Language muddled issue with bill
Traveler needed help sorting out charges after flight change overseas
Sometimes consumers just need answers from a business, not any money back. It can be frustrating for them when they don’t get a response. In this case, Leslie Carson was dealing with an international airline and a language barrier.
She wasn’t happy with her credit-card company after a recent trip.
“I was disappointed,” Carson said. “I really thought that they would do more than they did. They missed the whole point of the whole shabang.”
After a vacation in Russia this summer, Carson traveled to Lithuania and was scheduled to return to St. Petersburg. When she got to the airport and showed a clerk her ticket, the clerk informed her the flight was canceled.
Carson was forced to book a more expensive flight on Air Baltic. When she returned to Phoenix, her credit-card statement reflected charges for two flights, not one.
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$1,763,207
Call 12 for Action’s consumer-savings total for 2014. Money saved for consumers in 2013: $1,027,915. Money saved for consumers since 2000: $9,998,075
“I just felt like I was getting ripped off,” said Carson, who promptly disputed the charges on her credit card.
In the end, the credit-card company held her responsible. She contacted Call 12 for Action, and our volunteer got her answers.
Ruta Sadlauskate, a spokeswoman for the airport in Lithuania, cleared it all up: Here’s her statement:
“The last ticket purchased (by Carson) was for the difference between the first charge and the new price, so the two charges were actually for the total cost.”
No one had explained that to Carson. Because her charges were in another language with foreign currency, it was hard to understand what was happening.
“It eased my mind knowing that I wasn’t paying for two tickets,” Carson said. “Thank you for all you do over there.”
Carson said she booked her original flight back to Russia through a cheap, unknown website. Now, she regrets it.
That should be the takeaway for all travelers. Do online business with only a reputable company and charge your flights on a credit card. You will have a better chance of getting a disputed charge removed if you are entitled to a refund.