Comments on: St. Lucia spat: passenger wins case against US Airways

By: Eric White

Eric White — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:53:05 +0000

Small claims did it for me. After being a refugee standed at the US Airways terminal in Philadelphia en route to Europe for 2 days. I got tired of listening to their platitudes and insults. Small claims awarded me $1700+ for my hardship.

By: orlando

orlando — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:36:19 +0000

For Payment:

Have small claims court issue an order to the sheriff to escort you to claim airline property as compensation.

Go to airport and take a check-in “pedestal” machine just as a flight is being called for boarding. Or maybe two of the machines.

By: Howard H

Howard H — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:34:26 +0000

Now that the court affirmed her claim she has to collect from US Air.

I think that might be a lot harder that getting to their ticket counter to check in for a flight. How can you force a large corp like US Air to pay?

By: Michael F. Hollander

Michael F. Hollander — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:51:32 +0000

For the record, a friend of mine once sued an insurance company in small claims court. He won. They laughed at him when he attempted to collect. He visited the sheriff and, on a Monday morning, had their headquarters building padlocked until payment was received – in CASH. The sheriff is very good at enforcing judgements.

By: MrBadExample

MrBadExample — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:59:45 +0000

If you can get the account number of one of US Airways Bank accounts getting the money is relatively simple in PA.

As Ivan A pointed out, this is why ANY issue you have with an airline or other travel carrier should be brought to the light of day via any kind of media attention you can generate. ONE court that deep pockets actually hurts you is the court of public opinion. Which is where this case should ultimately be decided.

By: Ivan A

Ivan A — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:46:49 +0000

It’s nice to see justice done, but now is the hard part: getting them to actually pay. I heard some horror stories about people who win in small court, yet never see the money when the defendant stalls, appeals, etc… They have the deep pockets and the in-house lawyers. If they feel like it, they can stall almost forever. Please keep us informed on whether you are able to make them pay (and how).

By: Jasper

Jasper — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:39:16 +0000

That whole reply from US just oozes with contempt.

“Thank you for your recent correspondence to the Executive Office of Customer Relations at US Airways.”

=Thank you for contacting this “office” that is in no way related to the one you are a customer of.

“We apologize our original attempt to resolve this issue was not to your satisfaction.”

This is the most sincere apology ever. Because they’re not apologizing at all.

“Please understand we are not trying to diminish the incident you brought to our attention.”

=Again, we have nothing to do with US airlines that you (tried to) flew with. We find it amusing though that you contact us about their poor customer service. Hihi.

I love that they call delivering their product an “incident”.

“We are very concerned about any breakdown in service that disrupts or detracts from the enjoyable travel experience our customers have a right to expect.”

Those darned customers! They have expectations! Yuk.

“This incident was reviewed and after careful evaluation, we were unable to honor your request of a full refund of the American Airlines tickets.”

Again, insincerity at its best. They are perfectly able to honor the request. They just chose not to honor it.

“However, the offer of two $400.00 Transportation Vouchers is still on the table for your decision. Please advise if you would like the vouchers to be sent.”

=”advise”, because we’re not sure yet if we’re gonna honor your advise. We might change our mind and just have fun with you. We like hiding carrots. Hihi.

By: MrBadExample

MrBadExample — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:04:05 +0000

Don’t forget the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Complaint process in the state of your choice