B.C. mother’s battle with Expedia adds bitter twist after devastating car crash

On Wednesday, four friends were supposed to head to Toronto for a birthday trip.

However, three of those women were involved in a serious crash on Highway 1 in February, which ultimately claimed two lives.

A mother of one of the young women who survived the crash says it’s been a devastating month. Now, she tells CityNews she’s struggling to cancel the trip.

“After the car accident, I contacted Expedia and they told me that it wouldn’t be an issue to get a refund for these girls’ money, and all I needed was a copy of the death certificate, which I did have the really disheartening task of asking … for,” Jennifer Miller, the mother of one of the two women who survived the crash, explained Tuesday.

“I gave it to Expedia who then told me that I needed to fill out a form, which wouldn’t work, and I tried several times from several different sources, laptops, computers. I finally did get the form to work, and after I submitted that, they’re now telling me that I need proof of kinship between them and the deceased.”

Miller says she started reaching out to Expedia on Feb. 24. She tells CityNews she was “very upfront” with the travel company, saying one of the four woman had died and another was in a coma.

“(I said) that this trip wasn’t going to be possible, they told me it wouldn’t be an issue,” the mother explained.

“It’s just been really hard.”

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However, she says she’s been given the runaround since then. Miller opted to reach out directly to WestJet, whom she says was helpful and even refunded additional charges the girls had made to upgrade their seats.

She says WestJet told her it had refunded the money in total to Expedia and that it was now with the travel company to deal with.

‘I’m hoping that they do the right thing’: mother

In a statement to CityNews, WestJet confirmed that it is “unable to physically process the refund,” given the flights were booked through Expedia.

“This is because when tickets are purchased through a third-party, we are unable to confirm refunds to the original form of payment and, there might be service fees and charges collected by Expedia at time of payment that we do not have record of,” WestJet explained.

“With that said, our Guest Support Team was able to consult with our Travel Agent Support team who confirmed that Expedia is required to process the refund as per WestJet policy, due to exceptional circumstances. In order to process the refund, Expedia would require either a copy of the death certificate OR a copy of the Last Will and Testament that determines the Executor as well as the guest’s ticket number, name(s).”

WestJet says it is “working to connect with Expedia to ensure this is matter resolved as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, Miller just wants the ordeal to end.

“I’m hoping that they do the right thing and that they give the girls back the $1,400 that they paid … of their money that [Expedia] told me they initially would back on February the 24th, with the copy of the death certificate. It feels like it’s turning into, once I accomplish one thing, they want something else, and then they want something else,” Miller said.

“This is something where two girls lost their lives and these other two girls lost their best friends. They would have loved to have taken this trip tomorrow morning. I was supposed to take them to the airport, they were all supposed to spend the night at my house tonight. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be something that’s possible and I just don’t think [Expedia] is doing the right thing.”

On Feb. 18, the Uber that four women were in had it pulled over near the Sprott Street exit just before 4 a.m. so the driver could attend to one of the passengers. The women had been on their way home from an evening of celebration when the white Tesla was hit from behind by a Chevrolet SUV.

At the time, police said two women were taken to hospital in critical condition, while another — Miller’s daughter — received non-life threatening injuries. The fourth woman died at the scene, while one of the two in hospital succumbed to her injuries days later following a coma.

The devastating crash has sent shockwaves through the community of Maple Ridge, and shattered the lives of those involved in the crash and those closest to them.

Miller says she’s tried to take on as much as she could to allow the women to focus on mourning and healing.

“To tell them about it this morning, they were kind of upset, obviously. It’s their money, they thought that they were going to get it back, I initially told them that they would, and now they’re hearing that I’m having an issue when WestJet, allegedly, told me that they had already refunded it to Expedia. On my form, it shows that the trip was cancelled. I’m exhausted,” she said.

“I just feel like this isn’t the right thing that [Expedia is] doing. It’s such a minute amount of money. I’ve jumped through all the hoops. I feel like once I accomplish this next step, they’re just going to give me something else … It shouldn’t be like this.”

CityNews has reached out to Expedia for comment.