E-mail to Delta

Had a mess of a situation with Delta Airlines.

Message: I spoke with Yvette in corporate customer care regarding my issue, and she suggested contacting the Refund department. There I spoke with Carmen Adams, who told me I needed to contact Corporate customer care to have a refund authorized. I purchased my tickets on December 15th using a US Bank check card. The charges showed as pending on my account for 4 days, at which time they disappeared. Between 12/15 and when I flew in January, I called Delta 6-8 times to ensure that I still had a ticket, as the money had not been withdrawn from my account. I took my trip, and had no issues. When I returned to Korea (where I live) from my trip (early February), I again called Delta. Delta assured me that their records indicated that I had paid for my trip, even though I told them I had not. This was about my 10th call to Delta asking to pay for my trip. I said, so Delta will not charge me again? They said no. I specifically asked to make sure I could spend the money, and they said they would not be taking any money from me. In the next 1-2 weeks I paid some credit card debt and bought my girlfriend a present. Fast-forward to Memorial Day Weekend. Since I still live in Korea, I rarely keep much money in my US Bank checking account--the account which the card draws upon. I only keep enough to service my student loans for a few months. I had about $150-200 in there. Delta decided to charge my card for $775 dollars, charging me to overdraft my checking account, and face fees from my bank as well as the fees I will incur when I transfer money home. Yesterday I spoke at length with two different customer care agents, Yvette and Carmen Adams. Yvette, as a gesture of goodwill, offered a $200 travel voucher and 15,000 frequent flyer miles. I appreciated the gesture. She also recommended I contact the refund department, as she understood that "frequent flyer miles don't pay the bills". How right she is. I called refund and was escalated to Carmen Adams, who again was incredibly helpful. What she found out and informed me is that Delta eventually realized there was an error and that Delta had not charged some cards a while back, and apparently mine was one of them. I told her my story, and she seemed willing to authorize a refund, but because the ticket was flown, she could not do so without approval from corporate. I then called corporate customer care back, hoping to speak to Yvette, and was on hold for a long period of time. Tonight, then, I called corporate customer care back, seeking approval for the refund, and again was on hold for an extended period of time. Initially I was not anticipating a refund. However, after hearing that Delta realized there was a problem with payments and started charging cards that were missed, my expectations changed. First of all, the obvious point is I was charged for something 5 months after the fact, which frankly is unprofessional and nothing short of asinine. Moreover, though, was that I had made 10 calls to Delta informing them there was a problem, only to have my calls basically ignored, told not to worry, and even that Delta would not charge my account again. I even could have accepted the new charge 5 months later if Delta had provided SOME type of communication prior to charging my card in May for a ticket bought in December and flown in January. Is this company really this incompetent? As I said, I have received minimal compensation for this. I do not believe it is enough. I was telling Delta there was a problem before Delta even knew there was a problem. For 2 months I practically BEGGED to pay for my ticket. I was then told that everything was fine--to spend the money, only to have it taken out of my account without any notification 5 months after the fact. My due diligence had been done, and Delta, for all intensive purposes (though, regrettably, undocumented) had released me from my responsibility. With buying an air ticket as easy as a couple mouse clicks, and as affordable as it ever has been, there is much competition for passengers. It takes minimal effort on my part to select a different airline, something I'm inclined to do after the issues I have had in regards to this trip. I hope to hear from someone soon.