Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

[waterinthefuel]

I tried booking a flight for my mom to go see her grandkids. We got the information filled out, entered my credit card information, and the transaction was blocked by something called "verified by Visa", an "extra level of security" as they call it.

Ok, so I am given a customer service number to call for Visa. I call them, they try to help, but it keeps blocking it. They tell me they will be calling me back some time today and they can get it unblocked. They call me at 8:30 this morning, a very nice lady, and we try to rebook the flight. THE TICKET PRICE HAS GONE UP OVER 180 DOLLARS IN A FEW HOURS FOR THE SAME FLIGHT!!!

So me and the Visa rep call Delta and they say nothing can be done. We explain that their system, verified by visa, blocked the transaction at the old price and I have the Visa rep on the phone to verify that I tried to book these flights at the old price. Delta stays steadfast on them not being able to give it to us at the old price because we didn't call them yesterday. The ****ING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SCREEN SAID TO CALL A 1 888 NUMBER THAT WAS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER FOR VISA, NOT DELTA!! We followed the instructions to the letter and delta says we messed up because we didn't call them last night. **** them! That's not what the instructions said to do!! We put in a call to corporate headquarters and do not get a call back. I get transferred to someone with Chase bank, who is with my Visa card company, and he is VERY concerned that I still don't have a flight booked. He said, "Let's get that done first." So, we call Delta and book the flight that way. The total is 441 dollars, the original flight total was 261.60 last night at 9pm when we originally tried to book it. The visa guy said, "Look buddy, you've been great about this and you're a fantastic customer. We will reimburse you for the difference." Now keep in mind, "verified by Visa" is connected with Delta, not visa. Visa is NOT at fault for the transaction not going through, Delta is, yet Visa sucked up the 180 dollar cost.

How about that for fantastic customer service? The lady I spoke with this morning, the guy I got transferred to (both wonderful AMERICANS) got the job done. My mom was trying to book a flight to go visit her grandkids and isn't comfy putting her CC info up on the internet so I used my card for her. Throughout the ordeal she was almost in tears, if not in tears, behind me listening to me get told nothing could be done, and working with these people for 2 hours. When I finally got the guy to tell us he'd reimburse us, my mom told him, "God bless you!"

Visa came through for us. I am VERY IMPRESSED with how I was treated! Thanks Brett!

I would AVOID delta airlines at all costs. They set up a card verification system that doesn't work and if you follow the on screen instructions you get ****ed in the ***.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

whenever that box pops up for me usually u can just click cancel or NO and then you dont have to be verified by visa. It was probably because you were using your card to book your mom a flight.

Things go much easier if you just do it the normal way, should have used her card

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

There was no option for that, when I clicked "do not verify card" it just bumped me back to the flight booking screen. When I hit "purchase" a screen popped up that said "this transaction has been blocked by Verify by Visa. Call 1 888 blah blah for more details." That's all I had. There was no continue, only a "do not verify card" button that didn't do anything but make the VBV screen go away, but still didn't let the transaction go through.

The point is that Delta, with the Visa rep on the phone verifying they had proof of the charge blocked, should have just booked me that flight at the price I had last night, but they didn't.

What's not normal about booking a flight for someone? It's done all the time. Had a husband used his card to book a flight for his wife it would have still happened. This is the NORMAL way, to use a card to book a flight. I've done it before a dozen times for her, but suddenly THIS time was a big deal.

To hell with verified by Visa and delta airlines!

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

While your passion is impressive, you should temper it with a measure of recognition that your facts are mostly wrong.

and we try to rebook the flight. THE TICKET PRICE HAS GONE UP OVER 180 DOLLARS IN A FEW HOURS FOR THE SAME FLIGHT!!!

Airline fares are almost as volatile as stock prices....sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. There is nothing unusual there, though it can be frustrating.

Now keep in mind, "verified by Visa" is connected with Delta, not visa. Visa is NOT at fault for the transaction not going through, Delta is, yet Visa sucked up the 180 dollar cost.

Verified by Visa is NOT a Delta program....but as a merchant they can use it. Who told you that it is Delta's program, and why would you believe a major credit card operator would hand over significant control of its operations to an airline?

It is a security initiative of Visas's to reduce card fraud...and if you really think that Visa ate the extra cost out of the goodness of their heart....can I interest you in a slightly used bridge in Brooklyn at a great price? There may have been a system problem or a glitch of some type, but that is Visa's fault, not Delta. You should be thrilled that Visa stepped up, they did the right thing, but your vitriol against Delta is as misguided as it is over-the-top.

Whatever aggravation Visa caused you, they fixed.There is no victim here.
If you are interested, you can actually find out what you are railing about , here
=> http://www.delta.com/help/faqs/reservations/index.jsp#visa

I would AVOID delta airlines at all costs. They set up a card verification system that doesn't work and if you follow the on screen instructions you get ****ed in the ***.

This is awfully close to slander.......not really appropriate or fair comment (especially since you are hiding behind an internet screen name. You should have used an on screen nic for Delta...). The mods should have a quick peek at this one.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

Tim, that's where you are wrong. Verified by Visa is a MERCHANT SELECTED service. Not every single merchant has it. Delta even admitted the problem was on their end.

It doesn't matter how volatile the prices of airline tickets are, WE PURCHASED TICKETS AT THE OLD PRICE!! Why should we have to "Just suck up the price increase" because the stupid VBV thing wouldn't work last night?

How is it slander? I can prove every bit of it with paperwork. The ultimate defense to slander is TRUTH.

If you think that's slander, you should check out this website:

www.complaintsboard.com

 

[642mx]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

I've always had great luck and awesome service from Delta, I've used them exclusively for years.

To the OP, get a Discover card.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

I float along with my credit card doing small potatoes business, and no problem. I noticed great vigilance, at a slight inconvenience to me a few times.

1. I decided to put a hundred gallons or so of boat fuel in storage in case the price went up. It was reasonable. When my credit card swipes went past 130 bucks in one day, the transaction was blocked. Went into the station and pre-payed with the same card and ID, and had no problem.

2. Last Christmas I decided to buy a few quality cameras online for my family, and bought several cameras in an hour at several sites. All the transactions were blocked till VISA called me, verified I was still me, and asked if the transactions were valid.

I don't mind. It helps give me a little piece of mind.

At the credit card verification point, when it looped back instead of going to the bank verification procedure, you should have grabbed grandma's card and completed the transaction. If the shipping address and card billing address match, it usually blows right throug. After all, it's a courtesy to let you pay that way. In the old days, you would have had to go to the train station in person with cash to buy the ticket in advance. (I'm old enough to remember that.)

Chill out, and be glad you got covered.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

I've always had great luck and awesome service from Delta, I've used them exclusively for years.

To the OP, get a Discover card.

excellant idea.
have had very,very,very, very...........................................very good service from delta and discover card

wouldnt have any problem recommending delta

 

[45Auto]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

We ran into the same thing trying to book a hotel for my wife and some friends a month or so ago. The airplane ticket in your mom's name and the Visa card with your name and address probably set off the flags.

We had the contact info in our friends name, tried to use our Visa card to pay. Ran into all kinds of verification crap, couldn't get it to work on the computer. Finally just used the friends credit card and everything worked fine.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

From my experience Delta are a disaster compared to North West.
My 2 cents

 

[aspeck]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

From my experience Delta are a disaster compared to North West.
My 2 cents

Agreed ... I still use Delta almost exclusively, but was almost exclusive Northwest till the merger. The service went back about 10 - 15 years on the internet and at the ticket office, but not on the plane ... the service 10 - 15 years ago was AWESOME compared to what they have that they call service now.

That said, I still feel Delta is a lot better than most others (at least the ones that I have flown). I understand how the verification thing happened, and I understand the frustration. But the fault of the verification not happening immediately when you called was Visa's problem and not Delta's. Good for Visa for making it right.

When I book a ticket to Ghana I have to go to a ticket agent or airport in person to verify the purchase. So yours was really easy!

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

Tim, that's where you are wrong. Verified by Visa is a MERCHANT SELECTED service. Not every single merchant has it. Delta even admitted the problem was on their end.

Of course it is....just as all credit cards are "merchant selected"....
It's just a payment system....no real difference from Mastercard's new secureline or PayPal. Some merchants still only accept cash.......those that have other options typically do not administer their own credit cards.
Online transactions are prone to this type of thing when stuff goes wrong.

It doesn't matter how volatile the prices of airline tickets are, WE PURCHASED TICKETS AT THE OLD PRICE!! Why should we have to "Just suck up the price increase" because the stupid VBV thing wouldn't work last night?

You did not purchase tickets, you TRIED to purchase bargain tickets, but there was a hiccough with the credit card system, when you got back to Delta, those had been sold to someone else....nothing left but higher priced seats....which the credit card company made good on. I just do not understand why you feel so aggrieved....and on account of Delta.
Visa's online system....I'll say it again....Visa's online system, failed. Visa covered you. I get why you are pleased with them....i would be , too....but Delta is just the vendor....and they did need to get paid.

Go to a gas station where you need to prepay. If your credit card is refused for whatever reason, you come back in the morning and gas is up 15 cents/gallon, will this be a " ^%$##4ng Exxon" rant?

How is it slander? I can prove every bit of it with paperwork. The ultimate defense to slander is TRUTH.

I didn't suggest that you had a problem with the truth, I said that you are wrong ~ you are blaming the wrong party. You are not worried about fixing the problem....it has been fixed. you have your tickets at the price you wanted.
You are now making this about fixing the blame, and badmouthing in the process.

Your comment started "I would AVOID delta airlines at all costs. They set up...."
That sounds like you are advising people NOT TO PATRONISE a specific business, and the "They" would be Visa....Delta is not going to write all the software for that system....

If you think that's slander, you should check out this website: www.complaintsboard.com

This is iboats.com....the standards here are higher....

Anyway, we are not going to agree on this, so the only important thing is for your mother to have a good trip and enjoy the grand kids....I hope she does!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

Agreed ... I still use Delta almost exclusively, but was almost exclusive Northwest till the merger. The service went back about 10 - 15 years on the internet and at the ticket office, but not on the plane ... the service 10 - 15 years ago was AWESOME compared to what they have that they call service now.

That said, I still feel Delta is a lot better than most others (at least the ones that I have flown). I understand how the verification thing happened, and I understand the frustration. But the fault of the verification not happening immediately when you called was Visa's problem and not Delta's. Good for Visa for making it right.

When I book a ticket to Ghana I have to go to a ticket agent or airport in person to verify the purchase. So yours was really easy!

Want some good service ?????
Korean Air. Flew with them last trip to Korea. One word...Amazing !!

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

Go to a gas station where you need to prepay. If your credit card is refused for whatever reason, you come back in the morning and gas is up 15 cents/gallon, will this be a " ^%$##4ng Exxon" rant?

If you do that then you are subject to the higher cost because your hands aren't tied. My hands were tied, my credit card company said that I had to wait until they called me back to unlock the charge. Well, not wanting to have TWO tickets booked by using another card, I waited as I was told.

If you are at a gas station and your card doesn't go through, you are free to go somewhere else because that gas station doesn't tell you to wait until the next morning to see if they can unlock the charge.

You're comparing apples to oranges. I did EXACTLY as I was told and the ticket is almost doubled when it was out of my control. But, the good thing is it's done now.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

If you do that then you are subject to the higher cost because your hands aren't tied. My hands were tied, my credit card company said that I had to wait until they called me back to unlock the charge. Well, not wanting to have TWO tickets booked by using another card, I waited as I was told.

If you are at a gas station and your card doesn't go through, you are free to go somewhere else because that gas station doesn't tell you to wait until the next morning to see if they can unlock the charge.

You're comparing apples to oranges. I did EXACTLY as I was told and the ticket is almost doubled when it was out of my control. But, the good thing is it's done now.

Yes and that's called LIFE

I'm glad u got the lower price, but sometimes yer just SOL

 

[Outsider]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

This is awfully close to slander..

That's about pure bovine fecal matter! We all get that you're in love with Delta, Tim, now get a grip on reality. I think Delta sucks, too. Their pilots are over payed and their planes are ancient. Oh, and the stewardesses are ugly, too. So sue me ...

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

Want some good service ?????
Korean Air. Flew with them last trip to Korea. One word...Amazing !!

Is it the super polite and carefully chosen flight attendants?

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

I am really pleased you got things sorted out to fit your Mums budget, and that she gets to see the kids, but why the rant!!

One day someone is going to get your Visa and spend it out to the max for you, then you will complain bitterly about Delta and Visa's security measures, and how it is once again someone else's fault.

My take on it is this....seldom do things in life go according to plan....so just do your best, roll with the punches and hope every outcome is as good as this one, because lets face it, you got exactly what you wanted and exactly the price you wanted to pay.

If Delta are as bad as some feel, then stand up for your rights and beliefs, cancel your tickets and fly with someone else, who you are comfortable with.
I mean, lets face it, it is only a seat in a flying stock-truck, that probably costs less than a bus ticket or fuel for your vehicle.
Who cares, you get exactly what you pay for.
Long haul is a bit different.

Pleased your Mum got the ticket tho.

Cheers
Phillip

ps. how's she getting on for going back?

 

[jonesg]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

I agree with the guys who are right.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Shame on Delta Airlines and cudos to Visa!

ps. how's she getting on for going back?

Ummmm, round trip ticket?

The reason I'm pissed is because Delta didn't budge at all, even with tons of evidence in my favor. They gave erroneous directions on their website. They SHOULD have made it clear that you should give DELTA a call first, then call Visa that way your price would be locked in. They conveniently left out that minor detail.