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| 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.
| 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. |
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.
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