CLEARING THE AIR
Delta gets thumbs-up from vet flier
Dear John: I have flown 3 million miles on Delta Air Lines.
It has saved my butt many times, and always treated me wonderfully. However, that does not mean I have never had a canceled flight or some long delays. Some things are just beyond their control, as in weather.
But the most important thing about my flights on Delta can be summed up in two statements: 1.) I always felt the equipment was safe. 2.) I always returned home safely to my family. M.D.
Dear M.D.: I have flown about 3 million miles fewer than you have on Delta. I would have flown more except that Delta — as you probably read — canceled a flight on me and never bothered to rebook it, even though the airline said it would.
So it’s not my favorite airline at the moment. But Delta did give me two $100 vouchers that I can use when I eventually get to take the flight to Arizona that was canceled. The airline said it usually wouldn’t compensate people if a flight is canceled because of bad weather, but it felt bad because my 91-year-old mother couldn’t be reunited with an elderly brother she hasn’t seen in a year.
To be fair, I’m printing your letter. For the record, the ratio of love-Delta letters to hate-Delta letters is about 1-to-1.
Dear John: My aunt reads your column all the time and finds your advice very insightful. She recommended that I write you. We are currently in a very messy family situation, and we hope you can shed some light on how to resolve it.
My family discovered that my father’s entire life savings (which he gave to my brother to invest) are no longer available. We were all led to believe that my brother, a financial wealth adviser, was taking care of our dad.
Both of our parents worked hard over the years to earn every dime, and they raised a large family. Since our mother passed, my father felt lost because mom took care of all the finances. So he entrusted his son to “invest” his money.
We soon learned the unthinkable: Our brother had spent all of his money. We have been trying to help my dad resolve this complicated and twisted issue with my brother.
Just recently, my father was placed on government assistant programs.
We looked for a lawyer, but we’re unable to retain anyone due to lack of funding. Could you please advise us as to how we should go about resolving this issue?A.A.
Dear A.A.: Let me start by explaining something. Whenever someone asks to remain anonymous in this column I use the initials A.A. on his or her letter. You asked not to be identified.
If your brother is a registered financial adviser — as you seem to suggest — you should report him to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra). The phone number is (301) 590-6500.
If your brother falls under Finra’s jurisdiction, he will be investigated.
A complaint like this will probably ruin your brother’s ability to conduct business (which I’m sure you don’t care about at this point). And it will hurt his ability to pay your father back.
So you might want to threaten to call Finra before actually doing it. That’s called blackmailing your brother, in case you don’t watch the crime shows.
If Finra can’t help, I’m sure the people there can advise you on other courses of action.
Good luck. And I’m sorry to hear that your family is being put through this.