Missed departure ,!! Help needed

Hi, myself my wife and my daughter missed our Mia-LHR flight this evening. There was an accident on the Florida turnpike which delayed us by 2 hours. I called virgin who said " still go to the airport and they will rebook you on tomorrow's flight. When we got here ( the airport) there was no virgin representative. I called virgin by phone and they would not rebook us. The tickets I had already bought were virgin upper class ( z class) tickets. Virgin said they are not changeable and so have to buy new tickets, they will not even allow us to change them for economy. I and my 9 year old daughter have heart conditions which require medication. Even though virgin know this they will not help us. We do not have the means to buy new tickets. Is there anything virgin are required to do to help us get home? We are currently stuck at Miami airport so any advice would be appreciated.

In the first instance I would contact my travel insurance emergency helpline, to see what they can do to help. But no Virgin don't have to do anything

I already spoke to my insurance company, they said as the the delay was caused by an accident that I was not involved in, then I'm not covered for missed departure.

In the first instance I would contact my travel insurance emergency helpline, to see what they can do to help. But no Virgin don't have to do anything

I already spoke to my insurance company, they said as the the delay was caused by an accident that I was not involved in, then I'm not covered for missed departure.

I'm afraid Virgin don't have to do anything as it is always the passenger's responsibility to get to the airport on time.

But you could always try calling again just in case you get another agent who's feeling generous. Virgin have proved many times in the past that they'll go the extra mile to help passengers. But let me stress that should you strike lucky, it's totally a goodwill gesture on their part and they have absolutely no legal duty to help.

[preiffer]

Sounds like a pretty crappy insurance policy - as *most* accidents causing a delay to you getting to the airport (you would hope) don't involve the travelling party actually being part of the wreckage itself!

Are you sure this is "proper" Travel Insurance, and not just relying on your credit card purchase protection...?

In the first instance I would contact my travel insurance emergency helpline, to see what they can do to help. But no Virgin don't have to do anything

I already spoke to my insurance company, they said as the the delay was caused by an accident that I was not involved in, then I'm not covered for missed departure.

First off, sorry to hear about this situation... not a good way to end a holiday

As the others have said VS are under no legal obligation to get you home after you have missed your flight. You can keep trying and you may be able to garner a sympathetic ear, but this would be a pure goodwill gesture on their part.

If this is a 'full' travel insurance policy this usually qualifies for a claim. I would give them a call back if I were you and keep at it.

If you guys have run out of meds, I would strongly suggest going to a pharmacy and getting a new set - or if a prescription set, quickest way will be to pay a trip to a hospital A&E to see a doctor. You could be in for a bit of a wait unfortunately.

Best of luck 8D

Sounds like an awful situation, sorry to hear it.

Out of interest, who is your travel insurer?

Wow :0 , everyones nightmare situation. I hope things work out for you and you get home quickly and safely.

Just as an observation, I am assuming the delay was more than 2 hours as that would still have given you an hour left of the 3 hour checkin time and you arrived after the plane departed or would they not let you checkin even though the plane hadn't departed - that would make the situation worse.

If you don't get anywhere with your insurance, I would head back to the airport and try and plead your case face to face rather than by telephone.

Tonights flight looks busy J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W6 S6 K6 Y1 B1 R1 L1 U1 M1 E1 Q1 X1 N1 O1 but best of luck .

David

Thanks everyone for your responses so far. I have always loved virgin and recommended them many times but for some reason their goodwill seems to have vanished without a trace. I can't believe this is happening and virgin won't help!
Does the fact that one of there reps told us that all we had to do was, get to the airport and they would rebook us, hold them to anything??
I know I may seem like I'm picking at straws but I don't know what else to do,

Gosh I wish I could be more helpful, I wondered perhaps if you had other insurance that perhaps you were not aware of, some people dont realise some of their cards have it. Have you contacted VA or TA this side of the pond.

..for some reason their goodwill seems to have vanished without a trace. I can't believe this is happening and virgin won't help!

I am afraid to say that there is little VS are obligated to do... given the heavy loads on these flights it may be the case that getting you guys home will not be an easy task for them, esp if flights are full.. They can't exactly bump other people.

Does the fact that one of there reps told us that all we had to do was, get to the airport and they would rebook us, hold them to anything??

Not at all, they said you could rebook, which they are allowing you too. Just not for free.. if the agent had said that there would be no penalty or rebooking charges, that would be different. However they didn't.

In terms of what to do, my first priority would be those meds, who knows how long you will be stuck at the airport. Secondly give that insurance firm a call again and see what they can do.. as we have been saying the accident that caused you to miss your departure would be grounds for an insurance claim with nearly all policies so I am not quite sure why they would decline... what is your policy?

Failing that appeal to VS directly, explain your position of being stranded with no way of getting home and no means in which to pay for it.. the only thing you can ask of them is for their sympathy and understanding..... they may offer to put you on standby until they have 3 seats crop up, but again they are not obligated to do so.

I truly hope you manage to get home soon and that there is a happy ending to this story. y)

Tommorrows flight looks a little better J3 C3 D2 I2 Z0 W9 S9 K9 Y6 B6 R5 L5 U5 M4 E3 Q3 X0 N0 O0 with at least some space in economy.

Wonder what would happen if you just turned up to checkin today and played a little dumb.

People turning up on the wrong day (now that most flights are booked by the travelling public via the internet) must happen all the time and you would have thought there would be some mechanism for sorting it out.

David

Good news! Just tried calling virgin again and was told the same as yesterday but after they realised we were still here at the airport with nowhere to go they have booked us on Thursdays flight. So thank you virgin!
And thank you all for responding. X

All's well that ends well hey oo)

Good news! Just tried calling virgin again and was told the same as yesterday but after they realised we were still here at the airport with nowhere to go they have booked us on Thursdays flight. So thank you virgin!
And thank you all for responding. X

y) y) y) y) Excellent news.

Great news

So pleased, its one of my dreams I have a few weeks before a holiday, I wake up and shudder, never imagined I would read of it actually happening.

Safe journey home x

Really pleased you have got it sorted.

Have a safe trip back home

Safe trip home well done VS

Good news!!

Did you get UC tickets this time?

That's wonderful news, I was getting more and more concerned for you as I read the posts. ^)

Update!!!
A few hours after that call I got a call from my son in the Uk, he said virgin had been trying to contact me. So as I had decided to stay at the airport hotel until thursday I went down to the checkin, and was told even though we were booked on Thursdays flight they wanted $4000 before they would let us fly.

It all started again with them telling us are ticket couldn't be changed, we told them about our daughters medical condition they still said no, but as we always carry her medical records with us at all times just in case they are needed, we showed them her folder. From that point it all changed, they went to get the supervisor who then told as that as long as my daughter was cleared by virgin medical then they would give us tickets.
They had no upper class or premium economy, but we didn't care, we just wanted to get our daughter home. So we left on a flight last night and arrived home about 6 hours ago.

It has been a mixed bag from virgin with some good and bad service, but it just shows it all comes down to wether the person that your talking to really wants to help or not. So all I can say is the staff at the check-in in Miami were amazing!

was told even though we were booked on Thursdays flight they wanted $4000 before they would let us fly.

Wow VS really should have told you that over the phone when they rebooked you v( v( .

.. as we always carry her medical records with us at all times just in case they are needed, we showed them her folder. From that point it all changed, they went to get the supervisor who then told as that as long as my daughter was cleared by virgin medical then they would give us tickets.

It is a shame that this was necessary. I wonder what VS were thinking... Also Virgin Medical?? Never heard of them before - do airlines keep medical staff on retainer or something I wonder ?|

So we left on a flight last night and arrived home about 6 hours ago.

At least this story ends well. Welcome back y) y)

It has been a mixed bag from virgin with some good and bad service, but it just shows it all comes down to wether the person that your talking to really wants to help or not. So all I can say is the staff at the check-in in Miami were amazing!

Whilst I'm glad you're home I think you are being a little harsh - I'd say VS have actually been very helpful given they had no real obligation to help you.
Can you tell us who your travel insurance is with given they won't cover missed departure caused by an accident the claimant isn't actually involved in (which as Preiffer has already stated is ludicrous ! ) ?
DL