Iberia Exploits Families in Crisis
Our daughter remains weak and in pain and Iberia is charging us thousands of dollars and won’t fly us out until Thursday despite empty seats today and tomorrow. We really want to see her doctors in New York but Iberia is more interested in profiting off our misfortune than treating us with basic human decency.
Below you can read the background details of our story.
the latest is that Iberia officials have consistently mislead us about the process of getting medical clearance for rebooking. An Iberia supervisor said that it could take up to 21 days to hear from medical and so out of desperation we agreed to pay thousands of dollars In “voluntary” rebooking fees to get home on Thursday. Every time we have called we have gotten a different an inaccurate story about this process. All of it, in our opinion, designed to pressure us into paying massive rebooking fees. In fact, Iberia’s response to our Twitter posts was to direct us to their sales page. They clearly hadn’t read the blog post and were only interested in getting more money from us.
The US consulate here in Barcelona has tried to help. They contacted Iberia which pledged to call us, but never has. Below is our letter to them with the details of our mistreatment and on going situation.
Iberia’s latest communication, also documented below, further indicates that this is a systematic policy to get money out of people in crisis. After being told it might be weeks to get a response, as soon as we paid massive fees to rebook, we finally got an email from the medical team saying that because we rebooked on our own they are closing our case. In other words, once you pay us, we are no longer interested in your situation. We have demanded that they fly us out on the next available flight at no addditional cost. No response.
Please keep pressuring them.
You can send an email to them at [email protected] and CC Iberia executive Gabriel Perdiguero at [email protected].
Tag @iberia and @iberia_es on Twitter and post directly to their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IberiaEN
Our daughter remains weak and in pain and Iberia is charging us thousands of dollars and won’t fly us out until Thursday despite empty seats today and tomorrow. We really want to see her doctors in New York but Iberia is more interested in profiting off our misfortune than treating us with basic human decency.
Below you can read the background details of our story.
the latest is that Iberia officials have consistently mislead us about the process of getting medical clearance for rebooking. An Iberia supervisor said that it could take up to 21 days to hear from medical and so out of desperation we agreed to pay thousands of dollars In “voluntary” rebooking fees to get home on Thursday. Every time we have called we have gotten a different an inaccurate story about this process. All of it, in our opinion, designed to pressure us into paying massive rebooking fees. In fact, Iberia’s response to our Twitter posts was to direct us to their sales page. They clearly hadn’t read the blog post and were only interested in getting more money from us.
The US consulate here in Barcelona has tried to help. They contacted Iberia which pledged to call us, but never has. Below is our letter to them with the details of our mistreatment and on going situation.
Iberia’s latest communication, also documented below, further indicates that this is a systematic policy to get money out of people in crisis. After being told it might be weeks to get a response, as soon as we paid massive fees to rebook, we finally got an email from the medical team saying that because we rebooked on our own they are closing our case. In other words, once you pay us, we are no longer interested in your situation. We have demanded that they fly us out on the next available flight at no addditional cost. No response.
Please keep pressuring them.
You can send an email to them at [email protected] and CC Iberia executive Gabriel Perdiguero at [email protected].
Tag @iberia and @iberia_es on Twitter and post directly to their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IberiaEN
Letter to US Consulate detailing our mistreatment by Iberia Airlines
Below is a copy of the email we received as well as my husband's response. Their response to his note was that we could file a complaint on their website.
Here is what happened.
First, Monday the 23rd, my daughter was admitted to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I called Iberia to let them know what had happened and that the MD had told us that she would be in the hospital at least until Saturday the 28. I explained that we would not be able to make our flight from Granada. At that time, I was told that there was nothing we could do until Saturday and, at that time, if our daughter was still in the hospital, the airline would change our tickets so that we could fly from Barcelona based on their health emergency policy. I was led to believe that there would be no problem.
On Saturday, the 28th, I called Iberia to explain what had happened and was told that for approximately $1,500 a person we needed to book new tickets. We explained that there was no way for us to get to Granada for our 7 am flight. We asked if we could take the continuation from Madrid if we were able to get to Madrid and were told that they would have to purchase new tickets to go from Madrid. We had thought about renting a car to drive to Madrid but were fearful that we'd get there and just have to stay in a hotel there. We were very distraught.
Ultimately, a nurse who spoke Spanish called and explained that we were in Barcelona as a result of a medical emergency and she was given an email address to send medical documentation. She was given the wrong address 2x so the emails bounced back. After her third or fourth call, we got a correct email address and the email did not bounce back. Another mother in the hospital and the nurse wrote a letter for us in Spanish explaining the circumstances. We left the hospital late in the afternoon on Saturday the 28th.
We called Iberia around 10-11 Saturday the 28th and were told that our email had been received and our case was being reviewed. We had hoped to catch a flight from Barcelona to Madrid on the 29th to catch our flight from Madrid to NY. We were told that there was nothing we could do but wait. We were told that we should hear something soon. We were assured that the medical review team worked 24/7.
We called on Sunday the 29th in the am and were told to continue to wait. We called back Sunday the 29th in the evening and when I asked to speak with a supervisor or someone who could communicate with the medical department, I was told that that department did not work on weekends and that if I called back at 9 am on Monday the 30th, a supervisor would be able to speak with someone from the medical department to let us know when we might hear.
On Monday morning, I again called. I explained that my daughter had been released from the hospital in Barcelona on the 28th and that we needed to get her home for follow up on her surgery. At that point, the person with whom I was speaking said something about 21 days. I said, in disbelief, I think I am not understanding you, "did you say 21 days or 21 hours?" He hung up on me at that point. After about 2 more immediate call drops, the third time I called I was able to speak to a supervisor. His name was David Perez. He assured me that they had a 21 day policy and unless we were prepared to wait in Spain for 21 days, we needed to rebook a flight on a "voluntary basis." At that point, I was at my wits end and rebooked a flight for Thursday for what I was told would be about 3,600 Euros. He told me to go any sooner than Thursday would cost us over 5,500 Euros, a sum, that we could not afford.
At this point, my daughter is in a great deal of pain and we are stuck in a hotel room on the outskirts of Barcelona, waiting to get home. She is unable to walk very far so we really cannot go out. This has been an extremely stressful experience and we just want to go home.
I honestly cannot imagine a worse customer service experience. If we had been told that there was a 5 day policy when I originally called, I would have immediately provide dye documentation (which we did for our Veulo flight to Granada). Every person with whom we have spoken has given us a different story. It has also been extremely difficult to get a person who speaks English so we have had to pay for many long distance calls to the US.
Thank you again for all of your help.
Elizabeth
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
From: Alex Vitale <[email protected]>
Date: July 30, 2018 at 4:41:58 PM GMT+2
To: DirectSalesUSA <[email protected]>
Cc: Elizabeth Palley <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: VXECWW
The flight was modified at great expense after being told our case might not be reviewed for up to 21 days. Can you please review our case and waive any fees and price differentials since this was not a voluntary change? We also badly need to return to US as quickly as possible so our daughter can see her doctors in New York.
Thanks,
Alex S. Vitale
Professor
Department of Sociology
Brooklyn College
www.alex-vitale.info
Coordinator
Policing and Social Justice Project
www.policingandjustice.org
________________________________________
From: DirectSalesUSA [[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2018 10:25 AM
To: Alex Vitale
Subject: Re: VXECWW
Dear Mr. Vitale
Thank you for contacting us. We have reviewed your information, and we want you to know that Iberia cares the situation you went through.
Regarding your request, we have noticed that your flights were already modified.
If you need further assistance, please contact us at 1-800 772 4642. We work 24 hours to help you.
Best Regards,
Sara Nova.
Back Office Iberia
Direct Sales USA
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Below is a copy of the email we received as well as my husband's response. Their response to his note was that we could file a complaint on their website.
Here is what happened.
First, Monday the 23rd, my daughter was admitted to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I called Iberia to let them know what had happened and that the MD had told us that she would be in the hospital at least until Saturday the 28. I explained that we would not be able to make our flight from Granada. At that time, I was told that there was nothing we could do until Saturday and, at that time, if our daughter was still in the hospital, the airline would change our tickets so that we could fly from Barcelona based on their health emergency policy. I was led to believe that there would be no problem.
On Saturday, the 28th, I called Iberia to explain what had happened and was told that for approximately $1,500 a person we needed to book new tickets. We explained that there was no way for us to get to Granada for our 7 am flight. We asked if we could take the continuation from Madrid if we were able to get to Madrid and were told that they would have to purchase new tickets to go from Madrid. We had thought about renting a car to drive to Madrid but were fearful that we'd get there and just have to stay in a hotel there. We were very distraught.
Ultimately, a nurse who spoke Spanish called and explained that we were in Barcelona as a result of a medical emergency and she was given an email address to send medical documentation. She was given the wrong address 2x so the emails bounced back. After her third or fourth call, we got a correct email address and the email did not bounce back. Another mother in the hospital and the nurse wrote a letter for us in Spanish explaining the circumstances. We left the hospital late in the afternoon on Saturday the 28th.
We called Iberia around 10-11 Saturday the 28th and were told that our email had been received and our case was being reviewed. We had hoped to catch a flight from Barcelona to Madrid on the 29th to catch our flight from Madrid to NY. We were told that there was nothing we could do but wait. We were told that we should hear something soon. We were assured that the medical review team worked 24/7.
We called on Sunday the 29th in the am and were told to continue to wait. We called back Sunday the 29th in the evening and when I asked to speak with a supervisor or someone who could communicate with the medical department, I was told that that department did not work on weekends and that if I called back at 9 am on Monday the 30th, a supervisor would be able to speak with someone from the medical department to let us know when we might hear.
On Monday morning, I again called. I explained that my daughter had been released from the hospital in Barcelona on the 28th and that we needed to get her home for follow up on her surgery. At that point, the person with whom I was speaking said something about 21 days. I said, in disbelief, I think I am not understanding you, "did you say 21 days or 21 hours?" He hung up on me at that point. After about 2 more immediate call drops, the third time I called I was able to speak to a supervisor. His name was David Perez. He assured me that they had a 21 day policy and unless we were prepared to wait in Spain for 21 days, we needed to rebook a flight on a "voluntary basis." At that point, I was at my wits end and rebooked a flight for Thursday for what I was told would be about 3,600 Euros. He told me to go any sooner than Thursday would cost us over 5,500 Euros, a sum, that we could not afford.
At this point, my daughter is in a great deal of pain and we are stuck in a hotel room on the outskirts of Barcelona, waiting to get home. She is unable to walk very far so we really cannot go out. This has been an extremely stressful experience and we just want to go home.
I honestly cannot imagine a worse customer service experience. If we had been told that there was a 5 day policy when I originally called, I would have immediately provide dye documentation (which we did for our Veulo flight to Granada). Every person with whom we have spoken has given us a different story. It has also been extremely difficult to get a person who speaks English so we have had to pay for many long distance calls to the US.
Thank you again for all of your help.
Elizabeth
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
From: Alex Vitale <[email protected]>
Date: July 30, 2018 at 4:41:58 PM GMT+2
To: DirectSalesUSA <[email protected]>
Cc: Elizabeth Palley <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: VXECWW
The flight was modified at great expense after being told our case might not be reviewed for up to 21 days. Can you please review our case and waive any fees and price differentials since this was not a voluntary change? We also badly need to return to US as quickly as possible so our daughter can see her doctors in New York.
Thanks,
Alex S. Vitale
Professor
Department of Sociology
Brooklyn College
www.alex-vitale.info
Coordinator
Policing and Social Justice Project
www.policingandjustice.org
________________________________________
From: DirectSalesUSA [[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2018 10:25 AM
To: Alex Vitale
Subject: Re: VXECWW
Dear Mr. Vitale
Thank you for contacting us. We have reviewed your information, and we want you to know that Iberia cares the situation you went through.
Regarding your request, we have noticed that your flights were already modified.
If you need further assistance, please contact us at 1-800 772 4642. We work 24 hours to help you.
Best Regards,
Sara Nova.
Back Office Iberia
Direct Sales USA
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Never Fly Iberia Airlines
After a wonderful week in Valencia our long planned Spanish vacation turned tragic. Our 10 year old daughter developed appendicitis. We took her to San Joan de Deu hospital where they performed immediate surgery. We had been scheduled to fly to Granada the next day, which obviously we couldn’t. Vueling Airline said that with proper documentation they would reimburse us for the ticket in keeping with Spanish Law.
Because our daughter’s condition was serious, she needed to stay in the hospital for 5 days. That meant that we would be unable to get to Granada to make our return flight to the US. We notified Iberia of the situation. They said nothing could be done until the 24 hours prior to our scheduled departure at which time we should send them the medical documentation to arrange rebooking.
On Saturday afternoon, July 28, we received discharge papers and called Iberia. This time we were told to email the paperwork to their medical department, which would make a determination on the validity of our case within 5 days or we could pay $1,700 in “voluntary change” fees. Obviously we were distressed to hear this. Officials at the hospital helped us write a letter explaining the situation and asking for a quick resolution of our situation so that we could return to New York and receive follow up care for our daughter.
After not hearing anything from Iberia, we called them Saturday night and were informed that they had the documentation but that determinations typically take 48 hours and that they were working on it. This, however, was the beginning of a pattern of useless and misleading information from Iberia. The next morning an agent said we might hear in 24 hours. Later we were told to just wait. All the while hotel fees are adding up.
Finally, on Monday morning we were able, with great effort, to get a booking supervisor on the phone. He informed us that in fact the medical depart takes up to 21 DAYS to make such determinations and that they don’t even work on the weekends. So the 2 days we spent calling, waiting on hold, anxiously checking our email for news was totally pointless. We were stuck.
The real point of this non-policy became clear, however, when the supervisor said that the solution to our problem was simply to rebook with change fees and price differences. He said that for the low low price of $3,500 we could fly from Barcelona to NY in 4 days. This despite the fact that their own web site showed multiple flights available the next day with the necessary 4 seats.
The policy of charging you the price differential is infuriating because, of course, the price difference is huge because we are going from a long-term advance purchase to a same week one. This despite the fact that they undoubtedly sold our seats back to NY at an inflated same day price. So they win both ways. They basically get 3-5 times the money because our daughter had to have emergency surgery while on vacation.
The supervisor, of course, says, “well that’s the policy” like the airline is some other entity that he has nothing to do with. Iberia airlines could have waived the fees and price differentials and put us on a flight the next day if they had wanted to do so. But instead, they use these medical emergencies to make more money from families in crisis. This is beyond despicable and possibly illegal.
Please share this post on social media and tag them on Twitter: @Iberia_en, post on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/IberiaEN, and email them at [email protected] and let them know that these policies are outrageous and that families in our situation should not have to pay anything to rebook a flight.
Thanks,
Alex S. Vitale
Elizabeth S. Palley
After a wonderful week in Valencia our long planned Spanish vacation turned tragic. Our 10 year old daughter developed appendicitis. We took her to San Joan de Deu hospital where they performed immediate surgery. We had been scheduled to fly to Granada the next day, which obviously we couldn’t. Vueling Airline said that with proper documentation they would reimburse us for the ticket in keeping with Spanish Law.
Because our daughter’s condition was serious, she needed to stay in the hospital for 5 days. That meant that we would be unable to get to Granada to make our return flight to the US. We notified Iberia of the situation. They said nothing could be done until the 24 hours prior to our scheduled departure at which time we should send them the medical documentation to arrange rebooking.
On Saturday afternoon, July 28, we received discharge papers and called Iberia. This time we were told to email the paperwork to their medical department, which would make a determination on the validity of our case within 5 days or we could pay $1,700 in “voluntary change” fees. Obviously we were distressed to hear this. Officials at the hospital helped us write a letter explaining the situation and asking for a quick resolution of our situation so that we could return to New York and receive follow up care for our daughter.
After not hearing anything from Iberia, we called them Saturday night and were informed that they had the documentation but that determinations typically take 48 hours and that they were working on it. This, however, was the beginning of a pattern of useless and misleading information from Iberia. The next morning an agent said we might hear in 24 hours. Later we were told to just wait. All the while hotel fees are adding up.
Finally, on Monday morning we were able, with great effort, to get a booking supervisor on the phone. He informed us that in fact the medical depart takes up to 21 DAYS to make such determinations and that they don’t even work on the weekends. So the 2 days we spent calling, waiting on hold, anxiously checking our email for news was totally pointless. We were stuck.
The real point of this non-policy became clear, however, when the supervisor said that the solution to our problem was simply to rebook with change fees and price differences. He said that for the low low price of $3,500 we could fly from Barcelona to NY in 4 days. This despite the fact that their own web site showed multiple flights available the next day with the necessary 4 seats.
The policy of charging you the price differential is infuriating because, of course, the price difference is huge because we are going from a long-term advance purchase to a same week one. This despite the fact that they undoubtedly sold our seats back to NY at an inflated same day price. So they win both ways. They basically get 3-5 times the money because our daughter had to have emergency surgery while on vacation.
The supervisor, of course, says, “well that’s the policy” like the airline is some other entity that he has nothing to do with. Iberia airlines could have waived the fees and price differentials and put us on a flight the next day if they had wanted to do so. But instead, they use these medical emergencies to make more money from families in crisis. This is beyond despicable and possibly illegal.
Please share this post on social media and tag them on Twitter: @Iberia_en, post on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/IberiaEN, and email them at [email protected] and let them know that these policies are outrageous and that families in our situation should not have to pay anything to rebook a flight.
Thanks,
Alex S. Vitale
Elizabeth S. Palley
