contract-law
I paid for an airline ticket, I took the flight, but NEVER got charged
<p>I purchased an airline ticket, paid in full on my VISA, and took the flight.</p>
<p>But the charge NEVER showed up on my VISA.</p>
<p>The card has expired.</p>
<p>Now, 4 months later, the travel agency is demanding the money.</p>
<p>I am wondering If I need to pay? What does the LAW say about this?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<hr />
<p>Thank you guys for the comments.</p>
<p>I live in Canada. The agency that sold the ticket is in the Netherland, and the ticket was purchased online in Thailand, so the jurisdiction is not clear.</p>
<p>I am new here, I think the &quot;law&quot; section is more appropriate but I have no idea how to move the question.</p>
<p>Of course if I purchase a service and use it, I should pay for it. However, in this case there is an important &quot;time component&quot; attached.</p>
<p>The ticket is a #3000, and at the time I purchased it, I had the money available and ready to pay for it. I purchased it believing I will be billed immediately, and it is on the travel agency that they did not bill me.</p>
<p>Now, 4.5 months after the fact, the necessary cash is not available, the purchase itself was attached to a certain point in time, not months later.</p>
<p>It is not reasonable for me to put $3000 on hold in case one day sometime in the future they decide to bill me, after 30 days, I assumed I will never hear from them.</p>
<p>Anyway, I decided to to what I think is the right thing, and offered to pay half, right away, to settle this issue, providing they reply to my email with &quot;we confirm that half the payment will be considered payment in full, and this matter will be considered closed&quot;, surprisingly, they thanked me for my offer, but did not confirm this will end the issue.</p>

<p>You entered into two contracts, one with a Canadian travel agency and on with an airline (maybe multiple airlines). The travel agency acted as your agent, in securing the booking with the airline. In each case, the contract reduces to the promise &quot;I will give you this in exchange for that&quot;. The other parties did what they were supposed to do, now you are legally required to pay up.</p>
<p>It is highly unlikely that your agreements included a clause to the effect that if they don't get the money from you within a particular short time-frame, the ticket is free. There can be a statutory limit on how long a civil claim (unpaid debt) is valid, but that is measured in years, not months.</p>
<p>You can certainly negotiate with the party seeking payment (I assume it is the travel agency). If the agency clearly, unambiguously and explicitly states that they will accept half payment to settle the debt, then if they try to sue you in court, you can produce that email plus proof of payment as evidence that there is no debt. Thanking you for an offer is not
clear, unambiguous and explicit acceptance of half payment.</p>
