Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Hello,

I'm an American college student participating in a study abroad program in Europe. My problem involves the travel company I booked my flight with.

I bought a round-trip ticket from this company in August of '09. My original return ticket was dated for July 01, 2010 but I chose to change the return date of the ticket to late August of this year. The standard date change fee of the travel company is $100, but in busy seasons and on short notice it tends to be higher. I've been communicating with the company about changing the ticket since about May of this year, and in that time they told me to wait for availability and that it was likely something for the $100 fee would open up. They were so confident that in April of this year I received an email from the company guaranteeing me the change rate of $100 if the return ticket is between Aug 16-23, which was great for me.

Now it's a different story; I called the travel company a week ago to find out that there is a flight available in that week, but the price for me to change would be $209. The travel agent tells me, over the phone, that the company's guarantee is no longer valid because of the changes in the airline industry. When I mention the guarantee again he tells me that I'm talking in circles. To me a guarantee in writing like that means something, am I wrong? Should I pay the extra amount?

My parents tell me to pay for the ticket now and to fight the extra costs when I get home.

If it means anything, the travel company is based in Burlingame, CA.

I look forward to your reply,

Thank you.

Lisa


Asked on 8/03/10, 9:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Brear Law Practice of Scott Irvin Brear

By "travel company" do you mean airline carrier or a travel agency? If an airline, it is somewhat unusual for them to backpeddle regarding such a situation. I would question "changes in the airline industry" as an excuse. What exactly does that mean? Sounds as if you are being pushed off by people who may not know what they are talking about. Escalate the matter to management. Unless you misquote above, a guarantee is just that. A responsible person in the company should recognize this! By all means pay the amount requested to get home, but make certain that you obtain every bit of evidence as to their emails, etc so you are well equipped to argue for the $100 back. It would be hard to accept that an airline would quarrel over this $100 based upon your facts. You can always go to small claims court.

Read more
Answered on 8/10/10, 1:18 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Consumer Law questions and answers in California