer them some miles?

I do think, though, that whatever you do, you need to speak with a supervisor type person directly and request an email confirming whatever the agreement is...

Do let us know the outcome...

They will also probably try and make you pay the increased fuel surcharge as that is now in force which wouldn't have been when you first made the upgrade, if they do that then I would definitely kick up a fuss.

Ed

Thanks both for the replies.

Concorde - I think that's a reasonable approach and I do hope that VS will be reasonable. The fact that the original person I spoke to double checked and went through all aspects of my booking to ensure this was correct and asked 3 other colleagues to confirm gave me the confidence that it was right.

I've got a supervisor listening to the calls and speaking with the person in question and I should receive a call back later this afternoon, I'll keep you posted!

Luke

Hmm this does seem strange... especially when the first time you phoned up, you were adviced the price was higher than you had hoped due to no z's available.

I would of thought VS would be within their rights to say a mistake was made and demand extra. Because the ticket wasn't issued, and normally you enter a contract upon payment, but as you didn't pay extra I can't see how that would work...

Does seem unfair though. Are they offering you your seats back in PE as an alternative to paying the extra?

Yes a tricky one.

Under contract law, I would say you have a valid contract, unless VS say they had made a mistake. However, given your conscientious in asking them to check, I think it would be extremely bad of VS to now insist on more money.

Hmm this does seem strange... especially when the first time you phoned up, you were adviced the price was higher than you had hoped due to no z's available.

I would of thought VS would be within their rights to say a mistake was made and demand extra. Because the ticket wasn't issued, and normally you enter a contract upon payment, but as you didn't pay extra I can't see how that would work...

Does seem unfair though. Are they offering you your seats back in PE as an alternative to paying the extra?

Phil - I have no idea what is going on! It's a catalogue of incorrect information and mistakes by VS staff in the UC call centre.

I was given the wrong information and not informed of fare conditions which had lead to this issue.

Really disappointed that no one called me and I had to call myself, now got someone looking into it, but looks like i'm going to have to pay. They have even said it was their mistake, but I can't accept that, especially as I queried it at booking stage and it was triple checked!

We'll see what the outcome is.

Thanks for the comments on there though everyone! Might end up going back to BA or someone else!

They have admitted their mistake so they should swallow the cost. Its not like you have tried to bamboozle them, their own system has done that to them !

You repeatedly asked the staff to check that there was nothing more to pay and it seams they did check (even a spervisor)

It looks like they have it all on tape which should help you.

I would escalate this further up the VS management tree.

Seams like VS need to see this as a 'learning experience' and charge the costs of your upgrade to their training budget.

The alternative would be for you to demand a full refund, they may try and say you bought a refundable fare but you could make a case that because of their mistakes that you have lost trust in VS. A visit to the small claims court will soon sort them out if they refuse.

The alternative would be for you to demand a full refund, they may try and say you bought a refundable fare but you could make a case that because of their mistakes that you have lost trust in VS. A visit to the small claims court will soon sort them out if they refuse.

As bad as the situation is, I can't see a small claims court taking interest, Luke hasn't been given a ticket for UC, nor has he been overcharged.

Trying to get a refund for the PE non-refundable fare would be hard as the fare rules are clear and surely the pe ticket still exists so could be flown?

Hopefully it will be resolved soon though

hmmm interesting. I'll play devils advocate here, you mention that you haven't received any confirmation and that Virgin have admitted it was there mistake that they said there was not upgrade cost. but have you got anything in writing? I gather that you haven't and unless you have a recorded telephone, cannot prove what was said. Virgin on the other hand i would suggest do record calls so they could check and validate what you are saying.

I tend to agree with Hamster, as they never issued any confirmation / ticket of the upgrade, I do not believe there is any contract here and IMHO, i don't see that Virgin has a duty to not ask you to pay for an upgrade.

True thery wouldn't take an interest in the UC part but Luke could make a case of 'lack of trust' in VS as a supplier and due to their actions (i.e. the messed up ticket) he no longer has any confidence in them.

He could even use the tape of the telephone calls as evidence in his favour i.e. he repeatedly asked and was given assurances,

But yes I hope it gets resolved soon with VS admitting their mistake and putting Luke in UC for no charge

A very strange situation, indeed. I hope this works out in your favor. Interested in hearing the result.

Ok so now am worried! I think I may in a similar situation. They were meant to charge £500 each to my card for two upgrades from PE. The agent said as it was late it could take a few days for new tickets. BUT when I log into my reservation the section is showing as UC and I have made seat selections. Am now concerned that the deal was too good!!!
What to do??

The alternative would be for you to demand a full refund, they may try and say you bought a refundable fare but you could make a case that because of their mistakes that you have lost trust in VS. A visit to the small claims court will soon sort them out if they refuse.

As bad as the situation is, I can't see a small claims court taking interest, Luke hasn't been given a ticket for UC, nor has he been overcharged.

Trying to get a refund for the PE non-refundable fare would be hard as the fare rules are clear and surely the pe ticket still exists so could be flown?

Hopefully it will be resolved soon though

VS have little or no regard for contract terms or legalities when they think a supplier or competitor is being unfair to them. Why should a customer be any different?

IMO it's the principal of questioning a customer and demanding extra payment especially when they appear to have gone above and beyond to ensure this wasn't an error being made by the operator. The only respectful and fair thing to do is honour their original price, even if it was free.

enyce085,

Sorry this situation arose, I think if anything it shows a unprofessionalism on a whole new level for Virgin v( If I was supervisor and the situation was as you said there has to be some level that they compromise hope you get an apology first of all, and an answer.

Ok so now am worried! I think I may in a similar situation. They were meant to charge £500 each to my card for two upgrades from PE. The agent said as it was late it could take a few days for new tickets. BUT when I log into my reservation the section is showing as UC and I have made seat selections. Am now concerned that the deal was too good!!!
What to do??

If the tickets are confirmed, then I would just remain quiet unless they call you. However I have had situations when I have charged an item to my card and didnt post on my statement until over a month later. If not and you got a free upgrade congrats y)

Platinum Leo

Yes a tricky one.

Under contract law, I would say you have a valid contract, unless VS say they had made a mistake. However, given your conscientious in asking them to check, I think it would be extremely bad of VS to now insist on more money.

I've had an issue with Virign before where I've gone down the line of pointing out the contract law point. Virgin were very quick to point me to their Ts & Cs that stated that they enter into no contract until the e-ticket is issued.

I got my issue solved in the end by escalating it higher. To escalate it higher I had to sit on the phone a refuse to divluge any details to the call centre until they passed me to someone else!

GOOD NEWS! All resolved! The supervisor who dealt with it was really good and looked into all aspects of what had happened.

They have agreed to honour the original agreement. Although a massive cost to them, they acknowledged that it wasn't my fault and that it was a training issue for the individual involved.

Advice - make sure you write down who you speak to and when! This proved useful when they listened to the call.

Thanks for all the advice and supportive comments on here.

At the end of the day, all companies make mistakes - however, it is how the complaint is handled with ensure future repeat business!!

Luke

They have agreed to honour the original agreement. Although a massive cost to them, they acknowledged that it wasn't my fault and that it was a training issue for the individual involved.

Luke

Fantastic outcome and as I said earlier a valuable 'learning experience' for VS but I would be concerned that they retrain only one staff member when others also checked and agreed the figures initially calculated.

y) y) y)

They have agreed to honour the original agreement. Although a massive cost to them, they acknowledged that it wasn't my fault and that it was a training issue for the individual involved.

Luke

Fantastic outcome and as I said earlier a valuable 'learning experience' for VS but I would be concerned that they retrain only one staff member when others also checked and agreed the figures initially calculated.

y) y) y)

Exactly - agree. He said that it's not something that happens often (I should hope not!), but they have provided the lady in question with some additional training.

Now....subject to the flights I've booked this year being good, I will continue to use VS as my preferred airline.

GOOD NEWS! All resolved! The supervisor who dealt with it was really good and looked into all aspects of what had happened.

They have agreed to honour the original agreement. Although a massive cost to them, they acknowledged that it wasn't my fault and that it was a training issue for the individual involved.

Advice - make sure you write down who you speak to and when! This proved useful when they listened to the call.

Thanks for all the advice and supportive comments on here.

At the end of the day, all companies make mistakes - however, it is how the complaint is handled with ensure future repeat business!!

Luke

Fantastic news and with an outcome as it should be
y)

I's glad that it has been resolved and been sorted out

they have provided the lady in question with some additional training.

Hopefully not training her how to clean up her CV!

What a relief for you. y)

R-P

Hopefully not training her how to clean up her CV!

Unfortunately, knowing Virgin, the member of staff will definitely be looking at their CV... either through their own choice or not.
I know that the call centre has a very high staff turn over, people leaving all the time due to the poor working conditions/rules/benefits or being forced out.

GOOD NEWS! All resolved! The supervisor who dealt with it was really good and looked into all aspects of what had happened.
Luke

Huge well done for sticking to your guns. A lesson to learn for VS no doubt, and have a very very great and fun flight (PS drink all the champagne!).