NEW: EXPEDIA and RyanAir (a fatal combination for travelers). Some people are not happy with RyanAir. Visit: www.RyanAirCampaign.org

NEW NEW NEW: the victims of EXPEDIA's blog is not longer listed in GOOGLE search.  It seems that EXPEDIA's friends are controlling internet  traffic to prevent people to reach this site. Alert your relatives and friends before they are scammed by EXPEDIA

My case or how EXPEDIA tried to scam me (1,254.95 U$D).

Read a letter sent to EXPEDIA's top EXECUTIVES

I bought (online from USA) a roundtrip from Europe to South America. For this trip I needed a paper ticket (not e-ticket) that EXPEDIA failed to deliver to me (one ticket was lost and the second was sent me to a wrong address - I provided the right address- ). I have proof of this (tracking number from UPS).  Anyway, one of their representative advised  me by phone to go to Europe and they will arrange with the airline I get a ticket at the airport. They never did it. I called to EXPEDIA many times from Europe and the airline that I was supposed to travel with (KLM) also contacted EXPEDIA. EXPEDIA never did anything to solve that problem that EXPEDIA generated and they didn't give me another solution. I had to buy (in Europe) another ticket from a different travel agency and I had to spend 15 extra days in Europe plus one extra week in South America. I've also lost many days at my job. I had lost a lot of money and my trips were useless because I had to use the money I had to solve this problem instead of enjoying my trips. TO MAKE IT SHORT, I WAS ABANDONED IN EUROPE BY EXPEDIA AFTER THEY FAILED TO PROVIDE ME A TICKET I HAD ALREADY PAID WITH MY CREDIT CARD.

 EXPEDIA claims that it was my fault (It is a lie because I have e-mails from the airline telling me that EXPEDIA never arranged my trip). EXPEDIA claims that they had put all the information in the airline system. But when I asked where and when they cannot give me that information. I have documentations showing how many times I called them (and copies of e-mails I sent to them), I also have an e-mail from the airline telling me that EXPEDIA never contacted them and never put on their system the information necessary to issue me new ticket from Europe. I showed that documentation to EXPEDIA but EXPEDIA just ignore it and never made an attempt to contact the airline. Why? because EXPEDIA can lie to customers but it cannot lie to the airline.

In summary, EXPEDIA charged my credit card for 1,254.96 U$D for a ticket that was never delivered. They advised me to go to EUROPE. Once I was in Europe, EXPEDIA abandoned me  there at my own with no ticket. I had to re-schedule my trips by my own and I had to buy a new ticket from another travel agency in Europe to complete my trips. EXPEDIA ignored my complaints when I was abroad . After I came back to USA, EXPEDIA tried to keep the money EXPEDIA charged in my credit card for that ticket I never had a chance to use. EXPEDIA  lied to me many times and tried to keep money from my credit card in a fraudulent way.  Thanks to my credit card I could recover (after almost 7 month) the full amount of that ticket but I suffered huge monetary loss due to that trouble that EXPEDIA generated.

This was EXPEDIA's official response to my case:

During my trip (before returning to USA). One of EXPEDIA's supervisor "admitted" that it was EXPEDIA's fault and told me to submit all the receipts I had for "extra expenses" .  This was done by phone, however he also sent me an e-mail confirming the address where I had to send it. (read that e-mail). I sent to EXPEDIA all my receipts and a detailed amount of all my expenses. But it was another lie, EXPEDIA's "customer advisor team" (a higher level than supervisors) denied all responsibilities.

1) First, EXPEDIA try make it look as if it was my fault and they reimbursed me part of the ticket (800 U$D) they never delivered (read the e-mail EXPEDIA sent to me). Is this fair? Does it make sense? Why EXPEDIA will reimburse money if it they are sure it was my  fault? They just tried to make me happy with 800 U$D and actually steal part of my money (> 400 U$D) because EXPEDIA actually never provided the service (this is simply fraud).
 

2) EXPEDIA tried to steal the rest of the money. It didn’t work: With the help of my credit card (VISA) I recovered another 429.99 U$D.
 

3) At this point, EXPEDIA still kept 59.99 because EXPEDIA charged my credit card in a way to cheat me and my credit card (see details). It didn’t work again. With the help of my credit card I recovered the rest 59.99 U$D. This was after almost 7 months. Does an honest company keep customers money for seven months? This long delay only showed that EXPEDIA tried to steal (and failed) my money no matter what. I could recover that money because my credit card fought for me and because I showed them overwhelming evidence of EXPEDIA’s lies.
 

4) EXPEDIA claims that I could not use the ticket I bought because the airline gave me wrong information. If this is true, EXPEDIA can provide me with names and dates when EXPEDIA contacted the airline to arrange for my trip. If I have that information I can stop bothering EXPEDIA and complain to the airline. Moreover, EXPEDIA can show that is an honest organization that care about their customers. I asked many times for this information but EXPEDIA was not able or did not want to give that information. Why? Because in fact, EXPEDIA never arranged my trip, thus, EXPEDIA has no proof of what they claim. EXPEDIA can contact the airline and clear this point with them: EXPEDIA never attempted to contact KLM.
 

5) I forwarded to EXPEDIA e-mails from the airline where the airline tells me that they tried to contact EXPEDIA and EXPEDIA never responded (Read the e-mail from KLM). EXPEDIA responses were several “automated” responses (since early april-2006) telling me that someone “in the appropriate department” is working on my case. But no one from EXPEDIA called me or e-mailed me after that. Even after showing them another letter from KLM telling me that EXPEDIA never attempted to arrange my trip EXPEDIA ignore my complaints.

6) When I asked for proof that EXPEDIA indeed contacte KLM to arrange my trip I received THIS E-MAIL (more lies)

7) The last thing EXPEDIA did was to disable my account I had with them (and I used to send e-mail to them) and completely ignore my e-mails I sent using another e-mail address.
 

This was the very last message from EXPEDIA:

In response to my message: :

Of course, They never contacted me again.

If you that think that what I'm writing here is not true. Ask EXPEDIA by yourself (travel@customercare.expedia.com , travel@expedia.com) and/or read carefully all the documentation in related websites.

ON AUGUST-13-2007 (> one year after the last message from EXPEDIA representative) I sent this letter to one of EXPEDIA's CEO

. NO RESPONSE so far. A failure to respond only means that EXPEDIA's executives are fully supporting their deceptive business practice.

I just edited (to remove) personal  data :

(Name of one of EXPEDIA’s CEO)
Chief executive officer
******@expedia.com

I found your e-mail address in the internet.  I writing since it is going to be almost one year after I received an e-mail from one of your representatives in response to my e-mail regarding my case. My case  is too gruesome in detail that I’m running a website to alert people about how bad EXPEDIA is and how they tried to scam me (http://www.vistimsofexpedia.com/mycase.htm) . I have no other possible explanation for all EXPEDIA has done after they failed to arrange one of my trip.

I’m pretty sure you know about my case (Case ID: [REQ:21826350]). Just in case, I’m sending this e-mail to you in order to document I tried to reach the highest level at EXPEDIA.com in order to solve my case.

I doubt you will ever answer this e-mail because I think you are familiar with my case (did you ever look for “expedia complaints” in Google or Yahoo?

Below are copies of the latest messages I send to and I received from EXPEDIA.

Sincerely Yours truly,

XXXX, XXXXX

These are gruesome details of tricks and strategies EXPEDIA used when they tried to scam me

 1) HOW EXPEDIA FALSELY PROMOTE THEIR SERVICES

In their web page EXPEDIA claims:

“Send us an e-mail. Aside from credit card transactions and some types of exchanges, we can handle most inquiries via e-mail. Send us your question and we'll get back to you within four hours.”

I had sent several e-mail to this “web-based e- mail” for customer support asking real support since EXPEDIA failed to provide me a ticket they charged in my credit card:

 I never get any response from them when they failed to arrange my trip. THIS IS A FORM OF FALSELY PROMOTE THEIR SERVICE

 2) HOW EXPEDIA USES AUTOMATIC RESPONSES TO LIE TO CUSTOMERS

When you complain, EXPEDIA use automated response to make you believe they are taking care of you. 

LOOK AT THIS:

 I had sent the same message twice to EXPEDIA's  web based e-mail address and here are their automated response:  

Dear Mr. XXXXX,

Thank you for your reply.

We apologize for the delay in regards to your case. As per your email, I was able to verify that your case is being investigated by the appropriate department; we will be contacting you as soon as a resolution is met. We appreciate your patience regarding this matter.
If you have further questions, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 24817800. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com
Joe Expedia.com Customer Support Team
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: 3/22/2006 1:20:26 PM
To: travel@customercare.expedia.com
Subject: Where is my refund? - Case ID: [REQ:24817800]

Another example:

Dear Expedia Customer,
Thank you for contacting us about your refund request.
We apologize for the delay in regards to your case. As per your email, I was able to verify that the appropriate department is investigating your case; we will be contacting you as soon as a resolution is met. We appreciate your patience regarding this matter.
If you have further questions regarding this issue, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 21826350. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Dorian
Expedia.com Customer Support Team
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXX
Sent: 3/22/2006 1:24:35 PM
To: travel@customercare.expedia.com
Subject: Expedia Promise questions or comments - Case ID: [REQ:24817927]

After this automated responses I never received any other messages

 THIS IS A PROOF THAT EXPEDIA GENERATES AUTOMATED RESPONSE TO MAKE CUSTOMERS BELIEVE THEY ARE TAKING CARE OF YOUR CASE.

3) HOW EXPEDIA CHEATS USING CREDIT CARDS

One of the ticket I bought from expedia was for 1,254.95 U$D + 35 U$D for an insurance of this trip

 Ticket price including taxes and fee = 1,229.96, Booking fee = 5.00, Dlivery fee =  19,99, Insurance =  35.00

 EXPEDIA charged my credit card for 2 transactions one of  1,229.96 U$D and the other for 59.99 U$D. See the details:

 SERVICE

 This ticket was never delivered in a timely manner. So, I lost my trip and I had no chance to use the insurance associated with this trip.

After a long dispute EXPEDIA reimbursed me 800 U$D  and my credit credit card could only reimbursed me 429.96 U$D.

THAT MEANS THAT EXPEDIA STOLE from my credit card 59.99 U$D for a service that was never provided.

Only after a long dispute with my credit card. VISA forced EXPEDIA to reimburse me that 59.99 U$D that EXPEDIA attempted to steal from my credit card.

Lesson : Check how EXPEDIA charge you credit card. EXPEDIA might "mistakenly" keep money.

4) HOW EXPEDIA LIE (Part 1)

My case is regarding two tickets I bought from EXPEDIA (see detail here)

EXPEDIA never delivered one of them in a timely manner, but they advised me to make the first trip because they would take care of the second trip by contacting KLM (ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES) in Europe in order to make possible my second trip. However, when I arrived to Europe, KLM was never contacted. I immediately sent an e-mail to EXPEDIA but they never answered my e-mail. I talk by phone but they couldn’t fix the problem. So, I was abandoned by EXPEDIA in Europe.

 Below are partial transcripts of late e-mail from expedia and KLM showing how EXPEDIA lies to customers.

“An e-mail was received from you on October 4 requesting information to be sent to KLM. Our agent released the record to KLM and sent an e-mail confirming this information.”

This was the e-mail EXPEDIA claim they sent to me:

 HOWEVER, I NEVER RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL. MOREOVER, WHEN I CONTACTED KLM (The airline) one of their agents sent me this E-MAIL:

This is a proof that EXPEDIA did not gave the information to KLM, in other word they charged my credit card for a trip that I never had a chance to take.

 Until now (June-2007), EXPEDIA does not want to accept their responsibility.

My credit card reimbursed me part me part of the money, but EXPEDIA still took part in a fraudulent way. Later on (6-7 month), I could recover the full amount of that ticket.

5) HOW EXPEDIA LIE (Part 2)

Here are some letters you can use as models if you want to lie to a customer that is complaining about something that your company was never delivered to him/her or about poor customer support or if she/he is asking for some information. They are real letters EXPEDIA sent to me.  They are pretty neat, well written and  the customer will believe that you are a honest company with a great customer support team. Of course they only work for a while but it will give you time to steal money or attempt to steal money for several months. You can replace anything highlighted in yellow for you convenience. Sentences highlighted in pink makes the letters really believable.

November 8, 2005
Re: case number 21826350
Dear Mr.XXXXX,
Your case has been forwarded to me for further research I understand that there were some issues with regards to the delivery of your paper tickets.  I am researching all the documentation and the fax that was sent to my department. I will contact you directly after completing my investigation. If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to reply to this e-mail.
Sincerely,

zzzzzzzzzz
Sr. Research Specialist
Customer Advisory Department
Expedia, Inc.

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Comment: after this letter you can ignore the customer for several weeks then you can write others like this:

Date: Apr 19, 2006 5:59 PM

Dear Expedia Customer (You can even ignore the name of the customer),
Thank you for contacting us about your concern.
Your case has been worked by the appropriate department and they will respond to you as soon as possible.
If you have further questions regarding this issue, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 21826350. You can also visit the Expedia.com “Customer Support” page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Jyla (the name you put here does not matter, the customer will never be able to contact Jyla again)
Expedia.com Customer Support Team
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Date: Apr 20, 2006 2:49 AM

Dear Expedia.com Customer,
Thank you for contacting Expedia.com with feedback on your recent experience using our services.
Your comments are important to us, and we regret that your experience using Expedia.com was not to your
satisfaction.  Please be assured that the entire team at Expedia.com is dedicated to not only providing the most efficient, user friendly, and accurate travel application, but also to the highest standards of support for
our members.
If you have further questions, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID: 25408694. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (<http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp>) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Patricia (the name you put here does not matter, the customer will never be able to contact Patricia again)
Expedia.com Customer Support Team
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Date: Apr 24, 2006 12:19 PM (please note the date  five months later  and the customer is still complaining )

Dear Mr. XXXXX,

Thank you for contacting Expedia.com regarding your request.
We have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate department and will respond to you as soon as possible.
If you have further questions, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 21826350. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Alcina  (or choose another friendly first name, the customer will not know anyway)
Expedia.com Customer Support Team


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Date: Apr 28, 2006 6:13 AM (please note the date is now almost six months later and the customer is still complaining )

Dear Expedia (you can put your company name here) Customer,

Thank you for contacting us about your request.
As previously advised to you, this case is being handled by the appropriate department and will respond to you as soon as possible. Again, we apologize for the any inconvenience you have experienced and we appreciate your patience regarding this matter.
If you have further questions regarding this issue, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 25577274. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (<http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp>) for more customer service information.
Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Wendy (as usual choose another friendly first name, the customer will not know anyway)
Expedia.com Customer Support Team

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Use small variation of this letters:

Date: Apr 19, 2006 6:21 PM

Dear Expedia Customer,
Thank you for contacting us about your flight tickets.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
We have checked on the documentations of your record and verified that your concern has been escalated to the appropriate department for review.
You will be updated with the details either via email or through a phone call. Expedia Customer Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-EXPEDIA (1-800-397-3342) or 1-404-728-8787. Kindly have your itinerary number 114034295485 and Case ID 21826350 ready when you call us.
If you have further questions regarding this issue, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference Case ID 25403497. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more Customer Service information.

Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Cindy
Expedia.com Customer Support Team

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Date: Apr 20, 2006 5:11 AM

Dear Expedia Customer,
Thank you for contacting us about your concern.
Your case is already being worked by the appropriate department and they will respond to you as soon as possible.  We have been able to verify that this matter is being researched by a member of our Customer Advisory Department. (I highlighted this part because it will really make the customer believe that this particular agent look at your case)

If you have further questions regarding this issue, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 21826350. You can also visit the Expedia.com “Customer Support” page (http://www.expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.

Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date: Jul 19, 2006 10:34 AM

Dear XXXXX

Thank you for contacting Expedia.com

I  wish to apologize for the fact that you have not been contacted.  I have once again forwarded your request to the appropriate department and have earmarked it with high priority, within 72 hours you should have a response.

If you have further questions regarding this concern, feel free to reply to this e-mail or contact Expedia.com customer services at 1-800-397-3342 and reference case ID 26607842. You can also visit the Expedia.com "Customer Support" page (http://www.Expedia.com/daily/service/default.asp) for more customer service information.

Thank you for choosing Expedia.com.

Melody

Of course, after all this letters your company can simply ignore the customer and keep all the money you can take from him/her and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER reimburse a penny as compensation

This case proves EXPEDIA tried to scam me.