Denial Letter #2 from United

September 6, 2016

Dear Ms. Child:

I appreciate the time you took to respond; I recognize that you still have unresolved concerns and I am sorry that this is the case.

I thoroughly understand your point of view and again wish to express my regret in failing to meet your expectations.

After reviewing the case again, I must unfortunately decline your request for reimbursement of expenses. I am very happy to hear that Expedia was able to refund you a portion of the tickets for your experience. However since Expedia issued your tickets on through TAM, they are ultimately responsible for the handling of the tickets. When we tried to reissue the ticket to us in order to fix the problem, we were unable to do so. 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. At that point we did our best to assist you. I am sorry it did not work out.

Ms. Child, as a gesture of goodwill, I have authorized an Electronic Travel Certificate for each of you in the amount of $100.00 for your future use which will arrive by email within a few days. I hope you will use the certificates to allow us an opportunity to provide the service you deserve.

Ms. Child, we at United Airlines wish you the best and hope to someday regain your confidence. Should you give us another opportunity, we will work hard to provide the quality service you deserve.

With kindest regards,

L.J. Rawcliffe

Corporate Customer Care

Case 10892740

Rebuttal letter to United

September 5, 2016

Dear L.J. Rawcliffe,

I was disappointed to read your email of declination of reimbursement for our unfortunate incident that occurred last month.  Just last week your CEO, Oscar Munoz, participated in an interview with Jim Cramer.  He stated that United Airlines needs “to treat people better.”  This is a perfect example of not treating people better.  I have had lot of support on social media via Facebook and Twitter and the people from United monitoring Twitter suggested that I send a rebuttal via email to you.

You stated that I was not at the game (I assume that you meant gate) in time to be included on the flight.  My four children and I were at the gate, where a few of the boarding passes would not scan.  The gate agent called the ticket desk 4 times and not one agent came to help.  A grounds crew member came to see what the delay in boarding was.  When she saw that there was a problem with the boarding passes being scanned she also called the check-in desk.  Still no one came.  The gate agent then suggested that I send my 15-year-old on the flight since she was old enough to fly alone, and that we could meet up with her in Denver on the next flight departing at 1:20 the same afternoon.  Really?!  I’m grateful that I didn’t take that advice since it took us an additional week to get things sorted out and finally on our way to Brazil.

If needed, I can get statements from the ticket agent(s) that checked us in and got our luggage on the plane, as well as the gate agent and grounds crew member that were trying to get us on the flight.  They will be able to tell you that we were in fact at the gate and trying to board in time to be included on the flight.

Seven of our large, 50 pound suitcases made it on the flight.  They made it all the way to Brasilia on our originally reserved flights without any delays.  We had to wait 4 days for them to be returned because they could not be held that long for us in another country and they would not permit my husband, who was already in Brazil, to pick them up without the luggage claim tickets.  In my research I have found that putting luggage on a flight, without the documented passenger, is against regulations especially on international flights.

Yes, our original tickets were purchased on Expedia and then sold to TAM Airlines, who was supposed to get us from Miami to Brasilia.  When the United ticket agent entered us as “no shows” in the system, it negated the last two legs of our flight.  All that United had to do was contact TAM Airlines and tell them that we were in fact not “no shows” and they would have gladly rebooked us on the next available flight.  Only one person at United was willing to do that.  When she said that she was going to go on another line to make that call, our original call was disconnected.  That’s convenient.  And of course I could not call back and request to speak to the same person and customer service agents do not have direct lines.  Each and every time I called I had to start over telling the issues I was having.  Very, very frustrating.  Lucky for us, Expedia did refund part of our original purchase price minus $150 for each ticket ($750).  TAM Airlines would not rebook us because of the “no show” entry by United.  To rebook with TAM Airlines would have cost us over $15,000 leaving 2 days later.  That was not a viable option for us.  We had to purchase all new itineraries and wait until August 11 move to Brazil.  We had to travel to another state to stay with family since we had sold our home and to be closer to a larger airport where we had more options for travel.  United Airlines wouldn’t even help us get from Pasco to Salt Lake City, so I had to drive 12 hours with 4 children.

I will again itemize the cost of the extra week for 5 people since our passenger rights to board our flight, despite having a United Airline confirmation number and boarding passes, were denied.  If United really did want to “treat people better” you would send a reimbursement check for the following charges.  Own up to the mistake made by United, and make things right - at least financially.

I have receipts and card statements for all of the following purchases dated August 4-August 11, 2016:

Food: $201.96

Lodging: $774.44

Gasoline: $190.30

Miles: 796 x .54/mile = $429.84

Clothing, daily necessities, misc.: $356.20

Airline ticket price difference: $1,111.30

TOTAL: $3064.04

Thank you,

Gretchen Child
Case #10880330
8332 Mix Avenue
Magna, Utah 84044

United Airlines Update...

Here is the latest in communications between United Airlines and myself.  This is the first email that I rececived after filling out their feedback form online on August 5, 2016:

August 18, 2016

PASSENGER: CHILD/GRETCHEN

TICKET(S): 95778083XXXXX

REQUEST ID:2114XXX

Dear Gretchen Child:

United Refunds has received your request for refund of the above referenced ticket.

Due to the nature of your correspondence, your file has been forwarded to our Customer Care Department for consideration of appropriate resolution. Should you want to contact them directly, your correspondence should be addressed to: Customer Care United Airlines 900 Grand Plaza Dr NHCCR Houston, TX 77067-4323

Thank you for choosing United Airlines. We look forward to serving you again soon.

Sincerely,

United Refunds

Check Refund Status
FAX: 872-825-9364

Since I was only given a mailing address to contact them, I sent the following letter to my mom, who in turn printed it and mailed it to Texas:

August 25, 2016

Customer Care United Airlines
900 Grand Plaza Dr NHCCR
Houston, TX 77067-4323

PASSENGER: CHILD/GRETCHEN
TICKET(S): 9577808368587
REQUEST ID:21141159

Dear Customer Care Department,

Thank you for finally responding to my feedback form that was submitted on August 5, 2016.  The email that I received stated that I was requesting a refund of the above referenced ticket.  That is not the case.  I received a partial refund already so that new tickets could be purchased for myself and 4 of my children to move from Kennewick, Washington to Brazil.  Below I will itemized the reimbursements that I am requesting from United Airlines because our passenger rights were denied and we were not allowed to board the plane after we had checked in, gone through security and made it all the way to the gate.  The gate agent called several times for help, and so did a ground crew member while we were waiting, but no United Ticket Agent ever came to the gate.  Seven of our suitcases made it on the plane and went all the way to Brazil.  We had to wait an additional week for new flights and four days to get our luggage back from Brazil.  United Airlines then entered us in the system as “no shows” which cancelled the next two legs of our itinerary and those airlines would not help us rebook since we were “no shows.”  I have boarding tickets and luggage claim stickers which clearly prove that we were, in fact, not “no shows.”  I do not know what the issue was at the gate as not one agent could explain it to me while at the airport on Thursday, August 4.  Nor could anyone that I talked to on the phone for the next several days, although one United representative did admit that we were checked in and should not have been entered as “no shows”.  We have written down every agent that we spoke to as well as a thread on the United Facebook page that shows the limited responses that I received.

I have receipts and card statements for all of the following purchases dated August 4-August 11, 2016:

Food: $201.96
Lodging: $774.44
Gasoline: $190.30
Miles: 796 x .54/mile = $429.84
Clothing, daily necessities, misc.: $356.20
Airline ticket price difference: $1,111.30

TOTAL: $3064.04

I wish that there were some way to calculate all of the emotions, inconveniences and lost time that we encountered for a week.  We continue to have repercussions from our denied passenger rights, as we had to cancel appointments on Monday, August 8, 2016 that we had with a driver, lawyer, notary, and the Federal Police here in Brazil to receive our registration and ID’s.  Without those ID cards we cannot have all of our stuff shipped from the US to us, therefore delaying the homeschool year of our children and more.  We have still not been able to rebook those appointments as the appointments are already full.

I have already contacted the organization Get Service and have been assigned a case number and representative to help me get reimbursed, if necessary.  Since we are now in Brazil my new contact information is as follows:
Forwarding address in the US:  8332 Mix Avenue  Magna, Utah 84044
Brazilian cell phone number: +55 (61) 99672-9498

I would appreciate a quick response as these charges are currently on my credit card and will be assessed a finance charge soon.

Thank You,

Gretchen Child
child4@juno.com

Today I received the following email in response to my letter:

Dear Ms. Child: I was disappointed to learn of your recent experience in trying to fly with us from Pasco. Our records show the tickets were issued by Expedia and were issued using TAM Airlines tickets, who is not a Star Alliance partner.  At this time our records show that you were not at the game within the time frame to be included on the flight.  Therefore I must decline your request for any reimbursement caused by such an incident. Ms. Child, we thank you for your time and hope that you will consider us in the future for your travel needs. Sincerely, L.J. Rawcliffe Corporate Customer Care Case 10880330 I seriously laughted out loud at the last sentence in the email.  I will NEVER consider flying again with United Airlines.  I have been in contact with a representative at GetService.com and hopefully they will be able to help me with the next step.

The Farm House

The main home on the farm has been here since the company bought the farm.  They did quite a bit of updating (i.e. painting, new cabinets, etc.) the last few months.  I was able to pick out the new paint colors so it feels a little like our home in Kennewick.  It is a great house and the only thing they will do next year is replace some more of the windows.  I didn't take pictures of the bedrooms or family room.  The girls each have their own rooms and the boys share.  The family room is a good size with two couches, a TV and a computer desk.  Maybe I'll get some pictures when we go back next week.

This is a picture that we took when we visited in November.  The house was a tan color outside:

 This is a recent pictured.  They repainted the outside a light gray with dark gray trim around the windows.  There is this stucco accent trim all the way around the outside, which I think was added before it was repainted.

 This is an area on the side of the house where a car can be parked, but I don't think it has ever really been used.  There are hooks for a clothes line or hammock.  The railing on the right and around the back patio area are all new.  I believe they were wood before and are now metal.

 View of the back of the house.  The downstairs area in the middle leads to our classroom:

 Parking area.  I think the tile was replaced, but I can't remember for sure.  The door goes to a separate bedroom & bathroom that is currently not being used.

One major improvement was on the outside deck/patio area.  This used to have wood railing around the outside and was open to the back yard.  It was pretty unusable because the bugs are so bad here that it was not a pleasant experience to sit out on the back deck.  So, they decided to enclose the railings and add screen all the way around.  We now use it to hang laundry, drive the remote control cars around and watch the wildlife (mostly birds) out back.  The glass doors replaced some old gridded doors and the window was added.  It is nice to be able to open the glass doors & window to get some fresh air and not worry about bugs flying in.  It has also remedied the bat problem in the rafters out there.

Another major project was redoing the master bathroom.  There used to be a big jetted tub that was nearly impossible to use because it took a very long time to fill.  So, they took the tub out and added a glass block wall to make a large walk in shower.  It is wonderful.  And all of the cabinets/vanities were replaced in the bathrooms.

Kids bathroom with one vanity outside the bathroom.  Perfect for the girls!

 Master closet.  This picture does not do it justice!  Mark has one side and I have the other.  There are cabinets, drawers and hanging areas on both sides.  This room locks so when we go into Formosa we can lock up any valuables.  Mark added an exhaust fan because it gets really musty in there with the doors closed and no ventilation.

The living room area just inside the front door.  There is a piano keyboard in there and the kids are excited to start lessons.

The dining room.  Another addition to the house is ceiling fans in every room.  Such a simple idea that makes a huge difference!

 Our classroom area downstairs.  I'm looking forward to our shipment getting here so we can dress it up a little.

The last major project was installing new cabinets, sink, hood fan, faucette, fridge and dishwasher in the kitchen.  The old cabinets were warped & damaged and some would not even close all of the way.  The sink was about 3 inches deep and very difficult to wash dishes in.

Here is what all of the old windows look like and will eventually be replaced like all the ones in the bedrooms.

A week in Formosa

Last week Mark had to go to Argentina for meetings.  He left on Sunday morning and returned Friday evening, so we stayed in Formosa for the week.  Sunday was tough for me - church was lonely.  Mark was gone, and my friend that speaks English was not feeling well so she was not at church.  We made it through the first meeting, then I found myself sitting alone during Sunday School.  I was totally lost in the lesson and could feel my emotions close to the surface.  So I said a little prayer that I would be able to hold it together for just a little longer.  Just then another friend, Fran, got up from her seat a couple of rows up and came back to sit with me.  She showed me where we were in the scriptures so I could at least follow along.  It felt wonderful to know that someone was aware of me.  Relief Society was good.  I have the manual in English and Portuguese so I can at least know what is being talked about.

Monday we just hung out at the house and played with the neighborhood kids.  We ventured to the market all by ourselves and survived!  The people have been patient with me when I look and say "No Portuguese."  Sometimes we can work it out, sometimes I have to break out Google Translate, which is amazing!  Adam lost a tooth and got a visit from the Tooth Fairy.  He wasn't happy to receive a US dollar bill, but the tooth fairy hadn't been to the exchange center yet.

Tuesday we explored a little bit in Brasilia with Agnes.  She took us to a radio tower in the center of the city so we could see all around.  The view was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  There is a man made lake in the city and an amusement park that we could see.  There are several malls, which we are excited to visit!  We went to one for lunch and I had a delicious salad.  I have been craving a crisp salad for weeks, but have had a hard time finding good produce.  It's getting better... Then we went to a Home Depot-type store called Leroy Merlin.  We had to get a few things for the house and the kids all added stuff to my cart.  I'll be gateful when they get over feeling like we are just on vacatoin.

Wednesday we went out and found a small store that we call Little Target.  And by little, we mean that the whole store could fit in one section of the Target that we are used to.  But it has a little of everything and our main thing to find was some toys for the boys.  Adam picked some little army guys and Evan got a ball.  We went back later in the week and they picked out remote control cars.  We also got a few other things and discovered a store across the street that has a few crafty things for when we feel the need to create.  I relaxed in the hammock after lunch while the kids played in the pool and had some iPod time.

Thursday we went to Itiquira - a beautiful water fall area.  Agnes and Fran and her boys and mother-in-law went with us.  It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast playing in the water.  Afterwards we went to an ice cream shop and got a treat.  It was a fun scoop-your-own bowl which the kids loved because they could put whatever they wanted on it.  Agnes got an acai treat that was frozen and so good with bananas.  It was delicious!

Friday we had fun just hanging out.  We went to the park so Adam could play "War" with his army guys.  Then the neighbors invited us to go out to ice cream with them.  It was called Kogumello and the owner was telling us all about how she makes all of the ice cream there.  Kendall got some lemon ice cream that was amazing.  Kehli got an Ovaltine shake that she enjoyed.  I got a chocolate dipped ice cream on a stick that was creamy and delicious.  Good thing I worked out each day!

We were all happy to have Mark come home and he came bearing gifts!  He bought a hat for himself, which I am really happy about.  The sun is very intense here and he needs to cover up that head and face.  He brought me a beautiful leather purse and the girls each a bracelet.  I didn't let the boys open their remote control cars until he came home so they wouldn't feel left out of the presents.

Saturday Mark, Kendall, Adam and I went back into Brasilia to go to Sams Club and Wal*Mart.  Groceries are much less expensive there.  The girls had mutual (youth group) on Saturday evening and are learning how to crochet.  They both picked it up quickly and I am impressed with their progress on their rugs.  Also on Saturday evening was a Branch activity.  They taught about how to hold successful Family Home Evenings and then we played a game much like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."  Our team won!  It was a lot of fun.  And we had some delicious food that I hope to learn how to make.  And they had a cake and sang happy birthday to a few members who had birthdays this month.

 On Sunday, during church, Adam pulled out another tooth.  Evan told him that now he could squirt water out of his holes and get two people wet.  Funny boys!  And the Tooth Fairy must have realized that we moved to another country because this time he got Brazilian money. In the afternoon the girls went back to the church to get another crochet lesson so they could work on it this week and then we headed back to the farm house for a few days.  We go back to Formosa on Wednesday because we have to go into Brasilia early Thursday morning to get all of our documentation and ID's completed.  Then we will finally be able to get our shipment of stuff on its way from the US!

Love this neighborhood!

Yesterday we decided to go out and walk around the neighborhood.  When Mark and I visited in November we took a few minutes to walk around the park area here and were impressed.  So, I walked down with the kids and found lots of fun things for us all to do.  There is an area on the edge of the neighborhhood that houses play area, a small chapel, classrooms, resturant/eating area, rock walkways, soccer fields, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, work out areas, racquetball courts, gym, dog kennel, more playground areas, covered area with fussball tables & ping pong tables, chairs/benches/picnic tables.  If there was a large soccer field, then there was a smaller one right next to it for the children.  Same goes for the sand volleyball courts.  There are play areas for toddlers, school age kids and up.  There is an area inside where there are free weights and some weight equipment.  Outside there are two areas: one with some kind of machines, the other a wood structure where different exercises can be performed.  We saw some pretty birds and even a couple of lizards.  Now I don't have any excuses to not exercise when in Formosa!

Inside strength training area:

 1 of 2 racquetball courts:

 Tennis Courts:

 Covered area where it looks like step and aerobic classes are taught:

 Outside work out area:

 Wood structure work out area:

 Lizard:

 One of several play areas:

 Big soccer field, smaller one is at the far end inside its own fence:

 Sand Volleyball courts - adult size on the left, kid size on the right:

 Resturant/eating area inside its own little building:

 Chapel: