Worked for PAL contract. Company refuses to pay flight home.

[ayhombre]

Hello. I worked for PAL on a maintenance contract. Paid for my ticket home. (flight) Company now refuses to pay for flight home which I paid out of my own pocket. I have an email from the HR Manager stating that they will pay the ticket home. What should I do. Any suggestions would help. Thnx.

[RickertsRed]

Send an email to a lawyers office explaining the situation and add in the proof of how they said they would pay for the flight. Then send it off to the lawyers office but cc your contact or someone even higher at PAL. Most likely once they see that they have a potential lawsuit on their hands over peanuts they will pay you back to be done with it and avoid any embarrassment!

Then even if that backfires and they do want to go to court, once you win (which you will because you say you have it in writing stating they would pay for the tickets) PAL is now stuck with the bill of your plane ticket, YOUR lawyer fees (because you won), and their own lawyer fees!

I'm sure there are numerous ways to go about getting your money back, but thats one!

Cheers!

[collegejunkie]

Haven't you realized what PAL stands for?

Promises
And
Lies


Pay
Always
Late


People
Against
Logic



The company is the unsafest and worse company in Canada. Flight attendant got in trouble not long ago for writing up a loose emergency exit that was basically falling off...why? Delayed the flight...this company is going down hill and unless you get a lawyer good luck getting your money they will probably just ask you to leave

[Zip Tie]

report it ====>>>>

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/securitas/index.asp

[FlyGy]

What does your contract say? Does it state that PAL will pay for your flight home? If not, you're out of luck. An Email from the HR Manager is unlikely to help you because it is not a legal amendment to your contract. For it to be legal it must be signed by you and someone authorised by PAL to negotiate your contract. I don't know if the HR Manager is allowed to negotiate and endorse your contract or not. If he is not, then he can not make any amendments to it.

I guess what you need to know is:

• What does your contract state specifically regarding how you get back home.
  Does the HR manager have the authority to alter the terms of your contract?
  Is there an amendment or MOU in addition to your contract that states the company will pay your travel expenses?

I suggest, as others have, that you consult a lawyer. If the email was sent to you before you signed the contract, then you may have a case for misrepresentation because you signed the contract with the understanding you'd have a ride home. If it came afterwards, it's unlikely to help you. The only document the courts will care about is the one containing the mutually agreed to terms. I'm just basing my comments from experience, I have no legal qualifications.

report it ====>>>>

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/securitas/index.asp

And get your ass handed to you by TC after the TSB reports you to them for misusing a program meant for the enhancement of safety because you had to pay your own way home.

[Zip Tie]

If there are safety concerns report them.TC will listen.Nobody gets punished for reporting safety issues anymore.
If there are contract issues get a lawyer.
I am not mixing the two issues.You are.

What does your contract say? Does it state that PAL will pay for your flight home? If not, you're out of luck. An Email from the HR Manager is unlikely to help you because it is not a legal amendment to your contract. For it to be legal it must be signed by you and someone authorised by PAL to negotiate your contract. I don't know if the HR Manager is allowed to negotiate and endorse your contract or not. If he is not, then he can not make any amendments to it.

I guess what you need to know is:

• What does your contract state specifically regarding how you get back home.
  Does the HR manager have the authority to alter the terms of your contract?
  Is there an amendment or MOU in addition to your contract that states the company will pay your travel expenses?

I suggest, as others have, that you consult a lawyer. If the email was sent to you before you signed the contract, then you may have a case for misrepresentation because you signed the contract with the understanding you'd have a ride home. If it came afterwards, it's unlikely to help you. The only document the courts will care about is the one containing the mutually agreed to terms. I'm just basing my comments from experience, I have no legal qualifications.

report it ====>>>>

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/securitas/index.asp

And get your ass handed to you by TC after the TSB reports you to them for misusing a program meant for the enhancement of safety because you had to pay your own way home.

[Colonel Sanders]

I was told this story by a contractor last year.

Manufacturing plant goes down. Company is desperate.
Looks like a problem with the production line manufacturing
software.

Frantically, they call up an engineer in the middle of the
night. A limo picks the groggy engineer up, drives him to
the airport where a chartered jet is waiting. Flies him to
the city airport where the plant is located. 2nd limo picks
him up, drives him immediately to the plant, where he has
the software patched and the plant up and running again
in an hour.

In return, they dump him on the front steps of the plant
outside the door. Won't even drive him back to the airport.
No plane ticket, nothing. He's left standing there on the
sidewalk. Not sure if he ever even got paid for the job -
he didn't have a PO, of course.

There's a lesson in there but I can't quite figure out what
it is.

[CpnCrunch]

What does your contract say? Does it state that PAL will pay for your flight home? If not, you're out of luck. An Email from the HR Manager is unlikely to help you because it is not a legal amendment to your contract. For it to be legal it must be signed by you and someone authorised by PAL to negotiate your contract. I don't know if the HR Manager is allowed to negotiate and endorse your contract or not. If he is not, then he can not make any amendments to it.

I'm not a lawyer, but I've been screwed in similar ways to this a number of times. In all but one of the cases, the douchebags eventually paid up when I threatened to take them to court. In one case I had to go as far as filing a civil action in the provincial court (which just costs $100 and is very easy to do), but they ended up settling (for the full amount) before we actually went to court.

Bear in mind that an email IS a contract. Even a verbal agreement is a contract (but difficult to prove). An email from the HR manager should be more than sufficient.

What I would do is send a recorded delivery letter to all the company directors. Explain (politely) the situation and that you expect them to pay for your fare, otherwise you will take legal action to recover it. Enclose the email. I'd be very surprised if they don't pay up.

[Bede]

CpnCrunch is bang on. Enforceable contracts are defined as "a meeting of the minds". Contracts do not need to be legalese and are enforceable even on the back of a napkin or oral (proving an oral contract is another story). Clearly there is a meeting of the minds in this case if you have an email. In a case such as this the companies only defense would be that the HR manager did not have corporate approval to enter into any contracts. Provided you have been dealing with her, I believe this defense would be dismissed.

Your best bet is to file a statement of claim (aka plaintiff's claim aka law suit) in small claims court. SCC is designed for the DIY litigant. I highly doubt a case like this will go to trial. You will get your money quite quickly once the the company realizes it will have to pay a lawyer a minimum of $2k to file a defense.

I have sued numerous companies (credit card, water heater rental, AMO, etc) and it has never failed me. Send me a PM if you need more advice.

I differ with CpnCrunch's last piece of advice- it's a waste of time. Company's get demand letters all the time. You warned them once in an email. Now just go file your claim and see what happens.

Perhaps if you want you can post this stuff here and I'll walk you through it for the benefit of all the readers.