We have two different stories from readers in very difficult circumstances who have been trying to get something that seems pretty simple done but have found it difficult – if not impossible – to get their requests through to people who can make things happen – one is to do with Aer Lingus and the other, Facebook and Instagram.
“I am writing regarding difficulties I am having with Aer Lingus customer service,” begins the first email.
Last year, she booked return flights to the US for herself and a relative with the plan being they would take the trip this month. It wasn’t to be.
“Unfortunately, in December, I was diagnosed with a serious illness which forced me to cancel my trip,” she continues. “I intend to claim the flight cost from my travel insurance so only requested only a refund of taxes from Aer Lingus.”
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Not long after she contacted the airline looking for her tax refund, the money landed in her account but she also needed a letter confirming the cancellation and the cost of the flights so that she could process her travel insurance claim.
This is where she ran into difficulties.
“I have spent hours on the phone and online chat with Aer Lingus requesting this letter on numerous occasions and to date it has not been forthcoming,” she says. “There has been no clear answer as to why a simple letter is proving so difficult to issue.”
She says the whole experience has been “very stressful, especially as I have just started a course of treatment for cancer. I had hoped this would be sorted out before starting treatment but my last contact with Aer Lingus last week, where I was passed from virtual chat to agents and back again to virtual chat, has me very frustrated and upset especially as I have told them my situation.”
She says that “from a human point of view” there has been “absolutely no communication to even acknowledge [her circumstances] and to tell me that the cancellation invoice which the travel insurance require will be forthcoming”.
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When she first contacted the airline in January, she says the agent directed her “to get this letter online but I told her the link was not live. Is there is anything you could do to help in this situation? I have sent different emails also and have other case numbers but only silence from Aer Lingus so far. I paid €1,400 for flights and have received €126 from Aer Lingus. I am not asking Aer Lingus for money, just the letter!”
As we are sure you will agree, this is entirely unacceptable on a number of levels. First, this person is seriously ill and does not need the stress of being ignored by the airline. And it is also worth reiterating that she is not even looking for any money back – just a simple letter confirming her circumstances so she can progress her travel insurance claim.
Given the nature of the story and what our reader was looking for, we had to assume her correspondence was simply not reaching the right people as we can’t imagine any circumstance that would see Aer Lingus intentionally treat someone in such a difficult position so heartlessly.
We highlighted her story to the company and almost immediately a spokeswoman agreed that what had happened was entirely unacceptable and she set about resolving the situation. In a matter of hours we heard back from our reader to say that a representative of the company had telephoned her to say that real human beings were on the case and issue would be fully resolved as soon as possible. She was most relieved.
We subsequently heard from the airline.
A spokeswoman said Aer Lingus “sincerely apologises to our customer for the delay in assisting with her query. In this instance, the customer is entitled to a full refund in line with our refund exceptions policy, as the cancellation related to serious illness. Our customer care team has contacted the customer directly to advise of the full refund due and to arrange payment”.
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An entirely unrelated story about a completely different company also landed in our inbox and although it was very different, it shared a thread and highlighted how hard it can be for people in difficult circumstances to get through to the right people in big companies who can help them get relatively simple things done.
In this case, a reader contacted us to say she had tried on multiple occasions over a protracted period to get through to someone in Facebook and Instagram who would be able to shut down her late father’s social media accounts.
“I’ve submitted all the necessary documents to them five times,” she writes. “They have confirmed via email a number of times that the accounts have been closed but they are not closed,” she says.
She says she has received the same mail from Facebook over and over again “asking for documents I already submitted” and adds that she has received a mail from Instagram telling her the account has been deleted “but it is still live [and] instead of closing my dad’s Facebook account they memorized [sic] it. I just want both of them closed. I’m so frustrated with them, beyond upset at this stage!”
We contacted Meta for a response and although it was unable or unwilling to provide any kind of reply to our queries, we understand that both accounts are now deleted.
