( Tribune Media Services ) -- Virginia Pozo buys a first-class ticket to Peru on TACA . But it turns out the ticket is in economy class . When she tries to get a refund on the fare difference , her online agency offers her a $ 400 voucher . Is that enough ? And is she entitled to more ? A passenger bought first-class tickets to Peru , but learned they were economy-class seats . Q : We bought two first-class airline tickets to Peru on TACA through Cheaptickets.com . But we soon found out they were economy-class seats . We 've asked the airline for a $ 1,100 refund -- the price difference between first-class and economy-class tickets -- but it wo n't budge . Cheaptickets.com sent a $ 400 voucher that we do n't want . We 've disputed the ticket charges with American Express , but it has denied our claim . It 's obvious to us we did n't receive what we paid for . We 've never sued anyone and I would rather not have to go there . Do you have any other suggestions ? -- Virginia Pozo , San Francisco , California . A : If you did n't get a first-class seat , you should n't have to pay for one . TACA owes you a refund of the fare difference between the two classes . And your online travel agency , Cheaptickets.com , should help you . At the very least , you would expect American Express to take your side in a dispute . So what happened ? From what I can tell , you booked what you thought was a first-class ticket through your online agent . But the airline only delivered a seat in economy class . In fact , it never treated this as a first-class reservation in the first place . Was there a miscommunication between the agent and the airline ? Or between your agent and you ? Maybe . As far as I can tell , Cheaptickets does n't have a service guarantee comparable to the other big online travel agencies , which promises everything about your trip will be perfect . But it 's reasonable to expect that the products it sells will be on the up-and-up , and that if there 's something wrong , it will fix it . Cheaptickets ' $ 400 voucher was a nice gesture , but not enough . Why ? Two reasons : First , it requires you to buy another ticket or hotel room , and second , it does n't come close to making up the price difference between the two tickets . As I read your letter , it seems as if you spent some time on the phone with Cheaptickets and TACA . Writing to the two companies might have yielded a more favorable result . This is one of the rare times when you should have considered sending either a paper letter that included your confirmation and your boarding pass , or , if you 're good with a PC and a scanner , an email with documents attached . Receipts are important to resolving this dispute . You need to prove you did n't get what you paid for . Since you were doing business with an American company -- Cheaptickets -- American Express should have sided with you . Invoking the Fair Credit Billing Act , the federal law that protects you from charges for goods and services you did n't accept or were n't delivered as agreed , might have encouraged American Express to see things your way . I think TACA , Cheaptickets and American Express failed to meet their customer-service obligations . But who 's responsible for your refund ? The correct answer is : The online travel agent who took your money and acted as an intermediary for the transaction . I contacted Cheaptickets on your behalf . A representative contacted you and said the company reviewed its phone transcripts and determined that it was at fault . The online agency refunded you $ 1,100 and let you keep the $ 400 voucher for the trouble . Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine . E-mail him at celliott @ ngs.org . Copyright 2009 CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT , DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES , INC .
A customer purchased a ticket through Cheaptickets.com . She paid for a first-class ticket , but the seats were in economy . She asked for a refund and disputed the charges with no luck . Troubleshooter contacted Cheaptickets and the company refunded the difference .