Taking Expedia to the small claims court

Notonyournelly

I booked a £500 flight to New York via Expedia and wanted to change the surname on the booking to my maiden name. Over 2 months, 10 phonecalls and countless emails, Expedia said they'd process my change but didn't. 

Come the day of the flight they still didn't and I ended up having to buy another ticket for over £1000. (Direct with Virgin Atlantic). 

I put in a complaint 3 weeks ago which Expedia  acknowledged and said they'd reply to within 48hrs but they haven't replied. 

I'm now thinking of using the Small Claims Court  process for redress from Expedia. Has anyone done so successfully with this company? 

onashoestring

Notonyournelly said:

I booked a £500 flight to New York via Expedia and wanted to change the surname on the booking to my maiden name. Over 2 months, 10 phonecalls and countless emails, Expedia said they'd process my change but didn't. 

Come the day of the flight they still didn't and I ended up having to buy another ticket for over £1000. (Direct with Virgin Atlantic). 

I put in a complaint 3 weeks ago which Expedia  acknowledged and said they'd reply to within 48hrs but they haven't replied. 

I'm now thinking of using the Small Claims Court  process for redress from Expedia. Has anyone done so successfully with this company? 

Expedia are a third party and can only request changes on your behalf and it would depend on the airlines policy whether this would be accepted . If the airline agreed to a name change , in most cases there would be a charge by the airline for doing this . 

After you made the request , did  Expedia Customer Support contact you to advise you of  the airlines name correction process and any associated costs? 

https://www.expedia.com/customersupport/name-form

If you received an e-mail from Expedia confirming that the airline would accept a name change did you pay the charge for the airlines fee for doing this ? If you have proof (e- mail chain )showing that they agreed to do it and proof that you have paid the associated fees and completed all the necessary steps in time then you may have a case .

brianposter

You have a far better case than suggested above - a simple telephone bill should normally be adequate evidence, although emails are obviously better.

Your first problem is to find a UK address for Expedia - which can probably be found by searching this forum.

Notonyournelly

Yes Expedia said they checked with Virgin & the request was accepted free of charge as it was due to a change in my marital status (divorce) . I would have happily paid a fee if they had to charge me. 


At the airport Virgin could see on their systems that Expedia changed my name then cancelled the change, then reinstated my ticket in the wrong name.

Expedia always agreed to make the change but 'cocked up' the process. 

onashoestring

Thank you for the additional information. With this information you have a solid claim - 

Notonyournelly

Excellent. Thank you everyone, I'll update as & when 

cx6

Have you seen and understood Expedia's T&C and especially Article 8 near the end of the document?

https://www.expedia.co.uk/lp/lg-general-booking-conditions

[Deleted User]

If you don't have an itemized phone bill you can use screenshots from your phone. Get them now in case they get deleted or your phone dies.