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  • Report:  #200148

Complaint Review: Expedia.com - Atlanta Georgia

Reported By:
- Decatur, Indiana,
Submitted:
Updated:

Expedia.com
2897 N Druid Hills Rd Atlanta, 30329 Georgia, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-expedia
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
I wanted to take my wife on a special trip to Paris, France. Since my wife is a legal resident of the US but not a citizen yet (no US passport) I was concerned about the entry requirements for getting into France.

I specifically asked the Expedia representative what the requirements were for my wife. I explained that she is from Colombia and that she has a Permanent Resident Care (Green Card) but she is not a citizen of the U.S. He stated that he would check with his supervisor and then get back with me. In a couple of minutes he came back on the line and told me all that she needed to get into France was her Colombian passport. I asked him if he was certain because I didn't want any travel problems. He said he was certain and repeated this is what his supervisor had told him.

To make a long story short when we arrived in Paris she was refused entry for not having a special VISA. We were put on the next flight back to the US. I won't go into how emotionally devistating this was but my wife was crying on the plane all the way back home. It was one of the worst day of our married lives.

When I called Expedia to tell them their error and how it ruined our trip all they said was "We have no record of our representative telling you this".

The ripoff is they will tell you anything to book the trip and then not document what they tell you so they have deniability regarding their mistakes.

Therefore, I am out $3,500 (not to mention the days off work, car rental, emotional strain on my wife, etc) and it's not fair. I did what the travel agent at Expedia told me to do and because he gave me the wrong information I have to pay for it!

Rick

Decatur, Indiana
U.S.A.


10 Updates & Rebuttals

Maria

New York,
United States of America
Join for a Class action Law suit against Espedia.com

#2Consumer Comment

Thu, December 30, 2010

I am another recent victim of Expedia, and I am firmly determined to fight against this

fraudulent online agency, until justice is being reached. I have post my rip-off report

on the 21rst of this month, and I have the resolute intention to report them on every

media.

Also, in order to stop this criminal and fraudulent activity, we the victim, have to start

a Class Action Law Suit because united we will prevail. If you like to join, please sign

up on my posted request, that title: Class action, the only way to stop Expedia.com.

Maria, Brooklyn, New York.


Rick

Decatur,
Indiana,
U.S.A.
Expedia and Delta Made It Right

#3Author of original report

Wed, October 04, 2006

I wanted to let everyone know that Expedia refunded my hotel in Paris. Also, after writing a letter to my credit card company (Visa) about Delta, Delta refunded the airline tickets. I will use Expedia and Delta again. However, I will never believe them (or anyone for that matter)again unless I have it in writing. Thank you to all who replied. Hopefully none of you have to spend your entire time in Paris in the basement of the Charles DeGaule airport like we did. PS I did get to see the Eiffel tower once from the airplane tho:-) PPS My wife is going to become a US citizen this Friday so she will now be able to get a US Passport and this will never have to happen to us again.


Valarie

C'sted,
Other,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
I don't think you understood what I wrote...

#4UPDATE EX-employee responds

Tue, October 03, 2006

Just to clarify-no where in my response did I state "it is perfectly acceptable for an Expedia employee to give misleading and incorrect advice to it's clients because it is an "internet based company to book flights, hotels, cars, etc." Rick. Trust me from the looks of all your complaints on this site and probably to Expedia, that employee was disiplined. There is an old saying "you can't please everyone" and oh how it is true. I also cannot not see what getting answers from a government agency, or being raped have to do with this issue, that is a little to overextreme for me. I think you should read what I wrote again, and instead of looking at things in a negative way, look at the positives in the situation. I am sure this was a new learning experience for you (good or bad)and it will play a great role for you in your future reservations. Remember travel agents are still out there and very alive for the people who are not sure about internet travel. If your still not satisfied, have you tried writing Expedia and letting them know how you feel? Calling and yelling at a representative is not the best way either to deal with things. Just some more suggestions for you. I wish you all the best.


Valarie

C'sted,
Other,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
I don't think you understood what I wrote...

#5UPDATE EX-employee responds

Tue, October 03, 2006

Just to clarify-no where in my response did I state "it is perfectly acceptable for an Expedia employee to give misleading and incorrect advice to it's clients because it is an "internet based company to book flights, hotels, cars, etc." Rick. Trust me from the looks of all your complaints on this site and probably to Expedia, that employee was disiplined. There is an old saying "you can't please everyone" and oh how it is true. I also cannot not see what getting answers from a government agency, or being raped have to do with this issue, that is a little to overextreme for me. I think you should read what I wrote again, and instead of looking at things in a negative way, look at the positives in the situation. I am sure this was a new learning experience for you (good or bad)and it will play a great role for you in your future reservations. Remember travel agents are still out there and very alive for the people who are not sure about internet travel. If your still not satisfied, have you tried writing Expedia and letting them know how you feel? Calling and yelling at a representative is not the best way either to deal with things. Just some more suggestions for you. I wish you all the best.


Valarie

C'sted,
Other,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
I don't think you understood what I wrote...

#6UPDATE EX-employee responds

Tue, October 03, 2006

Just to clarify-no where in my response did I state "it is perfectly acceptable for an Expedia employee to give misleading and incorrect advice to it's clients because it is an "internet based company to book flights, hotels, cars, etc." Rick. Trust me from the looks of all your complaints on this site and probably to Expedia, that employee was disiplined. There is an old saying "you can't please everyone" and oh how it is true. I also cannot not see what getting answers from a government agency, or being raped have to do with this issue, that is a little to overextreme for me. I think you should read what I wrote again, and instead of looking at things in a negative way, look at the positives in the situation. I am sure this was a new learning experience for you (good or bad)and it will play a great role for you in your future reservations. Remember travel agents are still out there and very alive for the people who are not sure about internet travel. If your still not satisfied, have you tried writing Expedia and letting them know how you feel? Calling and yelling at a representative is not the best way either to deal with things. Just some more suggestions for you. I wish you all the best.


Thomas

Anderson,
South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Calm down, Dudes!

#7Consumer Comment

Fri, August 11, 2006

Expedia was correct- the woman could travel on her Columbian passport. Many contries ALSO require you to have a visa DEPENDING ON WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE FROM! And it is YOUR responsibility to ask that country! The correct solution is/was to contact the FRENCH EMBASSY because, guess what, Paris, France is in the purvue of the French Embassy. Not the US Government. I travel on a US Passport and I have not needed a visa to go to the UK, France, Switzerland, Japan, etc. But someone traveling on a Columbian passport MIGHT need a visa to visit some or all of these countries. How do you find out? Call their embassies. Not the US Government. After all, you will have to confirm to THEIR laws when you are in THEIR country, not US law. And DO remember that last point when you get there. A US lad learned what caning was in Singapore when he thought he did not have to abide by Singaporean laws in Singapore.


William

Seattle,
Washington,
U.S.A.
Ultimately Not Expedia's Fault

#8Consumer Suggestion

Fri, August 11, 2006

Expedia is in the hotel, flight and rental car booking business. As a customer, I would expect them to be 100% accurate on those transactions. And in fact, my experiences with Expedia have been good ones in this regard. Expedia shouldn't have given any assurances about French entry requirements. I find it hard to believe that their employee didn't qualify his statement to the Indiana customer and advise double-checking with French authorities. But regardless of what Expedia's person might have said on the phone, it was a mistake for the Atlanta customer to have asked for -- or to have relied on -- those assurances. The customer should have checked with French authorities. I'm a very frequent traveler, and that's what I would have done. This goes double for this particular situation, which was out of the ordinary, i.e., a non-U.S. citizen traveling to France from the United States. I would never have gotten on the airplane without double-checking on this issue. I suspect the customer is going to be mad at my answer, and maybe even think that I work for Expedia. So let me head that one off at the pass and say that the only relationship I've ever had with Expedia is that of being their customer.


Rick

Decatur,
Indiana,
U.S.A.
Excuse me!

#9Author of original report

Sun, July 16, 2006

It has been stated by an ex-Expedia employee that it is perfectly acceptable for an Expedia employee to give misleading and incorrect advice to it's clients because it is an "internet based company to book flights, hotels, cars, etc." So if one asks Expedia any travel questions other than booking related and "etc" (whatever that includes)items we should NOT expect to get an HONEST response such as "I'm sorry but we at Expedia don't handle that sort of inquery and suggest you consult an appropriate source". If the travel agent with Expedia would have said this to me I certainly would have checked into it elsewhere. But they did not and therefore the fault clearly lies with Expedia. However, as an ex-Expedia employee, you may be accustomed to the policy of giving out bad information at will and then blaming the customer for asking the question in the first place. While we are on the subject let's also blame the assault victim whose locks weren't strong enough, the rape victim whose clothes were too pretty, or the patient who didn't go to the specialist because the family physician said it's nothing to worry about. It's their fault, according to your logic, because they all should have known better! My only mistake was trusting Expedia in the first place. My profession allows me to come into contact with several thousands of people every year and I will use every opportunity to explain the situation along with your logic for it being my fault. It will be a great story of how a company, and its employees (current and ex),should not behave.


Ryan

Waynesboro,
Mississippi,
U.S.A.
WHAT!!!

#10Consumer Comment

Sun, July 16, 2006

Val, When have you ever gotten a correct answer from a government agency. What I have found is, the workforce dosent care to learn. I get..oh, you can find that on our web-site. And when you say ok, what page of your 10,000 links is it on? It is... Sir, it's on our web site. About expedia, it's so conveinient that all these companies recored the phone calls for quality control but never have a record of what was said. Thank's for the warning about expedias lying to you. They got me too. But, nowhere close to that. I've tried the web based businesses and have yet to be happy of the turn out. However, I can't remember one single time I've had a problem with a travel agent. Someone I can "visit" if ever a problem.


Valarie

C'sted,
Other,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
And why is this Expedia's fault?

#11UPDATE EX-employee responds

Sun, July 16, 2006

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Expedia an internet based company to book flights, hotels, cars, etc. Since when were they The U.S. embassy? I don't mean to be blunt but if you're going to any international country, and not sure on travel documents needed, why not ask the correct source, the people in charge of that? It is your responsible the CUSTOMER to obtain the correct travel documents not for Expedia to tell you what you need. Expedia even provides a link for YOUR convenience. I'm not saying they didn't give you wrong info, but it is still your responsibility. When you are traveling overseas always call the U.S. Embassy and ask your questions or check out that website. Expedia only books the travel for you, that's what they are there for. Another suggestion is using a travel agent, even so I will still confirm everything on my own.

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