JetBlue Overcharges Woman by Hundreds for Bag Full of Medicine for Orphans, Forces Her to Spend Money Raised for Orphanage

A woman flying to Jamaica to support orphans was forced to use the funds raised for children after JetBlue overcharged her for baggage fees, according to a report.

Joy Nelson founded Joyful Foundation after being inspired to help disabled orphans at West Have Children's Home in Jamaica, WSVN reported. Nelson organized a fundraising effort with friends and family, in which she successfully raised supplies and cash to support the orphaned kids.

On her way to Jamaica, Nelson was stopped at the counter for having an overweight bag full of medical supplies. Instead of charging the normal $75 fee for a heavy bag, a JetBlue employee mistakenly charged Nelson $275 twice, totaling to $550.

With little time to fix the issue before the flight, the employee assured Nelson that it would be rectified after calling customer service. After repeated efforts over several months to reclaim the $475 that was owed to her, Nelson never heard back from the airline.

"I have called JetBlue on numerous occasions. I sent an e-mail. No response," Nelson told the outlet. "So it's not a lot, but that money, that fund, could really go a long way in helping these children."

This led to Nelson seeking help on an episode of "Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser" on 7 News. Howard Finkelstein, a 7News legal expert, took matters into his own hands by contacting JetBlue directly and getting them to acknowledge and rectify the error.

"I contacted JetBlue," Patrick Fraser said. "Every company makes mistakes. The good ones fix them, and JetBlue did."

JetBlue ultimately returned all of Nelson's money and fully comped her luggage. The airline also issued an apology.

"We apologize to our customer for the confusion on their baggage fees. As a courtesy, and to compensate for the inconvenience, we have refunded all of the bag fees paid for this trip," a spokesperson for the airline said.