Delta Smashes Triathlete's Bike, Refuses to Give Refund

by Jordan Yerman | June 10, 2010 at 10:49 am

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James Lawrence Takes Delta Airlines to Task for Smashed Bicycle

Triathlete James Lawrence is riding 20 triathlons in under 30 weeks to raise money for dam-building in Africa, via a charity called Triandgiveadam. However, During transit from Hawaii to Utah, his bicke was mangled beyond recognition by Delta's baggage handlers.

When Lawrence approached Delta for a refund for the shipping, he was refused.

James Lawrence Takes Case to Youtube

The next step: a viral video campaign. Once the video hit the Consumerist and started getting spread via Reddit, Delta seems to have found out about it and are mounting a PR counter-strike.

"They told me they don't do refunds," he said in a video he posted to YouTube.

UPDATE: Delta says, "We will be contacting the customer and working to resolve the issue with the customer. The cause he supports is a extremely important one and we want to be sure he is able to continue his work."

Had James Lawrence not posted that video, though, he'd surely be doing the paperwork runaround.

Warning: the footage of the mangled bicycle, which looks like it was smashed by heavy construction equipment, will be harrowing to cyclists and triathletes.