Complaint Review: Expedia

I was headed to NYC to for a few days at the end of '09. A business trip and to be with friends as the ball dropped. In checking flights only a week and a half in advance, I came across a fairly good deal from Expedia: 332.00 rt, but with a flight only $200 coupon to apply to my next flight booked with them. I have a trip to LA coming up in a couple of weeks, so I called Expedia to confirm those terms. Not only were they confirmed, but the rep also forwarded me a link (no longer working) that showed this to be a flight only coupon. I was told that the coupon would be held in reference to my account. I need do is call to book the flight. The Expedia ticket was a little more expensive than some others, but I'd save $150.00 in the long run so I went ahead and booked.

This morning, at about 8:30AM EST on Jan.13th, I got an email alert telling me that the coupon had been deposited to my account. When I checked the details, it turns out they have deposited a coupon that refunds $200.00, but only with a contingent 5 night stay in a hotel (booked through them) at that location. Bastards. Seeing the classic bait-and-switch, I called to have the terms changed back to our original agreement. Magically, they can find no evidence of an original agreement, but have extended this new coupon to me for being a "holiday customer." They also claim that they could give me nothing, and I should be happy about what I've gotten. After 1.5 hours on the phone trying to get someone who speaks legit English (Please note that I've had some excellent customer service experiences with caring operators in India, but one could not carry on a conversation with these Latin operators because they simply didn't speak the language beyond their memorized scripts.), I'm forced to move on.  Can't spend my life chasing after $200.00.  But even thought they got away with it, they're still crooks. 

I wanted others to know, however, about this latest twist in Expedia's long history of bait-and-switch practices (http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/unfair-fares-5-secrets-for-avoiding-the-bait-and-switch/). To me, this sort of thing is criminal. Expedia's decision to shuffle us off to communicative parts unknown when filing complaints is also part of their business model. I will never use them again, and I say this on principle in the hope that others, if they have similar experiences, will follow suit.

Btw it's interesting model because what they've done is sucker me into buying a more expensive ticket, then made it cost prohibitive after the fact to use their coupon.  I should note that the guy who booked my first flight said that it "might be a good idea for me to book then next flight soon."  I took that as an upsale at the time, but maybe he knew something about them that I didn't.  Just an fyi to everyone out there.