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Damn Expedia!

So I book a trip earlier this year with Expedia and going through hell trying to get a refund from them. Don't know what to do, but maybe TA can help me out.

This is all the same trip...

I booked the same trip 3 times. The first time, had to change the flight and they told me they would void the trip, no charges, and re book.

I book the second time and realize that it was too expensive but because the same day void was in place I could always void it and not get charged.

Finally, I rebook again, with my finacial situation changing. Because they told me I could same day void, I wouldn't have canceled the second booking, but since I could, I voided it and rebooked later.

Now I am being charged for the hotel rooms on all 3 bookings but not the flights. I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later.

Nobody is getting back to me, (all calls with a we'll call you back today, but the refund is coming) and I received an e-mail stating they would get back to me within 7 days and now it's day 9 and nothing.

What should I do to get these guys to give me my refund? It's getting really annoying now...

Re: Damn Expedia!

quote:

Originally posted by Big Boss I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later.

Although calling to complain may be annoying, this situation has long ago passed a reasonable amount of time to wait. I would be call them again, tell them that you are fed up with waiting, and you want to know when your payment is arriving. When they tell you, get the name and employee number of the person who promises it to you, and be sure to let them know that if it does not come in time you will be immediately contacting their supervisor to find out why it didn't come.

If it doesn't come, do exactly that. Ask to speak to the supervisor, explain the situation, and say that if you are not repaid immediately that you will be registering a complaint with the Provincial Ministry of Consumer Protection.

Make sure to write down dates, times and names that pertain to the conversation.

Here is a tip sheet to help you register a formal complaint if the situation doesn't get resolved:

http://www.consumer.ca/1657

See if sending something to The Consumerist results in some good. They feature tons of horror stories like this, and 9 times out of 10 the issue is resolved and then some.

Message Theresa. I think she used to work with Expedia and she may be able to help

Or, if you get charged the hotel shit, just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged.

Re: Damn Expedia!

quote:

Originally posted by Big Boss So I book a trip earlier this year with Expedia and going through hell trying to get a refund from them. Don't know what to do, but maybe TA can help me out. This is all the same trip... I booked the same trip 3 times. The first time, had to change the flight and they told me they would void the trip, no charges, and re book. I book the second time and realize that it was too expensive but because the same day void was in place I could always void it and not get charged. Finally, I rebook again, with my finacial situation changing. Because they told me I could same day void, I wouldn't have canceled the second booking, but since I could, I voided it and rebooked later. Now I am being charged for the hotel rooms on all 3 bookings but not the flights. I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later. Nobody is getting back to me, (all calls with a we'll call you back today, but the refund is coming) and I received an e-mail stating they would get back to me within 7 days and now it's day 9 and nothing. What should I do to get these guys to give me my refund? It's getting really annoying now...

LOL.... this is classic.

Unfortunately, Expedia has a very high level of security when it comes to their refunds. It has to go through a ridiculously extensive process to verify that it is in fact refundable, why it is refundable, etc. etc.

They likely have the refund pending, it's just a matter of having the button pressed. Once the "button is pressed" your refund does take 7-10 business days.

I have a couple of suggestions.

Call them during the day. Ideally between 6AM and 3PM EST. This is when the big bosses are around that have the ability to get shit done. Stay calm. You will get a hell of a lot more push back if you're screaming and yelling. No one wants to go out of their way for "the asshole".

Ask for the agents name, (first name only, they are not allowed to give out their last name), their agent ID and to speak to a Supervisor. Specify very clearly that you do NOT want to speak to a Team Lead, you want to speak to a Supervisor. Whoever you get on the phone, ask "Do you have refunding capabilities, and are you a Team Lead or a Supervisor?" If they aren't the right person, escalate it.

When a supervisor gets on the phone, STAY CALM!! They would rather make you wait if you're going to be a prick. Again, ask for their name and agent ID. If they tell you that they don't have one, insist that you get it, because they do have one. Explain your story COHERENTLY and in order of the times it happened (and nicely). Tell them how long you have waited and request to be assured that the refund was actually "done" (aka the button has been pressed), and not just sitting there waiting for the refund team to be refunded.

The key to success is being nice to whomever you talk to. It's just natural to want to help someone who is being nice to you, and feel resentment and a lesser desire to help those who are being pricks.

If they give you a hard time, just tell them that you thank them for their time, but you will e-mail Shawn Shannon (this will scare the shit out of them) to see if he can help you out, and that you will also be filing a complaint with TICO.

If that doesn't get the problem resolved, I have another way... so PM me and I will give you the heads up.

Re: Re: Damn Expedia!

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Originally posted by The Highroller Although calling to complain may be annoying, this situation has long ago passed a reasonable amount of time to wait. I would be call them again, tell them that you are fed up with waiting, and you want to know when your payment is arriving. When they tell you, get the name and employee number of the person who promises it to you, and be sure to let them know that if it does not come in time you will be immediately contacting their supervisor to find out why it didn't come. If it doesn't come, do exactly that. Ask to speak to the supervisor, explain the situation, and say that if you are not repaid immediately that you will be registering a complaint with the Provincial Ministry of Consumer Protection. Make sure to write down dates, times and names that pertain to the conversation. Here is a tip sheet to help you register a formal complaint if the situation doesn't get resolved: http://www.consumer.ca/1657

That's useless. They wont care.

quote:

Originally posted by Superstring Or, if you get charged the hotel shit, just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged.

You can't do this. Not only is it illegal, but it's a SERIOUS pain in the ass.

quote:

Originally posted by Superstring Or, if you get charged the hotel shit, just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged.

doesn't exactly work like that, but he could call and explain the situation to the card issuer and ask for a charge back. they will normally investigate and if there're grounds for a charge back they'll give it... or if the vendor doesn't respond to them they'll also be more likely to do the charge back.

quote:

Originally posted by activate doesn't exactly work like that, but he could call and explain the situation to the card issuer and ask for a charge back. they will normally investigate and if there're grounds for a charge back they'll give it... or if the vendor doesn't respond to them they'll also be more likely to do the charge back.

Not in this case.

Expedia takes the charge on hotels and then in a separate transaction pays the hotel. If you call the hotel, they wont have any idea what you're talking about.

Actually... is the thread poster still online? I may be able to get this resolved sooner.

I need your itinerary number though.

Cancelling or getting refunds for anything travel related is pretty much a no go (unless you are buying higher-priced refundable fares).

I bought a flight to Palm Springs for $765 (total) on a Thursday night. Saturday morning (less than 36 hours later) I saw the same flight for $475. Obviously, the new fare being 40% less is the one I want - so I call Air Canada to make the change.

Air Canada was no help as they cannot just change the fare (I need to cancel and rebuy). Since I did not buy a refundable fare (apparently $765 is not high enough for a refund) I'm out of luck.

I ended up cancelling the $765 flight (and keep the value for future credit) and buying the $475 flight. In the future, when I use the $765 credit I will have to pay a $50 change-fee (each way, $100 total). Even with the extra $100 my $475 ticket to Palm Springs is cheaper.

So then I call to use the $765 credit and it turns out you can only use the credit in the name of the original purchaser (I can only use the credit myself).

I don't mind the fact the ticket is non-refundable, it was in the fine print - I don't even want a refund...

However there needs to be some reasonable time-period of price protection after purchasing tickets. Having the price drop by 40% in 36 hours with no recourse for the purchaser is unreasonable. Further, it is also unreasonable to not allow the purchaser to deed the ticket-value to someone else - once purchased an airline ticket should be able to be used by whomever shows up at the check-in with the ticket (subject to security verification of course).

I wrote a letter to the Air Canada complaints ombudsman (who replied via postal mail thanking me for chosing Air Canada). I've since forwarded my complaint to the CTA (http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/doc.php?did=272&lang=eng); we'll see where it goes.

Re: Re: Re: Damn Expedia!

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Originally posted by Theresa You can't do this. Not only is it illegal, but it's a SERIOUS pain in the ass.

I guess I don't see how it's a pain in the ass? Call the CC company, tell them you're NOT staying at this hotel, and in fact have called Expedia repeatedly to cancel the charge. They promised to do it, but nothing has happened, and you still got charged for not staying somewhere... Seems pretty clear-cut to me.

quote:

Originally posted by rabbitjoker Cancelling or getting refunds for anything travel related is pretty much a no go (unless you are buying higher-priced refundable fares). I bought a flight to Palm Springs for $765 (total) on a Thursday night. Saturday morning (less than 36 hours later) I saw the same flight for $475. Obviously, the new fare being 40% less is the one I want - so I call Air Canada to make the change. Air Canada was no help as they cannot just change the fare (I need to cancel and rebuy). Since I did not buy a refundable fare (apparently $765 is not high enough for a refund) I'm out of luck. I ended up cancelling the $765 flight (and keep the value for future credit) and buying the $475 flight. In the future, when I use the $765 credit I will have to pay a $50 change-fee (each way, $100 total). Even with the extra $100 my $475 ticket to Palm Springs is cheaper. So then I call to use the $765 credit and it turns out you can only use the credit in the name of the original purchaser (I can only use the credit myself). I don't mind the fact the ticket is non-refundable, it was in the fine print - I don't even want a refund... However there needs to be some reasonable time-period of price protection after purchasing tickets. Having the price drop by 40% in 36 hours with no recourse for the purchaser is unreasonable. Further, it is also unreasonable to not allow the purchaser to deed the ticket-value to someone else - once purchased an airline ticket should be able to be used by whomever shows up at the check-in with the ticket (subject to security verification of course). I wrote a letter to the Air Canada complaints ombudsman (who replied via postal mail thanking me for chosing Air Canada). I've since forwarded my complaint to the CTA (http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/doc.php?did=272&lang=eng); we'll see where it goes.

Unfortunately that is the way it is with almost every airline. It's a matter of BSP (google it). Every calendar day your payments are sent to BSP and the money is distributed the way it should be (government gets their taxes etc. etc.) Because there is so much processing involved (yea, I know it doesn't seem like it... there is though), they attempt to simplify the process by saying that once it is submitted to BSP, the deal is done. The only exceptions are refundable fares, which are handled quite differently.

Aside from that, an airline purchase is considered a contract. When you bought it, if you choose not to void it (which can only be done on the SAME CALENDAR DAY of purchase), it is a sealed deal. Very few airlines will go out of their way to override a price and lose money.

As for the ticket being changed into another name... almost across the board in the travel industry you are unable to change names. There is an array of reasons, but primarily it has to do with security. This is stipulated on almost every single purchase made, and the only airlines I have seen make exceptions are European ones, but usually for a hefty fee. Check your tickets rules... if it says "non-transferable", it means you cannot have it be flown by anyone other than the name it was originally booked for.

When you're booking travel it is in your best interest to read ALL the fine detail. It's a very restrictive industry and in the event of changes, you can end up being on the crumby end of the stick.

This is not just Air Canada BTW, it applies to virtually all airlines.

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Originally posted by Superstring I guess I don't see how it's a pain in the ass? Call the CC company, tell them you're NOT staying at this hotel, and in fact have called Expedia repeatedly to cancel the charge. They promised to do it, but nothing has happened, and you still got charged for not staying somewhere... Seems pretty clear-cut to me.

According to the contract, it will state that cancellations need to be made by a certain time period or there are charges incurred, assuming it is not already 100% non-refundable. If you have made the purchase yourself, and then you choose not to use it, the only way out of it is by void (done on the same calendar day of purchase), or by canceling it with the penalties.

In this case, the void was likely not processed, which is an error on the agencies part. However, according to the system, nothing went wrong. If you called the CC co. they would ask if you made the purchase. If you tell them yes, then they will tell you to go to the vendor. If you tell them you already did, they will ask you what the contract agreement was. After all of that, if they actually go to the vendor on your behalf, the agency will not assist because they are not on the account. You find yourself in a never ending loop of being bounced from one place to another.

Just because you didn't go to a hotel doesn't mean you can get your money back. There are rules to these things.

However, if there was a void processed, and it was documented, he should be getting a refund. It's just a matter of having the agency put it through.

Anyway, to the thread starter, I got your PM... I am working on it.

Thread poster!!!

Please PM me your MSN e-mail so we can talk.

Call your credit card company. They will put a hold on the charges and send you some short forms to complete. Fax them back with an explanation and copies of your emails to and from Expedia.

The best thing about this is that every time someone makes a claim against a company, it is recorded as a black mark against them. So it will cause Expedia grief as well.

Expedia lets you void charges if you do it on the same day that it was booked?
If so, did you read the fine print on this policy to ensure it was for both flight and hotel?

In any event, I am not surprised trying to get not just one, or two, but THREE refunds from a discount travel agent didn't work out....seems suspect that they would offer a void at all considering they profit from selling travel insurance as well.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Damn Expedia!

quote:

Originally posted by Superstring I guess I don't see how it's a pain in the ass? Call the CC company, tell them you're NOT staying at this hotel, and in fact have called Expedia repeatedly to cancel the charge. They promised to do it, but nothing has happened, and you still got charged for not staying somewhere... Seems pretty clear-cut to me.

It's a pain in the ass for expedia, not the consumer


If you get charged, all you have to do is call the Credit Card Company and state: "Card Not Present".
(as long as you didn't use VeriSign by Visa). Don't know if Expedia uses that yet.

I only use Expedia.com for my purchases, so I don't know if the process is any different.