LA Contintental Saga... Breaking Confidence

I like to think I give people the benefit of the doubt. Well, I used to. Now, not so much.

I have decided that big companies will do just about anything to keep from paying for their own mistakes (insert rant against Exxon here).

So, further to my last post on Continental:

I send in a complaint like two weeks ago. No response.

So, I go online to find a phone number to call someone. Ha! Finding a phone number on Continental.com is like finding the proverbial needle in a freakin' big haystack.

I finally find one and call and am transferred around. I find myself on hold with a LLOOOOOOOONG wait time. One of the fun little recordings is about how to apply for a refund using Continental's creepy "Virtual Expert" Alex. I follow the instructions and request the refund, sending the scanned copies of my tickets, yada, yada.

I get an email back yesterday. I have been issued a $150 travel voucher for use on a domestic Continental flight! Wow, how generous! A whole $50 more than I spent! Except of course, that I will NEVER use said voucher. Why? Let's see:

• I plan to NEVER use Continental again
• IF I'm in the States next year, I would be in Delta/Alaska/Frontier territory where there aren't many Continental flights anyway
• The voucher came with a page-long list of caveats for when & how the voucher can be used. Essentially, any flight I could use it on, I could find a comperable flight on Kayak for even less than what I'd save with their stupid voucher
• Did I mention that I plan to NEVER USE CONTINENTAL again??

This is a scheme that huge companies like Continental use to keep from paying up. See, there's not way I'd ever find a flight for $150. So, I would have to SPEND more money with Continental in order to "get my money back."

Just another case of huge corporations screwing their customers.

I called the refund department to demand an ACTUAL refund. After sitting on hold for 1/2 hour, the response was that they could do nothing (even after talking to a supervisor) and I had to call customer service, which is only open M-F during normal business hours central time. Which means, I'm going to have to make a middle of the night phone call during the work week in order to try to get these jerks to pay up.

Continental has lost my business.