welcome to travel leaders agent boot camp understanding delta ticketing policies and avoiding debit...
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Welcome to Travel LeadersAgent Boot Camp
Understanding Delta Ticketing Policiesand Avoiding Debit Memo’s
Phone: 800-747-3842Passcode: 8957545#
Welcome to Agent Boot Camp
Understanding Delta Ticketing Policiesand Avoiding Debit Memo’s
Revenue RecoveryManager – Tim DeLaney07/23 & 25/2013
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Revenue Recovery
Who we are…
• Revenue Recovery is part of the Finance Division and consists of the Audit team and the Accounting & Collection team • The Audit team is responsible for ensuring revenue is protected against ticketing errors, control weaknesses and fraudulent and abusive ticketing practices• The Accounting & Collection team provides timely recovery of agency receivables and associated accounting and reporting• Both teams partner with outside vendors augmenting audit and collection abilities thereby maximizing revenue opportunity
Our Goal…The goal of this presentation is to understand Delta’s Policies and Procedures in regards to booking and ticketing Delta transactions in order to avoid issuance of debit memos
Revenue Recovery - Debit Memo Statistics
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Top 5 Reasons for Memo Issuance POS Commission
Booking Violations (Churning, Dup Segments, etc.) Expired Exchanges
Credit Card Rejections Refund Errors
Top 5 Reasons for Memo Disputes Booking Policy Violation
Exchange Travel Not Completed by Expiration date Commission Taken on Non-commissionable Ticket
Departure City Not Authorized on Commission Program Refund of a Non-Refundable Ticket / Over Refunded
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Revenue Recovery - Debit Memo Statistics Cont’d…..
Top 5 Reason for Debit Memo Issuance(01/01/2012 – 06/30/2013)
1.Commission Errors (POS) 44%2.Booking Policy Violations 44%3.Exchange Audit (Expired Ticket) 7%4.Credit Card Rejections 2%5.Refund Errors 1%
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Historical dispute information indicates Travel Leaders:• Disputed 11% of Delta issued Debit Memos during the last 18 months• Of the disputes submitted, Delta found:
1. Rejected back to Travel Leaders (memos valid) 76%2. DL extended settlement offers 9%3. DL closed based on support provided 8%4. Memo amount adjusted 7%
Statistics provided do not include booking violation disputes as they are managed by Delta’s Distribution Strategy Team.
Revenue Recovery - Debit Memo Statistics
Dispute Resolution for Travel Leaders(01/01/2012 – 06/30/2013)
Top Five Debit Memo’s
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Top Five Debit Memo’s
What's a Booking Violation?
Duplicate Bookings:
• Duplicate segments in a PNR or Duplicate segments across PNRs including overlapping and non-flyable itineraries
Churning:
• Repetitive booking & cancelling during the month with little to no change in itinerary. Performed to circumvent ticketing time rules, GDS productive targets, customer convenience, etc.
Inventory Circumvention:
• Circumventing/bypassing the inventory management controls applied on origin and destination (O&D) availability requests either before or after the End Transaction
Fictitious Names:
• Speculative or fictitious names designed to hold inventory
Invalid name changes:
• Name changes in violation to Delta’s published policy
Inactive Segments:
• Segments cancelled by Delta for ticketing time limit which are not removed by the agency prior to departure
#2 Booking Violations
Top Five Debit Memo’s
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#2 Booking Violations
Steps to Prevent a Booking Policy Debit Memo:
• Always re-issue the ticket the same day any change is made • Do not break married segments• Do not book fictitious names to hold inventory• Do not book and cancel continuously in order to circumvent ticketing time limits• When re-looking for other potential flight options for a passenger within an existing booking, do not end the record each time you look at a new option as this counts against your churning allowance on that booking.• Familiarize yourself with Delta’s name change policy• To prevent inactive segments remember to cancel the segments when the PNR is queued back to your agency for action. It is the responsibility of the agency to cancel the un-ticketed PNRs prior to the scheduled departure date. Remember - TICKET OR CANCEL.• If you book a second booking prior to canceling the first booking, a debit memo will be generated even if you immediately cancel the first booking. Remember – BOOK/CANCEL/REBOOK• Bookings may not be made reserving one or more seats on the same flight or conflicting flights for any identical time frame, regardless of the class of service or input code used to make the reservations, i.e. Impossible Trips
.
Top Five Debit Memo’s
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#3 Expired Exchanges
Reasons for these Debit Memo’s: • Confusion regarding Delta’s Ticket Validity Policy (Domestic vs. International)
Key Factors to Avoid Expired Exchange Debit Memo’s:• Delta’s ticket validity policy is a global policy that is applied for all Delta issued tickets and does not vary based on fare rules. It is expected that all our agency partners ensure the appropriate guidelines have been applied, even when using a GDS exchange tool, as many GDS systems are not programmed to apply carrier specific contract of carriage rules.
• Agencies must check published fare rules for any additional restrictions
DOMESTIC For travel between and/or within Canada, United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, your ticket must be reissued and all travel completed within one year from the original date of issue.
INTERNATIONAL If travel was not started, your ticket must be reissued and travel must begin within one year of the original date of issue.If travel was started, your ticket must be reissued and all travel must be completed within one year of the start date.
Top Five Debit Memo’s
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#4 Credit Card Rejection Memos
What is it a Credit Card Rejection?
The practice of Credit Card companies reversing funds previously paid for a variety of reasons:
• Invalid or no approval code• Expired Credit Card• Cardholder rejected charge due to fraud, unsatisfactory service, passenger circumvents non-refundable fare policy
Key Factors to Avoid Credit Card Rejection Memos:
• Stay Informed - Monitor ARC Fraud Communications• Watch for Unusual or High Risk Sale Patterns
• Know your customer – Beware of non face to face transactions
• Perform Due Diligence (i.e. Require 24 hr hold on all tickets while validation is performed)
• Report suspected fraud to local authorities, credit card
merchant bank, ARC. etc. Obtain a police report.
• Report Fraud to Delta Tip Line: [email protected]
Tips for Avoiding Credit Card Fraud
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Exercise Caution: • First contact via email or teletype messaging (unknown party)
• Origins & Destinations that do not include point of sale country
• One-way trip or High Value Ticket (Customer not concerned with price point)
• Customer requests reissue within short time frame (2-4 hours)
• Customer provides one card after another when not authorized, or customer attempts multiple FOP’s
• Change in passenger name requested after original booking is made
• Customer provides bogus addresses and/or phone numbers to circumvent ability to validate the card
• Repeated usage of same card number for multiple sales in short time interval
• Third party sales - Providing “stories” to support the purchase in the name of 3rd party; differs from
cardholder’s name (sales when passenger name and cardholder name differ)
• Customer books one ticket, then calls back to purchase additional tickets (aka testing the system)
Ensure Due Diligence: • Ensure staff is trained to detect and avoid fraud
• Develop in-house procedures to validate cardholder ID
• Trust your instincts – If it seems too good to be true it usually is!
Top Five Debit Memo’s
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#5 Refund Errors
What are these? Errors associated with the Refund of a Non-Refundable fare or incorrect calculation of Refund due
How to Avoid Receiving a Memo:
• Always check published fare rules for refundability restrictions• When refunding tickets with different fares check each fare rule as the most restrictive rule may be applicable• Ensure appropriate penalties are collected• Return commission previously claimed
ARC Memo Manager
What is ARC Memo Manager?
• ARC Memo Manager (AMM) is a web-based tool created by ARC to manage distribution, collection and correspondence for Debit & Credit Memos
• Delta utilizes AMM to process all Debit & Credit Memos• Agencies can monitor memo status by utilizing the search features offered in the AMM product• Search Options are available at the Home, Branch, Carrier and Memo Status Level
How does it work?
• Delta generates memos in our internal receivable system and transmits an electronic file to AMM each night• ARC’s Ticket Resolution Service performs collection actions on memo types that are considered seriously non-
compliant to the Agent Reporting Agreement• Delta sends a PDF or Excel document to ARC containing detailed information. ARC attaches these documents
to the Memo.
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Contesting Debit Memo’s
Tips for Receiving Faster & Effective Responses for Disputed Memos:
• Submit Disputes through AMM. Delta’s preferred method for managing Debit Memo disputes is to utilize this industry channel, This allows Delta to work disputes in the order received, ensure no disputes are overlooked (or
blocked by DL firewalls) and measure internal service levels. • Review Debit Memos in a timely manner• Submit Dispute responses back through AMM• Provide sufficient detail/documentation to support your dispute
Carrier Actions:
• Internal SLA to respond to agency correspondence within 10 business days (Currently @ 5.2 Days) • Collection, Correspondence and Booking Violation Teams check AMM daily for disputes and correspondence• Departmental mailboxes & voice message system is monitored throughout the day
Common Errors to Avoid When Disputing a Debit Memo: • Failure to select the “Dispute” radio button in AMM will exclude your dispute from being transmitted• Do not direct your dispute through multiple channels (Delta Sales, Collections Mailbox, Booking Policy Team)• Ensure proper supporting documentation is included
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Revenue Recovery – Frequently Asked Questions
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Q – Does Delta apply a fee for the audit to all debit memos?A – At this time Delta does not apply a fee, however there are certain memo types where a fee is included in the memo amount, i.e. credit card rejections, no-shows, booking violations, unreported sales, etc.
Q – Does Delta utilize a third party to perform debit memo collection actions?A – Overall – On a limited basis we will use ARC’s Ticket Recovery services to assist us in collection of credit card rejection memos, unreported sales and some agency refund errors where permitted under the ARC Agency Agreement.
Q – What is the process for an agency to submit a debit memo dispute?A – ARC agencies submit disputes and inquiries via ARC Memo Manager.
Q – Does Delta waive debit memos?A – Delta policy does not allow for waiving a valid receivable item. If a memo is incorrect it will be reversed. If correct, Delta expects payment in full upon receipt.
Q – How do I dispute a debit memo after payment has been made?A – After payment has been made agents are no longer able to dispute through ARC MM . Disputes must be sent directly to Delta to our departmental email address: [email protected] or [email protected] .
Q – My agency did not receive a response to a dispute. What do we do?A – Provide 10 working days for a response (currently at 5.2 days). Follow-up emails can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected] . Please provide relevant details: memo number, ARC agency number, and any additional support. * Only after your initial dispute via ARC Memo Manager.
Revenue Recovery – Contact Information
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Debit Memo Inquires:•Submit via ARC Memo Manager•Please allow 10 business days for a response•If no response within 10 business days then direct follow up inquires to:
•Phone: 404-714-4662•Fax: 404-773-2108•Email: [email protected]•Courier: Delta Air Lines, Inc.
1030 Delta BoulevardAdmin Bldg. Dept. 816Atlanta, GA 30320
Refund Department:•Phone: 800-847-0578•Email: [email protected]•Email: [email protected]
Delta On-Line Information:www.WorldAgentDirect.comwww……………………… (Coming in August 2013; watch for details)
Revenue Recovery – Contact Information
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Air France Debit Memo Inquires:•Fax for general questions on AF debit memo policy: 212-830-4109•To dispute an AF debit memo: 212-830-4423
Air France Refund Department:•Hours 9:00a.m. – 5:00P.m. EST (Mon-Fri)
AF/KL On-line Resources:• www.AFKL.biz
Revenue Recovery - Quiz
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How Well Do You Know Us?
1.To Guarantee you take the correct and maximum commission allowed on a Delta JV ticket, Travel Leaders agents should:A. Call Travel Leaders Support ServicesB. Ask another agent who sells a lot of international businessC. Send an email to [email protected] with all the necessary details
2.Delta’s domestic and international ticket validity policies are the same.A. TrueB. False
3.To avoid a debit memo for an invalid name change you could check the Delta policy on wordagentdirect.com and/or call Delta’s 24/7 Sales Support Center.
A. TrueB. False
4.The most effective way to avoid earning debit memos for inactive segments is to monitor your agency queue and regularly cancel un-ticketed segments
A. TrueB. False
5.If you book a second booking prior to cancelling the first booking, a debit memo will be generated even if you immediately cancel the first booking.
A. TrueB. False
6.When dealing with a customer you personally have never worked with before, it is wise to require a 24 hour hold on all tickets while you verify the validity of the credit card, address, contact, etc. with the credit card company
A. TrueB. False