The best way for them to succeed seems to be to communicate with polite and concise email questions rather than by phone, online chat, or web form. These customer service email addresses can be difficult to find, but that means you may receive faster responses and better service. Plus, you’ll have a clean written record that you can forward after two weeks if you don’t hear back.
If not, aim higher. When Amy, a resident of St. Paul, Minn., wrote to me asking for help as she found out her $1,172 credit with United Airlines could not be used, I told her that the company, run by Elliott Advocacy, I suggested using the site elliott.org/company-contacts. It’s a nonprofit organization that does things like Tripped Up and provides contact information to travel companies. She wrote a letter to United’s customer care executive, who said she got a resolution back the same day. “Magic!” she said.
If the email you sent directly to your service provider fails, file a complaint with your credit card issuer, the Better Business Bureau, your state attorney general (insurance department if insurance-related), and the federal Department of Transportation (if airmail). It is possible that you may file a complaint. .
make sure you are correct
Passengers often write to me angry letters complaining that the airline canceled their entire itinerary after they missed just one flight. However, this is a widespread and well-documented rule. Are you sneaky? I completely agree, but I can’t do anything other than ask you to (please) write to your Member of Parliament.
They also often decline travel insurance, believing that if they get sick, they can provide a doctor’s note and the airline, cruise line, or hotel will reimburse them. However, this is not a story about elementary school students. Sometimes companies will make exceptions, but you can’t rely on them. Tong, of Sebastopol, Calif., said EasyJet refunded $390 on an unused flight from Naples to Palermo after his wife Elizabeth contracted COVID-19 during a trip to Italy in October. He wrote to me that he didn’t. That may have worked during the peak of the pandemic. No more.
