This story is about two senior sailors and their limousine ride to the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. They were flying south to jump a cruise ship in Miami, returning to Canada five days later.

As far as we know, all was smooth sailing until they touched down in Buffalo on their way home.

William and Judith (not their real names) say they pre-paid a small Hamilton-based limo service $240 to drive them to Buffalo on Aug. 5 and collect them on Aug. 10. But when their limo failed to show, they say they were forced to pay an airport cab company an additional $175 to drive them home to Hamilton.

So, you say, can't they simply go after the limo company and be reimbursed the $175?

And yes, you would be right in most instances. But these waters are seriously muddied.

Were these folks foolish, gullible, crafty or manipulative? Read on and draw your own conclusions.

"I have a receipt which shows I paid the limo company $120 for the ride to Buffalo on August 5," William told Action Line. "When we were on the way to the airport, the driver pressured us into going to our bank and withdrawing an additional $120. He said we couldn't expect them to collect us on Aug. 10 if we didn't give him the extra money."

It took some time before William admitted he had no receipt to prove he paid the additional $120. He was trying to gather evidence and he did have a bank note to show he did withdraw money from his account that day.

But as I've repeatedly warned readers, that's a little like closing the barn door after the horses have left. The fact you withdraw money from your account doesn't prove you gave that money to anyone. You could have spent it at the duty-free shop.

William was indignant when I pointed out his oversight. He didn't want to hear that I wouldn't print the name of his limo company, or accuse their driver of ripping him off. Without proof, any paper printing such an accusation might be guilty of libel -- or at least sheer stupidity.

I told William that many reputable airport transit services, costing much less, do not require consumers to pay in advance. William is plenty old enough to know that. You pay the driver on arrival at the airport, or after he delivers you home.

But there were other complications here. William is hard of hearing and his memory doesn't appear to be that great. Indeed, the limo company's office manager told us he failed to provide them with the correct flight arrival time. They say their driver went to the airport at 4:45 p.m. and waited five and a half hours before leaving and returning to Hamilton.

"At approximately 1 a.m. on Aug. 11, a man called dispatch to see where his car was," the office manager said.

"We explained that we had already been up at the Buffalo airport and it would take us another hour and a half to return."

Now William, of course, denies this. But perhaps he did miss a connecting flight and was late getting into Buffalo?

Once again, it's one person's word against another's. The limo company told us William had made repeated calls since, becoming abusive and threatening to take further action if his $175 was not returned.

Communications officer Kate Marx of Comair/Delta Connection told Action Line there is no direct flight from Miami to Buffalo and William must have transferred somewhere on his way home.

Without further information, determining when these folks did land in Buffalo is "like trying to find a needle in the proverbial haystack," Marx said.

The limo company said William never provided them with a flight number, only what appears to be a ticket confirmation number. So they tried to collect him at 4:45 p.m., the time they say he provided.

There's just too much turbulence going on here.

If you have a consumer problem, call 905-526-4665 or e-mail amacrury@thespec.com. Not all calls and letters can be answered.