Don’t you just hate copy and paste responses from customer services when you contact them?
I’ve been in dialogue this morning with Expedia, as on my holiday the other week I was charged at the airport for checking a piece of luggage into the hold. At the airport, the airline’s customer services told me that Expedia was failing to pass on charges, and that I would have to pay on the spot, and then claim a refund from Expedia. A bit more hassle for me when I got back, but not too much of a problem.
I’d emailed Expedia earlier in the week prior to flying, asking what the baggage allowances were per person. I couldn’t remember if it was 15kg or 20kg, and during the booking process there wasn’t any way to check.
Dear Mr [Redacted]
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the baggage allowance on your flight to Faro.
I have checked the reservations system and can confirm that Easyjet will accept a maximum of 1 piece of checked baggage per passenger, each piece weighing no more than 20KGS.
Thank you for using Expedia.co.uk.
Yours sincerely
[Guy No. 1]
I took this as being confirmation that I could take one piece of baggage per person, up to 20kg each, and that there would be no charges.
So this morning, I emailed Expedia, explaining the situation:
Dear Sir / Madam,
Despite the below assurance [i.e. the email above], at both Gatwick and Faro I and my companion were charged for placing one piece of checked baggage each into the hold.
The representative at the Easyjet desk in Gatwick informed us that Expedia was failing to pass on payments for checked baggage, and as such I would have to pay Easyjet there and then, and subsequently claim a refund from Expedia for these charges.
The payments for which I require a refund were £20 at Gatwick, and €30 at Faro. I have copies of the invoices I was given for the baggage payments at both airports, which I can fax to you or photocopy for inclusion in a written letter.
Please provide me with details of the refund procedure, and how I should go about claiming back these payments.
Regards,
Rob [Redacted]
Very polite, business-like, and above all very calm. The money involved isn’t huge, but it’d be good to get it back. And emailing is free, so it’s only taking a little bit of time to do this.
The response back was a pure cut-and-paste job. I hate that. I’ve taken the time to explain my situation, personally and with full details, so why can’t you actually sit down and write me an email back?
Dear Mr [Redacted]
Thank you for contacting Expedia regarding your luggage allowance with Easyjet.
In line with a number of other airlines Easyjet charge customer for checked baggage.
You are able to take 10kgs of hand luggage/carry on baggage free of charge, providing your bag is no bigger than 50cm in length, 35cm in height and 23cm in depth.
Should you wish to place any luggage in the hold, the allowance for this is 20kgs charged, per flight sector, at £5.00 online or £10 at the airport. Any excess baggage will be charged per extra kilo.
We trust this answers your query and thank you for booking with Expedia.co.uk.
Yours sincerely
[Guy No. 2]
Now, as this email points out, Easyjet charges for hold luggage. I was aware of this, and thought, especially because of the response to my initial email, that this cost was already paid as part of my booking. Which I promptly explained:
Dear [Guy No. 2],
At no stage during the booking process was I given the option to include a baggage allowance as part of my booking. I have just attempted to go through the booking process for another Easyjet flight through Expedia, and again have been utterly unable to find any possibility to add baggage to the cost of the flights.
To quote the confirmation email I received upon booking:
Please note: Airlines strictly adhere to baggage weight allowances and may charge you for any overweight baggage at check-in. Since baggage allowance limits vary by carrier, we recommend you call your carrier or Expedia with any additional questions about overweight baggage.
As such, I emailed the customer services team, as detailed below. The response given to me was of the nature that I fully believed the standard baggage fees to have been paid as part of my booking. My baggage was not overweight nor outsize; merely pieces of standard hold luggage.
Regards,
Rob [Redacted]
Again, I like to think that I have been very precise, straight to the point and not at all anything but calm and clear. On the inside though, I was fuming. Yet another copy-paste job in response to a genuine issue raised, and I felt fobbed off without any kind of consideration of the circumstances.
I genuinely did attempt to go through another booking, and there was absolutely nowhere on the website where I could check the baggage allowance, or attempt to pay for baggage check-in. I think I could do it if I had skis (i.e. pay an extortionate amount), but not a normal suitcase.
To this I received a response from someone evidently higher up:
Dear Mr [Redacted]
Thank you for your comments regarding your reservation with Easyjet
Customer Relations Reference: 1*******4
We are very sorry to hear of the recent experiences incurred during your visit to Faro.
Please be assured your comments and feedback are important to us, and we would like to investigate the points that you have raised.
We have escalated this e-mail to our Customer Relations Department who will respond with their findings as soon as possible. As soon as a response from the parties concerned has been received, we will of course be in touch.
Our aim is to respond in full within 28 days.
Thank you once again for taking the time to inform us of your situation, and please quote your unique reference number in all future correspondence.
Yours sincerely
[Lady No. 1]
At least in this one there is a little bit of individual care and attention paid, if only in the opening lines. The rest is still cut-and-paste, but with any luck I’ll be getting a proper response soon enough.
Please feel free to tell me that I’m fully in the wrong here, by the way. Given that the website offers no possibility to add baggage, I don’t think I am, but I accept that maybe the initial response I received did not clarify that this would involve charges.
But, I’d like to point out that I have been very, very calm in my emails, and haven’t gone over-the-top with any threats or language like this guy, who is the first result when searching for “expedia sucks”. That’s a good example of how not to address customer services.