[Mshuff]

I would like to share the experience that my daughter had due to United Airlines employees who sent my daughter over to Beijing, China where she was detained for 2 hours by Chinese police because she was there without a passport. She was originally on military orders to report to Seoul, Korea (which was why she was told she did not need a passport) but due to various issues (listed in complaint below) she was put on the wrong flight. I am happy to say that after 3 hours of interrogation, the Chinese police realized that she was just a victim of unfortunate circumstances and not a terrorist and they put her on a plane back to the United States; and now she is now over in Korea serving our country in the Army but what it took for her to get there was unbelievable.

As a young adult who has never been out of the country and did not know what was going to happen to her over there - we were both scared out of our heads. When I got a call at 4:00 in the morning from my daughter telling me that she was being detained in China by immigration police – I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was on the phone for hours trying to get in touch with everyone I could think of to help me get my daughter back here or where she was suppose to be. I am very grateful to all the people that helped me to resolve this issue but for a few hours – I was scared to death. I feel that United has not taken this issue as seriously as it was and could have been and would just like it be go away.

After she was returned home (keep in mind she was on back-to-back 14 hour flights), we went to United Airlines to discuss this issue and make arrangements for her to get to Korea, which I thought would be the least of our problems since it was United mistake - but to my surprise, we were told that they did not have a telephone number for customer complaints and that we would have to go their website and file a complaint through Consumer Relations. We left the airport in shock but had no other recourse but to go on the website and try to get this resolved asap. After filing her complaint, my daughter contacted SATO again to tell them what was going go. It wasn't until they got involved that United agreed to put my daughter on a plane to Korea that following weekend because at this point, she was at a risk for being listed as being listed as AWOL. Originally she was told that she would have to pay for another flight and after they investigate, they "may" reimburse her for the flight (approximately $1100).

The Consumer Relations Department never responded to my daughter or my online complaints that we filed; and after almost 3 weeks of trying to get someone to look into this issue, I was very upset and finally was able to get someone on the phone that connected me to a representative in that department. The representative told me that they had sent out several responses to our emails, but again we never received one even though I confirmed that she had the right email addresses. However, after I spoke to her, she followed up with a email which I got immediately. The rep. was very nice and apologized for this "mishap" and my daughter was offered "good will" gestures of a $400 voucher (that's not even 1/2 the cost of a one way ticket) for international travel, reimbursed $98 dollars for her one night hotel stay, and approximately 12,000 Mileage Plus miles was put into a Mileage Plus account that they opened for her (5,000 of which has not been credited yet).
After my second contact with this department; I was issued a $150 travel voucher for myself.

During my initial contact with the rep; I was instructed to fax over additional information that was needed and I did so that same day. So after that first and last conversation with this rep, I called the number I was given and put in my file number thinking that I could contact this person again to assure that she had received the faxed information and to my surprise - the file has been closed and there was no way to follow up with this person again. I emailed and faxed a request that someone from this department contact me again and never got another reply until again I called the main number and asked to be directed to someone in the Consumer Relations Department. This time, it did not work and I was finally told that I would have to file another complaint through the website. It took almost 3 weeks to get someone to respond to our complaint - but in less then 24 hours after talking to someone for the first time - the file was closed. Again this was upsetting to me and I told the person that I was going to contact an attorney. One hour later, I got a phone call from someone else in the Consumer Relations Dept. Again – I got the song and dance routine of how sorry they were that this happened but I feel that United just wants this to be over with and the small "good will" gestures that were extended to us should be enough to end this issue.

However; I feel different: At the very least I feel my daughter should have been given at least a "one way voucher" to travel back to the states from Korea and her $115 cell phone roaming charges from China be paid. In addition, I feel she should have been credited with Mileage Plus credits from both the flights to and from China that she had to endure and also the flight to Korea. Is this too much to ask for?

I heard that the FAA may fine United $10,000 for this error; but the FAA was not the one that had to go through this ordeal. Why is she given a few crumbs and the government gain from her terrible experience with United. In addition to all this - My daughter may not be able to come home for the holiday season (which affects the whole family) as she was told she would be able to do because it took her almost an additional week to report for duty and they used that personal time to cover that extra time. I am still upset how she was treated but I am running into brick walls trying to get United to do what we consider fair. As a mother – I am fighting for my daughter’s rights and I feel she is not asking for a lot. United should be held responsible for their actions as we all have to be and by doing this - I hope that no one else ever has to go through this and United will learn from this mistake and provide their staff with the appropriate training that is needed. I would appreciate any suggestions or feedback to this issue. Here is my daughter's original complaint: Thanks

To United Airlines Consumer Relations.

WEDNESDAY – JUNE 15TH; 2011 – 12:30 P.M.

URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED

To United Airlines Consumer Relations

My name is PV2 M. Huff and I was scheduled to report to Camp Casey, Korea on June 12th, 2011. I arrived to Richmond, Virginia on June 11th, 2011 at 10:20 am. I ran to the United Airlines ticket desk to find out if my flight to Washington, Dulles was still at the gate that was scheduled to depart at 10:55 am. The representative, JoAnne Fisher, in fact told me that the plane was still at the gate but insisted that I could not board because they had already given away my ticket. I showed her my military orders to her and tried to explain that I was on orders to report to Seoul, Korea. She said that there was nothing she could do but to put me on another flight. She then proceeded to book me on another flight to Washington for the next morning. She said that the flight would be from Washington, to Beijing China, and the final destination was to Seoul, Korea.

When I reviewed the schedule for my flight arrangements she made; it had me scheduled for Flight 6106 from Richmond to Washington/Dulles; then connecting on Continental Flight 6033 from Washington to Beijing China; and another connection on Flight 1263 from Beijing to Yinchuan. When I looked that the tickets she gave me; I asked her why the last flight said to Yinchuan and not Seoul, Korea and asked her what that correct. She then double checked in her computer and said "That flight is flying to Korea; that is the way they spell it in the computer." I had no choice but to believe her being that I was 21 and had never been out of the country before and I just wanted to get to Korea as I was instructed to do by the Army. However; I had a gut feeling told me that something wasn’t right about the flight to Yinchuan; so I then went back to the desk and asked another representative that was there about the flight again. She told me that Ms. Fisher had already booked me onto that flight and that she couldn’t change it. She also confirmed that the flight to Yinchuan was to Korea as well; so at that point, I was convinced that my final flight would be in Korea. At that point; I went and paid approximately $100 for a hotel room close to the airport to assure that I did not miss my flight 6:43 a.m. flight from Richmond, VA to Washington, DC in the morning.

When I got to the Washington airport at approximately 7:30 a.m., I went to the USO office to wait for approximately 5 hrs until my flight left at 12:39 pm. The flight to China would be approximately 14 hrs which in itself was overwhelming but necessary so I mentally prepared myself for the long flight.

Once I arrived at Beijing International Airport, I proceeded to the United airlines desk to transfer to my connecting flight which I had been told would be to Korea. Ms. Hai Yung, a United airlines rep, then told me that Yinchuan was not in Korea but in the city of China. Totally devastated; I explained my situation to her and told her I was on Military Orders from the Army to get to Korea and she then booked me on a flight from Beijing to Seoul, Korea. At that point; I thought that I was on the way and then preceded to the U.S. customs to get through immigration and that’s when I encountered more problems. Again – noting that I had never been out of the country before and all I had was my military orders; I did not know that I had a serious problem facing me.



I was apprehended by the China police and told me that they could not let me proceed into China without a passport. They then took me into a room for approximately 2 hours for further questioning to figure out why I had been allowed to enter into their country without a passport and if I presented any type of threat to China. At that point I could only call my mother and try to explain to her what was going on. Of course; she was hysterical and worried about my situation. During the time I was being questioned – I could not understand what was being said or what was going to happen to me. I called my mother repeatedly to try to explain what was going on but I was calling from my cell phone from China; which I am sure will be expensive when I get the bill. I also made several calls to the Military Travel Assistance number that I had but was not able to get in touch with a live person; I was only able to leave a message. In the meantime; my mother was at home calling everyone she could to get in touch with the Army personnel; other relatives and friends that were also serving in Korea with the hope that they could help me. However – since I had been released from my previous post at Fort Lee; Virginia and had not been processed yet in Korea – I was considered to be in a “black hole” so I had no one personally that I could contact. My mother was able to contact a Mr. Louis ***** of Military One Source and after at least 6-8 different calls; he was able to put her in touch with someone at Camp Casey in Korea to explain my situation and was then instructed to contact my unit that I had left in Virginia with the hope that they would intervene. However – noting that it was about 6 am in the morning; my mother was not able to get in touch with anyone at that time. All throughout this time – I was not sure what was going to happen to me and was getting very scared about not only what was going to happen here but if I was going to be considered going AWOL with the Army with all the delays that had presented since I left home trying to get to Korea. My mother was very worried as well but at this point we did not know what else she could do.

Luckily; after a couple of hours – the Chinese police was convinced that I had been a victim of unfortunate circumstances and was not a threat and decided to put me on another 14 hour flight back to Washington, DC with a connecting flight back to my home city of Atlanta, GA so that I could get all of this straightened out. At this point I considered myself very lucky because I now understand that since I was in China without a passport they could have easily kept me captive until the US contacted but at that point – no one but my mom knew I was in China.

I returned to Washington; DC at approximately 8 p.m on Monday – June 13th and went to the USO office for help. They instructed me to get on my flight to Atlanta and then try to reach someone in that USO office but when I got there – it was closed. My mother picked me up at approximately 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. I contacted SFC Foutch in the SATO office later that morning (Tuesday – June 14th) so that she would be informed of what happened to me because at that point I should have been in Korea. She instructed me to go back to United Airlines and explain my situation and have them issue me another ticket for Korea at their expense because that was my original destination – not China. As instructed – I went to the United Airlines terminal in the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport and spoke with Mrs. Loretta Dozier. She confirmed that this was an United airlines error but that she could not issue a ticket at the airport and that I would have to contact United Customer Relations by email to get this straightened out. – My instructions now is that I now need to make the necessary arrangements with United Airlines to get me to Korea ASAP.

This has been a complete nightmare for me and my family and at this point I am hoping that you will make the necessary arrangements to rectify this situation ASAP.

[jimworcs]

This was clearly an error by United, but in your expectations of compensation, you should also consider The role your daughter played. It was ridiculous for your daughter to turn up at Richmond for such a journey 35 minutes before departure.

[Mshuff]

I understand and agree 100%. However, again - being a young adult who had never been out of the country on a international flight before - she did not realize how much time was needed be able to board the flight. I am sure that she has learned a very valuable lesson and I know that this will not happen again or at least not because she did not give herself enough time to get to the airport.

[jimworcs]

Of course, it was even more ridiculous that an employee of an international airline can send someone to China, thinking they were going to Korea and explain it by saying "that's how they spell it". Every airport has an ICAO code precisely to avoid this situation. This employees behaviour was irresponsible and stupid.