US audits accounts of large DM purchasers

[computer guy]

So basically people were taking advantage of the promotion and lost their miles.

I fail to see what the issue is.

I would take your miles away too if you transferred miles back and forth between the same two people just to take advantage of a loop hole. It was designed to bring new customers into the fold... not make two greedy folks happy.

Egads.

If US, or any other company ofters a promotion and a person chooses to utilize that promotion, as long as they are following the written terms and conditions of the promotion I fail to see how they are abusing the promotion.

If a customer is trying to do something to get miles in a manner that violates the written terms and conditions of the promotion then by all means, US should confiscate the miles.

If US or any other company offering a similar promotion wanted to specify a maximum number of miles that could be earned or that it couldn't be used to give or share miles for a family member living at the same address, they should specify that in the terms and conditions. Otherwise, as long as the customer is abiding by the terms and conditions of the promotion, they should be able to get as many miles that the promotion allows.

Customers are not mind readers. They cannot devine anything about what a company intends to do, or meant to do outside of the written terms and conditions of a promotion.

 

[HP2USFA]

Ah, no. I did not create this program.

I'm not a fan of giving travel away without ticket purchases.

But that's just me. Perhaps I'm just tired of the 'more more more' mentality I experience on the planes these days. Or maybe it was just the jewel of a person who rode my entire crew like broken down mules, insulted every single one of us for the fact we left the gate 2 minutes late due to carry-on luggage issues and then mentioned they never paid for a ticket they got this from a friend using their DMs.

While I'm no fan of the company by any means, credit where credit is due and blame where blame is due.

 

[DrBeth]

While I'm no fan of the company by any means, credit where credit is due and blame where blame is due.

Exactly. Credit is due to the customers whose purchased miles were confiscated without a refund or the opportunity to speak on their own behalf. The blame falls on whoever at US is responsible for this fraud.

All I can say is I am darn glad I don't have any miles banked with US.

 

[BoeingBoy]

blame where blame is due.

I.e. the customer for following the rules?

Jim

 

[SparrowHawk]

While I'm no fan of the company by any means, credit where credit is due and blame where blame is due.

OK well when you create promotion and then try to loophole your way out then we know where the blame belongs now don't we?

Credit OTOH belongs to the customers who have brought this fraud forward into the public eye.

I have a great deal of evidence in my Inbox to support my contentions. I've talked to a key contact has essentially been gagged and will say nothing. I've spoken with a leading travel reporter who has contacts at the VP level within US and he has been told essentially to "Go Away"

If their skirts aren't dirty, then all they need to do is explain themselves. The reason they won't is they can't because they are filthy with deception.

 

[HP2USFA]

I'm sorry, I forgot where I was.

This is the US Bashing only forum.

My bad

Carry on!

 

[BoeingBoy]

Nothing wrong with defending US as long as it's not done out of blind faith. Blaming the customer because of some imagined or assumed "intent" qualifies as blind faith.

Jim

 

[HP2USFA]

Yes, well assuming the customer is always right when dealing with US is just as blind.

We do have our issues... but we're the sole airline of choice for angels and the soon to be cannonized.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Yes, well assuming the customer is always right when dealing with US is just as blind.

Yes it is. Go over to FT and you'll see where I quoted the FAR's in a passenger appearing intoxicated thread yesterday when some posters were criticizing the FA. But in this case, it certainly appears that US is hiding something. How else would you explain why US won't even give the affected customer the reason for their account being terminated and miles confiscated? US' only response has effectively been "Our decision is final, don't bother us anymore."

Jim

 

[SparrowHawk]

Yes, well assuming the customer is always right when dealing with US is just as blind.

We do have our issues... but we're the sole airline of choice for angels and the soon to be cannonized.

I know of at least one person who was treated very very unfairly and after he documented where US had erred, US tried to bully him/her. I stuck my nose into the fray and the customer got at least some of what they were entitled to under the rules.

US has set itself up as Judge, Jury & Executioner. Imagine if they treated members of the AFA the same way as they do customers?

I can hear the howling of "Unfair" from Phoenix to a whore house in Amsterdam, but hey it's only a customer and we all know they don't matter to you or US.

 

[Dog Wonder]

The best way to let people making dumb rules look dumb?

Follow the rules.

 

[formeraa]

The best way to let people making dumb rules look dumb?

Follow the rules.

Of course, the funny thing is that a one-sentence statement about the MAXIMUM miles allowed for this promotion would have solved the whole problem. (That is, during this promotion, a maximum of xx,xxx bonus miles may be earned per DM account.)

 

[BoeingBoy]

Of course, the funny thing is that a one-sentence statement about the MAXIMUM miles allowed for this promotion would have solved the whole problem. (That is, during this promotion, a maximum of xx,xxx bonus miles may be earned per DM account.)

There was language concerning a 50K mile limit to the bonus miles with the buy/share/gift miles promos. Since the promo didn't have any usefulness to me I didn't pay that much attention but seems it was the maximum a single account could get from one other account (shared or gifted) or by buying miles was 50K miles. That's why most of the suggestions on FT about ways to maximize the bonus miles involved buying/sharing/gifting among multiple accounts, which wasn't against the T&C's Depend on the people on FT to find ways to maximize the benefit of any promo).

Of course the big promo was late last year - shop at certain affiliated merchants and get the usual miles for buying from them and up to a 250% bonus on the miles earned if you bought from 5 of the specified merchants. The best deal was from a company called Track It Back, which gave 40 miles/dollar spent. Add in the 250% bonus and you'd get 140 miles/dollar. Some people bought over $1000 worth of stickers from them, getting over 140K miles.

One of the people who had their account closed and miles confiscated bought $5000 worth of stickers from TIB, earning $700K miles including the bonus. He got an award ticket for a friend to attend a funeral (either domestic FC or TA business class - I don't remember which) and apparently because of that US closed his account and confiscated the remaining miles and I think voided the award ticket. I say "apparently" the award ticket was what US considered fraud because when he contacted US to find out why his account had been closed, US told him they stood by their decision and that they would not respond to any further attempts to contact them.

Jim

 

[SS255]

I'm a long-time DM member in good standing, with 600K+ miles outstanding in my account. I didn't participate in any of these promos, so I presumed that I was "safe" from any potential fraud audit. Still, I double-checked my DM account after reading through these threads, just to make sure I could still get into it. (Affirmative.)

Since I know that Management reads this board, here is what I will throw out there for consideration: We all know that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I suspect that some customers did knowingly violate the rules of the promo, and sold or bartered their miles for a profit. That is totally unacceptable, and more power to US for catching these weasels, and holding them accountable for their actions.

But for those customers who truly did nothing wrong, I would hope that you at least talk to these people and give them the benefit of the doubt. Don't blame them for anything which you overlooked on your end. From everything which i have read, I get the impression that the Fraud Department has been given carte blanche to do whatever they want with respect to DM accounts, with no oversight or system of checks and balances. I can only say for myself that if my DM account were unfairly closed, and I was absolutely certain that I did not violate anything, I would first give US the opportunity to correct their mistake through the proper channels. If that did not work, I would escalate the matter through FFOCUS. And if that still did not work, I would get vindictive. REALLY vindictive. (And I'm not a vindictive person by any stretch of the imagination.)

For those cases of which you are aware, you have the opportunity to nip it in the bud now, before these people get vindictive.........because if they do, and they are right and US is wrong.........it might cost you far more than if you had just handled the matter correctly from the beginning. And it would not have gotten onto the internet. I am no lawyer, but if US is sued over this, they would have to be able to prove that the miles were sold or bartered. And if the miles were not sold or bartered, I don't see how US would be able to prove that.

Just my 2 cents, since I do not have any skin in this game. I just don't want to see US's reputation slide any further for something which can be easily and quickly resolved.