whitney0515

So just a quick update on my situation. After sending certified lawyer approved letter requesting refund from Orbitz, they did not respond to us by May 9th (the deadline we gave in letter before we would take legal action). My husband went to the courthouse this week to officially start the process for suing them and got a court date. (Both of us are in disbelief because we never thought we would be in a situation that would make us sue someone...) He also filed an official complaint with Better Business Bureau. This resulted in a phone call from Allianz (insurance company) today and Allianz is saying that they are at fault and they had a system error. They offered to charge us for the original insurance amount (that we were never charged for) and to open up a claim. At this point we have spent money and time writing/mailing letters, going to courthouse, taking off work to deal with paperwork, etc. We told them we would need time to make a decision and would get back to them.

It's incredible how a complaint with BBB would promp Orbitz to actually investigate what happened and find out Allianz was the one with a system error. I had requested a copy of their "investigation" weeks ago with no response.

newtome

I'd keep the small claims action open till they pay. The one time i had to go to small claims that's what I did and i had a check within days.

jacketwatch

Thank you for the update. To me it's very sad that you would have to go this far before you got any kind of a response. I am not sure I would want to pay for the insurance without knowing that the claim has at least a very good chance of being approved . Best of luck and I'm sorry you have to go through all this but I am glad you choose to do this. Keep up the good work.

Kathie

Interesting... I appreciate you keeping us updated on this matter. Good luck to you!

scdreamer

Thank you for checking in with the update. Amazing what a well-placed letter or complaint to a third party can do.

(I also wanted to let you know we did receive our refund from KLM ... after placing the complaint on their Facebook page, and declining to send them all the ridiculous additional information they said was "required.")

whitney0515

Hey everyone - just figured I would give an update!

We went to small claims court about 2 and a half weeks ago. Orbitz sent a local representative. We tried mediation before presenting to a judge but couldn't all agree. (Orbitz offered us less than half the amount we had spent on our travel issues which we refused). The judge heard our case and ruled in our favor. Orbitz tried to shift the blame to Allianz (the insurance company) since they claimed the error was on their system but judge said that due to us getting a policy number and confirmation from Orbitz, it would be their responsibility.

Orbitz had 10 days to appeal which would make the judge's ruling worthless but would make us go to a court with a jury and lawyers, etc. They never appealed and today a rep emailed me from Orbitz asking for my home address so that they could send me a check for the full amount.

Won't be over until the check is deposited in my bank account but this feels really good and I'm happy it's coming to a close.

I wanted to encourage anyone who has a similar situation to keep persisting and get what is right. Don't let these huge companies bully you!!

Sassafrass

Wow! Good for you! Thanks for posting.

jacketwatch

Amen to that! I am happy you saw this thru and as for us we will never use Orbitz!

I've had two tussles with RCI which initially were met with their "no" culture but by pushing it up to upper CS management who were great we have compensation for an upcoming cruise of $130.00 OBC, 2 bottles of wine and chocolate strawberries. Will they ever learn to not be penny wise and pound foolish??

Also had a problem with Celebrity too in 2011. Same initial "no" response. Pushed it up, got $240.00 OBC.

Kathie

I'm glad you got this resolved, though I would feel better about Orbitz had they stepped up and taken care of the situation earlier. Thanks for coming back and letting us know how it worked out.

RoamsAround

whitney0515 - Great news for you! It just goes to show how getting all your ducks in a row and being prepared put you in a very good position legally. You won because you could prove the facts were on your side.

Seamus

Thanks for the update and kudos to you. Please do come back and confirm that you received the check and that it did clear.

jacketwatch

IME I have encountered more often than what I would like to see companies trying to take the cheap way out. Its a shame really. It happened to me with Celebrity and RCI and actually I did push it up the ladder and as it so happened the higher ups that I spoke to knew those who were in the "no" culture so to speak. I can only hope they got a serious talking to centering on what really matters and that is a customer who will return.

Also had some terrible, lying to my face issues with Sears. That co. has really gone the tubes.