So I had my son email American customer relations explaining the situation. They obviously did not r

Bornheim is trying to get a refund, but is having no luck. Airlines can be pretty unforgiving with their refund policies, and at some point when you re booking online, you have to take responsibility for your own actions.
He booked the original Delta flight on October 4. The site said he would receive confirmation by email within 24 hours. He either did not receive or failed to see it the confirmation the next day (I could not find it in any of his mailboxes: inbox or trash folder, so I believe him when he says he didn't get it).
A couple of days later, believing he had made an error in trying to book the first flight, he went back to Orbitz and booked a second flight for the same cities and dates, this time on American. (The preferred Delta itinerary was no longer available at the low fare he had originally booked).
We immediately called Orbitz asking them to cancel the second thrifty car rental orlando (American) reservation and refund his money. They refused. We called back during the day to talk to a regular supervisor, and that person also refused. They said our only recourse was to explain the situation to American Airlines customer relations.
So I had my son email American customer relations explaining the situation. They obviously did not read his letter carefully because a CSR named Lisa Fields wrote back asking him for the record locator of the original American flight (the original flight was on Delta, NOT American,
I helped my son send an email response to Ms. Fields immediately explaining that the original reservation was on Delta, not American. They did not acknowledge the second thrifty car rental orlando email, and we have heard nothing from them for over a week. I don't even know if they got or read the letter.
There is still time for American to cancel the reservation and resell the ticket thrifty car rental orlando for a much better price than they got from my son. But I don't know how to contact them or let them know about the problem and get it resolved before thrifty car rental orlando Thanksgiving.
thrifty car rental orlando When the confirmation email didn t arrive, Bornheim s son should have called Orbitz to verify the itinerary. A confirmation thrifty car rental orlando could have been sent to him again. He could have also phoned Delta if for some reason he couldn t get through to Orbitz.
thrifty car rental orlando Once the second ticket was booked, he should have informed his parents of the rebooking immediately instead of waiting for bad news from his bank. But those of us reading this, who have made reservations online before, we know all of this. The point is, this is a 17-year-old boy making his very first reservation online. He couldn t have known.
Update thrifty car rental orlando (7:30 a.m.): Less than an hour after I posted this, Delta Air Lines contacted me and offered to refund Bornheim s ticket. Good lesson learned here, a representative told me. I ll say! Thanks, Delta.
The parent should have supervised the child making the purchases. If the kid was over his head, where did he get the credit card to make the purchases. This is a case of live and learn. The lesson is to check carefully BEFORE making a non-refundable purchase. Another lesson might be to check with an experienced or responsible person BEFORE spending money.
If Orbitz is reay to show they truly sent the email confirmation out (and I m sure they are) soon after the booking was made, then they ve essntially done their part. Hard to show otherwise inspite of trying to argue about it.
Lots of things can be debated here, but I doubt that s going to solve this immediate problem. Ultimately, though, it boils down to Delta Airlines (un)willingness (?) to reconsider the double booking if it s truly an exact mirror thrifty car rental orlando of the 1st intended one, and that s why Orbitz won t refund it even if they wanted to. (without taking a hit on their pockets, of course )
I also want to point out that most 17-year-olds are far more savvy than the older generation at using the computer. If a 17-year-old is getting this confused this easily, it may be a problem with him, or it may indicate that the website really isn t that easy to navigate. (I wouldn t know, since I tend to book directly through the airline.)
Yay to you, Chris, for posting the story and to Delta for seeing it and refunding it! (I ve heard they really monitor mentions of the Delta name in media/social media these days.) But wow, I don t think I d let even a computer-savvy kid book a trip without adult supervision or assistance.
@ David Z Ultimately, though, it boils down to Delta Airlines (un)willingness (?) to reconsider thrifty car rental orlando the double thrifty car rental orlando booking if it's truly an exact "mirror" of the 1st intended one, and that's why Orbitz "won't" refund it even if they wanted to. (without taking a hit on their pockets, of course…)
Did the 17-YO entered his e-mail thrifty car rental orlando address? Did the 17-YO entered an incorrect e-mail thrifty car rental orlando address? Did the e-mail went to his junk folder\spam folder? If it went to his junk\spam folder and he deleted it, it won t be in his trash folder.
@ Anon I also want to point out that most 17-year-olds are far more savvy than the older generation at using the computer. If a 17-year-old is getting this confused this easily, it may be a problem with him, or it may indicate that the website really isn't that easy to navigate. (I wouldn't know, since I tend to book directly through the airline.)
There s a first time for everything. This parent clearly thrifty car rental orlando wants his kid to grow up as seen from the fact that he had the kid try to resolve the problem directly rather than sailing in to help. Only when that failed did he contact Chris. I applaud both father and son and I think that Chris should have intervened if necessary. The lesson should NOT be for the young man to be afraid to try anything new and to ask his parents for help at every turn!
I would have mediated, were I you. Not having received a confirmation e-mail (and I will usually get one within minutes, though I refuse to use the conglomerate sites, wishing more control over my travel than they offer) from the airline, I don t know I wouldn t have done the same thing as the 17 year old.
As far as dad supervising: I m sorry, I have a nearly 17 year old son. They are vile, mean beasts who give you a great deal of, I m almost an adult. I need to know how to do this and he might not have come to us were the same thing have happened to him.
1) If you carefully read between the lines, thrifty car rental orlando you ll notice that the son is a freshman college student (yes, it s possible) far away from home. Why else would he be flying home? How can Mom or Dad look over his shoulder to buy the ticket when they re hundreds of miles away?
2) If the father thrifty car rental orlando trusted his son to book an expensive plane ticket online, I m sure this isn t the first thing he s bought online. Also, it is true that the son probably knows more about using a computer than his dad. (My 14-year old brother knows how to use a computer better than both of my parents combined.) So we can rule out the son how to book plane tickets.
Everyone needs to learn to stop being quick to judge. This is simply a father helping his son with a problem. thrifty car rental orlando If a husband were helping his wife with the same problem, would you call the husband irresponsible?
From the story, it appears that this 17 year old was purchasing his own ticket, for his own trip, using his own money, from his own bank account. . I fail to see how that makes the parents irresponsible.
Yes, I can think of numerous things that an experienced traveler would have done, e.g. avoided 3rd party websites like the plague, called Delta to see if the first ticket had actually gone through, etc.
I feel far more empathetic for this family than the seasoned business travelers who have contacted Chris recently when they were fined or otherwise penalized for intentionally double-booked to get rewards and upgrades (they were just outright scammers). If they have the nerve to ask, what s so wrong with this kid s family giving it a try?
As the previous poster pointed out parental supervision was a bit difficult in this case, esp. as the traveler usu. needs credit card used at booking to smooth over any problems with an e-ticket at the airport, how was that going to happen when the kid is trying to fly home?
And it goes without saying that even much older folks have encountered thrifty car rental orlando glitches with online booking systems. Kudos to Delta for stepping in helping, even if they didn t have to. There just doesn t seem to be even regular thrifty car rental orlando customer service most of the time these days, its refreshing to see superior customer service.
A 17 year old cannot be held liable for purchases. Air Travel is not the type of necessary [food, shelter] thrifty car rental orlando that a minor can be held liable for. Further, if they were not authorized thrifty car rental orlando to use a credit card which they used then they could not have bought the tickets once again refund is mandated.
I ask because I ve already raised three kids to adulthood and have one that is a year and a half away from being 18. I taught them all at a younger age how to buy travel online for future use. I haven t done it with my 16 year old yet so, since you are now in my world and have a grasp of how to do online travel, when do I cut the umbilical cord and let him do these things on his own? 18? 21? 25? 30?
1. The kid used his bank account. If so the parents aren t involved, Unless, one of the parents is on the account (reasonably likely) in which case, the contracts may or may not be voidable, depending on the particular state law.
Just assuming the first one never went through and booking a second was just stupid. I m not calling the kid stupid, but I ve done stupid things and this looks one of them. I hope this was a good learning experience.
At some point you need to train your child to do things by himself and at first glance this shouldn thrifty car rental orlando t be hard to mess up. However, kids have the ability to turn the easiest tasks into a 3-ring circus. This is an unfortunate thrifty car rental orlando result of growing into adulthood. They make mistakes, however, in this digital credit card age, it can be hard to undo mistakes. I am glad to see that Delta saw this for what it was and refunded the money. The kid learned a lesson