Wednesday, July 22, 2009

"Gift Fee"?

Last Saturday I went online to order a bus ticket for Andrew. He's in a rather remote area of Louisiana this summer, but the Greyhound bus stops at a town near his camp, so with the high price of plane tickets right now we thought we'd try this for a change. (Plus, Andrew is always up for a good adventure!)

The price of the ticket from Minden, LA, to Anderson, SC, was $97.50. I had to answer the question if the credit card holder was also the traveler, so I checked no. When the final invoice came through online, the total cost was $118.50. There was a $21 "gift fee" because I paid for my son's ticket.

I think that's outrageous. I've tried calling their customer service line (NOT toll-free) two days now, once during the non-peak hours that they recommend you call, and waited on hold for up to thirty minutes before finally hanging up. I intend to find the name of a higher-up to let him or her know what I think of that policy.

Do you agree? Have you had similar experiences?

3 comments:

Ada said...

Sounds pretty ridiculous to me. I think you ought to call again or write a letter and let them know what you think - not that it will make a difference, but worth a try. Maybe if enough people complained, they would stop it.

Nog Blog said...

I made a mistake on 2 airline tickets (date needed change) and they charged me $150 a ticket to change it. Someone at work said, "Call them and tell them you'll never fly with them again if they don't give you your money back! Just be mean!" Instead, I emailed customer relations, very kindly admitting I had made a mistake, and begged their mercy to waive the fee...which they immediately did. I don't know if the nasty tactic would have worked, but I know I felt better about myself handling in the gentler manner.

Rhoda said...

This sounds ridiculous considering so many parents must pay for tickets for children.