[chrisal]

This is a copy of a letter I have just sent to Delta Customer Care.

On Saturday 5th December, my girlfriend and I were due to fly on the 21.30 flight from Buenos Aires to Manchester via Atlanta. During the check-in procedure it was discovered that my girlfriend did not have the relevant visa to travel to the United States. We found out that to transit the United States, a transit visa is required. We could not believe this as she had previously enquired what she would need to travel on this trip and she was told she would need a passport and a return ticket. This was in the Delta call centre in Chile before she bought the ticket. Now, in the airport, Delta were telling her she needed a transit visa as well. This is a totally different answer to the one given by the employee in the call centre. Furthermore, Delta were telling us that it is the customer’s responsibility to get the correct documentation for flying. This is perfectly fine. I do not have a problem with this. What I do have a problem with is that Delta misinformed my girlfriend by missing out one vital piece of information when they told her what she would need for this trip, and that is the visa which is vital for the trip.

Since Saturday evening we have failed to get any form of satisfaction from Delta who simply give us the same spiel about it being the passenger’s responsibility to get the correct documentation for travel. I have spoken to the call centre in Chile three times after being told by the manager at the airport and the girl who works in the office in Buenos Aires that there is a customer care team I can speak to regarding this. However, when I get through I am assured that there isn’t and if I do have a complaint I can only reach customer care by email or fax. I have already sent three emails to Delta regarding my plight to which they have responded once. This however, was a very unsatisfactory but expected response from Delta. They chose to ignore the fact that Delta had told my girlfriend that all she would need to travel was a passport and return ticket, and responded by saying that it was the customer’s responsibility to find the correct documentation to travel. They also copy and pasted the company’s terms and conditions and attached it to their response. They failed to make any relevant comment to the email and have simply ignored what the problem was.

On Monday, I went in person to the Delta office to try and get this sorted out once and for all. However, it soon became apparent that they couldn’t help either. I need to speak to someone who can actually help and understand this particular case. The girl in the office told me to speak to customer care which shows how much she knows about the department who hides behind computer screens and cannot be contacted by phone. When she realised that customer care aren’t a phone friendly department she told me I would need to send a fax or send an email.

Since that time I have sent another email which I have had no response from. However, now as I have no other option I am also sending a fax. As I have explained to everyone who has been connected with this terrible mess, this is an absolute disaster for my girlfriend and I. With every day the situation becomes more impossible. On Monday we found out that my girlfriend would not be able to get a visa until the 14th of January at the earliest which is two days later than we were originally due to return to Buenos Aires. I need to start work again when I get back, therefore it is impossible to wait and travel with Delta. Because Delta only told my girlfriend that she would need a passport and return ticket for this trip to Manchester, when she specifically asked what she would need, I hold Delta 100 per cent responsible for our predicament. They have failed to tell her the one piece of information that is fundamental for travel on this trip and as a result we are living the worst nightmare of our lives. I will miss Christmas and New Year at home with my family who I haven’t seen for over a year. We will lose all the flights I have booked for when we get home ( we were supposed to be flying to Dublin today, then Rome, Edinburgh, and London), plus train tickets, coach tickets, hotel rooms, football tickets, tickets for shows in London. Not to mention the costs of taxis and the fact that I will have to pay a fine as I have now gone over the date I am allowed to stay in Argentina. My girlfriend is distraught and her dreams of visiting England have been smashed. The whole thing is a disaster for us. Our Christmas, New Year and all of the holiday have been ruined by Delta who could so easily have avoided any of this happening if they had answered my girlfriend’s question correctly and told her she needed a visa. Instead they have accepted no responsibility for their negligence and continue to blame us for not finding out the correct information for travel. What more did my girlfriend need to do to find out what she needed to travel than to ask Delta, the very same company she is flying with what she needed? I am livid.

I have already sent an email telling Delta what I need and so far it has been ignored. I need you to listen to the conversation between my girlfriend and the Delta call centre worker in Chile who did not tell my girlfriend that she would need a visa for the trip, even though she asked specifically what she would need. I would also need a copy of this conversation.

I would also like Delta to pay for a flight for both of us that does not include a stop in the United States, therefore eradicating the problem that my girlfriend has with waiting over a month for the transit visa. As Delta only fly via the United States this would have to be with another company.

Finally I would like full compensation for taxis to and from the airport, fines for not leaving the country before the date on the passport, flights in Europe, trains, coaches, hotels, football matches, shows, and loss of earnings due to arriving back in Buenos Aires later than originally planned.

I want this complaint fully escalated within Delta. I will also be writing to the CEO of Delta. If you do not fulfil my wishes I will also be complaining to the relevant regulator/ombudsmen of the airline industry in the United States. You may also be interested to know that I have gone public with this story and will have absolutely no hesitation in giving my full story of this disgraceful situation to the interested parties back home and in the United States.

Chris Alexander