Airline customers can soon report complaints to Colorado AG’s office
DENVER (KDVR) — Air travel customers will soon be able to send their complaints of airlines or ticketing agents directly to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, thanks to an agreement the office announced in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday.
Colorado is one of 15 states to sign such an agreement, allowing the DOT to establish a new process to review and resolve consumer complaints against airlines and ticket agents. The announcement came as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Colorado.
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The agreement aims to streamline how attorneys general and the DOT work together to review consumer complaints and identify violations of federal aviation consumer protection requirements, according to a joint announcement by Attorney General Phil Weiser and Secretary Buttigieg.
Weiser said in the announcement that the agreement will lead to improved travel for passengers and allow authorities to hold accountable airlines or ticket agents that harm consumers.
“Consumers deserve to be treated fairly, know what they’re getting, and get everything they pay for when they fly,” said Weiser. “This agreement and partnership with the DOT will allow my office to directly serve Colorado consumers when they file complaints about unfair or deceptive airline business practices and creates a process to ensure DOT prioritizes complaints we refer.”
The new agreement means that Colorado consumers will report their air travel complaints about harmful or deceptive practices to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office at StopFraudColorado.gov.
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The memorandum of understanding with 25 U.S. states or territories comes “at a time when complaints about flight disruptions, lack of refunds, and lost or delayed baggage continue to be core passenger concerns,” according to the Colorado AG’s office.
According to the AG’s office, airline consumer protections are the DOT’s responsibility under federal law.
However, through the agreement, the attorney general’s office is authorized to investigate consumer complaints against air carriers, ticket agents and other air travel companies supervised by the DOT. According to documents released Tuesday, the attorney general’s office will work with consumers and companies to resolve complaints, and if necessary, will refer complaints to the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
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Under the agreement, that office will prioritize the review of escalated complaints and include the attorney general’s office staff on letters of inquiry to those companies based on those referrals, in addition to consulting with the attorney general’s office before determining the next steps toward resolution. The current agreement will last for two years, but the parties may agree to extend it at two-year intervals after that.
“We take our mission to protect consumers seriously, and today’s launch of the Airline Passenger Protection Partnership is an important milestone in that effort,” said Buttigieg in a release. “By partnering with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, the U.S. Department of Transportation has expanded our ability to hold airlines and ticket agents accountable and protect passengers from unfair or deceptive practices.”
The DOT is also tasked with providing technical assistance and training to staff in the attorney general’s office and will meet at least annually with the AG’s office to “assess ongoing efforts and to update Colorado on any actions taken in response to state-referred complaints,” according to Weiser’s release.
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Other states and territories that have signed the memorandum of understanding include California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Wisconsin. Several other regions have voiced their interest in signing similar agreements.
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