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Agent did not do what she said she did

Vitanzafamily8
Explorer C

Help! I bought tix for my son’s family to come visit us. Two weeks later, he was hospitalized and given a diagnosis of MS. He is going to live, but it took him a month to get acclimated to meds, etc. Since we knew he couldn’t not make the trip, I called Aug 17 and spoke with an agent (6 days prior to trip) and she told me to change the tix to a new date for November it would cost me 200 additional dollars and that my confirmation code would stay the same. Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Southwest stating my family was a “no show” on Aug 23!!! I have tried to contact Southwest, sent them the phone record evidence showing date and time I spoke with agent. I have heard nothing from them. When I called Southwest they said no agent would have told me to use the same confirmation code! And that it was my fault for everything because I did not call them when I did not get the new email with updated flights. If they will listen to the recorded phone call they will hear everything! Any advice?

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Agent did not do what she said she did

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Sorry to hear about your son and the difficulty with your ticket. It's not clear if you paid the $200 and the agent made the change to a November flight or if the flight was left as is. If you paid and had the flight changed then there certainly should be enough of a paper trail to issue you travel funds for the price of the original flight. If the agent informed you that the flight could be changed, but it wasn't changed, then the no-show notice makes sense. Either way, if you calmly explain that you did change the flight or perhaps there was a misunderstanding about the change I suspect Southwest will be able to apply the funds towards another flight if you have one in mind. No guarantee though, the no-show policy is pretty clear, but calmly and politely explaining the situation might work.

 

Good luck, 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Agent did not do what she said she did

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

I am sorry to hear about your son!  

 

Without more details, it is hard for me to understand exactly what happened, but it sounds like the flight should have been changed with a fare difference of $200 (SW does not have change fees).  You stated, "she told me to change the tix to a new date for November it would cost me 200 additional dollars and that my confirmation code would stay the same."  Did she mean that you should make that change online, or were you under the impression that she changed it for you?  Also, were you actually charged the $200?  You should have indeed received a new email confirmation, and I do believe that since it is a flight change, your confirmation number would indeed have stayed the same.

 

I am not sure who at SW you have spoken with, but I recommend reaching out to Customer Relations at 855-234-4654 for assistance in this situation.

 

Good luck!

 

 

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: Agent did not do what she said she did

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@Vitanzafamily8 wrote:

Help! I bought tix for my son’s family to come visit us. Two weeks later, he was hospitalized and given a diagnosis of MS. He is going to live, but it took him a month to get acclimated to meds, etc. Since we knew he couldn’t not make the trip, I called Aug 17 and spoke with an agent (6 days prior to trip) and she told me to change the tix to a new date for November it would cost me 200 additional dollars and that my confirmation code would stay the same. Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Southwest stating my family was a “no show” on Aug 23!!! I have tried to contact Southwest, sent them the phone record evidence showing date and time I spoke with agent. I have heard nothing from them. When I called Southwest they said no agent would have told me to use the same confirmation code! And that it was my fault for everything because I did not call them when I did not get the new email with updated flights. If they will listen to the recorded phone call they will hear everything! Any advice?


I'm sorry to hear about the medical diagnosis, I hope things are going as well as possible.

 

If you didn't call this number yet, try the Customer Relations contact:

Customer Relations 1-855-234-4654

 

If you have phone log or other documentation about the phone call mention that to them. 

 

It's a confusing thing, as Southwest's rep mentioned you should have seen the change right away in your online account, and the idea of suggesting you add $200 additional to the ticket is very strange compared to just canceling the trip and taking travel credit. Did the rep take your credit card information at that time, was there any charge?

 

Keeping the same comfirmation code is fine if you changed flights, but I agree that if you didn't have specific plans for November it would have been easier to cancel the flight and re-book when you were ready using the travel credit.

 

Anyway, I think the key information for Customer Relations:

 

  • Show that you talked to them and at what phone number
  • why would they suggest to change to a future flight instead of travel funds and reboook later?
  • What happened to the $200?

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Agent did not do what she said she did

chgoflyer
Aviator A

I'm sorry to hear about your son's medical issues. I'm sure you must have had a lot on your mind at the time, but whenever you make a flight change over the phone, it's of utmost importance that you verify it was made correctly, by checking the email confirmation that is sent immediately after the change is made. Not receiving a confirmation should have been a red flag.

 

Was the $200 for the new fare deducted from your account? That would be one way of proving your position. (However I suspect it wasn't since the flight change was apparently not made.)

 

Unfortunately, as you've now discovered, Southwest enforces their no-show policy strictly. Providing the call record was a good faith step on your part, but I suspect that ultimately it may be fruitless.

 

My recommendation is to continue following up with them and stressing that they should review the recording of the call.

 

Good luck, and please come back and let us know how it works out in the end.