[spindlelurcher]

Title may sound harsh but in my view thats exactly what United staff are guilty of.
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice, or similar experiences.
I am a UK resident but travel internationally.
On a recent return flight from London I encountered the following.
My flight was from Mexico where I have been on vacation, had to fly to London from Mexico for a week of work.
My problems started in Heathrow when I tried to check in to return to Mexico.
United staff refused to check me in, saying I had to have a return ticket to the UK before they would check me in as I didnt have a mexican tourist permit on me (the reason I didnt have one is because United staff in Mexico remove the permit on departure and replace it on reentry) I tried to argue this to no avail, spoke to 3 different members of staff, who all told me I had to go and buy a return ticket. So I had to buy a 1279 dollar ticket (money I do not have) on my credit card on the grounds that it was fully refundable. I requested a fully refundable ticket.. checked and double checked with the salesperson (whos name I now regret not taking), she told me I would be able to refund it over the phone when I arrived in Mexico.
All of which has proved to be a lie, 3 days into my vacation I have got not further..apparently my ticket is not refundable at all. And after checking at Immigration in Mexico I know United also lied about the immigration issue. were they all working on commission?? were they trying to fleece me.
any advice would be greatly appreciated as now I going through the painfully slow process of phone calls to India, the US, and complaints numbers that hang up on me if I manage to get through at all. I wont be flying united again.

[Silent Bob]

i don't know how it works from UK to mexico, but from US to Mexico you need a return ticket. That's not an airline rule, that's an immigration law that stipulates you won't need a visa if you're only going for a short time. Since you only were going for a week, you needed to show immigration in Mexico when you were leaving the country. Whenever I go overseas, I have a copy of my itinerary out, even if they don't ask to see it because you never know who you're going to deal with. Because if you don't have anything to show of your return they can deport you. Next time ask United to give you a copy of that rule. From my understanding, they didn't sell you that ticket to line their pockets, but to save them money as it would cost up to and including 20,000 in fines. (Learned that one when I tried to go to Brazil without a Visa). hope this helps.