Recovery of Money Paid for Unused Tickets

GAO was asked to reconsider its earlier opinion to the General Services Administration (GSA) which stated that the value of unused passenger tickets is an overcharge. GSA reported that Government agencies had failed to recover money paid to carriers for tickets purchased but not used and suggested that, like a duplicate payment for transportation, the value of unused tickets is a debt owed to the Government. Since the request for refund did not arise from an error in the rate or fare, GAO found that the refund claim did not involve a charge for a given transportation service in excess of that applicable by a tariff. Accordingly, the recovery of the value of the unused tickets does not involve an overcharge.