Wrong name on ticket threatens to cancel elderly Bay Area couple's last vacation to Egypt
PIEDMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Traveling overseas requires a lot of careful planning. An East Bay couple thought they did just that -- but just days before a two-week tour in Egypt, they spotted a tiny mistake that nearly canceled the whole trip.
This couple, now in their 80s, knew this might be their last overseas trip. But just weeks before takeoff, they noticed the name was wrong on the wife's ticket, so she couldn't board the flight. They tried everything to fix it but ran into brick walls, and a scammer who took their money. With days to go, they contacted 7 On Your Side.
Sue Butler and her husband Larry have traveled to many countries over the years.
"We're older so we thought maybe this would be our last big trip," said Sue. "We've been to Europe a million times but we've never been to Egypt, that part of the world, so we thought why not make our last big trip to Egypt?"
The Piedmont couple used their Capital One rewards points to book two tickets to Cairo aboard Lufthansa Airlines, and were all set to go.
Until Sue looked closely at her ticket. To her shock, she saw the name on her ticket was Susan Harris Butler.
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But Harris is not her middle name. Larry put it there by mistake.
"It was a stupid mistake, but I did it," said Larry.
Sue's middle name used to be Harris before the two got married 62 years ago, but now it's Price, which is the name on her passport but not on her ticket.
"If your ticket doesn't match your passport, you're not getting on the flight. So I was not going to be able to get on this flight with the wrong name," said Sue.
Immediately, Sue began calling Capital One and Lufthansa, hoping someone could change the name.
"And each one blames the other one," said Sue. "I talked to managers, I talked to I don't know how many different people. I was on hold, I can't tell you how many times."
They even brought Sue's birth certificate to the Lufthansa terminal at SFO. No one there could change her ticket.
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"Larry said, 'We bought the tickets with points,' and she said 'Oh oh, good luck with that,'" said Sue.
So, Sue did a Google search to find a different Capital One help line. Big mistake.
A man picked up her call and said he could change the ticket. But it would cost $1,298. She agreed to pay, and he charged her credit card, then emailed a new ticket with the correct name.
"I thought he was with Capital One, and it turns out he was not," said Sue.
It was an imposter and that ticket was fake. And now the couple was panicking with just days before their flight.
"I felt really bad. We could have lost the trip by my stupid mistake," said Larry.
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"I have one last chance to make this right and that's call 7 On Your Side," said Sue.
And she did. We contacted the travel agent for Capital One, a company called Hopper, which quickly hopped on their case and issued a new ticket with the right name.
"That's when I started packing. Total relief. Total relief," said Sue.
"As soon as we got there, we just forgot all the hassles and immersed ourselves in Egypt," said Sue.
"We are here in Egypt at the Great Pyramids, thanks to ABC7 and 7 On Your Side. Thank you!" said Sue on a video she sent to the 7 On Your Side team from their trip.
A good reminder: you could be denied boarding on an international flight if the ticket doesn't exactly match your passport. So triple-check before you hit send. And it's worth noting that when you use points to book travel, most likely your bank used a third-party travel agent, so changes might have to go through the agency.
And a bright note: Capital One did reverse the charge to that scammer, but it is a warning. Do not Google numbers without checking to see who you are really calling. You should only ever use customer service numbers listed on official websites or the back of your card.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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