I cant believe that someone could lose a voucher that should be treated as cash and then complain when the airline does not replace it. Accept your mistake and move on.

No, gmarine, didn't you get her point? She was sick. That means she is exempt from all rules. I'm sure she's also called the phone and power companies to tell them they should give her a free month because she misplaced their bills -- her husband threw those out too when he was looking for her insurance papers. If he was smart, maybe he also accidentally threw out the marriage license.

Celeste; Please, get a grip! Don't you see what you are doing? You are really angry as hell at your husband for throwing out the voucher and you are mis-directing it towards Delta and people on this forum.<BR>Perhaps you need to have a nice chat with him about his tidying-up problem. I mean, if he's looking for insurance papers then why is he throwing out vouchers. I start throwing papers out when I'm panicking about not being able to find something and angry that things are so disorganized. My point is, Celeste, that your problem is not with Delta or us it's something going on right inside of your home. I am not trying to be mean here, but really trying to help you see that what you think is the problem is really not. I'm not sure what any of us can do for you until you start becoming more honest with yourself. And I am not calling you dishonest, either. I think these things happen to give us a reality check on our lives. To make us stand up and take notice of stuff that's been going on that we haven't noticed before. Best of luck to you, r

We've all lost things. It happens by accident and by innocence. But we learn from these mistakes and get over them.<BR><BR>Celeste, please stop the drama. YOU WERE CARELESS and LOST IT.<BR>

OK, Celeste, now I get it. Your operation was a lobotomy, right?

I know this subject has been beaten to death, but I'd like to point out something that I don't think has been mentioned yet. The item that was lost was a VOUCHER GIVEN FOR THE INCONVENIENCE OF BEING BUMPED. It was not a ticket that Celeste had already paid for. Therefore, Celeste, Delta is not taking your money away from you. IT NEVER COST YOU ANYTHING in the first place, and Delta is not wrongfully holding your money. They offered you the voucher as a nice gesture to make up for inconveniencing you. It was a freebie courtesy, and their obligation to you ended at the moment they delivered that voucher to you. Your obligation was to hold on to it. You didn't. End of story. Do I feel bad for you? Yes. To the extent that I feel bad for anyone who loses something, for whatever reason. But every loss doesn't come with a guarantee of a remedy. And you've been nasty to everyone who has tried to point that out to you, so that cancels out any pity I might have initally felt. Especially when it COST YOU NOTHING. So please give up this misplaced righteous sense of entitlement you keep espousing. And speaking of spouses, the best line on this thread was about your husband accidentally throwing out the marriage license!

People keep saying that it COST NOTHING- if I am reading this right, she did pay for the original ticket-got bumped - had a voucher-lost it. Therefore she did not take the trip yet, paid but got no trip...so SHE DID PAY. This thread is showing all the bitterness of people so afraid someone will get something for nothing-even if it isn't for nothing...small minded bunch here!

If living shallow, stupid lives means not really giving a rats ass about you or your voucher, than so be it. I'm shallow and stupid.<BR><BR>It's not all about you, dear.

C - there are so many sick people who respond to these travel posts it is just better to use false names. I post and reply all the time and, as you have found out, you get some good advice and then the trolls. I would suggest that you totally ignore the troll messages. Responding to them just makes it worse. From my previous posts, just keep trying and you may get some success. I do not believe this is a clear cut issue of right or wrong on either side. Delta has many reasons why they are right about this issue so I would not be the never fly Delta again person. You may find the good customer service you are seeking if you don't give up.

art: so people that don't agree with you are trolls? Initially I was on Celeste's side - no more. The "trolls" on this post are right on the money in this case.

Celeste, I can tell you from my own disappointing experiences with Delta that I had a terrible time getting Delta to credit my account with miles. My problem was simpler than yours. I found out that Consumer Care and their service center in Atlanta are anti-customer. One person I dealt with was helpful - Valerie Henry at 404-715-2600. And a Delta agent in Tampa, named Brandi (FAX 813-286-5059), working with my travel agent, was finally able to bring our milesage accounts up to date. Our situation was much simpler than your own. But there is really no reason Delta cannot replace the voucher - mistakes happen, and if one cares about the customer, you help the customer. I regret that some on this site are insensitive to your problems, but it's rather typical of a few small minded dolts. Most try to be helpful. Delta really is a problem. I'm using Delta to fly back to Africa this year, and as you may imagine, holding my breath!! Have a good day, and good luck. Ciao, L

To marc:<BR><BR>You & I seem to have different interpretations of being "bumped." I took it to mean that Celeste was bumped off her original flight due to overbooking, but placed on the next available flight. Therefore, she did get to take the trip she paid for, but was inconvenienced, and therefore rewarded with a voucher. That has always been my understanding of the term "bumped" and if that is the case, Delta has paid off its obligation to her. However, if you are correct, and she still has a trip that she fully paid for and never took, that would certainly be a different story. But it would seem that if that were the case, Celeste would still have her unused ticket (or was that also thrown out) and Delta would have a record of that, and she could still use it (subject to any penalties for changing dates, etc.) Of course, there's an easy way to resolve this. Celeste, why don't you just tell us?<BR><BR>The more interesting point, though, is that even those who sympathize with Celeste (and I certainly did at first, until she became vicious) point out that even when looking at the facts from her vantage point, she still doesn't have much of a case here. I honestly think what most people are looking for here is some sense that Celeste is even slightly aware that this mess is of her own doing, and that she owns up to her own negligence. It's all about attitude. If she were to have said that she knew she blew it, but was hoping Delta would make an exception due to her illness, but would understand if they wouldn't, I think she would have received much more support.

judy: amen.<BR>Leone: sorry, you can't compare your situation with Celestes. she threw out her voucher. she called. they denied. end of story.

From her post-Celeste was bumped meaning there were too many people showing up for the flight and she was given the voucher,the next available flight and probably something else.Translated-IT WAS A FREEBIE folks! You really have not lost anything that cost you anything.Could we please move onto something more important like: do you think my body could get into a swimsuit at spring break?

Oh, so now those of us who believe people should be responsible for their own actions are dolts? <BR><BR>If Delta started replacing every lost voucher, pretty soon they'd have people like...Celeste, probably...realizing that they can get a voucher out of Delta even if they didn't have one to begin with if they yell loud enough. Then the whole system breaks down.<BR><BR>So Celeste, you screwed up. Deal with it, and stop blaming others for your own mistakes.<BR><BR>

Well, perhaps my dolt remark was not applicable ... and yes, as I suggested, my sitution was NOT similar (but I did offer the contacts that worked for me). Okay, Celeste made a mistake. Now tell me our business system in the US ought to legitimately punish a consumer. Tell me Delta has no record of the voucher. Tell me how it would hurt Delta to replace the voucher ... where is the risk? You trust Delta to keep a complex piece of machinery safe for your travel. Is it too much to expect Delta to be able to protect itself from voucher scams? Or to keep track of who received their vouchers. Is it more difficult than keeping planes safe or terrorists off? Could it be that Delta has developed a slight attitude problem ... kind of a cultural thing? Why is it so hard for you folks to soften up a bit and root for Celeste? I suppose you've never made a mistake and wanted somebody to help you. I'd love to get your parents' take on you. Ciao, L

I'll be the first to agree that there is often a lot of viciousness on this board, but this thread is not a case of that (except for the viciousness of Celeste herself who basically calls anybody who doesn't agree with her preconceived idea of right a moron).<BR>Celeste has posted asking for opinions. Her next to the last line was "do you guys think all of these airlines are still so unreasonable?" In nearly every case the detractors have fully explained the reasons why they feel the way they do, yet several people are totally unable to accept those reasons, no matter how sensibly they have been explained, Celeste herself being the leader of this camp.<BR>About a dozen other examples of other "freebie" things being lost and not replaced have been offered, which are really very similar circumstances. Yet Celeste and her couple of supporters (or are all of those people actually Celeste?) still ignore those comparisons. They know that she had every right to lose her "freebie" voucher and still the airline is at fault for not replacing it for her. Yet she has never explained why it took her over a year to even attempt to cash it in, when she is a frequent Delta flyer, and she has never explained why losing it is any different from losing cash, a gift, a car, a present, or a gift certificate.<BR>I think one of the best comparisons would be to receive a bonus gift certificate from a store where you do business, wait a year, and then accidentally throw it out. Would you really go to the store and demand another one because of your own error? Please explain why this is any different?

Certainly all excellent points on why Celeste should now suffer. But life suggests otherwise, thankfully. If I had the proverbial dollar for every one of my dumb acts, delaya, every unreasonable demand or expectation, I'd take us all the lunch today.Immediate seating. And some wine. I've done some dumbness already today ... just call me a dumb softie, but I'm with Celeste on this. More comfortable. But I suppose all the logic is on the other side. God, I pulled an A in logic ... just another sign I'm losing ground. Ciao

Actually I would go to the store for a replacement gift certificate. It happened. I had a gift certificate at Lord & Taylor, lost it, went to customer service, explained the situation and being the stellar company that they are, they dug up a copy of the gift certificate and replaced it.<BR><BR>Celeste, there is nothing wrong with going to customer service to get it resolved and nothing wrong with expecting customer service to go out of it's way to help you, especially if they do in fact have an electronic record of the voucher. I agree with Leone. How would this hurt Delta? It would only improve the customer's impression of the company and instead of coming here to complain, Celeste could praise them for their great customer service. Keep trying Celeste, if you want to make the effort to resolve this, that's you business. My only suggestion is to go to the top, find the highest level person you can contact and go from there, you just might get lucky. <BR><BR>

Obviously there are two sides to this issue and neither side is going to budge an inch to listen to the other side. I happen to be on the side that says, "Celeste, you lost it and it is your fault -- the same as losing your wallet or cash -- no one is to blame or responsible for replacing it but you, yourself."<BR>But on the issue of the voucher itself, I have one thought. I have only received such a voucher once. An American flight was overbooked and they asked for volunteers, offering $100 vouchers. A couple of people took them, they needed more volunteers and offered $200 vouchers. A few more people volunteered. When the amount reached $350 I took it and waited for the next flight. I went up to the desk and an attendent wrote out the amount on a preprinted voucher form that looked somewhat like a check. I did not see any record being made of this, it was really like handing me a check. Now if I had been one of those people who took the first offer of $100, why wouldn't I wait a month or so, call the airline and say, "I was bumped from flight #XXXX and given a $350 voucher, but I've lost it." Would you expect the airline to take my word for it and reissue the voucher? Sure they could look it up and find I'd been bumped from that flight, but I doubt there is any way for them to check what my voucher amount had been. Now, Celeste, you may be the most honest person in the world, but you have to admit there are at least 2 or 3 people out there not so honest. The airlines could be barraged with people claiming to have been bumped, claiming not to have used their vouchers, and even claiming amounts double or triple what they were actually offered. How in the world do you feel that Delta should just take your word for it, when you have lost what amounted to a gift given to you for your inconvenience?

OK, this topic really has brought out everyone's emotions. I think a lot of interesting points have been made here on all sides. Clearly, this subject has touched a nerve with many posters. I know it did for me. So much so that I actually went back to look for Cleleste's original post. And that's something I never bother to do. For what it's worth, her first post was actually nicer, in that she admitted there was probably no hope for her, but asked for suggestions. Unlike now, when she has now convinced herself that everyone owes her a living. But the more interesting part was that she says that SHE threw out the voucher (not hubby) and that the voucher was dated 4/1/00!!!! And she's going to use it for a trip this coming March. So there you have it. Celeste, dear, if you're going to come to this forum to drum up support, please get your facts straight before you attempt to rile everyone up. First, be consistent in your story (was it you or you husband that screwed up? Not that it matters, only to the extent that changing your story makes you seem untrustworthy), and how can a voucher be good for almost 2 years? And how is it you haven't flow Delta for almost 2 years yet claim to be such a "loyal" customer? <BR><BR>Sorry to go on at such length, but I had to vent over this foolishness. Now let's go back to offering advice for sincere people who have real concerns.

No, truly, I have listened to both sides. Then I asked myself: Self, walk in Celeste's shoes for a moment ... toss that voucher. Do you want a replacement, or not? I'll give my usual weak-kneed response: I want my voucher. I was dumb, but I still want it. But then I've always been a gratification type. Cannot help it - just chalk it up to a character imbalance. But gimme my voucher!! Ciao

Leone, I agree with you that if it was me, sure, I'd want a replacement voucher. BUT...I would accept responsibilty for my mistake of having it tossed out, I would make the request acknowledging it was the goodwill of Delta to re-issue one and not my RIGHT to a replacement voucher. And last but not least, I would be nice about it...I always marvel that the people who are making a scene don't get a lot of sympathy from the staff. I try to be humble and nice, looking for a solution together, rather than forcing it to get my way. Honey is sweeter than...

The above posters were right when they said that voucher was already overdue-they are only go for 12 calendar months from the date issued ,they are FREE and there is no record of them in the computer.Celeste-the fares to many places are so dirt cheap at the moment,why do you not bite your losses and just book another ticket for $150.00.The irony in the airline business is that we give $500.00 vouchers for a $129 RT ticket that they did get to use.Enough already.............

If I pay for a ticket and it cost $400.and then I am bumped from a flight.and they give me a voucher..I have not taken the flight yet, I have a voucher(which can be considred a ticket).does this not mean that I paid for this voucher/ticket? What did they do with the $400? They kept it! Therefore I should be entitled to the flight?<BR>Why is everyone saying that she didn't pay for this? Bumped means they overbooked.You still paid..they wont let you fly.They owe her a flight.

Celeste--<BR><BR>I get those travel vouchers from Delta several times a year. (Guess I'm lucky) I also know that they ARE transferrable and the DO EXPIRE in one year. If your flight was 4/00, then it had expired. I also checked your previous post and if you were about to die it is amazing that you were able to log onto this website on your deathbed, plan your trip in March, and worry about something like a lost voucher. Get over yourself. You tried to get it replaced and Delta said they won't do it. Accept responsibility and learn from this mistake. Next time keep the voucher in a safe place!

No, they OWED her a flight.<BR>She didn't comply by the rules.<BR>Now they OWE her nothing.

(and just for the record, I recently let a voucher expire, called American and they said their policy is that they'll 'reinstate' expired vouchers for a rebooking fee of $75. Since they were two $150 vouchers I still got a total of $150. <BR>So even if expired, vouchers aren't valueless....at least not at American)

Al-she got the voucher for being delayed to the next flight(government rules).So she got her flight that she originally paid for (with maybe a free meal,upgrade,hotel- whatever thrown in) and the voucher for ANOTHER future flight.I know quite a few people that have flown on another airline for the past 4 years without ever paying as they always book the cheapest flight on a major holiday with the very intention of getting bumped!She got everything that she was supposed to get but lost the out of date voucher so was trying to get something else for nothing-and we wonder why the airlines have had money problems.Perhaps we could all chip in and send poor Celeste a few bucks for her next trip?Kinda like the old "Queen for a Day" show-the show that you could get a washer and a dryer for the best sob story?Alas,Celeste..........your story is just another one in the "Naked City"!

Leone: So, you "pulled an A" in logic. What a surprise that you got an A, AND that you shared your happy news with us. P.S. While in school, did you also refer to sociology as sosch and psychology as psych? Cool!

To al:<BR><BR>I see this subject of bumping won't go away. If you will look back at my previous post, you will note that I made the most common assumption that by being "bumped" it means the passenger was taken off an overbooked flight and sent off on the next available flight. In that case (which happens all the time) the passenger did in fact get his/her flight. However, he/she was inconvenienced, and so the airline awards a freebie voucher as a sort of consolation prize. It would seem 99% likely that this is what happened to Celeste. In which case, Delta owes her nothing. If I am mistaken, I stand corrected.<BR><BR>Now, back to the regular scheduled madness.

Yes, it is a logical assumption that Celeste was given a later flight when she was bumped and that is why they gave her the "free" voucher -- for her inconvenience. Otherwise, why wouldn't she have immediately used her voucher to pay for the flight to get home that they left her stranded from? What airlines do you take that when they "bump" you because of being overbooked that they don't provide you with a later flight? Or has poor Celeste been stranded at this undisclosed location for nearly two years and may never get home because she has no voucher to get her there?<BR>I'm sure we'll never hear from poor Celeste again. Especially now that it has been brought to light that it was her, not her husband who threw the thing out and that it is a two year old, long expired voucher that we are talking about to begin with.

OK OK EVERYBODY GET BACK TO WORK! No wonder the economy is suffering...

I, like Celeste, would try & see if Delta would replace the voucher. (Doesn't hurt to try!) If, however, Delta won't replace it, I'd have to take my lumps for misplacing (or thowing out) the voucher.

Did you see the report on the late news last night that stated that producivity in the US increased 83% between the hours of 2:00 pm and 10:00 pm yesterday, strangely coinciding with the crash of the Fodors server?

LOL.. nina, that is funny~ I know that I for one was at a loss for something to do! The house was asleep, tv is a bore and no Fodors, quel horreur!

You people are all nuts!!!

If I toss out my lottery ticket and then hit the jackpot, do I still get the money??

Hey there, Tired Of - yes, you caught me redhanded - I was guilty of all three offenses. Cool, yes, probably that too. Really, I was just being a bit self deprecatory (yes, I'll wait). So, really, it was just in good fun. But I do feel a bit sorry for Celeste - although she made a boo-boo (bet you haven't heard that one in a while either). Have a good day, and get some rest. Ciao

Thank god fodors was down yesterday! I finally got some laundry done.<BR><BR>Now, I sympathize with Celeste because I have a husband who sometimes behaves like a bull in a china shop when it comes to paperwork. It is a hard pill to swallow and she is perfectly entitled to do whatever she can to get that lost voucher replaced. But in the end it was a mistake, *not* the fault of Delta and she may just have to accept it. Obviously, Delta does not keep track of these vouchers or she would not be met with such resistance in trying to get this one replaced. <BR><BR>I also don't buy the logic that "now" the airlines should be bending over backwards to please the customer. Of course, they always should have been customer oriented, and I think all of us can cite instances when airlines displayed stellar customer service and instances when they did not. Post 9/11, I don't believe it is morally right for us to "expect" airlines to give away more free trips in order to drum up business. They are hurting (albeit they were hurting pre-9/11), we are dependent on them, let's just hope the industry can figure out how to survive, but I don't believe giving away tickets is the answer.<BR><BR>Once, I had two bags of clothing by the front door -- one for Goodwill and one for the dry cleaners. I accidentally brought the wrong bag to Goodwill, full of my best coat, cashmere sweaters, silk blouses, etc.). The next day I discovered my mistake and raced back to Goodwill but it was too late. My mistake. It's a shame, but what can you do?