My response to United's denial letter #2

September 7, 2016

Thank you for responding again regarding our unfortunate incident last month.  Some of the information you shared I have not heard before.

You say, “Notes in your flight record indicate that one of our airport representatives contacted TAM in order to have them reissue the ticket and they refused.”  Who exactly called TAM Airlines?  When did that supposedly happen?  In the immediate hours following our passenger rights being denied to board the plane and before I left Pasco Airport, I was personally on the phone with Expedia and TAM Airlines.  Tickets could not be reissued because we had been entered in the system as “no shows” by United Airlines.  All that United Airlines had to do was change our status in the system.  No one at the airport would do that.  No one that I spoke to on the phone would do that.  If a United Airlines representative would have been willing to do that, TAM Airlines would have rebooked us on the next available flight. I agree that TAM Airlines did “own” our tickets.  In fact, Alexandra at TAM Airlines had an itinerary all ready for us but just needed United to change our erroneously entered status.  United Airlines would never make that happened.  We had a very small window where we could get any part of our ticket refunded and after spending all day on Thursday, August 4 and most of the day on Friday, August 5 on the phone, I chose to request a refund instead of lose out on an additional $6,000.

You say, “At that point we did our best to assist you.”  Had United done its best to assist me, you would have changed our status so that tickets could have been rebooked at no additional charge and our move to another country would not have been delayed by an additional week, with no luggage for the first 4 days of that.  That would have been the “best way to assist me.”

The travel certificates are a nice gesture, but do not compare to the additional $3064.04 that I had to spend to get myself and four children to Brazil.  A nice gesture would be a reimbursement check, as well as travel vouchers to allow United Airlines an “opportunity to provide the service that we deserve.”

Pasco Airport has already taken statements from those that were involved in the situation on August 4.  Clearly they understand that the problem was created there, and not because we were no-shows or too late to be included on the flight.  I’m sure that if security footage is pulled from that day it will show that we arrived at the airport, checked in and got to the gate in time to be included on the flight.  I am returning to the states next month and I am happy to gather that information from the Pasco Airport to forward to you.

Regards,

Gretchen Child
Case 10880330
Case 10892740