DENVER — Dan Smoker was trying to salvage a dream vacation, but it ended up in a nightmare.

His call to United Airlines' customer service line ended with him talking to someone else who charged his credit card for more than $17,000. The airline is now investigating.

Smoker was set to take his wife, kids and their friends on an 18-day trip to Europe in late May. The family’s first flight got canceled after hours of delays due to mechanical problems.

The next morning, Smoker said, he was on the phone with United’s customer service line for more than three hours. He said he tried to work with an agent named David to rebook the trip on a partner airline.

Smoker said David told him the cost of that flight would have to be charged to his credit card but that United Airlines would refund the

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