[mrrodwell]

I work in Kuwait and my wife works in Abu Dhabi. I used my credit card to book my wife a flight on Etihad to come and see me in Kuwait for the recent UAE national day weekend.

The day before she was due to fly, I received an email from Etihad saying, that, as the flight was booked using a card in a different name to the passenger, they had suspended the ticket, but if my wife could present the card to the check in, the ticket would be released. I called Etihad and was told that if I prepared a scan of my card, passport and a signed letter and gave that to my wife, that would probably be satisfactory for the Etihad representative at check in, though it was their discretion.

My wife brought the document to the airport on the morning of the flight and presented it. Though the Etihad representative she initially spoke to accepted the document, when she presented it to check-in, they refused to accept it.

Well, to cut a long story short, it soon emerged that the flight had been overbooked, and before my wife had had any opportunity to present the ID (the document I had prepared, or potentially, the original card, had I been there), Etihad had sold the seat I had booked for my wife (and already paid for) to somebody else. Consequently, they did not even give her the opportunity to pay for the ticket with her own card.

The Etihad representative on check-in apologised and told my wife that my card would be refunded.

I waited one week to see the refund appear on my card, and, seeing no refund, I called Etihad. I was informed that to obtain a refund I would have to pay a cancellation fee of nearly 40% of the value of the ticket. Now, bearing in mind that Etihad had sold my wife's seat to somebody else before she had even had an opportunity to present the ID, I found this disgusting and completely unacceptable and had a long discussion with an extremely unhelpful Etihad representative. No supervisor was present at the time of the call to escalate the complaint.

Two days ago I called Etihad again and explained the situation to another representative. I was told that the matter would be passed to her supervisor who would be in touch on the mobile number I gave her. The supervisor did not call me back.

Etihad has stolen my money and I can't think or a more diplomatic way to describe what they have done, as they sold the seat I had bought for my wife to someone else and now refuse to pay back the full value of my ticket.

I was on the phone with my wife the entire time that she was dealing with the check-in staff and their treatment of her and manners were appalling. In addition, she was AED 150 on taxis to the airport and back.

My wife and I are both lawyers and though I don't really want the hassle of escalating the claim, unless this is satisfactorily resolved, I feel that I have no other choice.

[Etihad Representative]

Hi mrrodwell,

Sorry to hear of the inconvenience that you are facing. If you could DM me all of your contact details including the booking reference, We can look into this for you. I cannot reply to your DM, but will definately have this looked into without delay.

Thank you.

Kind Regards

CazziB

[mrrodwell]

Cazzi, sent my details over a week ago and no response from you. Aren't you supposed to be presenting a good image for Etihad as it's representative? Where is my refund?

[Etihad Representative]

Dear Mrrodwell,

Thank you for your post. As stated above, I am unable to respond to DM's however I have received your details, and the team are currently looking into this for you. The team will get back to you shortly.

Your patience is appreciated.

Kind Regards
CazziB

[mrrodwell]

Thanks Cazzi.

[mrrodwell]

Cazzi, it has been nearly four weeks and nobody has been in touch with me. I do not believe that anyone at Etihad is looking into this and I am disgusted by this service.

[Etihad Representative]

Dear mrrodwell,

Thank you for your post. My apologies that you have not been kept up to date on the progress of your case. We will have one of the team contact you very shortly with a full update.

Thank you for your continued patience.

Kind Regards

CazziB

[The_Judge]

Just curious how long it takes to 'look into' this? And remember, you are speaking to a 20 year airline employee. No one has looked into this, whatever this is, for this customer and you know it. An issue should take minutes to resolve, not weeks. This is pathetic.

[Etihad Representative]

Hi The Judge,

Thank you for your comments. I am sorry that you feel this way.

As a former airline employee, I am sure you understand that we deal with some complex issues at times, and not everything is as cut and dried as it may originally seem.

Although as I am sure you understand, I cannot comment on the above members case to you, I can assure you that my role on this forum is to ensure that, where possible, I assist every member with any issue they may face. This has indeed been done on this occasion.

That said your comments are valuable, and have been taken on board.

Kind Regards

Cazzi B

[The_Judge]

If I may ask, you say you have assisted the customer on this board, how so? He has heard not a word, not even a form letter, for almost a month. In fact, you tell the OP in your first reply in this thread that it will be looked into "without delay". Does that mean only that, looked into?? No action or correspondence?? Just looked into?? I have never seen a request for anything at my former airline take a month, and especially no contact with that passenger for that length of time. I stand by that this customer has been failed and it is pathetic that he is treated this way.

[The_Judge]

I also wanted to add I find your comments patronizing and condescending. Perfect for an airline employee. I have learned to just say what I think instead of pussyfooting around.

[Etihad Representative]

Dear The Judge,

Please accept my apologies if you find my comments patronising and condescending, this was never my intention.

That said, I would like to reiterate again, that I am unable to discuss this individual case with you.

Suffice to say that the guest is being assisted.

Thank you.

CazziB

[The_Judge]

Apology not accepted. And it's not national security to say if you or your company has accepted or declined to help your customer. In fact, it would benefit your company to say you have refunded his ticket and goodwill has been restored but I seriously doubt either has happened as the airline you work for has been hammered here as a crap airline. I hope you will respond with something positive for the OP and your employer.