$1200 to change name on ticket

[That Woman]

Wrong name costs $1,200

Correcting a simple oversight with Air Canada wasn't easy

By EARL MCRAE

The Ottawa Sun     


 

Greater the bureaucracy, lesser the common sense: All Anne Stafford did was make an innocent name mistake with Air Canada and it wound up costing her $1,200 more for a ticket she shouldn't have had to buy had understanding prevailed.

"We won't be flying Air Canada anymore," says her husband Doug, 55, a retired case manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Policy is one thing, but I know from my previous work there should always be common sense flexibility and consideration outside the guidelines."

Doug and Anne Stafford are the parents of Brendan Stafford. He's 28. His name might be familiar to local baseball fans. A pitcher with the Ottawa Nationals, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. He badly damaged his shoulder playing for a U.S. college, decided on a new career: The Mounties.

Brendan graduates tomorrow from training college in Regina, a proud moment for the family which includes his brother Bryan, 21. They're flying to Regina today.

In November, Anne Stafford booked the three return tickets, paid by credit card, online through Air Canada. Book early, cheaper fare. Cost: $600 each.

The tickets' confirmation and details were e-mailed to the family. Doug made a print-out, gave it a cursory glance, put it aside.

Last Thursday, the trip three days away, he gave it another look. On page three, he noticed the tickets in the name of "Mrs. Anne Stafford, Mr. Doug Stafford, Mr. Brendan Stafford." Brendan? Brendan's the son they're going to see in Regina.

"It was a simple oversight by Anne," says Doug. "She had Brendan's graduation on her mind, and gave his name when it should have been Bryan's."

Easily rectified, right? You'd think so.

Anne Stafford phoned Air Canada to ask the name Brendan be changed to Bryan on the ticket. After the interminable recorded-voice menu, she reached a live agent who informed her that Air Canada's policy is that tickets are non-transferrable. But this, she explained, was not transferring a ticket to someone else -- Brendan was in Regina and flying nowhere -- this was an innocent mistake that could be corrected by simply changing the name Brendan to Bryan.

"I was transferred to a supervisor who told me, no, absolutely no way. I tried to reason but she wouldn't listen. She said Air Canada would give a $600 credit, but only for Brendan, and that he, no one else, would have to use the ticket within one year."

Doug Stafford: "Ridiculous. We bought it for Bryan, not Brendan. Brendan's going nowhere, he's too busy anyway. Air Canada told us we'd have to buy a whole new ticket for Bryan, they couldn't just change the name. We had no choice, so we did." Cost of Bryan's ticket: $1,200.

Doug Stafford tried for answers from Air Canada, got the recorded-voice runaround. "I eventually got someone who said no. I asked for a supervisor. She transferred me to somebody in St. John's, Newfoundland. She said no, too. I said 'Is there anyone available who can get me a yes?'"

He discovered a complaints section on the Air Canada website, (no name, no phone number), fired off his explanation of the mistake, asked for the name change. "I got an anonymous e-mail saying I'd have a reply within 15 days. Some help that'll be, we're leaving (today)."

I phone the 1-888-247-2262 Air Canada number. After the menu boogie and a half-hour hold, a woman named Debra comes on the line. "If a ticket is booked through us online, a name mistake of that nature can be changed, but only if we're told within 24 hours of it being purchased. After that, no. We refund the ticket back to the credit card, but the person would have to purchase a new ticket with the new name at the current price."

Why not just do the simple thing, change the name at anytime before the flight? "Because it's a legal contract between the customer and Air Canada. I don't make the policy." So, there's no recourse? "The customer can try pleading his case with our customer complaints people."

Ya, right. As Doug Stafford did. Me, I'm glad I wasn't phoning Air Canada with my own problem about a reservation I made online. I'd lose it having to hear the recorded voice that says: "If you made your reservation at Air Canada.com and choose to speak to an agent, you will be charged $25."