EDIT: I am not female....

I am a very experienced traveler and have had my fair share of annoyances, but this is the straw that broke the camel's back.

Story: It was spring break two years ago, we were flying to Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe just to get away and relax for the week. We had to fly from Dallas to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we had to make a connection to Point-a-Pitre. The trouble started in Dallas where the plane was having mechanical issues and was delayed to the point where we would miss the connection to the next flight.
I went up to the desk and already started to try and get booked on the next available flight out of San Juan. The lady was very unhelpful and in lack of better words, a total bitch. I kept my composure and just asked for her to book me a hotel and get me on a flight the next morning. Simple right? Nope. I was informed that to get a hotel i would have to do it in San Juan, but I was booked 3 seats on the flight the next morning.
We arrive in San Juan around 11 PM and I haul ass to the counter to get my free hotel room that I am entitled to. The man spends about 5 minutes looking on his computer and says that there are no rooms available in ANY hotel in San Juan. I proceed to look online on my phone an call the Hilton to see if they have rooms available. And low and behold they did! He then told me that he couldn't give me the money upfront and I would have to send in the receipts to be refunded. I spend the night in the run down hotel and arrive at the airport the next morning.
I spend all day waiting and I wasn't able to get on any of the planes what so ever. back to the counter I went pissed beyond belief to see what would be done. I was booked and I checked for the next day, not today. They had lied to me and caused me to stay in the airport for the day. I then put the word sue out their and the supervisor was called to the counter. I went on how I was going to sue them if I was not reimbursed for the 2 days lost in Guadeloupe and all the plane tickets. The guy then said to me that I should do it and that he couldn't do anything.

As soon as I arrived home from the finished vacation I put all my receipts together and went to the small claims court to start a case. Over the next few months of American trying to get me away from the lawsuit we finally went to court and I won!

After a few weeks they appealed the case and filed for bankruptcy causing me to get zero money whatsoever.

The reason I thought about bring this up is I just came back from San Juan and once again missed a connection coming home because of mechanical issues. There was no way I was getting on a flight until Tuesday, so I rented a car and drove us back home. In San Juan I talked to the same supervisor and when I said I was going to sue again he became nervous. When I stated that I was about to record the conversation he backed off and said no until I put my phone away. He then talked very calmly and gave me 1000$ and I went on my merry way.
I just arrived home after the 6 hour drive.

Comments: 247 • Responses: 50  • Date: 

pizzabyjake276 karma

TIL your lawsuit forced them into bankruptcy.

LookAwayPuhlease90 karma

I laughed at this.

flyinggsquids45 karma

Wait-- why did you fly with them again after winning the lawsuit?

LookAwayPuhlease42 karma

Everyone deserves a second chance. Now I'll be flying out of Miami with air France.

BlueRainstorm27 karma

So you paid all that money to file a lawsuit and you won, but got nothing from them? Seems rather sucky.

LookAwayPuhlease38 karma

It was 50$ to start a small claims case so it wasn't too much. I'll get pennies on the dollar eventually. I posted this more as a way to show everyone that it IS possible.

bigbozz3 karma

You said "...over the next few months..." - did it just take this long to get scheduled to go to court, or was American delaying the process?

What was your first contact from American after filing the lawsuit (i.e. did their legal department call you, etc.)?

LookAwayPuhlease5 karma

They kept on trying to delay the process. Yes, I did receive a call from their legal department stating that it would be pointless to start a case as I would surely lose. They wanted to give me some money and get me away from the whole thing. The sum was too low and I repeatedly refused. They had 2 months to come up with a court date and they took all 2 months.

Musicman82116 karma

Yeah I've had bad experiences with them too. I missed a flight one day because they said all their flights were on time and I even asked a lady about it and she said yes. Then I waited for three hours in love just to be told it had been cancel led five hours before. Needless to say o was pissed

LookAwayPuhlease4 karma

Was it weather related or not?

Musicman8214 karma

Yes

Musicman8213 karma

Snow I think

LookAwayPuhlease7 karma

See that's the problem, weather you cannot do a thing about.

Musicman82111 karma

No the plane being canceled wasn't the problem. The screen said the flight was all good and I waited in line for about three hours and asked attendants if the flight was still OK. They said yes then an hour later the flight board said it was OK so I tried boarding the flight but they said it had been cancel led hours ago when the screen had said it was good and the attending said that as well

LookAwayPuhlease12 karma

Oh I have something kinda like that.

I was getting something to eat for dinner at the terminal considering we had 2 hours left. I then got a call that we were boarding in 10 minutes. I then had to run all the way there just to be told that the plane was still late and it was a false alarm...

Zackathon0 karma

*whether

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

No I am using the word weather here as in snow or rain...

italiandude60415 karma

Did someone from the company show up to defend the small claims court case or did you win be default. Can you give a quick run down of how small claims court works

LookAwayPuhlease17 karma

2 reps came and were dressed very nicely. I flipped both of them in court like a crepe.

You present your case to the judge, if he says it's OK you have to contact American Airlines giving a court date. If they don't show up it is up to the judge to decide the decision and if they do show up they can try to defend their side of the story. You can get up to 10,000$ settlement. I had a friend that owed me that was a lawyer so he came down and was there. I mostly represented myself.

LivingInAGhostTown26 karma

This is all I could think about when you said you flipped both of them in court like a crepe.

LookAwayPuhlease10 karma

Being French I can only cringe while I chuckle.

italiandude60414 karma

He just pulled out a grand and said here?

LookAwayPuhlease13 karma

Haha no I was given 300 immediately and then giving 250$ per ticket (3 tickets) as American Airlines travel credits. I will be refunded the money spent on the car rental, but I'm not counting on it.

pilotm6 karma

[deleted]

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

No, I drove from Dallas to my home. I missed the flight that was leaving Dallas and the next one with enough space was Tuesday.

rageofliquid8 karma

Point of view of the Manager in San Juan

This gringo has his flights fucked up. Keeps threatening to sue us. What's this us stuff? Like I did it to him.

Heard gringo sued and won. Good for him.

Oh oh. Company mad at me. Says they fire me if happens again.

Fuck. That gringo is back. Hope this time everything's better. What the fuck? Does he break the planes himself or something? Says he's gonna sue me. Fuck it. I give him my entire life savings just to make him go away.

LookAwayPuhlease3 karma

Hahaha. No words can describe what I am feeling because you you right now. xD

nrd808 karma

How do you drive home 6 hours from Puerto Rico… an island? Amphibious car or did you catch a flight from San Juan to a different airport on the mainland?

LookAwayPuhlease8 karma

No we made it to Dallas but missed a connecting flight home haha.

supermav278 karma

What American Airlines did to you was just plane wrong.

m00tl33t7 karma

After a few weeks they appealed the case and filed for bankruptcy causing me to get zero money whatsoever.

Wut? Care to explain more on this?

LookAwayPuhlease5 karma

When they appealed the case it reopened it and after they filed bankruptcy they couldn't pay the money immediately. I will receive money but it won't be for a long time.

haphapz4 karma

Verification?

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

It'll take some digging through my stuff to find as it was 2 years ago but I'll find it.

BeansNanikans3 karma

oh what a big man you are! hey let me buy you a pack of gum, i'll show you how to chew it

LookAwayPuhlease3 karma

I like 5 gum, but make sure not to get the black pieces.

Junkstar2 karma

Northeast weather + Delta just made me miss the first two days of sxsw. I had to pay for the hotel and admission anyway.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

That sucks, but if it is weather related they don't have to do anything.

peakyear2 karma

Please elaborate on what you mean by "Over the next few months of American trying to get me away from the lawsuit". What exactly did they do?

LookAwayPuhlease3 karma

They kept on trying to negotiate and give me very low compensation. They most they offered me was 1250$. It may sound a lot but that was less than what the delay cost me.

durtydirtbag0 karma

Should've taken it! Since you wound up getting nothing :(

LookAwayPuhlease4 karma

Yea, but I didn't know they were gonna pull a dick move like that.

TheLantean-2 karma

*cost

Sorry.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

I am lost at what you're asking for?

TheLantean1 karma

that was less than what the delay costed me.

Should be:

that was less than what the delay cost me.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

Sorry just woke up and I'm on an iPhone.

IAmA_HamSandwich2 karma

[deleted]

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

700$ in AA credit, 300$ as a refund.

fuckpiggy2 karma

OP all about dat smug

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

Dat name.

l4n2 karma

For unplanned texas stop, you can record the AA reps without notifying them - http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74545

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

Well that would have been to know...
Thanks for the info!

transmigrant0 karma

How does a few thousand bucks cause AA to go in to bankruptcy? This doesn't add up.

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

It didn't cause them to go bankrupt. They appealed it because they knew that they were about to file for bankruptcy.

Outside_of_bubble-1 karma

Edit: I misread OP's AMA statement. My bad.

In general, people do sue too much, but I think OP's legal case was NOT an abuse of the legal system.

LookAwayPuhlease6 karma

Hmmm when I lose several thousand dollars, yea I might be a little upset and want my money back.

Outside_of_bubble5 karma

My bad OP, I didn't fully read your AMA. I spoke too soon. I thought you were suing because of a flight being lost and having to stay in a hotel (which was run down). I guess this is what I deserve for not paying close enough attention.

My apologies.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

No problem, at least you're not that one guy down there…

Outside_of_bubble2 karma

Haha. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he is just a troll, especially with a name like that. Most Christians that I know aren't so blatantly ignorant.

Then again, I do hear and see horror stories on Reddit of assholes leaving bible verses instead of tips.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

Haha I have a lot of Christian friends, I am agnostic, and have never shown such ignorance. What really puzzles me is this has nothing to do with religion. Haha.

Outside_of_bubble1 karma

I know, but a common "troll" I have come across is a "southern, white, christian, soccer mom" who somehow has stumbled upon reddit and voices her opinions on some of the controversial topics. I think it is just a trolls way of gaining attention.

Then again, there are a lot of stupid people (some happen to be christian) so the person could be legit.

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

Haha it could be some 400 pound, Doritos munching, pedophile. We may never know.
Considering "it's" comment karma I'm sure it's a troll:p

CreativeGenius-3 karma

EPIC WIN! I would gold you if I could! Great post!

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

Haha thanks!

CreativeGenius6 karma

To be honest with you I passed up the chance to sue once. I gave the kid a break. Long story.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

Short version? haha

CreativeGenius2 karma

I was in a car accident. I was sleeping in the back seen while we got rear ended. I got terrible whip lash. The kid was in college so I took it easy on him. I couldn't sleep in a car for years.

dadeho61810 karma

working as a nurse, i once had a patient that was a quadriplegic.

He was sitting in a parked car during lunch, and decided to have a nap in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, a woman had passed out at her job, so they sent her home. She was driving, had a seizure, jumped the curb and T-boned the parked car with the guy in it. Paralyzed him.

It was sad, he just wANTED TO be wrapped all up, with a towel around his head and for me to put headphones on him and let him listen to music. it was like that guy in the Metallica "One" video from that movie "Johnny got his gun".

He was 30 years old and was waiting to be sent to live out the rest of his life in a nursing home.

He said the next week after the accident, the lady had a new car, and had never spoken to him, or apologized, she just went on with her life. Meanwhile, he said his medical bills had long since passed $1million .

LookAwayPuhlease5 karma

Damn.

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

Oh alright. Glad you have a good heart! But being the airlines and them screwing everyone all the time it was worth a try.

CreativeGenius3 karma

Well if you felt how my neck felt.... I couldn't sleep right for a week. If that happened again I would sue in a second. I truly suffered and had PTSD after. Bit of a back story. My grandmother sued her job so she didn't have to work.. I really didn't want to take that route.

LookAwayPuhlease0 karma

Serious stuff. EDIT: If you like guns try to make sure you say you don't have PTSD, with the new gun bans you wouldn't be allowed.

CreativeGenius5 karma

You should read my AMA. Guns is totally out of the question for me. I'm an advocate for peace anyway.

LookAwayPuhlease0 karma

Checking it out right now.

hudsterboy-7 karma

What do lemurs eat?

LookAwayPuhlease5 karma

Everyone knows this: Octopussy

rchapman0-8 karma

The problem with this country: too many entitled ass holes. You had a crap vacation and should have sucked it up, fought for a refund and never used them again. Instead you're showing other lazy jerks like you that they should make money off every inconvenience. I despise people like you and I'm glad your trip sucked.

LookAwayPuhlease4 karma

Joke's on you, I had an amazing vacation once I reached destination. Like I have said to others, several thousand dollars in not a slight inconvenience.

fhfhfhfhfh-18 karma

you are everything that is wrong with society.

Provokateur5 karma

Let's say you hire a construction company and pay them $2,000 to repair your roof. Then they don't do it. When puddles are forming on your bedroom floor and you ask for your money back, they refuse. What do you do?

OP paid for a service, American Airlines didn't deliver that service (certainly not as promised). He asked for some sort of compensation and they refused to give it.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

Very good comparison.

ZachMettenberger-18 karma

Would you rather blow a pipe shaped dick or a dick shaped pipe?

LookAwayPuhlease3 karma

Dick Shaped Pipe For Shure

Soldier4Christ82-32 karma

Other than the fact that you can get away with it, what makes you think it's acceptable to sue companies every time things don't go your way?

LookAwayPuhlease11 karma

I'm trying to keep my hand from going through my face with the name/question combination.

The fact that they have wronged me so many times already and did not follow legal guidelines is why I choose to sue ONE company.

Think before you type.

Soldier4Christ82-31 karma

What would you prefer for someone with my screen name to have said? Would you prefer I had said "Congratulations on robbing a company because they slightly inconvenienced you! Keep up the good work!"?

When you say "think before you type", what you seem to mean is blindly assume that you're telling the truth instead of lying through your teeth to cover your backside. People sue to get rich quick all the time, so it's not like it's all that unreasonable to think that you're one of them, especially since you have the attitude that you're entitled to money that you didn't work for, unless you call throwing a hissy fit and suing them "working".

LookAwayPuhlease13 karma

I'm not throwing a hissy fit and last time I checked anything less of 10,000 dollars is not "getting rich." When I lose several thousand dollars for something that is their fault yea I am going to sue.
And if you are just gonna let several thousand just go by then I wish I had your bank account because that's not a little bit of money to fucking piss away.

Soldier4Christ82-29 karma

Speaking of thinking before you type, if you're wealthy enough that anything under $10,000 is that little of a deal to you, why bother to put a proverbial gun to the company's head and force them to pay you a measly little $1,000? Why go through all the trouble of court proceedings and so forth for what you apparently see as pocket change?

LookAwayPuhlease8 karma

So you're telling me it is alright to get ducked by the company and not do anything? If that's how you live your life it's time for a change.
I hope you don't speak in tongues.

rchapman0-3 karma

If everyone sued companies over every mistake every business would fail. There are definitely many situations where an appropriate response is to sue but inconvenience isn't a good enough reason. Learn to be the bigger person and realize shit happens. Maybe your parents should have taught you forgiveness, discipline and to just let some shut go. Grow up. Your not a hero, just another self righteous ass.

LookAwayPuhlease1 karma

Shit*

And it was actually not the first time.
My wife had a conference in Denver a few months before and delay made her miss it by a whole day. We cut our losses and hoped they would change their ways.

Soldier4Christ82-27 karma

If you retalliate in kind, that makes you no better, in fact it makes you worse because you're a hypocrite for claiming moral outrage and then turning around and doing the same thing to them that they did to you.

LookAwayPuhlease4 karma

So them taking money from me and me losing money, then taking what was mine in the first place is what they were doing?

LivingInAGhostTown9 karma

"After a few weeks they appealed the case and filed for bankruptcy causing me to get zero money whatsoever." A direct quote from the story. That hardly qualifies as getting rich quick.

Soldier4Christ82-24 karma

Does that mean she wasn't trying to? No. It means she didn't succeed.

LookAwayPuhlease2 karma

I won the case, they filed for bankruptcy.
That means they don't have the money to pay me.

Soldier4Christ82-26 karma

So basically you're saying I'm right.

LookAwayPuhlease5 karma

No I am not. And why do you think I am automatically female.
That is a bit sexist don't you think?