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Southland Woman Shocked By 'F--- You' Message From Expedia Employee

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — West Hills teacher and coach Cara Viramontes couldn't believe what she saw when she opened a recent email from travel site Expedia.com.

"I thought it was a joke," she recalled. "No way this could have happened."

When Viramontes logged in to check her itinerary on Expedia's website last week, she found an expletive -- in bold -- followed by an exclamation mark. Yes, an Expedia employee appeared to have left her a message: "F--- You!"

What's more, she saw that her and her family's New Year's travel reservation had been cancelled without their consent.

"Everyone I show, they laugh and think it's a joke," she said. "No one can believe a company as credible as Expedia would ever do something like this."

It all began when Viramontes complained that she had been charged for travel insurance for her 8 month old son, even though the infant doesn't need an airline ticket and will sit on her lap. After the call, she responded to an online survey, sent to her by Expedia.

"I was honest," she said. "I said, 'You know what, the lady wasn't helpful. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she wouldn't let me speak to a supervisor.'"

Two days later, the high school teacher and coach says she got the email telling her that her trip had been cancelled. And that's when she saw the foul language.

She quickly called customer service. She says she was told that she was to blame for the canceled reservation. She then sent the supervisor a screenshot of the "F---  You" at the top of her itinerary.

"It's clear as day what was written and I haven't received a response," she said. "Nothing."

Viramontes said on Tuesday that Expedia had yet to offer to compensate her for the $600 she paid for her plane tickets. She said a supervisor told her she would have to pay a $200 fee to book another flight.

Expedia later responded to a request for comment from CBS2 on Tuesday afternoon.

"We take this matter very seriously and have opened up an investigation analyzing every click and action made by our customer service agents," the company said.

Expedia also said it will rebook Viramontes flights, refund her money and provide her with a $500 voucher.

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