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Oklahoma family's vacation refund squandered by hack

John Raoux/AP

FILE - In this Monday, March 16, 2020, file photo, the road to the entrance of Walt Disney World has few cars, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Two more unions have reached agreements with Walt Disney World over furloughs caused by the theme park resort's closure during the new coronavirus outbreak. The agreements reached late Friday, April 10, apply to security guards and workers involved in facilities and operations. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

By: Pete Knutson

Posted at 3:56 PM, Feb 16, 2022

and last updated 2022-02-17 19:18:14-05

TULSA, Okla. — The travel issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing to challenge families nearly two years after it started.

The long-planned dream trip of a Locust Grove child's lifetime to Disney World in Orlando was put on hold, because of COVID, stranding Hunter, and his grandparents at home.

"[Disney was] nice enough to give us a refund," Earl Cox says.

However, Cox says he worried about getting his money back for the three airline tickets that had to be canceled.

He says United Airlines issued a voucher for the full price of $761.

"I thought my worries were over, until I tried to use the voucher, and they tell me somebody has already redeemed it."

That was back in November when Cox wanted to re-book flights for this May since tickets are so much cheaper months ahead of time.

Since then, he says he's been on the phone for more than a dozen hours with United customer service, trying to figure out who hacked his voucher.

He was able to get a copy of the ticket his voucher was apparently used for, for a trip to Germany, but that's as far as he got.

"The end result is 'We're sorry, we're going to have somebody call you,' and they never called, never. Even when I kept calling them back."

Cox contacted the Problem Solvers. It wasn't long until he received that call from United, the one he had waited for, for months. The airline issued another voucher, and a representative tells us Earl's credit card info was never compromised, and they're investigating the theft of his original voucher.

"It makes me feel better, but they've raised the prices so much because if you book a year in advance, you get a good price."

That means taking Hunter to Disney in May could cost more than double the price of their original plane tickets. But he's determined, "I'll figure out a way."

Cox says he'll make sure his grandson takes that Disney dream trip, this summer.

We asked United if the Cox family could get a discounted fare since the fares would have been cheaper back in November when they tried to use their voucher.

But a representative says while they understand their frustration, United can't honor earlier fares, or provide a discount, for any reason.

Contact the Problem Solvers: