legal question- contracts

I have a question about a unilateral mistake made by the seller in a contract. When buying an airline ticket to Europe, in May I placed a non-refundable deposit after a company representative told me the price of the ticket on multiple occasions. I paid the balance on the ticket yesterday, and the same representative assured me there would be no additional charges. Yesterday afternoon, some hours later, the representatives boss called me to tell me that the representative was new and that there would actually be an extra $150 fee, and that I'm not entitled to my deposit back if I won't pay the fee.

Since its a unilateral mistake on their part, I'm pretty sure I have the option of voiding the contract (and getting my deposit back), or going through with the contract. But do I have the legal right to the price the representative told me, or do I have to pay the fee?

 

It might be a mistake by the representative or it might be a "bait and switch" tactic. If it was a mistake by the representative, the supervisor, if he is honest, should allow you to cancel the ticket and get your deposit back.
Either way you don't want to do business with them.

Demand the deposit back and tell them that if you don't get it back you will file a complaint with the state attorney general and the Better Business Bureau. If they continue to resist, inform them that you will be suing them in small claims court and will pursue a deceptive trade practices act claim.

 

Also, ask for written documentation from the supervisor of what the fee covers and an invoice for all of the charges that apply to your ticket.

 

I was hesitant to demand my money back, becuase after waiting several months, at this point, even with the fee their fare is among the most competitive. Luckily last night i found a fare thats about the same as their fare with the fee, but none that really beat it.

 

BTW ... You can void the contract on a unilateral mistake of the other party.

 

The fee is because I am going to be a year long exchange student rather than semester. I was told that if I were to specify that I needed my return trip in May when I paid the balance, I wouldn't be charged a change fee. So I specified it every time I called them. And now they want to charge me the fee anyway because 'no more than 10% of people on the flight may deviate from the itinerary'. Something they never told me before.

 

It sounds to me that they are not being honest and even though the fare may be good, there may be other issues with the company. They sound very dishonest to me. You should demand an accounting from the company about what the $150 fee was for and why it was not very clear to the rep that it would be applicable. My guess is that the $150 fee is probably a large percentage of the original ticket price. They have not significantly altered the terms of the agreement that you entered into, so you should void the contract, demand the deposit back and get the other ticket.

 

Ask them to prove that you are not within that 10%. My advice is still to demand a refund and buy a ticket somewhere else. Did you get documentation or any type of written contract from the company about a change fee? Do they have a website that describes such a fee?

 

The fine print basically says that after I purchase the ticket, there will be a $150 change fee. But I requested a change to the itinerary before I bought the ticket- before the flight was booked. And the representative told me that if I did it that way, there would be no fee. So right now they are holding my money on a flight whose return date is useless to me. The representative didn't even bother to change the dates

 

You will be in for a fight with them becuase they will deny your version of events. IN the end, if you think the ticket is still a better price than the others even with the $150 fee, paid it an avoid the consternation. But I think you should be very demanding with the supervisor and reiterate to him that the itenerary change was made before you bought the ticket and that the rep screwed it up by not changing the dates.

 

Did you pay with credit card? Can you get a chargeback from the CC company?

 

Yeah I can have payment stopped on the balance, but the initial deposit is already theirs. I got the company that recommended the travel service working on it for me. Hopefully things will work out ok.

 

Unfortunately things like this can happen, especially when you do not get anything in writing. I always get the name of the person and then have them fax me a confirmation.

What it really sounds like is that fuel has gone up and they are trying to recoup expenses. If it is still the best deal then pay it and chalk it up to experience. Your chances of getting you deposit back are slim.

 

Thanks for the advice. In the end things worked out in my favor, and the company agreed to absorb the extra cost of the "change fee".