[conventions|travel] The high cost of cancellation

[jaylake]

As I mentioned yesterday, I am having issues with United Airlines. This first cropped up a while back, as discussed here: [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]

This all goes back to my troubles trying to get to this year's World Fantasy Convention in Brighton. (I have discussed some of this previously here on the blog.) Last summer, I tried to book plane

Comments

[chris_gerrib]

This may be a stupid question, but can you just give the airline miles credit to Unnamed Benefactors?

[jaylake]

No, they are specifically demanding the money refunded.

[chris_gerrib]

Well, I've been demanding a date with a supermodel for YEARS now ! ;-)

[goulo]

Perhaps someone else would want to buy the airline credit from you!

[mizkit]

*stares incredulously* That is...an incomprehensible, to me, action on the part of the Unnamed Benefactors. Holy crap, Jay. Augh.

[suricattus]

Yeah, I'm just...wow.

[twilight2000]

Good Grief - do they *enjoy* yanking the football out from in front of you? Pay BACK what was supposed to be a compassionate offer? I'm with @suricattus - just - wow.

[la_marquise_de_]

Yep, what Catie said.

[voidampersand]

I don't know. How would you like to have to go around for the rest of your life unnamed? "Hey, uh, you." Names are powerful. The fact that Jay can unname people is yet another sign that he is not someone to mess with.

people suck

[ext_2299120]

"If they're no longer benefactors, they're no longer deserving of being unnamed" true words.

though i must say that if it were not for Lisa and the child. i would agree with "yourbob" about telling them to sue the estate.

[aiela]

I...I'm speechless that someone would offer up such a generous gift, and then be so UN generous when you have an emergency that means you can't utilize the gift. The two halves of this don't even match up in my head. Why would someone who would do it in the first place act like this after the fact?

I'm so sorry. Personally, I don't think you owe them anything. It was a gift. There was an emergency. If someone gives me a gift card for a service and I am not able to use it before it expires or whatever, they have no right to demand payback.

[goulo]

Good gift card analogy! I agree, if it was a gift.

(A way it might be stickier is if the U.B. was connected to the convention in some official capacity and there was some (intended or explicit) understanding that the ticket was bought so that Jay could be at the con in some capacity, e.g. as a guest on some panels or something like that. I have no idea of the details. Even then though, it makes me wonder what U.B. would say if Jay himself had ended up in the hospital in a coma, due to some accident, instead of Jay going to help with a loved one's medical emergency - would U.B. still insist on getting the flight cost paid back? In any case it sounds awfully insensitive indeed!)

[aiela]

I've worked on and off for a convention who has had a guest cancel a few times, most recently at the last minute the morning he was due to fly in, and to my knowledge, they submitted an insurance claim. In this case, I believe they were able to be reimbursed, but if they hadn't, I'd be extremely shocked if they would have gone after the guest for the $.

As for if it were Jay himself, I dunno. I would hope not, but then, I would hope they wouldn't do what they're doing in THIS situation, either, so I am not confident they'd have handled it any better, sadly.

[goulo]

Oh, interesting. I know nothing about the finances of running cons or even that such insurance is possible, so thanks for the info!

[saveswhat]

I think we need a new name for the "Unnamed Benefactors".