Airlines Must Notify Customers of Right to Refund

[geist1223]

As if waiting on hold for hours at a time isn’t bad enough, many airlines are denying customers refunds they’re legally entitled to. On April 2nd, the US Government’s Department of Transportation … View the article. https://flip.it/bHUp2Q View the article + more on Flipboard. https://flip.it/8JT11x Find your favorite topics on Flipboard. Download here. https://flip.it/q2c-.t

Apparently this has been the Rule for quite some time but airlines have been ignoring it.

 

[controller1]

As if waiting on hold for hours at a time isn’t bad enough, many airlines are denying customers refunds they’re legally entitled to. On April 2nd, the US Government’s Department of Transportation … View the article. https://flip.it/bHUp2Q View the article + more on Flipboard. https://flip.it/8JT11x Find your favorite topics on Flipboard. Download here. https://flip.it/q2c-.t

Apparently this has been the Rule for quite some time but airlines have been ignoring it.

However, at the same time they stated there was no enforcement action available.

 

[geist1223]

However, at the same time they stated there was no enforcement action available.

That is not what the Article says. They Federal Government said it will not pursue enforcement action if the airline does the 3 required steps, which included the airline notifying the consumer of their options.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Unfortunately, the event I was scheduled to attend in Denver was cancelled due to COVID-19. I've got a flight on Delta for 6/27 I'm hoping I'll be able to cancel and get a full refund on. According to their website, DL is only offering a voucher good for two years from the date of purchase of the original ticket . . . and ONLY on flights scheduled for April & May. So for now, it appears I need to wait until the timeline moves into June/July.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

What's sneaky is that some airlines are notifying of "flight modifications." In reality they are cancelling the flight and moving you to another one to consolidate people. No mention that a flight was cancelled. I caught this one with United and they immediately refunded. Still haven't called Southwest but they have done the same. Keeping the emails as proof.

 

[Sapper]

What's sneaky is that some airlines are notifying of "flight modifications." In reality they are cancelling the flight and moving you to another one to consolidate people. No mention that a flight was cancelled. I caught this one with United and they immediately refunded. Still haven't called Southwest but they have done the same. Keeping the emails as proof.

I was on hold with SouthWest for two hours last night re our flight to Hawaii, then inter island, then return. All of which have been cancelled, and no notification by the airline. I already had the airlines carriage agreement in front of me just Incase. The friendly rep first verified there had been “changes” to the flight. Then she offered to put us on a different flight at a later date with “no change in the price”. Haha, yes because any flights right now would be significantly cheaper if they were operating. I said no thank you, I would like a refund. The friendly rep pretended not to hear my request, and stated that she would be happy to give me airline credit to fly at a different date. I reiterated that I would like a refund to the original form of payment, not airline credit. She then informed me that because of the COVID situation, the airline credits have been extended from the normal one year from initial purchase. Third time I asked for a refund, no airline credit, refund. She then went through a dance to verify if the “changed” (she never used the word cancelled) flights were authorized for a refund. After fifteen minutes, and the rep going through each flight, person by person, I was authorized a refund. She said that it will take two billing cycles to get it. The discussion was friendly, and I get the airline, and the poor reps are taking a lot of flack from this. However, they are in my opinion, being very deceptive in their refund process.

 

[Luanne]

I was on hold with SouthWest for two hours last night re our flight to Hawaii, then inter island, then return. All of which have been cancelled, and no notification by the airline. I already had the airlines carriage agreement in front of me just Incase. The friendly rep first verified there had been “changes” to the flight. Then she offered to put us on a different flight at a later date with “no change in the price”. Haha, yes because any flights right now would be significantly cheaper if they were operating. I said no thank you, I would like a refund. The friendly rep pretended not to hear my request, and stated that she would be happy to give me airline credit to fly at a different date. I reiterated that I would like a refund to the original form of payment, not airline credit. She then informed me that because of the COVID situation, the airline credits have been extended from the normal one year from initial purchase. Third time I asked for a refund, no airline credit, refund. She then went through a dance to verify if the “changed” (she never used the word cancelled) flights were authorized for a refund. After fifteen minutes, and the rep going through each flight, person by person, I was authorized a refund. She said that it will take two billing cycles to get it. The discussion was friendly, and I get the airline, and the poor reps are taking a lot of flack from this. However, they are in my opinion, being very deceptive in their refund process.

A little after the fact, but instead of calling and waiting on hold forever, I've been using Facebook to reach out to hotels (Hilton) and airlines (Alaska Airlines and Southwest). In all cases my questions were answered and issues taken care of promptly, like within 15 minutes from the time I posted the question.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@Luanne Thanks for the tip. I may need to dust off my Facebook account. I am assuming you are using private messaging? or are you using an app in Facebook?

FWIW...I have had not problems getting through by phone with United. Answered in 2 min or less and the reps were helpful. Not looking forward to Southwest but if they have the callback function then not so bad because I am at home anyway.

 

[Luanne]

@Luanne Thanks for the tip. I may need to dust off my Facebook account. I am assuming you are using private messaging? or are you using an app in Facebook?

FWIW...I have had not problems getting through by phone with United. Answered in 2 min or less and the reps were helpful. Not looking forward to Southwest but if they have the callback function then not so bad because I am at home anyway.

No, I am not using private messaging. I have posted the questions/issues on their FB pages. In a couple of cases it was a simple question. In the case with Southwest I had been trying to change a future flight in order to get some points back. I kept getting an error message. Usually I would just pick up the phone and call, but since they have a message on their website about long wait times, and I'd had good luck with FB, I used that method. I was asked for the confirmation number, then asked to delete the message with that information and SW moved the discussion to private messaging.

If you have a Twitter account, which I don't, you can also reach all of these companies that way.

 

[mjm1]

I had a good experience with Southwest with a bit of a twist.

We purchased a one way flight from Vegas to Nashville in May using Chase UR points. I saw that the flight was cancelled so called SW and said I would like a refund. The rep told me he would issue a credit to the MasterCard ending in xxxx. The number wasn’t familiar to me and I told him to hold off because I used CUR not a credit card. I then called Chase Travel and the rep called SW to confirm the policy. She was told that SW would issue a flight credit to my SW account. I politely disagreed since SW cancelled the flight not me. I let her know that the SW I spoke with was ready to issue a credit to the MC, so what she was told didn’t make sense. She told me the MC was theirs and they use it to purchase flights on SW and then deduct the CUR points from the customer’s account. However, she wouldn’t be able to see that refund. I wasn’t aware of their process. So, she told me to call SW and cancel the flight and ask for an email with the details. I did and It SW handled it very timely. I received the email and called Chase Travel back getting the same rep as before. I forwarded the email to her and she processed it on her end. She did note that it could take up to 90 days for the points to reappear in my account.

So, it was a pain, but it worked out well assuming the points do arrive. I learned some things in the process too. One is never take for granted that the person knows the right answer. Of course we Tuggers know that only too well.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Sapper]

A little after the fact, but instead of calling and waiting on hold forever, I've been using Facebook to reach out to hotels (Hilton) and airlines (Alaska Airlines and Southwest). In all cases my questions were answered and issues taken care of promptly, like within 15 minutes from the time I posted the question.

Great idea. I had a Facebook account years ago... maybe it is still around.

 

[Sapper]

@Luanne Thanks for the tip. I may need to dust off my Facebook account. I am assuming you are using private messaging? or are you using an app in Facebook?

FWIW...I have had not problems getting through by phone with United. Answered in 2 min or less and the reps were helpful. Not looking forward to Southwest but if they have the callback function then not so bad because I am at home anyway.

I was not offered a call back option, only a notification of hold time at the start of the call “there is currently a 125 minute wait”. I thought no way, they are just trying to persuade you to make changes online, which don’t include refund (or did not when I looked). Sure enough two hours later, a friendly rep answered the phone.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I had a cancelled flight with Southwest and they told me that because it was purchased with a gift card instead of credit card that they could only issue me a voucher. True? IMHO...cash is cash. I don't have that gift card anymore so if they put it back on the card I wouldn't have the PIN. However it seems they could issue me a check.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Yeah, Southwest is best if you use points to book because the points are 100% refundable, and so is the $5.60 fee, which goes to my credit card I have on file. So unless they changed the time on you (which just happened to me for our Orlando mid-to-late May trip on both legs), then you have to take the voucher and have to use it by the expiration date. Same with paying via credit card. You get a voucher. My stepdad kept getting his Maui flight cheaper and cheaper and now has a voucher for enough another RT ticket somewhere.

 

[Talent312]

I've got a flight on Delta for 6/27 I'm hoping I'll be able to cancel and get a full refund on. According to their website, DL is only offering a voucher good for two years from the date of purchase of the original ticket . . . and ONLY on flights scheduled for April & May....

I'm in the same situation with Delta for travel to Europe on 6/11.
If you cancel, it's a credit. If they cancel, you're entitled to a refund.
I don't care which it is... I just wanna avoid the change fee.

The kicker is that I also booked thru Chase UR (both points+cash).
Hopefully, they have a better tie in with Delta than they do with SWA.
When Delta updates their policy, I plant to start with Chase..

 

[Sapper]

I had a cancelled flight with Southwest and they told me that because it was purchased with a gift card instead of credit card that they could only issue me a voucher. True? IMHO...cash is cash. I don't have that gift card anymore so if they put it back on the card I wouldn't have the PIN. However it seems they could issue me a check.

Per their contract of carriage agreement, “Carrier shall make eligible refunds in the same form as the original payment.”

https://www.southwest.com/assets/pdfs/corporate-commitments/contract-of-carriage.pdf

 

[rickandcindy23]

Delta gave us a refund for RT 4/12-5/1 to/from Italy. Full refund, received the credit to our card in about five days.

The fly DEN to JFK on 4/10, we are still debating with Chase UR points, which is expedia travel. I am determined to get points back and not just a credit because the flight has been changed three hours. That means I can cancel. I hadn't booked the return flight yet (from JFK to DEN).

I don't want a credit with Delta. Everything flying out of Denver that we could use a credit for is expensive, including Maui. I can fly to Maui cheaper on several other airlines. It would be like throwing money away, using a credit for an expensive airfare. I won't do it.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Per their contract of carriage agreement, “Carrier shall make eligible refunds in the same form as the original payment.”

https://www.southwest.com/assets/pdfs/corporate-commitments/contract-of-carriage.pdf

in my case, the June flight was purchased in part with a CSV voucher ($150 or $200) and the balance on my DL AmExp card. I guess I'd be happy with a voucher for the $391, good for 2 years from the original date of purchase (2/2/20).

 

[Sapper]

in my case, the June flight was purchased in part with a CSV voucher ($150 or $200) and the balance on my DL AmExp card. I guess I'd be happy with a voucher for the $391, good for 2 years from the original date of purchase (2/2/20).

Could be worse.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I thought Southwest was only giving one year from date of purchase or 5 31 21 if between Mar and May.

 

[Luanne]

I thought Southwest was only giving one year from date of purchase or 5 31 21 if between Mar and May.

Southwest's current policy.

Canceling your Southwest flight

If you decide not to travel, as long as you cancel your flight at least 10 minutes before its scheduled departure, the funds used to pay for a nonrefundable ticket (Wanna Get Away® fares) are normally valid for one year from the date of purchase.


However, in recognition of the current travel environment, we are extending the expiration date of some travel funds:

• Customers’ funds that have expired or will expire between March 1 – June 30, 2020, will now expire June 30, 2021.
• Any travel funds created because you cancel a flight between March 1 – June 30, 2020, will expire June 30, 2021.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks for clarifying. I was approximating in my post. It's still only 18 months at best. Not 2 years as a poster indicated.